The 63 years that never were...

Yeah. You are right. You guessed it absolutely right. This post is about the lady who turned 63 just a few months back.

A nation ruled by the British, who dominated not only India, but also most part of the world for the better part of the 19th century, gained her independence in 1947. What for? To still be marked as a "developing nation", when nations such as Japan which was nuked in 1945 zoomed upward making itself as a world leader. Singapore, a nation not bigger than the city of Bangalore now standing as one of the world's best country, while most of our cities are languishing with poor facilities.

I hate to damage my own country like this. I love my India and I'm sure everyone of you, which ever country you maybe from LOVE yours.

Why is India like this? Well, some of the most obvious reasons are listed here:

1. Corruption -  Ah, yes. That is number one and I won't hesitate in betting that we are number 1 in that. The age old vice introduced by our British rulers and imbibed in our system ever since then has become a national practice. Thanks to this  we have hardly seen much of a development, except for the swelling bank accounts and the sprawling villas of our netas.

2. Indifference -  Thanks to the 1st cause, this one has also evolved.  When have we ever cared about giving or taking bribes to government officials, politicians and of late even educational institutions which demand huge amounts as donations to secure admissions. We have grown used to bribes being taken and given.

3. Reservation - Not railway ticket reservations, not air ticket reservations and certainly not reserving seats at restaurants. It's about reserving a HUGE chunk of seats in educational institutions for people based on CASTE, RELIGION and not based on economic affordability.

4. LACK OF RESPECT FOR THE PEOPLE AND THE NATION. Very evident among our netas. Ever remember an Independence day or a Republic day, when the entire nation, 1 BILLION Indians standing up for the national anthem? There has always been an occasion where a politician or a police chief or a government official has been caught sitting or disrespecting the national anthem or the flag. Lack of respect for the people who vote for them is utterly disgusting. Our politicians come begging to our doorsteps for votes and after the election, people are treated like shit.

5. A judicial system which tries a dumbass terrorist to show the world that we will give him a fair trial, while politicians who swindle lakhs of crores of Rupees are let off with just a commission of some "eminent" politicians investigating the matter. Neither will the commission give their reports early enough to prosecute the perpetrator, nor will the terrorist be hanged soon.

6. Power and money talk, more than the voice of the common man. Police fail to prosecute criminals backed by politicians. Agony, disgust are all that people get when they try to file a complaint with the police. There have been cases where just because the perpetrator has been a big shot's relative, the case just has to be dropped. Pity. Apart from that, only people with power enough to change election results at will, by rigging polls come to power.

7. Incompetent leaders who feign ignorance when something as huge as a multi million crore scandal happens. Leaders who FAIL to show themselves as a true leader. Some are puppets in the hands of some other leaders. Such leaders not only prove themselves incompetent, but also prove themselves to be inhuman. They rig elections, win them, eyewash the stupid common people of India, with promises that never will happen. They even go to the extent of making sure that the traffic stops for them and their useless bloody lives, while a much more worthwhile life dies in an ambulance that is stuck in traffic

7 reasons why India is like this. 7 main reasons. Reasons that matter a lot more than common people like you and me ( I am assuming that the people who matter DO NOT read this post). 

penn- the girl, the lady, the woman...

Penn- No its not penn state or something like that. Penn- means girl/lady or woman in Thamizh. There have been so many love songs, so many songs praising the glory of a hero/heroine (at times). There have been very few songs praising women as a whole.

As kids, always- guys don't like girls. And as we grow older- we kind of think- ok fine, we have to live with them. Finally, at one particular stage- OMG! I love that girl,and I just can't live without her. It's just the way things happen. Every guy at some stage in his life falls in love with one woman or the other. For some of us guys- it would be a girl who is very close with us, for some others the only girl in their lives would be their mum and for a lot others the girl whom they marry.  Isn't it such a paradox- we grow up disliking each other and finally falling head over heels in love with each other?

Anyways. Take a moment to imagine all the various roles that a girl plays in her lifetime. 1st as a daughter to her parents. A good daughter who obeys all the instructions her parents give her, studies well, works hard, grows up to be a nice young lady. A lady who has to then get married to some guy and then live with him, make him happy for the rest of their lives together. A mother who has to groom her kids well and make sure they do what is good for them. All this.

Just imagine, that very same lady if she also works in a concern, she has to fulfill expectations there as well, which makes her task even harder. And believe me- Girls can be total workaholics. When there s something to be done- they'll finish and only then will they sleep. And after a long days' work, she comes home to take care of household work, kids, etc. Poof. Just to type this I feel so tired. Imagine all the ladies all over the world, particularly, in Indian households.

There s this line by கவிப்பேரரசர் வைரமுத்து "விண்ணவர்க்கும் மன்னவர்க்கும், விளையாட்ற்ற செல்வம் பென்". Truly. Todays' ladies define that statement. In terms of achievements of ladies, there are a few names that one can never forget. India's 1st woman Prime Minister- Indira Gandhi, Tamilnadu's 1st woman Chief Minister- Dr.Jayalalitha. Such prolific ladies. Well, even they have had their own darker sides, but still, their achievements in a predominantly male dominated society- very very commendable. And yes, there is another interpretation to that line that I had quoted above- remember the incident when a flight was hijacked, which was carrying the daughter of a minister. The bargain- release the terrorists that you have captured, we' ll let her and the other passengers go alive. Now you know how valuable a girl's life is? that too the daughter of a minister is far more valuable. Now, I believe she herself is into active politics, following her father's footsteps.

Respect the ladies guys. For you may never know when a girl you know might come up with something great and turn out to be someone great.

A tour to the heartland of terror

It all started on that fine day, May 21st. We boarded the flight from Chennai to New Delhi. A few hours later, bang- no, no.. no gunshots, don't worry. We landed in Delhi and then in the next 1 hour, we had to rush to catch the connecting flight to Srinagar. Pitiful, the flight duration from Delhi to Srinagar wasn't even as long as the transit time.

Finally, we landed in Srinagar. Before landing, I must say, it truly was a breathtaking view of the valley. No wonder, both countries are vying for that piece of land. Once I landed, all that I could see was army fatigues all over the place. Till that point of time, I didn't know that there were so many army personnel in Kashmir.

A short while later, I found out something that shocked me. The army had blocked out all prepaid signals. Ugh.. Oh no, I cant communicate things to people back home. However, there was some respite, since dad's phone would work as it is post-paid. Then finally we reached our boat house, Chinar. A very beautiful boat house. There was Hussain bhai, the caretaker, who took good care of us for the next 2 days of our stay in the boathouse.

I asked the caretaker "Are there any terrorist attacks happening here?". "No. nothing of that sort really. Srinagar's a very peaceful place." "Is the army presence always this much?"
"Yes. " "Despite of such heavy army presence, how do terrorists manage to attack?" I asked. He couldn't answer that. I'm sure no Kashmiri can answer that question.

Then came the romantic shikara ride. Pitiful, 3 couples (read- my mum and dad, 2 aunts and their husbands) over 50+ enjoying themselves amidst 3 guys who are 20+ years old. Oh, how we wished we had the company of our someone special.

The dal lake is a shopping complex in itself. Boats carrying merchandise everywhere. And there was this boat house where all the ladies settled down to buy sarees. We went in at around 6 pm and it was still light at 8 pm. 2 hours by all means is very very quick work by the ladies. Hats off.

Finally, we came back to the Chinar, to have dinner and doze. That was day 1 in Kashmir.

(pic- a shot of the dal lake from the Chinar)

Falling terrorist standards???!!!!!

Sorry that this post comes after quite a few days after that dastardly attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team that was touring terroristan.. oops, sorry, typo- Pakistan.

Well, looking back at the attack, there were newspapers in India which screamed these headlines,

Hindu: “Terrorists attack Sri Lankan Cricket team in Lahore”

ToI: “Neighborhood Just Got Scarier”

Indian Express: “Terror Hits Lanka Team; Wounds Pakistan & Cricket”

Deccan Herald: “Six Sri Lankan Cricketers hurt in Lahore terror attack”

However, newspapers across the border wrote:

Pakistan Express: “Falling standards in Terrorists Training???”

Lahore 03 March 2009: In the worst ever performance by their home grown and trained terrorists, all the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team members left Pakistan shore alive. Govt officials expressed concerns about this as it would tarnish the image of Pakistan as a breeding ground of terrorism and their credibility to produce world class terrorists has taken a beating. Govt asked the PSU (Public Sector Units) terrorists groups to improve the training standards and urged the terrorists to take their training and careers seriously.

Prime Minister later during dinner with the participating terrorists chided them mildly that they cannot waste tax payers/US federal Aid money like this. He was particularly harsh on the terrorist who threw under the bus (carrying cricketers), the grenade which did not detonate. Prime Minister worried that this did not do any good to his plans of changing Pakistan National game from Cricket (which anyway is having its natural death) to Hand Grenade Throwing. He felt that this was the best bet for Pakistan’s aspiration for an Olympic Gold Medal. He urged erstwhile Pakistan cricket bowlers – Shoaib Akhtar and others, who are famous for throwing instead of bowling, to take up coaching terrorists on grenade throwing as their cricket careers are finished now….

Pakistan Times: “Chinese imports are no longer reliable??”

Pakistan Government ordered a high level delegation consisting of all ammunition experts under the leadership of A Q Khan (father of the Nuclear Plans), to study the unexploded grenade for the reasons why it did not perform expected duties. The hand grenade clearly had visible ‘Made in China’ logo on it, which embarrassed Chinese Government. Chinese Premier issued a public apology to Pakistan People for failing to live up to their expectations and vowed to strengthen their R&D and manufacturing facilities to re-instill the confidence in consumers.

Pakistan Prime Minister in a later press release mentioned that he would re-consider renewing Chinese contract for annual supply of ammunition, which is due for renewal in April. Unless China proves that they have taken stringent measures to ensure that the reliability of their ammunition is certified by their government, Pakistan would consider approaching other sources for their annual staple supply of ammunition…

Dawn: “Visiting Sri Lankan cricketers return to their country, Alive”

There was all round disappointment reported across Pakistan that all the members of the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team returned alive, denting the image of Pakistan as most the happening country in the world (for wrong reasons). People staged protests on streets and demanded government for the “falling return on Investment of ammunition.” They are also worried that this would set a bad precedence and foreigners may choose to visit Pakistan without any fears.

The betting racket reportedly lost a billion Pakistan Rupees as everyone expected all the visiting team members to be killed. This also had tax collection implications for government.

Government later issued a public apology to people and assured them that they would take sufficient measures to ensure that they are accountable for every Pakistan rupee being spent on training terrorists. They also urged more youngsters to take to guns as this would make the career as terrorists much more competitive and Pakistan can continue producing abundant supply of world class terrorists.

When the initial news of attack was shown live on their national news channels, all the people came to street and started bursting crackers. Their joy was short lived when the attack stopped in 25 minutes and they took the crackers back to their homes so that they can use it for next opportunity, which anyway should not be too far away.

Some of those Pakistanis who still have a job and left for offices in the morning and hence missed the ‘Live action’ on TVs, rued their luck for having to work while majority of their brethren enjoy these live actions on TV idling at homes. The working class in Pakistan demanded that henceforth they be informed before hand about terrorists attacks so that they can stay back home and enjoy the live action on TV. Government assured them that they will publish “Annual Terrorism Calendar” and align their public holidays with this calendar.

All in all there was mixed opinions on the futile terrorist attack as it did not give them the required mileage in international community….

This attack could never have been carried out without the help of an inside hand. Maybe- Younis Khan and Co? They appeared to be pissed with Samaraveera's ominous form.

Well, Pakistan claimed that they had provided world class security to the touring Lankans, but they escaped death only by a whisker. However, a few days later, there were videos of the fleeing terrorists that was released. Looks like Pakistan is only full of gun toting terrorists and empty promises that Pakistan makes about curbing terror.

Anyways, lets just hope that terrorist standards fall so much that those bloody bastards shoot themselves for missing a target at point blank range while training. Should every terrorist adopt such a method, there will be enough to dig graves for the dead.

P.S: Wondering what that photo is? That s the new uniform issued by the ICC for teams touring Pakistan.

Think...

There are several things that we, Indians need to learn from this attack.

1- This attack was not an ad-hoc attack. This was extremely well planned, with the targets being hand picked in such a manner that there would be damage inflicted on a scale so far unknown to us.

2- Apparently, these terrorists, whose total number is not yet known, have made several recons of these hotels and the city. They must have had several dry runs to check out all these places. Apart from these dry runs, it is reported that these terrorists must have had some accomplices staying inside these hotels. Video footages showed these terrorists carry a shoulder bag, which could ve been big enough only to hold a few magazines in it. These terrorists were having a sackful of grenades with them which must have been kept inside the hotel even before the attack started. Of course yes, these terrorists were extremely well trained, which has enabled them to keep India's most elite battle ready commandos at bay for over 48 hours.

3- Despite several attacks on Mumbai and N number of intelligence reports suggesting that Mumbai is very much vulnerable, neither state nor central governments seem to have put any anti terror mechanism in place.

4-Apart from all this, we do have GREAT POLITICIANS, EMINENT people like SHITRAJ Patil who appear on TV to comment on a situation where so many lives are lost. Btw.. what the hell was Narendra Modi doing there? and where the hell is the great maratha- Mr. Raj Thackeray?

5- It was the courage, grit and determination of the NSG, Marine Commados and the army and last but not the least, the Maharashtra police that has helped the people. There was nothing from the side of our great politicians, to help, if anything at all.

6- The media has done a great job by covering the entire series of events, and the Indian media has matured considerably. This can be proved by the fact that the media used discretion in their coverage rather than trying to outwit rivals by disclosing classified info that the media may have got. Hats off to you. But there were some noobs who cut Mumbai off from the news channels for a few hours, which kept Mumbaikars in the dark for quite sometime.

7- CNN has focussed on India in the last 48 hrs so much that they would nt ve covered India so much even in the last 5 years. And this is because of FBI agents landing in Mumbai to try and offer help. It is also reported that an American intelligence agent was shot dead in the Taj.

8- Nariman house is home to a few Israeli citizens, which has prompted Israel to offer help in the counter terrorist operation, which India refused.

9- Maharashtra has decided to setup a NSG like organisation to counter terrorism. All this only after attacks targetting the upper class of the society and international tourists. No action what so ever after several bombings which killed innocent commen people like you and me who are reading this article.

10- The touring England team will not play its test match in Mumbai. There has been a change of venue from Mumbai to Chennai. Chennai is reeling under a different attack. This is an attack by the rain gods who promptly bless Chennai, whenever a cricket match is announced, however focus back on Mumbai.

11- 3 top cops were killed during the initial encounter on wednesday night. All 3 of them will be forgotten soon. Let's hope Maharashtra's finest would learn their lessons atleast from their deaths.

12- What is the PM going to do by calling the ISI chief over to help in investigations? Pakistani links to this attack has all but proven to the world.

13- Al-qaeda shas been suspected to have been the mastermind behind these attacks. If that is true, then it will be the first time ever that India has been attacked by Al-qaeda. Of course, Al-qaeda have operated previously in Kashmir, but never past the borders of Jammu and Kashmir.

14-The main motive of these terrorists was not to hold Mumbai for ransom or to get some of their associates released. Clearly, this attack was aimed at destabilizing the Indian economy and also to drive home a point to international tourists and business people as well, that India is not a safe place anymore. The sole motive of these terrorists was wreak havoc, create panic and terrorise Mumbai and India in a manner that people would fear to step out again. We have to gear up to fight a new breed of terrorists, who are not fanatics with a gun, but trained fighters, who know the tactics and strategies of urban warfare.

If we do not learn our lessons soon, it won't be long before India becomes a terror torn country like Afghanistan. Security laxes, lack of co-op between intelligence and law enforcement agencies have been highlighted by these attacks. Incompetence of our politicians to do anything about it has been another point to note.

These terrorists seem to keep asking us this question over and over again- we can hit you anyway, anytime we want. What can you do?

- A stupid common man

A city under siege...

Starting around 9 30 pm n the night of 26th november 2008, terrorists held the city of Mumbai under siege. Even as i write this, the entire siege has not ended. Terrorists were reported to have been flushed out of the Taj colaba last night, but even as reoprts of the army and the nsg completing the de-sanitization process filtered in, fresh firing was heard and army sources confirmed to news channels that there was an injured terrorist, still inside the hotel. However, latest reports suggest that there are atleast 2 or 3 terrorists still hiding inside the Taj Colaba. Hostages, several in number are reported to have been trapped in there.

The Oberoi-Trident and nariman house were the other targets. The siege is still on at nariman house and at the Oberoi-Trident. Many police officers, including an Anti-Terror Squad Chief, an encounter specialist with the Mumbai police and a Deputy Inspector General have laid down their lives. More than 125 killed and not less than 320 injured, Mumbai is torn apart.

India has never been witness to such a dastardly act of terror on her soil. But even such attacks do not prove as a reminder to the men who matter. Such attacks fail to make our great leaders forget that India needs an extremely strong anti-terror mechanism. Mumbai has been targeted a number of times in the past few years. And yet there was no proper anti-terror mechanism in place. How can you have a bunch of terrorists, sauntering into a big city like Mumbai and wreaking havoc, after Mumbai has been hit several times? Shouldn't we have learnt our lessons the very 1st time that Mumbai was hit? Imagine, If this be the plight of Mumbai, the financial hub of India, which has been hit so many times, think of all the other cities.

Well, this is not over as yet, India has to learn its lessons soon. The Taj Colaba had been burning for more than 24 hours and yes, more than considerable damage must have been caused. No doubt, The Taj management would be looking to repair all damages within a short span of time and get on with business. Once the repairs have been done, Taj Colaba would represent what it was before the fire. People would obviously forget what happened. Taj can do a great service to the nation by not repairing the damages to its exterior. A damaged facade would prove as a constant reminder to people. This would make the people and the government realise the value of a life, especially the lives of those heroes who sacrificed theirs so that we may live in peace.

Now, the world has to gear up, not against fanatics who know to use guns, but against trained militants, who know the ways and methods of tactical fighting. These terrorists were armed to the teeth but they were not fanatics with guns, they knew how to cover up for each other and they knew their targets very well. What began as a shootout ran into a siege.

Coming to the points made by a certain gentleman on tv last night. He was very angry. His anger resembled the anger of a billion Indian lives. True. Very true. WIth GREAT ministers ruling us at the centre, we CERTAINLY WON'T ve any terror strikes. Politicians would 've swung into action if any of them were hit or killed on Dec 13. Innocent civlians don't matter to politicians till elections are announced. And even then India will remain India. STUPID COMMON MEN like us would vote these very back stabbers back to power,based on our stupid religieon, caste bias and all sorts of nonsense and once again these GREAT LEADERS are happy being self indulgent. At present India is not shining, India is bleeding, people.

Only GOD can save India. Mumbai, our prayers are with you......