Memories of Another day
While my Parents Pulin babu and Basanti devi were living
Thursday, December 4, 2008
US WAR Against Terror AFRESH Involving India As Well As Pakistan happems to Be the Latest BAILOUT Plan Amidst Global RECESSION! No SAFTEY, NOR SECURIT
US WAR Against Terror AFRESH Involving India As Well As Pakistan happems to Be the Latest BAILOUT Plan Amidst Global RECESSION! No SAFTEY, NOR SECURITY. No FREEDOM Nor SOVEREIGNITY, We, the PEOPLE Are Only SCAPEGOATS for the Galaxy Ruling Hegemony!
Mumbai attack: Indian American body working with Congress on giving proper response! US sets stage for strikes if Pak does not act!Us says advancing Indo-Pak ties best way to defeat Islamic terrorism!
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 117
Palash Biswas
Rice to Pakistan - Get tough on terror
.S. Secretary State Condoleezza Rice speaks during news conference in New Delhi December 3, 2008.REUTERS Vijay Mathur? of a>
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced trip to Pakistan on Thursday to urge the Pakistani government to take a "tough line" on terrorism in the wake of last week's militant attacks on Mumbai. Full Article | Full Coverage
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http://in.reuters.com/
Reuters Insight: The Pakistan factor
(01:20) Analysis
Dec. 4 - Walking a tight rope, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged Pakistan to take a hard line on terror while asking India to show restraint in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.
Why is Pakistan such a crucial factor for the United States?
Madhu Soman, Reuters Consumer Media Editor gives us an analysis.
Gunmen seen near CST on CCTV
(01:17) Rough Cut
Dec. 3 - Two gunmen are seen here roaming a parking lot near the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus on the night of Nov. 26 after a shooting spree inside the station that left more than 50 dead.
This CCTV footage was obtained by Reuters.
Rice's plea to Pakistan
(01:59) Report
Dec. 3 - The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged Pakistan to cooperate "fully and transparently" with investigations into the Mumbai attacks.
India has said most, if not all, of the 10 militants who rampaged through its financial capital were from Pakistan including the one survivor.
Rice cut short a visit to Europe and flew to India after last week's Mumbai attacks that killed at least 171 people.
She is expected to visit Pakistan as well.
Sonia Legg reports.
Mumbai carnage: India's 9/11?
(02:15) Report
Dec 3 - Attacks in India raise questions about whether India is facing its own 9/11, as US Secretary Rice offers support.
Exactly a week ago, militants armed with AK-47s and grenades let loose on two of the best-known luxury hotels and other landmarks across India's financial capital, during a 60-hour frenzy that ended when commandos killed 9 gunmen.
Deborah Lutterbeck reports.
Speaker:Robert Hathaway, Wilson Center
All measures taken to ensure safety at airports: govt
Press Trust of India - 1 hour ago
New Delhi, Dec 4 (PTI) As all major airports across the country continued to maintain high alert, Government today said all measures have been taken to ensure safety and security of passengers at airports following heightened threat perceptions.
Panel to work on Air India's joint venture proposal Hindu
Major airports on high alert after hijack threats Indian Express
Times of India - NDTV.com - IBNLive.com - BBC News
Times Online
Mumbai calling
Times of India - 34 minutes ago
Though the acceptance for Pakistanis in Mumbai is grim at the moment, Mikaal Zulfikar, the Pakistani actor, who played a terrorist in Jagmohan Mundhra’s Shoot On Sight, is determined to shift base to India.
India has proof ISI trained Mumbai attackers: Sources NDTV.com
Mumbai terror attack: Pakistan gives Condoleezza Rice pledge of ... Times Online
MSN India - Straits Times - Newspost Online - Hindu
all 1,670 news articles » हिन्दी में »
ITV.com
Did 'D' finger mumbai?
Times of India - 33 minutes ago
The Dawood Ibrahim bogey has raised its ugly head again in the wake of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai last week. Is the world’s most wanted terrorist really behind the city’s 26/11?
India seeks Dawood Ibrahim’s extradition Economic Times
Dawood Ibrahim Indian Express
Press Trust of India - NDTV.com - Hindu - IBNLive.com
all 703 news articles » हिन्दी में »
Voice of America
Big 3 ask for $34 billion to keep industry alive
MarketWatch - 1 hour ago
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Chastened leaders of the US automobile industry returned to Washington on Thursday to press their case for up to $34 billion in emergency loans to keep the industry alive.
Automakers try to sell Congress on rescue Thursday The Associated Press
Ahead of the Bell: Auto executives in Washington Forbes
Buffalo News - WCSH-TV - Reuters - Straits Times
all 416 news articles »
Telegraph.co.uk
Man said he warned Indian cops of activity
United Press International - 4 hours ago
MUMBAI, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A leader of a fishing community along the Indian coast says he warned Indian officials of suspicious arms activity months before the Mumbai assault.
Indian airports on high alert after fresh tip-off Sydney Morning Herald
Pakistan And Terror, Thailand's Crisis, and India's Security Council on Foreign Relations
New York Times - CBS News - Washington Post - PakTribune.com
all 2,452 news articles »
The Miami Herald
Mumbai terror attack: Pakistan gives Condoleezza Rice pledge of ...
Times Online - 54 minutes ago
Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, met Pakistani government and army leaders today and secured a pledge that they would take strong action against anyone involved in last week's attack on Mumbai.
Zardari vows 'strong action' on terrorists PRESS TV
Indian airports on high alert after new warning The Associated Press
Times of India - Xinhua - KVEW - Straits Times
all 1,682 news articles »
Arab League to support India in its fight against terrorism
New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) Amid rising tensions in Indo-Pak ties after the Mumbai attacks, the Arab League today extended support to New Delhi in its fight against terrorism saying there was a need to "stand firm" in tackling the menace.
Visiting Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa said every body should join hands to root out terrorism and piracy.
"This is a responsibility on our shoulders. All of us should stand firm against terrorism and against piracy," Moussa told PTI here.
His comments assume significance as international pressure on Pakistan is increasing after India accused that "some elements" in Pakistan were involved in the audacious attacks in Mumbai that left over 180 people dead.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has held consultation with a number of world leaders including his counterpart from the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan to prevent the escalation of the crisis.
Earlier, India and Arab League signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up of a joint forum for cooperation to enhance their ties in various fields including trade and commerce, culture and communication technology.
Talking about the forum at a joint press conference with Moussa, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said it will help both sides to "reinvigorate and diversify relations". PTI
Indo-Pak tension harmful for Kashmiris: Omar
UMAR MAQBOOL
Updated at 1530 hours IST
Sheeri (Varmul), Dec 3: The National Conference president, Omar Abdullah, on Wednesday said that mounting tension between India and Pakistan would hit the people of Kashmir directly.
“Hostility between the two countries would harm Kashmiris, who have been at the receiving end for past 20 years,” Omar said while addressing a gathering here in north Kashmir.
He urged India and Pakistan to work collectively. “ If both countries harden their stand it would prove disastrous,” he added.
http://www.greaterkashmir.com/latest_Story.asp?Date=3_12_2008&ItemID=5
Us says advancing Indo-Pak ties best way to defeat Islamic terrorism
Washington, Dec.1 (ANI): America is convinced that the best way to defeat Islamic terrorism is to advance Indian-Pakistani relations and to persuade Islamabad to fight the common enemy on its doorstep.
To this end, Pakistani troops are spearheading a counter-insurgency campaign in Pakistan’s tribal territories while US drones are targeting al-Qaeda leaders.
The counter-attack from the militants has two aims: first, undermine rapprochement between India and Pakistan by provoking a new conflict; secondly, divert Pakistani forces away from their tribal territories to redirect them to the common enemy, India.
If they achieve this second goal, it is likely that the US air campaign will be blunted. It would give the Taleban and their allies a freer hand to step up the violence against Afghanistan.
This weekend those responsible for the attack on Mumbai have cause to celebrate. Indian leaders, the media and the public are calling for revenge. The weakened Indian Government of Manmohan Singh, which faces reelection next year, is under growing pressure to act.
While Pakistani leaders have insisted they are not responsible, this will not convince many in the Indian security establishment. Through bitter experience, they are used to the authorities in Islamabad saying one thing and doing another. India expects Pakistan’s leadership to be responsible for the actions of all branches of its Government.
The only glimmer of hope in the depressing aftermath of last week’s carnage is that the West may be in a strong position to respond.
Obama had already identified the importance of improving Indian-Pakistani relations and resolving the dispute over Kashmir before last week’s attacks. He is committed to sending more forces to Afghanistan as American troops begin their withdrawal from Iraq. The incoming Obama administration has rightly been focused on the economic crisis. Foreign affairs must also now take priority. Mr Obama and his team will have to hit the ground running. (ANI)
Mkts cheer, Sensex regains 9,000 mark
The BSE Sensex provisionally rose 5.41 per cent on Thursday as slower-than-expected rise in inflation heightened expectations for an interest rate cut. Banking stocks led the gains.
The 30-share main BSE index provisionally closed 482.32 points higher at 9,229.75 with all its components rising.
The 50-share NSE index provisionally rose 131.55 points to 2,788.00.
US WAR Against Terror AFRESH Involving India As Well As Pakistan happems to Be the Latest BAILOUT Plan Amidst Global RECESSION! No SAFTEY, NOR SECURITY. No FREEDOM Nor SOVEREIGNITY, We, the PEOPLE Are Only SCAPEGOATS for the Galaxy Ruling Hegemony!In a blunt message to Pakistan, the USon Thursday asked it to investigate the "circumstances" under which Mumbai terror attacks were carried out and take the responsibility of dealing with non-state actors operating from its territory.
While the Indians will hear out the Americans and discuss various avenues of cooperation, including U.S. assistance in training and equipping Indian security forces, New Delhi is highly unlikely to accede to Washington’s request for calm and restraint. India just experienced its own 9/11. After an attack of such magnitude, the government has no choice but to respond, and that response inevitably will be felt in Pakistan. This is not only politically driven: Though the Indian government needs to demonstrate that it is taking action against this threat, it also has a core national security interest in ensuring that an attack like that in Mumbai cannot be repeated.Washington’s desire for restraint is understandable. The United States is shifting its military focus from Iraq to Afghanistan. For counterterrorism efforts to succeed in that theater, the United States needs to ensure, at the very least, that the Pakistani state is intact. But with a weak and fractured government, a military and intelligence establishment that has lost control, a spreading jihadist insurgency and an economy on the brink of bankruptcy, Pakistan is not in good shape. A military confrontation on its eastern border easily could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back in Islamabad, thereby frustrating U.S. military operations in the region and creating an even more fertile environment for jihadist activities in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and the wider world.
The fact that the U.S. economy is in the middle of a severe recession exacerbates some of the challenges. Therefore, before starting our note, it is worth commenting shortly on the first anniversary of the current U.S. recession. Now it is official, the U.S. economy fell in recession in December of 2007, as we expected. The definition of recession is not limited to two quarters of negative growth, it is more sophisticated than that. There are several indicators of economic activity that the National Bureau of Economic Activity (NBER) takes into consideration when analyzing business cycles – employment, income, real manufacturing and wholesale-retail trade sales, and industrial production.
After receiving inputs from intelligence agencies about possible aerial strikes by terrorists, airports in Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai were put on high alert on Wednesday night as the reports suggested that terrorists could have sneaked into India to carry out strikes on the anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid. This seems to be a classical example of the ruling hegemony to alienate the Minorities from the Mainstream. Element of Blind nationalism opens the Super Highway of Imperialism. The market Forces, FREEsenSEx, Corporates, MNCs, India Incs, Builders and Policy Makers as well as media and Politicians do evrything to ensure a WAR against Pakistan with US Green Signal overlooking the complex Implications for Future, Security and saftey of We, the Common People!
Is not this REPORT in itself classifying the Demography of Terror in this subcontinent. We have seen the protests by We, The People in Mumbai! We are reading and seing all types of outbirsts. Every Reprt, Every Follow up, Every Mass Mobilisation , without any failure targets the complex multi Ethnic Demography in this Subcontinent.
SIM cards used in Mumbai attack bought from Kolkata
Ten SIM cards were bought a month back from three different locations in Kolkata and sent to Pakistan via Bangladesh out of which three were used by Lashker-e-Taiba terrorists in the audacious Mumbai attack, investigations have revealed.
The SIM cards were purchased from Park Street and 24 Parganas (South) including Maheshtala in the name of Hossain-ur-Rahman and smuggled out of the country through Indo-Bangladesh border and then to Pakistan, official sources said.
The buyer of the pre-paid SIM cards had submitted forged election identity card as proof of residence bearing address as Bashirhat, near the Indo-Bangla border, they said, adding the agencies were trying to locate remaining seven SIM cards.
The Mumbai police and security agencies had recovered five SIM cards from the 10 terrorists involved in the November 26 attack at various places in Mumbai that left over 180 people dead and over 300 injured.
The pre-paid SIM cards -- two from Delhi and three from West Bengal -- were purchased only a month back and credited with Rs 5,000 each, the sources said.
Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman, the lone arrested terrorist, has told interrogators that right through the strikes, the LeT headquarters in Pakistan, remained very much in touch with them, frequently calling their mobile phones via a Voice-Over-Internet Protocol (VoIP), the codes of which were being deciphered by the FBI and Scotland Yard teams, camping in Mumbai.
Bangladesh militant group linked to Mumbai attack?
CNN-IBN
New Delhi: Security officials investigating last week’s terror attack on Mumbai have found leads in West Bengal.
Preliminary investigation suggests that at least three SIM cards recovered from the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai were bought from Mirza Ghalib Street in Kolkata.
Seven other SIM cards were bought in Maheshtala in 24 Parganas district. All the SIM cards were bought in the name of same person, Hossain-ur Rahman, a resident of Basirhat, a town in West Bengal right on the Indo-Bangla border.
Security officials tell CNN-IBN the possible involvement of Bangladesh-based militant group Harkat-ul-Jihadi or Huji is being probed extensively after the discovery of the SIM cards.
Huji has been cooperating with the Laskhar-e-Toiba, the Pakistan based terrorist group which is suspected of sending the terrorists who attacked Mumbai.
Interestingly, some time before the Mumbai blasts, the West Bengal police received information from the Tripura police that a gang of Huji militants had entered Bengal.
Another lead the investigators have got is a cell phone conversation intercept in end-November showed that a group of terrorists, possibly Huji, were discussing possible targets in Kolkata.
These included Nicco Park and Sector 5 IT hub in Kolkata and also the Victoria Memorial. Kolkata police sources say there's no reason to panic but they are taking the warning information seriously.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bangladesh-militant-group-linked-to-mumbai-attack/79726-3.html
International Relations | 04.12.2008
US Talks Tough With Pakistan on Mumbai Terror Attacks
Pressure is rising on Pakistan to take action against those responsible for terror attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai. India remained on high alert following hijacking warnings.
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Pakistan to mount a "robust response" to the serial terror attacks in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai last week.
India has claimed evidence of a Pakistani involvement in the attacks, which killed at least 188 people and wounded over 300. Islamabad has denied these claims.
Rice is in Pakistan after rounding up a one-day visit to India on Wednesday. She met with Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Kayani in Rawalpindi. Talks were also scheduled with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Rice has said she is satisfied with Pakistan’s readiness to help India with the probe into the attacks. "I have found the Pakistani leadership focused and committed to act," she told reporters.
Pressure on Pakistan to respond to Mumbai attacks
US pressure has been mounting on Pakistan to take concrete steps towards rooting out terror groups known to have a safe haven in the Islamic nation. A day before Rice’s visit, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen also visited Islamabad and urged Pakistan to "investigate aggressively" any links Pakistani groups may have to the Mumbai attacks.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Tensions are rising along the border.
Indian defense minister Pranab Mukherjee has warned that India is considering all options to deal with Pakistan if it does not act decisively. New Delhi has demanded the release of 20 terror suspects wanted by India, but Islamabad has refused to do so, demanding "tangible evidence."
Ties between the two long-time foes India and Pakistan have become further strained since the shootings, especially with India facing rising domestic pressure to take strong action against those responsible for the attacks. Already, there are military tensions along the Indo-Pakistan border.
The US fears the escalating tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad could be detrimental to their efforts to combat terrorism in Pakistan’s northwest.
India on high security alert
Meanwhile, security has been stepped up in India following the attacks. Airports in key cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore are on high alert following warnings from the Defense Ministry of the possibility of attacks using hijacked aircraft. "This is based on a warning which has been received by the government and we are prepared as usual," Air Chief Marshall Fali Major told reports. Fighter jets of the Indian Air Force are also on standby.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Pakistan Indien Neue Eiszeit Symbolfoto Flaggen Eiszapfen Grafik: DW / Olof Pock 01.12.2008
Government sources said the alert was issued after intelligence inputs that militants may have sneaked into India to hijack airplanes. The country’s Bureau of Civil Aviation Security said that said additional paramilitary troops had also been deployed to guard the country’s busiest international airports. Security has also been reinforced in smaller city airports like Chandigarh and Guwahati.
International travelers have been advised to arrive three hours before departures, and additional checks have been ordered for baggage and security.
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3848205,00.html
IBNLive reprts:
India unites, anti-terror marches across country!
Tens of thousands of people across the country poured into the streets and held candle-light vigils and peace marches on Wednesday evening in a spontaneous show of solidarity with residents of terror-ravaged Mumbai which saw an unprecedented turnout at Gateway of India voicing their anger against the politicians.
Shouting slogans, people gathered in Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, near Cubbon park in Bangalore, War Memorial in Secunderabad and at the Maidan and College street in Kolkata, Lucknow and Chennai as Mumbai emerged from the pall of shock and grief that hung over the city since the 26/11 attacks that claimed more than 200 lives.
Posters and placards vividly captured the anger and concern as young and old, women and children thronged the iconic red sandstone Gateway to India opposite the Taj Mahal Hotel which along with Trident-Oberoi Hotel, Nariman House, cafe Leopold and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Station bore the brunt of last Wednesday's terror attacks.
"Enough of terrorism", "Let us kill terrorism Halla Boll!", "Politicians get out" and "We want acations not words" were some of the messages conveyed in banners and placards.
"We have never seen such a show of solidarity for a single cause at the Gateway of India," said Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar, as white candles were lit around a wreath of red roses laid on the cobbled plaza of the harbourfront structure.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/india-unites-antiterror-marches-across-country/79654-3-1.html
How India may be UNITED dividing the Indigenous DEMOGRAPHY Vertically and Invoking HINDUTVA Dominant Blind Nationalism?
India has proof that the Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI was behind the deadly Mumbai attacks. Sources have told NDTV that ISI trained the attackers.
Not only United States of Ameriaca, Russia is also very KEEN to HELP India! Why?The signing of a civil nuclear accord is set to dominate Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's maiden visit to India starting Thursday. But in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, the spotlight has now turned on counter-terrorism cooperation. Medvedev will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday on a wide spectrum of bilateral, regional and global issues, including civil nuclear cooperation, counter-terrorism and the intensification of economic, energy and defence ties between the two strategic partners who have enjoyed strain-free ties for decades.
A pact on civil nuclear cooperation, that envisages Russia building four additional reactors at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu, will be inked Friday in the presence of the two leaders.
A wide-ranging protocol on cooperation in trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural sectors is also expected to be signed. Manmohan Singh will thank Russia for its unflinching support in ending India's nuclear isolation at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), official sources said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday offered "full-fledged cooperation" to India in combating terrorism and investigating the deadly Mumbai strikes.
"We are ready for a full-fledged cooperation on all counter-terrorism issues with India," Medvedev, who is arriving in India tonight for a three-day official visit, said in an interview to Doordarshan.
Describing India as a "special country", the Russian President said: "We do have very good and friendly partnership, it is strategic relationship".
Medvedev termed terrorism as a "common threat", saying Russia has repeatedly faced this problem.
"We are ready to help our Indian friends in countering terrorism, it is a common threat," he said.
"We all sympathise with the Indian people, with all those in the plight, and we believe that such terrorist raids are extremely dangerous: they destroy peace and order, and, unfortunately, take a lot of lives. This is what happened in Mumbai," he said.
The Russian President suggested to set up a global system of protection against terrorism.
"We stand ready for cooperation in all areas with a view to preventing such acts of terrorism, investigating the recent attack, and establishing a global system of protection against terrorism," he said.
At least 183 people, including foreigners and security personnel were killed in the Mumbai terror attacks targeting various locations in the city including two luxury hotels and a Jewish residential complex.
ZEENEWS reports:
Lashkar, ISI involved in Mumbai terror: US
Zeenews Bureau
Islamabad, Dec 04: US told Pakistan it has evidence of LeT’s involvement in last week’s Mumbai terror attacks and that it should arrest its chief Hafeez Sayeed.
Sources close to the talks between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Pakistan leadership have revealed that US has shared evidence of LeT’s involvement in the attacks that killed 200 and injured over 300.
Pakistan has also been told that it was hard to believe the country’s armed forces, including the ISI, were not in the know of the ghastly terror operation.
A veteran CIA analyst also claimed earlier in the day that Mumbai attackers had ISI links.
"If there's anything that is a 64 million dollar question today," it is finding out the "extent of its(LeT) current ties to the Pakistani intelligence service(Inter Services Intelligence)," said Bruce Riedel in Washington.
Meanwhile Indian authorities have claimed that they have ‘incontrovertible’ proof about ISI involvement in the attacks. Sleuths are aware of who trained the 10 terrorists and where the training took place in Pakistan. This and other pieces of evidence have been shared with the US, sources reveal.
Evidence collected in probes so far has pointed to two members of outlawed Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Taiba as masterminds in the attacks, according to two officials familiar with the matter.
The men, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Yusuf Muzammil, are believed to be in Pakistan, the officials said. Lakhvi was identified as the group's operations chief and Muzammil as its operations chief in Kashmir and other parts of India.
The lone surviving gunman in the assault, Ajmal Amir Kasab, 21, told police Lakhvi recruited him for the operation, and the assailants called Muzammil on a satellite phone after hijacking an Indian vessel en route to Mumbai. During the attacks, the gunmen used mobile phones taken from hotel guests to place calls to Lahore.
But it has come to light that the US knows more about the attacks that earlier thought. Its troops being stationed in Pakistan, the US has reportedly got more evidence about Pakistan’s role. It is aware of the exact route that the terrorists took from Karachi to Mumbai and the same has been shared with Pakistani authorities.
http://www.zeenews.com/nation/2008-12-04/488366news.html
Now , we have to belive CIA!
Picking holes in President Asif Ali Zardari's claim that Mumbai terror strike was executed by "non-state actors", a veteran CIA analyst says Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e- Taiba(LeT) blamed for the unprecedented attack has links with Pakistan's ISI.
"If there's anything that is a 64 million dollar question today," it is finding out the "extent of its(LeT) current ties to the Pakistani intelligence service(Inter Services Intelligence)," said Bruce Riedel at a discussion hosted by Brookings Institution on "Mumbai Terrorist Attacks: A Challenge for India and the World."
Contesting the Pakistani government's denials that its intelligence agency has no links to LeT, Riedel said it is difficult to believe the Pakistani government's assertions "given the size of its(LeT) activities in Pakistan."
The Mumbai terror plot was carried out by "professionals, who were trained by professionals who were given a professional plan", Riedel said, adding there was clearly considerable planning involved over a protracted period of time and that the attacks "were not a plot by amateurs or by a pick-up group."
Riedel's assessment on "professionals" being involved reinforced the assertion by Mumbai police that ex-Army professionals had trained the terrorists involved in last week's terror attack that claimed nearly 200 lives.
The New York Times in a report quoting unnamed Pentagon officials that retired and/or former Pakistani military officials were behind the training of the LeT cadres who carried out the Mumbai attack.
"This was an extraordinarily sophisticated and complex plot that had numerous moving parts and which was executed with -- one has to admit -- a tremendous amount of skill by very well trained terrorists," Riedel said.
As India re-stated its right to use ‘all the means at our disposal’ to protect itself, the US on Wednesday warned Delhi of ‘unintended consequences’ of a military strike against Pakistan-based terror camps. “Any response need to be judged by its effectiveness in prevention (against attacks in the future) and also by not creating other, unintended consequences,” US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters after a meeting with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Mukherjee said the Indian response would depend on the reply it gets on the protest note it delivered to the Pakistan envoy in Delhi demanding that fugitives in an Indian list of about 20 — including Dawood Ibrahim — be handed over. In a television interview, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has virtually turned down the Indian demand.
Mukherjee said that after Delhi hears — officially — from Islamabad, ‘whatever the Government will consider necessary to protect its territorial integrity, safety and security of its citizens, the Government will do that.’ Clearly, the US doesn’t want India to exercise the ‘military option’ but it has made it clear that it would lean on Pakistan to deliver on its ‘commitment’ to cooperate in bringing those who struck in Mumbai to justice.
Rice talked tough on Pakistan’s responsibility to cooperate with India in tracking down the terrorists making it clear that Islamabad could not be absolved of its responsibility even if ‘nonstate actors’ were involved. Even they had to be tackled in a ‘very direct and tough’ manner, she said. This was in reference to Pakistan President Zardari’s remark in a recent interview that the attacks could be the work of non-state actors based on Pakistani territory.
Rice is likely to travel to Pakistan in a few days. “I informed Rice that there is no doubt that terrorist attacks in Mumbai were perpetrated by individuals who came from Pakistan and whose controllers are in Pakistan,” Mukherjee said.
Mukherjee also briefed Rice about discussions with Pakistan ‘and our expectations of cooperation from them to ensure that terrorists and organisations who perpetrated these attacks are arrested and brought to justice.’ “We expect all friendly governments and the international community to ensure that this happens,” he said. “India is determined to act decisively to protect India’s territorial integrity and the right of our citizens to a peaceful life with all the means at our disposal,” Mukherjee said.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced trip to Pakistan on Thursday to urge the Pakistani government to take a "tough line" on terrorism in the wake of last week's militant attacks on Mumbai.
"The global threat of extremism and terrorism has to be met by all states, taking a very tough and hard line, and so that is what I am going to discuss," Rice told reporters travelling with her from New Delhi to Islamabad.
"Pakistan has to determine its own response here. It just needs to be a robust response and it needs to be effective," she said.
Rice was going to meet army chief General Ashfaq Kayani first at army headquarters in Rawalpindi, before holding talks with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, the leaders of an eight-month-old civilian government.
She said she was not acting as a go-between with New Delhi, and said the onus was on the Pakistani leadership "as a whole" to tackle the threat of terrorism.
"I am going there to talk about a Pakistani response, not to carry messages," she said. "This is not a matter of the international community somehow in juxtaposition, or against, the Pakistani government."
Rice's visit to Islamabad followed one by the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, on Wednesday.
America's top military officer urged Pakistan to investigate all possible links between the Mumbai attacks.
In a thinly veiled reference to the Kashmir-focussed militants suspected of carrying out the attack on Mumbai, Mullen also encouraged Pakistan to act against jihadi groups everywhere, not just in regions bordering Afghanistan, where Pakistani security forces have been fighting tribal militants, the Taliban and al Qaeda.
Rice met Mullen for breakfast in New Delhi, to hear his impressions from meetings with Pakistani officials.
"He really, I think, got a sense of the commitment of the Pakistani government to the public messages that they have been issuing," Rice said.
Pakistan has condemned the assault, denied any involvement by state agencies and vowed to work with India in the investigation.
A confrontation between the South Asian rivals would undermine U.S.-led efforts to bring stability to Afghanistan and defeat al Qaeda.
Pakistani security officials have said they could feel forced to abandon the campaign against militancy and take forces away from the Afghan border, where they are fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban, and move them to the Indian border if tension increases.
India remained vulnerable to global financial and economic developments and a period of painful adjustment was inevitable, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Thursday in his first comments since last week's deadly attacks on Mumbai. Speaking at the southern city of Hyderabad, Subbarao said the economic fundamentals were strong but the outlook for India was mixed and there was evidence of activity slowing down.
US President-elect Barack Obama said India had every right to go after terrorists to protect itself like any sovereign nation, as the Bush Administration implored Pakistan to realise the ‘seriousness’ of the unprecedented Mumbai terror attacks.
With Obama and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pushing Pakistan hard to fully cooperate with India in the ongoing probe into the attacks, the President-elect said his administration will remain steadfast in support of India's efforts to catch the perpetrators of the strikes and bring them to justice.
"And I expect that the world community will feel the same way," he said while announcing at a news conference in Chicago that Hillary Clinton will be his Secretary of State. Obama said he expected Islamabad to fully cooperate with New Delhi in the investigations.
Oil fell below $46 a barrel to near four-year lows on Thursday, extending four consecutive days of falls as continued demand worries minimised bullish draws in US oil stocks.Oil prices have lost more than $100 a barrel since an all-time high of $147.27 hit in July, and some 16 per cent from last week, as demand is seen weakening worldwide and analysts expect it to contract this year and next.
Maharashtra was minus a Chief Minister on Wednesday night after the Congress leadership accepted the resignation of Vilasrao Deshmukh but delayed a decision on his replacement.
indian Foreign Minister PRANAB Mukherjee, first BRAHMIN at heart and mind could not hide his Pleasure with this development just before the RICE VISIT, an unprecedented Interference in Biliteral Realtions inthis Subcontinent!
Ahead of her visit to New Delhi on Wednesday ,Rice at a Round Table in London refused to speculate on how the government of India will respond but said it is ‘incumbent’ on Pakistan to realise the seriousness of what has happened. Rice also wanted Islamabad to fully cooperate with the probe. India has proof that ISI was involved in planning the Mumbai terror attacks and training the terrorists who killed 183 people during a 60-hour siege of the country's financial capital, sources said. The names of trainers and the places where meticulous training took place are also known to the government, the sources said. The United States is believed to have even more evidence some of which it has shared with India, they said.
Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, who was in Pakistan on Wednesday, is believed to have told his Pakistani interlocutors that Washington had enough evidence to show a Pakistani hand in the attack, the sources said. Sources also refuse to believe that the Pakistani army did not have knowledge of the Mumbai operation given that ISI is controlled by it.At the same time, sources do not believe that the civilian government in Pakistan is involved in the attack. In fact, one view is that the civilian government itself may be a target of the strike which may be used by the army to heighten tensions with India to return to power.
Washington has asked Pakistan to crackdown on Lashkar-e-Toiba, which now goes under the name of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and to arrest its chief Hafeez Mohd Saeed because it has evidence of their involvement in the attack, the sources said.
The attack was planned, equipped and organised in Pakistan where the terrorists were trained and provided logistical support.
Contrary to the version that the terrorists used a hijacked Indian fishing boat to reach Mumbai after sailing from Karachi, the view is that much more sophisticated means were used.
The sources spoke of a clear disconnect between the Pakistani civilian government and the all-powerful military establishment, which is causing difficulties for India in dealing with the situation.
Islamabad's about-turn on sending the Director General of ISI to India is cited as an instance of this disconnect.
During a telephone conversation Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after the Mumbai attack, President Asif Zardari had referred to an earlier Pakistani proposal for a meeting between the ISI chief and the head of India's external intelligence agency, RAW.
Singh told Zardari that this was acceptable to India, after which Pakistan government had announced that the ISI head would travel to India.
After a post-midnight call on Zardari by Army chief Gen Ashfaque Kayani this decision was reversed with the President taking cover under a ‘miscommunication’ with the Indian Prime Minister.
Instead it was decided to depute a Director-level officer to India.
When the terror attack took place Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was in India and had consciously decided not to cut short his visit. However, the Indian government was told at 2.30 am that a special aircraft was being sent less than 4 hours later to take him back to Pakistan.
In what observers see as a clear message to the civilian government, the Pakistan army chief's plane was sent to Delhi to pick up Qureshi, who boarded the flight around 7 am.
The US's insistence that Pakistan take strong action against those responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks has ‘aligned’ Washington more closely with the Indian position, but it is unlikely to coax Islamabad to oblige, a media report said on Thursday.
"The US is calling on Pakistan to arrest and turn over to India at least some of the suspects in the Mumbai terrorist bombing, aligning the US more closely with a key Indian position," the ‘Wall Street Journal’ said in an analytical piece.
"But Pakistan is unlikely to oblige amid escalating tensions between the nuclear armed South Asian adversaries," it added.
The Indian government is under a lot of pressure from the public for not doing more to prevent this attack, the paper said quoting an unnamed diplomat.
"And they need for their political purposes to point to something demonstratively that's been done," the diplomat said, adding, ‘an arrest by Pakistan is a big statement. Ideally there'd be some sort of extradition to India.’
US officials were also quoted as saying that many of the 20 people sought by India from Pakistan aren't linked to the Mumbai attacks and New Delhi shouldn't force Islamabad into a position where it can't make concessions.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan's ambassador to the US, Said T Jawad, told the ‘Journal’ that intelligence gathered after the attacks has linked the ISI to the Mumbai bombings.
Calls were placed from a satellite phone left behind by the attackers to ‘people who were known ISI members or had very strong ties with the ISI,’ said the ambassador.
He also said there is evidence linking Yusuf Muzammil, the man identified by India as the attacks' chief organiser, to the ISI, but did not provide details.
Bombay HC notices Maharashtra, Centre on terror PILs
The Bombay High Court on Thursday issued notices to Maharashtra and Central governments asking them to file affidavits explaining the steps taken or to be taken to prevent terrorist attacks in future.
`Intelligence agencies fell for terrorists` deception`The directive came in response to two PILs filed in wake of the November 26 attacks in the metropolis that killed 170 persons and injured over 300.
"Please examine whether constitutional rights to life also cover right to live with safety and a sense of security," a bench headed by Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar said.
In an apparent reference to media coverage of the terror strikes, the Chief Justice said exposition of security plan by "media" had gone too far. It would be an issue to be examined in one of the PILs, he said.
The PIL filed by advocate V P Patil alleges that there was a systemic failure which allowed the terror attacks to happen. Another PIL, filed by Society of India's Law Firms, sought setting up of a citizens committee to tackle the menace of terrorism.
The court has given the state and union governments two weeks time to file their replies.
Muslims condemn Mumbai terror attacks, call for Black Eid
Strongly condemning the terror attacks in Mumbai, a group of eminent Muslims from all walks of life on Thursday appealed to the community members in the country to observe Black Eid on Tuesday.
Signatories to the appeal include actors Amir Khan, Sanjay Khan and Javed Jaffery, cricketers Azharuddin and Sayed Kirmani, filmmakers Aziz Mirza, Abbas Mastan, Sayeed Mirza, poet and writer Javed Akhtar, script writer Salim Khan and senior editor M J Akbar along with a large number of other personalities from theatre, journalism, police and sports.
The appeal has been endorsed by a number of Muslim clerics including those from All India Organisation of Imams of Mosques, Dar-ul-uloom Wariseya, Lucknow and Ameen-i-Shariat Education Trust, Gujarat.
"As a mark of protest, we the Muslims of India call our community to come together to mark a symbolic protest on Eid-uz-Zuha on Tuesday (December 08). This is a day that celebrates sacrifice. This year, let us turn this celebration into a commemoration," a joint press release issued by them said.
"Let all Indian Muslims wear a small black arm band while going to pray in the morning, let this be a silent protest against the mercenaries, who spread terror in our Janm Bhoomi," the appeal said.
"We the Muslims of India condemn terror in every land. We condemn terror in every divisive form. We condemn terror in every appalling manifestation. We condemn it, we denounce it, we damn it. Each act of terror on the Indian soil does not just injure our motherland, it also besmirches the name of Islam," the signatories said.
One of the signatories, Maulana Kalbe Rosahir Rizvi, said, "We implore Muslim clerics and Imams of mosques all over India to request their congregation during the Friday prayers to wear black bands of Eid."
US sets stage for strikes if Pak does not act
4 Dec 2008, 1442 hrs IST, TNN
WASHINGTON: The United States has set the stage for punitive internationally-backed strikes by India against terrorist camps in Pakistan, if
Islamabad does not act first to dismantle them, by rejecting President Zardari’s alibi that non-state actors were responsible for the last week’s carnage in Mumbai.
The game-changer, outlined by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, among others, robs Islamabad of the fig leaf that Zardari used in his interview on Larry King Live that ''stateless actors'' are holding the whole world hostage and Pakistan was not to blame. Rice said in effect that the excuse does not absolve Pakistan responsibility for terrorist acts that originate from its territory.
Although US officials have not outright approved immediate punitive Indian strikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan, it is clear Rice has bought time for Islamabad to prove its bonafides and promise of cooperation. Pakistan has a ''special responsibility'' and needs to act ''urgently'' she said, even as India has indicated it will wait for a Pakistani response to its demands before any punitive action.
In Washington, experts pressed the administration to expand the scope of punitive strikes to an international level to avoid making it an India-Pakistan issue, particularly since the death toll included citizens of 10 countries.
''Rather than simply begging the Indians to show restraint, a better option could be to internationalise the response. Have the international community declare that parts of Pakistan have become ungovernable and a menace to international security,'' Robert Kagan, an influential analyst with the Carnegie Endowment, said.
''Would such an action (strikes) violate Pakistan's sovereignty?'' Kagan asked in an op-ed, and answered, ''Yes, but nations should not be able to claim sovereign rights when they cannot control territory from which terrorist attacks are launched.'' Rice echoed this outlook more discreetly and cautiously.
Pakistan's civilian government has sought to portray its helplessness in governing its own territory. In fact, in a startling slip noted by the Economist, Zardari said in a television interview last week that ''if any evidence points towards any individual or group in MY PART OF THE COUNTRY,'' he would take action. The implication, it said, was Pakistan was already severed if with parts of the country out of federal control.
While US position towards Pakistan has hardened perceptibly after the Mumbai attack, Indian officials are still leery about Washington’s approach. The hard part to swallow for New Delhi is that the Bush administration, while pushing for a strategic relationship with India, has bankrolled what some are already dubbing a terrorist state to the tune of $ 10 billion since 2002. Most of the money, according to the US government’s own audit, has gone towards building Pakistan's military muscle against India.
On Tuesday, even as Rice counselled patience and restraint in New Delhi, India’s Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon made the rounds in Washington, explaining India’s position and the growing anger across the country after Pakistan’s latest provocation.
Menon packed more than a dozen meetings, including with former intelligence czar and Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, Under Secretary of State William Burns, House speaker Nancy Pelosi and several top lawmakers as Washington struggled to contain Indian outrage. New Delhi’s message was uniform: India’s patience is wearing thin.
The Indian Embassy said later that ''unequivocal condemnation of the (Mumbai) incident and the need for the perpetrators to be held accountable was reiterated,'' at the meetings. It was also indicated that there would be full cooperation and support at various levels, including government, from the US to India as it dealt with the consequences of the incident, it added.
From all accounts, India too appears to be preparing ground for punitive action if Pakistan fails to respond and act adequately.
Rice will proceed to Islamabad on Thursday to read the riot act while U.S Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen is expected to arrive in New Delhi as part of US playbook to keep a stream of visitors in the region in order to prevent outbreak of immediate hostilities.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/US_sets_stage_for_strikes_if_Pak_does_not_act/articleshow/3792440.cms
Mumbai attack: Indian American body working with Congress on giving proper response
4 Dec 2008, 1857 hrs IST, AGENCIES
WASHINGTON: The US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) continues to lead the Indian American community's response to terrorist attacks in
Mumbai.
The USINPAC, the political voice of 2.5 million Indian-Americans which provides bipartisan support to candidates for federal, state and local office, is working with several key Members of Congress to ensure the US responds properly to the attacks.
USINPAC has spoken with Rep. Steve Israel, a member of the influential House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs,about US-India counter-terrorism legislation.
He has said that he is currently drafting it and an upcoming Congressional Resolution that will condemn the attacks.
The USINPAC is also planning a highly anticipated Congressional briefing next week.
"USINPACwill be working with Congress every step of the way,including gaining support for next week's Congressional Resolution condemning the attacks, and providing updated information and analysis to key decision makers in the US and India," said Sanjay Puri, Chairman of USINPAC.
"Congress is relying heavily on USINPAC because we have a proven expertise on US-India relations and terrorism against India," continued Puri.
"We are constantly monitoring what is happening in India,Pakistan, and the US so we can brief Congress with the most reliable and relevant information on the attacks," he said.
USINPAC is circulating a petition calling for changes in US aid to Pakistan to be signed by Indian Americans across the country and will then present the petition to Congress.
Many members of Congress have issued statements condemning the attacks, offering condolences to the victims and their families,and promising to continue to work with USINPAC to advance US-India relations and combat terrorism.
Avoid re-runs of Mumbai terror attack on TV: I & B ministry
New Delhi, Dec 4 (PTI) The government today directed TV channels not to broadcast scenes of the Mumbai terror attack as it may evoke strong sentiments among those affected by it.
"Gory scenes should not be shown, tragedy should not be replayed," said the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in its advisory adding, "media has a great role to play to ensure return of normalcy." Following a meeting late last night, Information and Broadcasting Ministry officials decided to send an advisory to all television channels which included certain guidelines regarding coverage of the Mumbai terror attacks.
The advisory sought an assurance that channels would avoid running stories pertaining to the recent attacks, which might make the terrorists feel that their operation was successful.
The live coverage of terror attacks in Mumbai last week saw the viewership of 24-hour news channels jump 180 per cent, according to Television Audience Measurement (TAM) data for the week ended November 29, 2008.
Explaining the kind of coverage sought by the ministry, the advisory stated: "News coverage pertaining to the event should project that India is not demoralised and has risen despite all terrorist attacks as normalcy has been restored. News coverage should project that India is a global power which has full support of the international community." The advisory also mentioned that media is a harbinger of peace and normalcy and should not promote "insecurity". The official note from the ministry carries a strong message for the media to adhere to self-regulation. PTI
LeT, Qaida's implementing arm?
4 Dec 2008, 1317 hrs IST, Times Now
NEW DELHI: Though the Mumbai attacks trail has so far not proceeded beyond Lashkar-e-Taiba , the possibility of the involvement of al-Qaida in the
terror outrage is not being ruled out given targeting of westerners and the lack of any effort to cover up the Pakistani origins of the terrorists.
Al- Qaida was suspected the very day the attacks unfolded given the audacious planning and the terror extravaganza the planners clearly envisaged. The jihadist vision behind the ‘‘ shock and awe’ ’ scheme to terrorise Mumbai seemed to bear the hallmark of an al-Qaida operation. Subsequently, the interrogation of captured terrorist Ajmal has established the role of LeT’s senior commanders and while no evidence of any other group has emerged so far, intelligence sources are not discounting the hand of al-Qaida as the intention of the terrorists was to make a global impact.
While LeT has the strong backing of ISI, it is not clear whether the covert agency would play an active part in an attack that targets US citizens. With its deep links with LeT, the agency might have had more than a whiff of what was being planned, but might have chosen to keep in the background . The plot, it is felt, might well have seen the involvement of al-Qaida .
Intercepts picked up by Research and Analysis Wing before the attacks pointed to a Lashkar strike, even though they were also not as specific as some quarters have claimed. RAW did not make the connection between the September 18 warning of Mumbai hotels being likely targets and the November 19 advisory of a Lashkar ship headed to India. It is not clear whether the September warning was repeated or upgraded at any point.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/LeT_Qaidas_implementing_arm/articleshow/3791991.cms
India to add 1500 MW of nuclear power in 2009: Kakodkar
New Delhi, Dec 04: India is expected to add another 1,500 MW of nuclear power to the national grid in 2009, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar said here on Thursday.
"Two-three nuclear power units will be connected to the national grid next year which would add about 1,500 MW power," he told reporters on the sidelines of India Power Forum here.
Currently, the country has capacity to generate 4,120 MW of nuclear power but due to shortage of nuclear fuel most of the units are running a little over half their capacity.
Kakodkar said the situation will improve with India entering into civil nuclear cooperation agreements with several countries including the US, France and Russia.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), which has the mandate to run atomic power plants in the country, is also exploring joint ventures with domestic industries to set up nuclear plants.
He said the country aims to generate 20,000 MW of nuclear power by 2020, of which half of it would come from indigenously developed Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR).
"We aim to produce 10,000 MW through PHWRs, about 5,000 MW through imported reactors and about 2,500 MW through Fast Breeder Reactors," Kakodkar said.
On expansion of the nuclear industry in the country, Power Secretary Anil Razdan said state-run companies like the National Thermal Power Corporation can enter into a joint venture with NPCIL to set up one or two nuclear power plants to gain experience in the sector before making an independent foray.
http://www.zeenews.com/nation/2008-12-04/488375news.html
Home ministry working on modalities for federal agency
New Delhi, Dec 04: The Union home ministry is working out modalities for setting up a federal investigation agency as mooted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a senior Cabinet Minister has said.
"Security is a great national concern. Home Minister (P Chidambaram) is seized of the matter," Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters today.
He was replying to a question on how far the government has moved on in setting up the federal agency as announced by Singh in his national broadcast in the wake of Mumbai terror strikes.
"I can assure you that each of those policy statements that the Prime Minister committed to the nation shall be implemented as soon as possible. Time is of essence," he said.
Sibal said the exact modalities of the implementation of these commitments were being worked out by the Home Ministry.
"It will be done. It is our commitment. Government wants to convey to the people that we will do all that we can to ensure that future safety is not jeopardised," he said.
Besides setting up of a federal agency, the Prime Minister had announced strengthening of air and maritime security, creation of four NSG hubs and a legal framework to take on terrorism.
http://www.zeenews.com/nation/2008-12-04/488371news.html
Obama faces uphill battle to combat job loss
US President-elect Barack Obama is rounding up experts as quickly as possible to confront America's economic crisis but people caught up in the nation's employment downturn don't see an improvement any time soon.
Just days after Obama was elected on a message of hope and change, government data showed US employers cut 240,000 jobs in October, taking the national unemployment rate to a 14-year high 6.5 per cent. So far this year, 1.2 million jobs have been lost -- 651,000 of them in the past three months.
In America's industrial heartland, the numbers translate to thousands of people desperate for retraining, new careers, fresh advice and just a little hope -- the kind of people who line up to see Carlos Cisneros every Tuesday and Wednesday.
"They're desperate," said Cisneros, describing some 3,000 unemployed people who have flocked to his program at Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan, since August 2007.
Twice a week, 22 anxious people are admitted to orientation sessions that Cisneros oversees and then spend two hours trying to find a job retraining program that fits.
While residents of long-suffering Michigan -- home to America's failing auto industry -- used to at least have the option of moving away to find work, America's deep economic gloom has left job-seekers bleak everywhere.
"A couple years ago they could go south and have a good chance at finding work," Cisneros said. "Now where can they go? They used to be frustrated but now they're scared."
Does the election of Democrat Obama, who pledged to help the middle class weather job loss and the high cost of health care and tuition, give Cisneros more hope for the future?
"We wish him nothing but the best," Cisneros said. "But I don't expect us to be out of this for a while -- longer than a year. I only hope by 2010 we'll start seeing some changes."
Economists, too, see higher unemployment ahead.
"I don't see any improvement in job market for the entire year of 2009," said Michael Walden, an economics professor at North Carolina State University. "We're looking at unemployment rate at 8 to 8.5 per cent and a million or a million and half more people out of work in 2009."
LOWER EXPECTATIONS?
Walden said Obama has no choice but to quickly start ramping down expectations so supporters are not disappointed.
"He will need to communicate to people that we have severe economic problems that will take time, that there will not be an easy switch to throw to make everything fine," Walden said.
But those who helped Obama to victory, including labor unions, argue there is much Obama and the Democratic Congress can do to at least limit job losses in the year to come.
"Our expectations are very high," said Ron Blackwell, chief economist of the AFL-CIO umbrella group for labor unions. "That's why we supported Barack Obama."
The group wants Congress to pass another economic stimulus package before Obama takes office in January that would extend unemployment insurance benefits, increase food subsidies to the poor, help state and local governments that cannot afford to continue programs for the needy, and invest in an infrastructure rebuilding program to create jobs.
Blackwell said the scope of future job losses will depend on how timely and aggressive Obama and the US Congress are.
"I'm confident Barack Obama will meet those goals but it does depend on a program that is much more ambitious than what has been contemplated to this point," Blackwell said.
Jared Bernstein, an economist at the liberal Economic Policy Institute, said the measures Obama takes could mean the difference between an unemployment rate of 8 per cent or higher a year from now, or one closer to 7 per cent.
"It's not like he's a helpless victim of a weak economy -- there are things he can do," Bernstein said as he headed to Chicago to attend Obama's meeting with economic advisers on Friday. He noted that extending the duration of unemployment insurance benefits has a direct impact on economic growth.
Jobless workers can get up to 26 weeks of unemployment insurance. Benefits have already been extended once.
The US economy shrank at a 0.3 per cent annual rate in the third quarter, its sharpest contraction in seven years. Economists polled by Reuters think that was just the first of what will be three straight quarters of contraction -- which would be the longest slide in 34 years.
Bernstein said that means even though Obama can limit job losses with aggressive policy, he can't erase the problem.
"Once he does everything, that doesn't mean we're out of the woods," Bernstein said. "He's inherited a recession, potentially a deep and long one -- something I wouldn't wish on any new president."
Nine years later, Kandahar victims to get compensation
Justice has finally been delivered to the 174 passengers who had boarded the Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi that was
hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan nine years ago. A consumer court here on Thursday asked the Indian airlines to pay compensation to all on board.
The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission headed by Justice J.D. Kapoor awarded a Rs 10 million compensation for the agony and trauma suffered by those who survived and Rs 500,000 to the legal heirs of the passenger who was killed by the terrorists.
The Indian Airlines flight IC-814 was hijacked Dec 24, 1999 and taken to Kandahar, where the passengers were held hostage till Dec 31, when then foreign minister Jaswant Singh reached Kandahar and handed over the three prisoners the terrorist had demanded to be released in exchange.
One of the passengers, Rupin Katyal, was killed by the hijackers during the captivity.
Justice Kapoor said every passenger on board the ill-fated aircraft was entitled to compensation in terms of Section 14(1)(h)(b) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, as they all had suffered the same degree of injury and agony.
The court passed this order on an appeal filed by Ashok Gupta and his wife who were among the passengers.
The Indian Airlines had denied compensation to these passengers by invoking Rule 17 of the Carriage By Air Act, 1972 providing that the carrier is liable for damage sustained in the event of death or wounding of a passenger or any other bodily injury suffered by a passenger if the accident that caused the damage took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking.
The aircraft was hijacked while it was near Lucknow and was taken to Amritsar where it was allowed to refuel and then it landed at Kandahar where Gupta and his wife along with other passengers and crew remained captive for eight days.
Just Read an editorial in Dalit Voice:
Hindu hate-mongers in mourning over Obama victory : Will they tolerate Mayawati as Dalit PM ?
White racists and Jews in America might have made history by electing a Black President, Barack Obama, but will Hindu India’s Brahminical racists ever allow a Black Untouchable to be India’s Prime Minister? Never, ever. Just as they elevated a hen-pecked Muslim, Abdul Kalam, to the powerless Presidentship, they may promote Mayawati as a nam ke waste- Prime Minister with her hands and legs tied and all the wings clipped.
India being the world’s original home of racism, the biggest hurdle here is the caste. A Dalit PM candidate would not get even a fraction of support that Obama got.
Jagjivan Ram case: Long ago we had tested Hindu India’s double-distilled racism when Babu Jagjivan Ram was snubbed for aspiring to be the PM.
The Chamar from Bihar was then Hindu India’s ablest administrator, parliamentarian and yet a big chamcha of the Congress, the original Brahminical party of India. But when he died, the “holy” Brahmins of Delhi asked his body to be removed to his native Bihar village —saying that if it was cremated along with the “national heroes” the capital city would get polluted. That is the depth of hate created in Hindu India by our toxic Brahmins.
Mourning in Delhi: This hate-filled, caste-divided Hindu India is so much against Black color that you can imagine the horror that Obama produces among the holy Hindus because he is not only Black but on the top of that a Muslim. That is why Hindus hoped and prayed for the victory of the war-monger McCain, the candidate of the Jews and the “Jews of India”. So much was the disappointment that India’s Prime Minister did not even care to make a customary phone call to Obama. Finally poor Obama himself made the call.
The entire class of ruling Hindus are in mourning over the Obama victory. They are worried over the “Brahmin bomb” which their blue-eyed boy Bush had promised. They are worried that Obama may kick out the Jews controlling the White House. They are worried that he would undo all the great and good work that George Bush did for their jati people.
Sonal Shah to rescue: Brahminical rulers had forged a firm friendship with the American Jews assuring they indeed are the “Jews of India” and their cousins. They also voted and financed Obama’s rival McCain who got defeated. Delhi is in a doldrums and all sorts of plans are being hatched to jump into Obama bandwagon sitting on the shoulders of the Gujarati Bania, Sonal Shah.
http://www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/dec2008/editorial.htm
Asked if India has the right to ‘take out’ high-value targets inside Pakistan, Obama said, "I think that sovereign nations, obviously, have a right to protect themselves’.
Obama had drawn criticism during the campaign including from Hillary Clinton when he said the US would be justified in pursuing al-Qaida terrorists in Pakistan if it had ‘actionable intelligence’.
"Beyond that, I don't want to comment on the specific situation that's taking place in South Asia right now. I think it is important for us to let the investigators do their jobs and make a determination in terms of who was responsible for carrying out these heinous acts," the President-elect said.
Indian Air Force on Thursday said it is prepared to counter a 9/11 type aerial terror attack on targets in India.
"This (report about terrorists carrying out a possible aerial attack) is based on a warning, which has been received (by the government) and we are prepared as usual," Air Chief Fali Homi Major said after laying a wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate on the occasion of Navy Day.
He said the issue was discussed during the meeting of three service chiefs with Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday at South Block.
"The issue was discussed in yesterday's meeting," he said.
Defence Minister A K Antony had also on Wednesday warned the armed forces about the possibility of terror attacks from airborne platforms similar to the 9/11 attacks in the US.
In the meeting, Antony called for greater coordination among security and intelligence agencies so as to make the intelligence inputs actionable.
Antony wanted tightening of vigil along India's coastal, land and aerial frontiers to prevent terror attacks in future.
Threat of terror attack creates panic at Tees Hazari
New Delhi Tees Hazari district court premises were vacated on Thursday following an anonymous call to the police about threat of a terror attack, triggering panic among lawyers, litigants and court staff as well as security personnel.
According to the police, a call was received at around 8.50 am that six terrorists could come under the garb of lawyers and carry out a shooting spree at the Tees Hazari complex.
Police has cordoned off the entire area while staff, litigants and lawyers have been asked to call it a day in view of the threat.
A police official said the anonymous caller had said that the terrorists in the attire of advocates will carry out indiscriminate firing between 10 am and 2 pm at the court complex.
Police teams, which included bomb disposal experts and sniffer dogs, are sanitising each and every room to ensure that no terrorists is holed up there, the official said, adding that a search for explosives is also been carried out.
"We are trying to trace the caller," the official said, maintaining that it could be a hoax call "though we are not leaving anything to chance and sanitising the entire area."
DV hails honest Brahmins removing their secular mask
COM. AYYANKALI
Everyday Lt. Colonels, Vice-Chiefs of Air Staff etc. not only openly flaunt their Brahmin pride in official uniform at Brahmin caste conferences and yet they are fully protected and actually helped to get away with it. Now it has been consclusively proved that they even provide terrorist training and supply RDX explosives made in defence factories financed with our Dalit-Bahujan taxpayers to help Brahminical terrorists to murder Muslims and Dalits.Even the Brahminical Army and the Defence Minister himself have admitted these facts. We can imagine the number of serving officers in the defence forces who are hard-core terrorists at heart.
We welcome all this because these honest Brahmins are voluntarily removing their secular mask and coming into the open, unlike Brahmin fake Maoists like the Varavara Raos and Dipankar Bhattacharyas.
Caste apartheid in the Defence: Blatant caste apartheid exists within the defence forces and this is the time to demand caste-based reservations in the Defence. We must organise Dalit Bahujan ex-servicemen like Gujjar Col. Bhainsla to remind our grasseating Brahmin cowards. Muslims, Sikhs and Christians must join such marches along with ex-servicemen from their communities so that grasseating terrorists get the message.
While the vaidik terrorists in the Defence are actively helping civilian Brahmin terrorists, Dalit-Bahujans, who are the majority in this country, are not merely sleeping and snoring but are in a deep coma. Braindead?
Burning the Deccan Queen was a splendid job. Hindu god Rama murdered Shambuka in cold blood for daring to acquire knowledge. If we are silent now all of us will be butchered without any mercy.
Gaddar snoring: Brahminical fake Maoists send starving Dalit-Bahujans to get killed by the Brahminical police, but the braindead Brother Gaddar is snoring blissfully — sleeping on the lap of the Brahmin fake Maoists who have injected morphine into him. He is least bothered about defending the innocent lives of his people. Why not he form a genuinely revolutionary Dalit Bahujan-led Maoist Party to launch a caste war with caste identity?
Our Editor understands the power of “caste identity” which can ensure that the Brahminical Army gets divided on caste lines. That is why the Indian Army did not dare to shoot anybody when Gujjars held the national capital Delhi to ransom. But our Dalit Bahujans have not learnt anything.
Dalit-Bahujans are not only determined to enjoy their slavery, but they may even physically beat up our Editor for trying to wake them up from such a dangerous bliss.
Everyday, Dalit-Bahujans seem to be telling the Editor:
“Why are you simply disturbing us? We enjoy sleeping and we are used to this. We are already getting angry with you. Get away and allow us to sleep. We have a right to be stupid and we will attack anybody who disturbs our sleep”.
But our Editor refuses to run away. He is fighting all alone — even without a toothpick — against the powerful Aryan Brahminical attacks. So powerful is the Brahminical opium, known as “Hinduism”, that Dalit-Bahujans actually joined hands with the enemy to kill their own blood brothers like Gujarati Muslims.
Kadgadhari Budha: At this rate, even if the Khadgadhari Budha armed with the sword comes and orders Dalits to defend themselves, Dalit-Bahujans may even thrash him.That is why shakabuku (Budhist martial arts) have no takers among Dalit Bahujans. That is why even the most ferocious Dalit Bahujans get attracted only to cowardly gandhian fake ahimsa, Vipassana and such other narcotics which numb their minds, chills their anger and disarms them.
Beef eating: This is what happens when they give up their cheap and traditional diet like beef which is eaten even by Nobel Prize winning scientists and Olympics winning athletes. No wonder they become weak mentally and physically. The only food they get is the poisonous Hindu cultural morphine injection. How will such confirmed drug addicts wake up?
Naturally, either the Brahminical police will kill them or Brahminical fake Maoist Party will get them killed, or they will go to fight the enemies of Brahmins and get killed in the process.
The Editor may have to close down Dalit Voice since there are more Brahmins reading it on the Internet and indulging in heated discussions on on-line chat forums and email forums. Why run DV to enlighten our oppressors and make them even more intelligent as well as caste conscious. Better to close it down.
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COMMUNICATION:
Brahmins are a race, not a caste : Nor do they belong to any religion
NAME & ADDRESS WITHHELD
I want to thank you for sending me some books and I had great pleasure in reading those books. I feel that your book, Brahminism: Weapons to Fight Counter Revolution (DSA, 2001) is one of the best books I have ever read.
In it you mentioned various ways to fight Brahminism but I feel the best way to fight Brahminism is to create a political movement against Brahmins. The aim of such a movement must be to unite the people of India against their genuine enemy, and bring about a revolution to destroy the Saraswat Brahmin Democracy.
Race hatred: Such a party must not be a Dalit party or a Hindu party or Muslim party but it must be a “Hindustani party” and it must appeal to all the people of India, bring about revolution and destroy the existing Brahminical democracy. The revolution must be a revolution of the working classes against the Brahmin race. There is a huge difference between a political party and a political movement. A party exists to get votes but a movement seeks to destroy the existing order and create a new order.
Origin of common qualities: It must destroy this fake democracy and replace it with a true “Hindustani state” created by the blood of Hindustani people. The principles of the movement must be to eradicate the Brahminists because they are a race controlling India and exploiting us for thousands of years. The Brahminists are a race, not a caste and hatred for such a race must be based on principles of only race and not caste.
Brahminists are a race, and this is a fact. I am not saying that one race is superior or inferior but I do think that the characteristic qualities are given to a person by his blood. People with common blood are a race. It is the common blood of the Aryan Brahminists which gives them common qualities of cruelty, lying, exploitation, treachery, racial pride etc.
Why Hitler hated Jews: The tiger will remain a tiger, the snake a snake and our Aryan Vaidik Brahmin will remain a Brahmin because his blood and genes don’t change, they get transferred during mating.
The Brahminists are not Aryans because they don’t have the qualities of Aryans and those qualities have origin in racial blood.
Brahminists are Jews as they have Jewish qualities and all their physical characteristics.
The Kshatriyas of India may have been Aryans but not the Brahminists. And Brahminists are Jews. Hitler rightly hated the Jews because the Jews at that time were using marxism to rule the world.
Chosen people: Marx was a Jew. So also Lenin. All the communist leaders in Germany and Russia before the World War-II were Jews. Hitler believed the Jews were using Marxism to destroy Germany and rule the world. That is why he hated them. (Leon Poliakov: The Aryan Myth, 1974, New American Library, for photocopy write to DV office).
Jews believe they are a “chosen people” destined to rule the world. They are liars when they tell us “we are a religion”. Brahminists, therefore, are not Aryan. They are also Jews. Like Jews, they say they are “gods on earth” (Bhoodevatas).
A political movement must have a great leader and I feel I am destined for this task. I really feel that you are a great intellectual and I would like to meet you.
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DV’s “Jews of India” theory gets unanimous support
As the architect of a novel theory — the first of its kind in the world — that the Brahmins are the “Jews of India”, we are glad to announce that our theory has been widely welcomed by the Brahmins themselves. During the Chitpavan Brahmin conference at Pune (DV Jan.16, 2008, p.28), many Chitpavans who came from America and Europe discussed our theory while exchanging opinion on the scholarly book, Chitpavanism (Dr.Jay Dixit, 2003, Rs. 1,200, Ultrafit, 1482-Sadashiv Peth, White House, Tilak Road, Pune - 411 030). The book was reviewed in Dalit Voice. The world’s largest Internet-based encyclopedia called Wikipedia, has acknowledged our theory. The American-based Wikipedia has thousands of Brahmin readers and contributors who keep a close watch on it. The label “Jews of India” came as a boon to the Brahminical race to bind them to their soulmate in America.
They hugged our theory as it helped them get closer to the 2.5% Jews who rule America.
U.S. HELP TO MAKE “BRAHMIN BOMB”
By using our theory, the Brahmins and Jews have started working together in close co-operation in many fields in United States: banking, finance and specially the media on which Jews have a near monopoly in US and Europe.
The latest “Indo-US peaceful nuclear deal”, to supply nuclear fuel to manufacture bombs in India is the direct result of our theory which brought the two sister races so close.
Brahmins have a similar strangle-hold on India’s media, banking, finance, education, judiciary, bureaucracy and IT etc. And what not.
HATE MUSLIM
The nuclear deal is the result of a tremendous team work of the Jews and the “Jews of India” living in America. Such is their profound influence on India that the Jews, who control the American finance, its banks, financial institutions, even the World Bank and IMF, are now thinking of shifting their enormous capital from US to India. (V.T. Rajshekar, Jews of India Getting Closer to Jews, DSA-2008 & Brahminism in India & Zionism in West, DSA-2007).
What binds the two is their intense hatred of Muslims, besides the Blacks (20%) within America and the over 20% Black Untouchables (Dalits) of India. India has the world’s largest Muslim population (15%) who are mostly converts from Dalits.
They went over to Islam to protest against Brahminism.
But the “Jews of India”, according to history, are an alien race. They do not belong to India. Their behaviour since centuries confirm they are aliens. When they came into India they belonged to no religion. Religion as it is understood today came into existence only after the birth of Christianity.
The natives of India, today identified as SC/ST/BCs, had their own belief system. It is the Brahmins who made them “Hindu”, a new name given by the Muslim. In other words the first people to resort to conversion were the Brahmins — EDITOR.
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Brahmins rushing to temples
COM. AYYANKALI
After reading what George Soros said, shocked Brahmins are in total panic. For them Soros is simply god and now their god himself has declared that their world is facing doom. Already the media is full of stories about how Brahminical classes who love stock market, cricket, IT and eating are rushing to temples, astrologers, Art of Living and babas. The Hindustan Times has been running a “Mumbai meltdown special” for almost a month now. All GDPwallahs are crying. Many are undergoing counselling for mental shock. A very enjoyable sight. Some stupid Brahmins even think that evil Muslims are behind the stock market crash. An RSS reporter of the Times of India has written a story that Muslims helped Hindu terrorists plant Malegaon bomb. It is great fun to watch Brahmins praying to god to save them from Muslims and stock market meltdown.
The high priest,George Soros, Pitaamaha and Mahaguru of capitalism, is saying that another great economic depression is now very much a possibility. US dollar does not seem to have any hope. Even Euro may collapse. Fortunately, DV readership is kept quite well informed about this possibility. DV even wrote an Editorial welcoming the crisis. Even Obama is helpless because market forces are far far bigger than any politician.
Rand Corp has already made a presentation before the US Govt. to start a war with a big power to climb out of the crisis. We must welcome this crisis so that we can change history by bringing down all the Brahminical scaffolding. The govt. will not have money to pay salaries to the army. Army will not have money to buy even grease or petrol. The time for a caste war based on caste identity is fast approaching. History is on our side. Total defeat of Brahminism is possible.
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MEDITATION IS NOTHING BUT HYPNOTISM
RSS agent Goenka using Vipassana to hinduise Dalits & kill Ambedkarism
ANIL RANGARI, BHARATI APT., GURU NANAK NAGAR, DURG - 491 001
This refers to Brother Dr. Premjit Ray’s defence of Vipassana which helps vaidiks in their counter-revolution against Budhism (DV Oct.1, 2008, p.23).
1. He says Vipassana is not a miracle or wonder but a practical way to get wise. Wise men need not sit cross-legged but must work for the society to transform it into a sorrowless world. That is what Ashoka did and also Babasaheb.
IDLE MEDITATION
When Budha, Ashoka and Babasaheb became “wise” without vipassana and strived to transform the society into a sorrowless world why the cunning Goenka and his vipassanawadi followers did not become wise by practicing vipassana for so many years? Vipassana never helps to make us wise and intelligent. It helps to relax. the body and mind but kills the anger which is necessary for any revolution. Vipassana is a relaxation therapy and will not bring knowledge.
2. Dr. Premjit Ray must be true to himself when he says: “Dr. Babasaheb’s entire life is like meditation, all of his physical and psychological energy was used for the single cause, the upliftment of the downtrodden”.
But Babasaheb criticised the Bhikkhus for wasting their life in meditation and idleness and did nothing to uplift the suffering humanity. How can he say Babasaheb’s life was meditation? Babasaheb’s achievements through hard struggle is not meditation.
Babasaheb said:
The Bhikkhu Sangha in its present condition can therefore be of no use for the spread of Buddhism. In the first place there are too many Bhikkhus. Of these, a very large majority are merely sadhus and sanyasis spreading their time in meditation or idleness. When the idea of service to suffering humanity comes to one’s mind every one thinks of the Ramakrishna Mission. No one thinks of the Buddhist Sangha. Yet the sangha is a huge army of idlers. We want fewer Bhikkhus and we want Bhikkhus highly educated. (Buddha & the Future of His Religion).
3. S.N. Goenka is not a Budhist. He says Vipassana is a technique that leads to enlightenment.
BURMESE BUDHISM IS CORRUPT
When Budha attained enlightenment within few months and Ashoka and Babasaheb became enlightened without practicing Vipassana and brought revolution and transformed the society, why Goenka and his vipassanawadis could not become enlightened even after practicing Vipassana for so many years?
Vipassana is a Brahminic trap to destroy the revolutionary Budhist thinking.
Goenka says he brought Vipassana from Burma about which Babasaheb said:
In regard to the preparation of the Gospel we must be very cautious to see that we do not adopt wholesale the Buddhism that is prevalent either in Ceylon or Burma. It is very corrupt. (Babasaheb’s letter to Arbinda Barua, Calcutta, July 17, 1954).
Babasaheb even had warned the highest Budhist authority of Burma on the Sanasa Council of Burma on Dec.4, 1954. He said:
In regard to the preparation of Budha’s gospel care must be taken to emphasise the social and moral teachings of the Buddha. I have to emphasise this because what is emphasised is meditation, contemplation and Abhidhamma. This way of presenting Buddhism to Indians would be fatal to our cause.
BUDHA’S FAILURES
4. Dr. Ray said:
Vipassana is an insight through which we can understand the truth of the nature, whether it is our body or the universe. Through this method of reasoning Budha achieved enlightenment.
This is wrong and 100% untruth. Nobody can achieve perfect and true knowledge by Vipassana. No scientist uses Vipassana to invent about micro-structure of the body, disease, and universe. Only hard, deep and vast study helps scientist to think and research but not Vipassana. Why scientists developed and constructed vast and big instrument LHC (large hadron collidel) to discover the nature of universe how it is created. Why they invented microscope, endoscope, scanning machine, and many more instrument to find out the real truths? Why Vipassana never helped this?
India is a country of countless rishis-munis, sadhus who wasted their life in meditation. Some of them had sexual relationship even with queens and princesses by hypnotic miracle and ruined the country.Such meditationwadis, however, never invented anything from atom-particle to heavy machines nor they transformed the society. India always borrowed scientific knowledge from abroad.
Even Budha failed to annihilate the varna system. He could not foresee and forecast the untouchability, cancer which ruined the generations of his own followers. Vipassana, therefore, is a cancer that killed Budhism like the untouchability that is killing today’s so-called Hindu society. If Budhism has to be removed this cancer must be cut and cured.
GOENKA DID NOT UNDERSTAND BUDHISM
5. Ray, however, admits vipassana is not Budhism. But argues that through Vipassana we can understand Budhism. Never. Vipassana never helps to understand real Budhism.
Even Goenka did not understand Budhism till now. Goenka is not only cunning but also very superstitious. He believes in matterless living beings — atma. What nonsense. He says he talked with them (atma -dead ancestors) and preached Manu Smriti. All this he wrote in his books and Vipassana Patrika. When the biggest acharya of Vipassana could not understood Budhism how his slave can understand? He only confuses people and kills roots of revolution.
Vipassana is a crime on Budhism.
Budhism is not confined only to realise anicca, anatta and dukkha. Its more important mission is to watch and detect the enemies of humanity who spread dukkha, exploitation, oppression in the society. Punish them according to their crimes and eliminate them.
Welding Vipassana to Budhism is a crime and criminals must be punished.
6. A neuro-surgeon like Premjit Ray says:
Vipassana is a process of thinking with a single-pointed mind called insight meditation through which we can realise the three cardinal features of Budhism viz anicca, anatta and dukkha.
DANGERS OF HYPNOTISM
What is this single-pointed mind? Brahmin bhikkhus developed this single-pointed meditation from their vedas. Buddhaghosh and other techniques of meditation brings hypnotic trance. They developed ten types of kasin:
1) Prithvi, 2) Aap, (3) Tej, 4) Vayu, 5) Neel, 6) Pitta, 7) Lohit, 8) Avdat, 9) Alok and 10) Parichhinakash.
All these single-pointed Vipassana techniques are nothing but hypnotists which never gets knowledge of real Budhism and real problems of the society. Due to this single-pointed Vipassana some bhikkhus suffered from psychiatric problems and some can experience hallucinatory knowledge.
Babasaheb always wanted highly educated bhikkhus and social workers to involve in solving the problems of the suffering society. But our cunning vipassanawadis will never do this. It is true that our “educated” people cheated Babasaheb but it is also true that only our highly educated social workers can effectively fight and solve the problems of the suffering humanity.
VIPASSANA IS NOT BUDHISM
Please note that Vipassana is not Budha’s samma samadhi. Samma Samadhi means right thinking. But samma samadhi alone is not enough. It needs pradnya which means hard, deep and vast study of right knowledge. Without the right and vast knowledge mere samma samadhi alone will never find out the real truth, the Supreme Truth. Even a samma samadhi wala bhikkhu can never fight in high courts/Supreme Court without vast legal knowledge acquired by hard, deep and vast study. Single-pointed Vipassana is nonsense but Budhism is not nonsense.
If Vipassana gives knowledge of all realities and removes all the dukkha, I ask Brother Ray and all other slave vipassanawadis that they should never send their children to school and colleges but train them only in Vipassana. Will Vipassana help them in their life without education? Are they ready to do this for their own children?
BRAHMINICAL AGENDA
Here is a list of warnings to the Budhists on the Vipassana menace:
1. Bhikkhu Nirgunanand Mahathero said that Vipassana is an art of sleep by sitting.
2. Dr. Surendra Adnyaty said Vipassana is a Baudha edition of Hindu yoga. We must be cautious about it.
3. Goenka himself said at the Nagpur Deeksha Bhoomi on Oct.7, 2000 in his speech, that Vipassana technique belongs to the vedic time. Budha had not given any dhamma.
BID TO HINDUISE OUR PEOPLE
4. The one-point Brahminical secret agenda is to always keep Backward Classes engaged in religious karmkand like Gayatri Yaga, Brahmakumari Sanstha, Saibaba of Sirdi, and vipassana of Budhist (saptahik Mazi Janata, Nagpur, July 30, 2000).
5. Dr. Bhadant Medhankar, president of the All-India Bhikkhu Sangha, warned: Babasaheb gave dhamma but he could not get time to educate his people. Due to lack of proper leader and advise some became triloki and many vipassi and slowly-slowly they all turned antagonist to Babasaheb. After coming from Burma Goenka started a 10-day vipassana shibir at Deeksha Bhoomi (1972-73) and after that vipassana spread like a typhoon throughout India.
Today all the vipassana movement is under the RSS control. Vipassana is gradually hindusing our people. Budhist must note that if you sit silent its effects will be dangerous.
Ambedkarite Budhist Samaj is gradually going away from Ambedkarite thoughts because of Vipassana menace.
(Buddhaputra Ki Gatha Vainganga ke Kinare by Bhadant Medhankar, p.337-338).
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Dalits must keep off Vipassana
P.S. SADAR, 71 -KOTWALNAGAR, NAGPUR 440 022
DV of Oct.16, 2008 has prompted me to write on Vipassana which is a practice of the spiritual search by the soul of the soul i.e. self-realization. All human beings are not at the same state of spiritual need or development. There is nothing wrong with the Vipassana per se. But the problem arises when able-bodied, able-minded and those with resources withdraw from the active life and shut themselves in the delusion of spiritual practices like the Vipassana. As a rule the Brahminical practice of vanprastasan (retiring to the woods) should be followed at a ripe age of 60 when one is supposed to have discharged one’s responsibilities towards the family and the society. It is criminal to indulge in vipassana when the Dalits have so many problems on hand.
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Budha holding sword
SHER SINGH, IAS, CALCUTTA
I am shifting to my native place, Patiala. While clearing old papers/books, I discovered a picture of Budha with a double-edged sword found in the German museum. I will send it to you soon. My new address is: H.No. 1897, Urban Estate, Phase-II, Patiala - 147 002.
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India facing slow death for want of honest intellectuals
V.T. RAJSHEKAR
It is said the people get the govt. they deserve. Just like that, the people also get the media they deserve.
Having spent 25 years in the English national newspaper, Indian Express, and later 25 years as the Editor of Dalit Voice, I have to say with deep sorrow that our national media, both print and electronic, is not serving the cause of the society.
That doesn’t mean the other wings of the society are angels.
VIEW FROM BOTTOM
My remark is confined to the English media. The language media is also following the English media but it is closer to the wishes and aspirations of the people.
As a Dalit and Editor of Dalit Voice, India’s oldest and the largest circulated English journal, my view naturally is from the bottom of the society. Those of you from the upper castes, and getting the view from the top of the society, naturally, may differ.
But remember it is only those people who are crushed that cry in pain. Those on the top of the Malabar Hill in Bombay get a dazzling view of the city. They think the whole of Bombay is dazzling.
LARGEST COUNTRY OF ILLITERATES
But our people pushed into the slums of Bombay, steeped in filth, gasping for breath cry in pain. You cannot understand, much less appreciate our pain.
So you have to bear with my agonising pain as a victim of this caste-ridden society.
The principal cause for this topsy-turvey situation is the country’s poor literacy rate. You must be knowing that India is emerging as the world’s largest country of illiterates. The English literacy rate is shocking. There is a deliberate and conscious effort to deny English education to the “low castes” and to keep the language as the preserve of the upper caste elite. This has been verified and reported by surveying the type of students attending our elite public schools where the medium is English.
Some of my observations may not be true of Kerala, a state which is an exception. But you go to Bangalore, Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Pune etc. what I said is the rule.
So much so the English-knowing population in India may not be more than 10%.
But we are talking about the English media which needs the ability to read, and understand English. The percentage of those who can read, write, speak and understand English may not be more than 5%. This is evident from the English paper circulation. Some people say it is much less.
Be that as it may, what is the consequence of such a stranglehold on the English language?
English is naturally restricted to upper class. In India, “class” and “caste” go together.
With minor exceptions, all those who have a mastery over English are upper class, meaning upper caste.
ROLE OF TIMES OF INDIA
This has been verified by a survey report made in Bangalore, the IT capital of India, which said most of those in the highly paid IT sector are upper castes, mainly Brahmins. That is why IT is getting so much of importance.
And to cater to this emerging “big bourgeois” an English daily, Times of India, is spreading its net.
Permit me to read a report on the country’s highest circulated English daily and how it has reached that status by resorting to all sorts of dirty tactics.
I am quoting from the world famous London Economist (May 3, 2008):
One of India’s leading newspapers launched an unusual advertising drive last month, “Money cannot buy our integrity”, read a front-page slogan in Daily News & Analysis (DNA), a Mumbai daily. “Make the headlines tomorrow, By paying for it”, it added, in reference to some other papers’ supposed tendency to give favourable coverage to firms that place advertisements. That charge is hard to prove. But an increasingly popular practice is exposing Indian newspapers to growing conflicts of interest: accepting payments for ads in the form of shares in the advertiser’s firm.
The Times Group, the country’s biggest media firm, started the practice in 2004. According to its website, it now has 120 “private treaties” of this nature, which “make the power of the Times group available to our Treaty Partners”. The firm’s executives insist that neither its own shareholdings nor its advertisers influence its coverage. But articles in its publications do not always reveal its own interest. Sevanti Ninan, a media activist, reckons the practice will “grow and grow in a media which anyway has little notion of conflicts of interest”. Indeed, HT Media Ltd., the publisher of the Hindustan Times, recently started offering private treaties, as did one of the owners of DNA, the Dainik Bhaskar group, even though DNA itself does not offer ads-for-equity deals.
NO ETHICS BUT ONLY MONEY
India’s newspaper industry, bucking a worldwide trend, is flourishing. New titles hit the newsstands practically every month. More than 350 m literate Indians do not yet subscribe to a newspaper, which, coupled with rising literacy, promises a long-term boom. A recent report by Pricewaterhouse Coopers estimated that India’s print industry would grow from 149 billion rupees ($3.6 billion) in 2007 to 281 billion rupees in 2012.
But papers are absurdly cheap thanks to incessant price wars. The Times of India, for example, costs just 2.50 rupees. That leaves it and others heavily dependent upon advertisers No wonder, then, that DNA’s campaign is attracting so much attention.
The Times gives favourable coverage to firms that place advt. It accepts payments for advt. in the form of shares in the advertiser’s firm. According to the Times Website it has 120 “private treaties” of this nature.
The Hindustan Times started the same thing.
The Times of India offers the best example to prove that the media need have no ethics except to make money. And making money and getting rich by hook or crook is injected into the veins of all upper caste-class youth.
And that is how India has become a money-driven society.
Not a value-driven-society.
I have worked under giant editors like Pothan Joseph, Frank Moreas, Kuldip Nayar, who is presiding over this seminar.
They all taught us about the value-driven society. That society is dead.
But if you talk of such a society in a Rotary Club, Lions Club or in our Press club in Bangalore, Delhi, Bombay, they will laugh at you.
ANTI-RESERVATION CAMPAIGN
That is how the English-media was in the forefront of anti-reservation campaign, publishing all sorts of false reports.
A survey was conducted for the first time in Delhi to verify the social profile of 300 senior journalists in 37 Hindi and English newspapers and TV and found “Hindu upper caste men, who form 8% of the country’s population, hold 71% of the jobs in the national media”. I am reading from a clipping from the Hindu of June 5, 2007.
Our media is very fond of exposing corruption. All corruption stories hit the front-page with the picture of the “corrupt fellow”. But what about the corruption among the journalists?
I have with me an article from Rajdeep Sardesai, a very damaging indictment of the journalists. He says:
Publishers of books invite reviewers to wine and dine and the book and its author with picture get a three-column spread.
I am the author of over 100 books but to this day not a single paper in India reviewed my book.
BLACK LABEL WHISKY
We just don’t care. Our books are sold like a hot cake. We can’t afford to lubricate these journalists with Black Label whisky.
Some of my colleagues say corruption in journalism is a reflection of a general fall in journalistic norms and values. No. Even when I was a reporter in the Indian Express, in the 60s and 70, there used to be “gifted” reporters. They will attend only such press conferences where lavish gifts are given.
Corruption is part of our value system. Every section of the society has been corrupted including our High Court and Supreme Court judges..
MYSTERY OF AMBANIS
How do you get such favourable coverage to Ambanis?
When I was in the Indian Express, Bombay, I used to be friendly with some of the senior assistant editors and special correspondents who used to write on social and cultural issues.
As the money-driven society caught up, these journalists had no work. Sex, sports and crime combined with cricket have occupied the front-pages of all newspapers.
Where is the demand for intellectuals? They are dead and gone.
India cannot produce honest intellectuals because our very socio-cultural system has the tremendous capacity to corrupt anybody.
I have written a book long back, called India’s Intellectual Desert. This desert is not confined to journalists alone. It has spread to our academia, scientific research institutions, universities. And that is how we as a country are facing the current gloom.
The greatness and the forward march of a society or country depends upon the number of honest intellectuals it produces – men and women who cannot be purchased, who will not bow to caste, religion or any favour. Sorry, you may accuse me of placing a very pessimistic picture of Indian scene. But it is true.
ALL REVOLUTIONARIES WERE PESSIMISTS
We are facing a serious problem with our media praising “India Shining” walas. What I mean is those who give an optimistic, glorious picture of India. But I don’t belong to that category.
Remember, all revolutionaries like Budha, Karl Marx, Mao, Dr. Ambedkar, Sri Narayana Guru painted only a pessimistic picture of their respective society. Budha said the world is full of Dukha.
They were all pessimists. Pessimists only become revolutionaries. Optimists produce “India shining”walas, promise a glorious future and drag you to hell.
V.T. Rajshekar, India’s Intellectual Desert, pp.50, DSA-1999, Rs. 50.
[Speech delivered as the chief guest at the seminar on “Media & Accountability”,
Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, June 16, 2008.]
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INDIA SHINING
Ugly face of India’s capital city
Badarpur Khaadar, (Delhi): It is an hour’s drive from the heart of India’s govt. and it is represented in Parliament by the son of Delhi’s chief minister. Yet, there is no electricity. No toilets. No piped water. No schools. Welcome to Badarpur Khaadar, a Muslim-majority village of 1,120 whose inhabitants lack a list of amenities that many sub-Saharan villages have, a village so steeped in chronic poverty that a global report referred to it a case study of modern India’s extremes. “Despite India’s poverty indicator doing well, here is a village that looks unlikely to meet even a single millennium goal”, Salil Shetty, director of the United Nations’ Development Goals, had said while launching the World Chronic Poverty Report 2008 in UK last week. India’s capital tops an Ernst and Young list of 48 Indian cities as the best place to live in this country, but Badarpur Khaadar — on whose horizon you can see cranes tower above high rises — is worse off than even sub-Saharan Africa, one of the world’s most backward regions.
—(Hindustan Times, Oct.30, 2008)
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LETTER TO EDITOR
Dr. Awatar Singh Sekhon, 8507 - 174th Street, NW, Edmonton, AB T5T 2B2, Canada: There are about 12,000 villages in Punjab with 9,000 Deras. Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, has urged the Sikhs not to get involved with Deras. The Indian Govt. is encouraging these Deras as part of its ongoing effort to destroy the Sikh religion. They are polluting the Sikh religion and leading us away from the Guru Granth. One such Dera is that of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, head of the Dera Sacha Sauda, who poses as Guru Gobind Singh and dressing like him, promising to do baptisms. There was quite an outcry to have the Punjab Govt. shut him down, but instead Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and his son went to Ram Rahim Singh seeking his political support. Badal and his Akalis are allied with the Hindu terrorist (BJP). This alliance stabs the Sikh nation in the back. India is determined to destroy the Sikh religion. The leadership of the Akali Dal has joined hands with the enemy. It is dangerous for the Sikh religion when the enemy is in our own camp. Ram Rahim Singh and his Dera have shown that they are enemies of the Sikhs. The Dera’s chief bodyguard even killed a Sikh protestor. No action has been taken against him. He travels in a fleet of Mercedes cars, protected by 25 bodyguards. The Nirankari and Radhaswami, and their like are other Deras that must be rejected by any true Sikh. Sikhs are not allowed to bow their heads to any living guru, but only to the Guru Granth.
Brother Aulakh lives in far away Washington as he is not permitted to enter India. That is how he does not know the correct situation inside Punjab. We are aware of the existence of many sincere, devoted Sikhs. But their number is dwindling. The Khatri Sikhs anyway have gone with their Hindu jatwalas. But even among the Jat Sikhs, the single largest segment among the Sikhs, we find their dedication to Guru Gobind Singh is waning. It is the duty of the Brahminical enemy to weaken the Sikhs. It has already won over the Akali Dal, the state’s only Sikh political party. Even when every Sikh knows how Brahminism killed Sant Bhindranwale after launching the Blue Star how did the Akali Dal embrace the enemy that killed thousands of Sikhs and destroyed the Akal Takht? This should have turned every Sikh into blood-enemy of Brahminism. Yet the Akali Dal surrendered to Brahminism. This is an unpardonable blunder and paved the way to hinduisation of affluent Jat Sikhs. When the Jat Sikhs got closer to Brahminism, the very same enemy worked on Dalit Sikhs and sharpened the contradictions between the two. Brahminism even financed the setting up of the Deras. Dera Sacha Saudha is one such creation. Today, Punjab is dotted with hundreds of such Deras which are encouraged to hinduise the non-Hindu Dalits and Dalit Sikhs. So many Dalit writers are financed to attack Sikhs and widen the gap between the Dalits and Jat Sikhs. Dalits and Dalit Sikhs are Punjab’s poorest. Sikhism was born to liberate them. There may be some mistakes on the part of Dalits and Dalit Sikhs but as the elder brothers and endowed with a revolutionary religion, the Jat Sikhs should excuse them if there are any mistakes on the part of the younger, weaker brothers and win them over. But this did not happen. As Brahminism worked on Dalits to fight Sikhs, it also rubbed salt on the Dalit-Sikh differences which today stands almost unresolvable. Amid this fast developing gloom, Dalit Voice is the only silver lining. But even then our close Jat Sikh friends failed to turn up at our recent DV family get-together at the Chandigarh Ambedkar Bhawan. There may be hundred and one mistakes on both sides but this is not the time to repeat it. We call upon the Jat Sikh honest intellectuals to call a meeting of intellectuals at Chandigarh and invite Dalit intellectuals for a frank discussion. We will be happy to attend it. This must get top priority — EDITOR.
http://www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/dec2008/articles.htm
The role played by “forces of history”
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bangalore: It is true that Dalit Voice was the first in India to predict the Obama victory. We have received many congratulatory messages including a call from a DV family member from Nigeria.
We had clarified that our “prediction” was not based on astrology but from the study of “forces of history”.
Obama was not elected by the American voters alone. He was crowned by the whole world. That is the hope raised in Obama, disgusted by the hate-Muslim violence generated by the mad monster, George W. Bush, who must be now tried by a people’s tribunal for war crimes, and also pushing the world to the current global financial crisis.
DV’s another first
That does not mean Barack Obama will be able to solve all the problems created by Bush and his Jewish advisers disguised as neocons.
It all began with the dramatic attack on the New York WTC twin towers (9/11) which launched the prolonged war and violence on Muslims. DV was the first in India to reveal that WTC attack was not done by Al-Queda as claimed by official America but by the Israeli Mossad to force America to launch a war on Muslims. The attack was launched with the connivance of the zionist agents inside the Bush Administration as part of the “clash of civilisations”.
None believed us then when we revealed the truth on the WTC attack in the year 2001. Similarly none believed us when we predicted (Jan. 2008) that a young 47-year-old Black man, with a Muslim name would crush the Clinton machine and later maul the mighty McCain of the GOP.
Our Brahminical rulers (15%) were the first to hail the US war on Muslims that resulted in millions of death with the sole single motive of protecting the zionist homeland, Israel, an illegally established encroachment which is not recognised by many countries.
Our doubts on Obama
Will Obama be able to rescue the hate-filled, violence-ridden, financial crisis-gripped US and the world? Forget the world, will he be able to re-assure the deeply worried innocent, poor Americans who voted for him? We have our own doubts.
Too much hope is raised on Obama. Expectations are great. We are aware of all this. “Forces of history” will bring pressure on Obama to “change” which he had promised before election. But will he be able to bring about that “change”? Our answer is he may not succeed fully.
DV will not spare Obama
We as editors and arm-chair critics are passing judgements on men and matters sitting inside our closed rooms. But political leaders governing the country, reconciling contradictory forces, will have to face many practical problems.
Philosophers and prophets are not responsible to anybody. They are seers. They write and speak what their conscience dictates. Political leaders selectively accept what is advantageous to them from philosophers and prophets.
Very rarely a ruler combines in him the qualities of a philosopher and prophet. Obama is not a philosopher or prophet. But a product of history. He is bound to compromise as proved from the appointment of 2-3 Jews and a Hindu terrorist candidate, Sonal Shah.
Brahmins in India and the Jews in US have within the last 50 years grabbed everything by creating so much of heart-burning and hatred. It is this heart-burning that swept Obama to power in US. That doesn’t mean he may not disappoint us. If he does, we will pound him. We will kick him.
Muslims defeat U.S.
Before the election, he was in left extreme but after the election the ruling class will naturally push him to middle from where it is easier to bring him to right extreme. Just as we are trying to keep him in left, the ruling class, which is not only ruling but has the media, will naturally use its magnetic power to draw him closer. This is no surprise. We have no such magnet to attract him. But we trust in “historical forces”.
Did not the rise of China, Iran, Japan shift the power to a great extent from the West to East? Did not the backward, poor, unarmed Muslims in the Middle East defeat the sole super power America with all its awful military might? Is not America losing the world’s sole super power status? Did the Jews in Israel get any peace after they illegally grabbed Palestine with the full blessings of the racist Whites and their military might? Are the toxic Brahmins of India able to rule India in peace and establish their Hindu Rashtra after they conspired to divide India (1947) and killed Gandhi? Did anybody dream that China’s economy could surpass America’s by 2030? America’s Director of Intelligence predicts that China will start to become a global military power by 2025. (Economist, Nov.8, 2008).
These are the couple of cases determined by the “forces of history”. Obama is a child of history. He was thrown up on the world stage by history which has its own way of shaping the world. Obama must be knowing it. And he must be certainly wanting to leave his mark on history. The oppressed majority of the world not only gave him the support but also the strength. We are sure he will use it though the destructive forces will do everything to undermine him.
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BCs kicked from both sides
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bangalore: The Union Home Ministry is packed with the choicest upper castes who have always done their best to preserve the country’s Brahminical Social Order (BSO). The Ministry is presided over by a Minister, Shivaraj Patil, who is a sincere votary of the BSO. In their love for BSO, these casteists do not know the damage they have inflicted on the socio-cultural fabric of the country which has become like a handicapped 61-year-old man. Only a less than 15% of the upper castes (Hindus) have surged forward, monopolising the scorce resources of the country. The SC/STs (30%) at least have a separate census even as they continue to be the poorest and the most neglected.
But what about over 35% of the country, forming the Backward Castes who too are Untouchable to the upper caste in varying degrees? It is these sections who are mostly falling prey to the Hindu terrorist forces and organisations — even as they continue to be economically and socially neglected. The killer Narendra Modi of Gujarat (an oil crushing jati fellow) belong to the OBC caste. Hence the need for a caste census to disclose where the BCs stand?
The BSO leaders say the BCs and SC/STs are Hindu and their brothers. Then why this discrimination against their own Hindu brothers? The denial of caste census is yet another proof that the BSO will never, ever accept them as part of them. Not only that. The BSO is investing so much of money and manpower to hinduise the SC/STs and instigate them against the BCs — saying it is not the Brahmins who are the enemy no.1 of Dalits but the BCs.
The BCs, therefore, are being kicked on one side by the Brahmins and on another side by Dalits. Despite this double trouble, the BCs are in eternal sleep in Hindu India.
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Caste-wise census demand
New Delhi: MPs from OBC outfits met home minister Shivraj Patil on Oct.24 to demand a caste-wise census in 2011. Castes outside SCs and STs are not recorded in the decennial exercise.
Home Ministry had refused to conduct such an exercise, arguing it was regressive and would undo the break from the past when caste census was last done before “independence”. The MPs said enumeration of the population on caste lines would be in accordance with the recent directions of Supreme Court in OBC quota in higher educational institutions.
“A caste-wide census data would help explain socio-economic status of various communities in the country, resolve the reservation questions satisfactorily, throw light on the concept of creamy layer, distribution of benefits under governmental programmes and schemes in proportion to population and also effective and equitable implementation of various policies of the government”, the MPs said in a memorandum.
(Times of India, Oct.26, 2008).
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Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil gets credit for cracking Mafia
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bangalore: The country’s principal Brahminical Mafia, RSS, which once killed even the “Father of the nation”, M.K. Gandhi, and distributed sweets to celebrate the event, is revealing itself as the most ferocious terrorist organisation surpassing all other declared terrorist outfits.
If reports in their own Brahminical “national” toilet papers are to be believed, RSS, the hydra-headed king cobra, is identified as the culprit behind the series of anti-Muslim terrorist violence in different parts of the country.
Home Ministry silence: What is more shocking is such India-wide terrorist activities resulting in the death of thousands and thousands of Muslims — so far suppressed by the their own Brahminical toilet papers, but put the blame on innocent Muslims — is now publicised by the same manuwadi media.
Already thousands of Muslims have been arrested and rotting in jails without trial for the crimes committed by the Brahminical police and suppressed by the Brahminical media.
But how did the whole conspiracy, which involved even top serving officers in the Indian Army, come to light?
Yes. The credit goes to the brave but unassuming R.R. Patil, the Home Minister of Maharashtra, a Maratha fighter against Brahminism.
Reports say Union Home Minister Shivaraj Patil had all the intelligence input about the terrorist activities of the Brahminical Mafia. Why did he not take any action against the Mafia? Reports say Patil’s Brahminical leanings made him blind to the reality. The credit, therefore, goes to R.R. Patil for unmasking the horrible face of the Mafia which killed Gandhi, demolished Babri Masjid, engineered the “Gujarat Genocide” —all resulting in thousands and thousands of deaths of Muslims.
Pune home of Mafia: A number of hard-core Brahmins, mainly Chitpavans from Pune, have been arrested. The list is too long. It is headed by Lt. Col. Purohit (37) from Pune, a young woman styling as sadhvi and many others. All of them got military training from military schools established by the RSS with the help of serving and retired military officers and IB officers.
The entire operation is now being bravely conducted by the Maharashtra Govt. under the leadership of R.R. Patil but the Union Home Ministry is still dodging. What is of prime importance is the interest of the country and not its ruling Brahminical people. The role played by the RSS ever since its establishment is too well known. The Maharasthra Govt. has just opened the lid. In the interest of bringing peace and protecting the life and property of its innocent citizens the culprits must be booked and put on trial.
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Secret of Brahminists undergoing military training
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bangalore: When the Brahminical people (15%) are the rulers of the land, hold most of the property, positions and power, why are they taking military training? And against whom? When the country’s defence services, police and paramilitary forces headed by them are there only to protect the rulers, why they are so much worried and established private military training colleges? The Brahminical Social Order (15%) is headed by its 2.5% Brahmins who call themselves the Bhoodevatas. They are literally worshipped and held in great reverence. Their 33-crore Hindu gods are at their beck and call to frighten all of us. Right from the Prime Minister down to the lowly panchayat every one is literally their servant. The executive, judiciary, bureaucracy, media, entire financial and education sectors are headed by their own chosen people. Their dictatorial control extends even over Muslim, Christian, Sikh and every shade of people. That means they are the monarch. But the Monarch is afraid of whom? In the DV of Nov.16, 2008 p.6, after raising this question, we said we have the answer:-
The so-called Hindus— comprising the Brahmin (2.5%), Kshatriya, Vaishya and shudra — form not even 15% of India’s population. The first three are the dwijas — the twice-born
The rest are SC- 20%), ST- 10%, BCs - 35% (who are the once born), Muslim -15%, Christian and Sikh-5%. Together they form 85%.
BLOOD ENEMIES OF BRAHMINS
This is the broad demographic picture of the country. Even the Brahminical Social Order (BSO) comprising the first category is not a homogenous whole. The Vaishyas and Kshatriyas intensely hate the Brahmins. The divide becomes more visible when it comes to SC/ST/BCs. Particularly the first one, Dalits, are the blood enemies of Brahmins.
That is why we very often say that India is not a nation but a country divided into hundreds of nations.
Of the lot, Brahmins (2.5%), being at the apex of the caste pyramid, are the most hated by the rest of humans. Of this the Dalits 20% are the angriest and the most uncompromising enemies of Brahmins.
DALITS USED TO KILL MUSLIMS
The BSO has been trying to use the Dalits by hinduising (enslaving) them. But this exercise is failing because of the existence of caste division. This is what we described as “caste killing the casteists” (BSO) in our book, Caste — A Nation Within the Nation, (Books for Change, Bangalore).
The hard-core Brahminists under the RSS Mafia have been training the Dalits to kill the Muslims — an exercise found effective to hinduise the Dalits. But the electoral compulsions of the Congress and other Backward Caste parties are coming in the way of ant-Muslim mayhem. BJP is the only party backing the anti-Muslim violence but even this party lost in the last parliament election.
DANGER FACING IN “HINDU” WORD
It could not “build” the temple to their god Ram after demolishing the Babri Masjid. Nor could it rename India as Hindu Rashtra.
That is why the Brahmins being a micro-minority are deeply worried that if the “caste identity” gets stronger, the society gets divided on caste and regional basis, and the Dalit-Muslim unity gets stronger all their “Hindu unity” business will collapse like a house of cards.
Brahmins are deeply worried about their serious numerical weakness, coupled with their physical weakness, compounded by the all-round hatred they generated by their commission and omission.
That is why the micro-minority Brahmins have decided to seek self-protection by setting up military training colleges. This is the secret.
But there is one big danger which the Bahujan leadership (85%) has not realised. Already the BJP chief Rajnath Singh has warned that the latest “reckless” arrests of “religious leaders” may anger the “Hindus” and the “Hindus” may retaliate. BSO will certainly use the current arrests to rouse the Hindus and “unite the Hindus”.
The BJP chief’s warning has already unnerved the Congress and other parties aligned with it because all of them also claim to be Hindu.
That is why we warn that the name “Hindu” will be counter- productive because “Hindu unity” will certainly lead to disunity of India.
The problem is our political leaders are also guided by the BSO. And that is how they clubbed the non-Hindu if not anti-Hindu Dalits (20%) also along with the Hindu.
The fact is only the Aryan Brahmins (2.5%) are Hindu. None else. Even the Kshatriyas and Vaishyas are not ready to join them. The non-Aryan SC/ST/BCs anyway are not Hindu and never Hindu. This is the verdict of Dr. Ambedkar.
“HINDU” IS A TRAP
Backward and Dalit political parties, therefore, should not accept that SC/ST/BCs are Hindu. If they fall a prey to Brahminical machinations, what will they do when BJP accuses the Congress of infuriating Hindus by “recklessly arresting Hindu sadhus and sadhvis”?
The term Hindu is a trap and if Dalits are caught in this trap it is difficult to escape until “caste identity” is fully established.
GITA ADVOCATES VIOLENCE
Meanwhile, the RSS Mafia, has fully backed the Malegaon terrorists —rubbishing the theory that Hinduism stands for the nonsense of nonviolence. Who said Hinduism is the world’s only religion that stands for non-violence? Stupid. Did not the country’s topmost Brahmin authority, B.G. Tilak, in his book, Gita Rahasya, say that their god Krishna himself fully sanctioned violence in the Bhagawad Gita?
The Malegaon arrests have once for all proved that the Bhoodevatas are indeed India’s biggest terrorists.
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Caste clash in Madras college
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bangalore: Dalit-Thevar caste clash so far confined to the southern districts of Tamil Nadu has spread to the Madras capital city. The ferocious Nov.12, 2008 Thevar student attack on Dalits at Dr. Ambedkar Law College in Madras was perhaps the biggest clash involving students. The incident was so ferocious that the govt. immediately dismissed the city police commissioner for the police inaction even when the police knew that the Thevar students were attacking the Dalits. Law College principal Shridevi was suspended. The TN State Assembly held a debate and demanded serious action against the culprits.The Thevars belong to the OBC and a former “criminal tribe” which often get into bloody clashes with Dalits in Southern TN. Being a poor, uneducated and also a deprived people the Thevars have mostly fallen into the Brahminical terrorist RSS net. By injecting Hindu poison into the non-Hindu Thevar veins, the RSS may be encouraging caste clashes between the Thevars and Dalits.
But what the Hindu terrorists do not know is caste clashes help both the castes to strengthen their “caste identity”. Thevars have gained nothing by attacking Dalits. But it has helped the Dalits to emerge as a big force. Now that the caste clashes have spread into colleges, it will take an interesting turn. The Madras College violence has already spread to districts. The Thevar-dominated police are normally anti-Dalit and are expected to encourage the violence.
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DEBATE
Dr. Kancha Ilaiah on how Brahmins killed Budhism
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bangalore: The Budha was the first in India to create a perfect alternative institutional organisation to the oppressive Brahminism that was killing the original inhabitants of India.
Dr. Kancha Ilaiah in his book, God as a Political Philosopher , (Samya, 16-Southern Avenue, Calcutta - 700 026,. pp.250, Rs. 250, 2004), says it was Budha who virtually eradicated Brahminism and its oppressive caste system which assured the hegemony of the Brahmins:
Buddha deliberately turned the hegemonic code on its head by advocating the theory of ahimsa, of shaving the head and face, being prepared to soil one hands in productive work, mixing with all castes by sharing their cooked food given as alms. By that time Brahmins had stopped accepting cooked food from sudras and Chandalas; this barrier was merely intensified by the new Brahmin practice of vegetarianism.
Brahmins kill monks
Brahminism had to adopt underhand methods to defeat Buddhism and reclaim its hegemonic space in the state and civil society. After Buddha’s death pressures from within and without conspired to turn Buddhism into a religion. During the period of Ashoka around the third century CE it spread to other Asian countries and established itself as one of the leading religions of the world. But in India the Vedic Hindus retaliated. According to Ambedkar key Buddhist monks were killed so that further propagation of Buddhism should be weakened. All the Buddhist viharas were occupied by Brahminical forces and Hindu idols installed in them, a tactic of which the Babri Masjid incident is the newest manifestation. By then (the fifth and sixth centuries CE) Buddhist institutions had accumulated considerable wealth, which added temptation to the religious animosity that ruined them.
Caste system brought back
In the process of killing Buddhism, Brahminism brought the whole caste system back with a vengeance as this hierarchy alone could preserve their hegemony for centuries. In modern India, though political democracy was adopted as a system imposed by the British, the upper caste Hindu mentality remained exclusivist. Furthermore, they were all too ready during the nationalist period to present their own deities, icons, rituals, folklore and religious symbols as representative of mainstream modern India. Once, they had constructed their culture as the Indian culture, they implied that to lack adherence to that culture was to be unpatriotic. The gods and customs of sudras, Dalits and Adivasis were thus marginalized and the cultural integrity of these groups attacked by Brahminist nationalists. The traces of Buddhist tradition still to be found among these groups were pushed further into the background.
Vegetarianism glorified
For example, vegetarianism was projected as the practice of most Indians, thus undermining the sudra, Adivasi, Chandala and Buddhist traditions which were actually the composite food culture of India — meat, milk, vegetables and so on. Vedanta philosophy was projected as the foundation of Indian thought.
My study of Buddha’s political thought shows that the Buddhist political, social and spiritual philosophy have nothing to do with Vedanta. The Vedanta which was projected as Indian nationalist philosophy did not operate outside the bounds of varnadharma but only within the sphere of Brahminical metaphysics.
The author says Siddhartha came from an agrarian background which was closer to the Vaisya-sudra culture of his period. This is the reason why Buddha never prescribed pure vegetarianism to his followers. The Budhist Sangha people were eating meat, beef, pork, vegetables etc. In conformity with this tradition, in all countries where Buddhism is the main religion the composite food culture exists and continues. Budha never prohibited eating meat and fish.
Vegetarian Vedantism’s entry into our national discourse as the practice of mainstream India shows how false is Brahminical nationalism. In the face of the fact that 85 per cent of India’s population were and are mamasaharis (the correct translation of which is meatarian) the Brahmins in charge of the nationalist project did not feel that they were projecting the self-image of a small minority into nationhood itself.
Pejawara Swamy hates Budhism: Though Hindu terrorist parties like RSS-BJP say Budhism is nothing but Hinduism, Brahmin leaders like Udupi’s Pejawara Swamy even now insists that Budhism is anti-Hindu (Deccan Herald, Nov.3, 2008).
On one side top Brahmin leaders criticise Budhism, do everything to destroy it but at the same time Brahminical agents like S.N. Goenka brainwash Ambedkarite Budhists through Vipassana meditation and Calcutta’s Maha Bodhi Society in perverting everything that Dr. Ambedkar did.
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THE “MAHATMA” AS STOOGE OF THE BRITISH
One of the greatest wonders of Brahminsim is its double-face. The best and the most famous example in history to prove this is M.K. Gandhi.
An RSS Chitpavan Brahmin from Pune, the homeland of the Brahminical terrorist party, RSS, killed Gandhi and the RSS distributed sweets all over India to celebrate the event.
BUNCH OF CONTRADICTIONS
Even as the vaidiks rejoiced over elimination of the only obstacle to take over the leadership of “independent” India, they also quietly captured Gandhi Bhavans, became the greatest gandhians and thereby once again fooled us.
There is no point in blaming the Hindu terrorist party or the vaidik vampire for this except Gandhi himself who was a bundle of contradictions. The vaidiks found in him the best of traits to deceive the innocent people of India.
One of the greatest contradictions in Gandhi was his claim that he fought against the British rule.
Read our book to know the truth.
SERGEANT-MAJOR M.K. GANDHI
Which reveals him as a first-rate British stooge who worked in the British army as Sergeant-Major in British-ruled South Africa.
The book written by Dr. Velu Annamalai proves how Gandhi was a notorious anti-Black racist and how his claim for nonviolence was totally false.
Rather, he was a first class stooge of the White rulers.
The author even calls Gandhi a dictator and an Indian version of Hitler.
The book has excerpts from Michael Edward’s book, The Myth of the Mahatma.
ENEMY NO.1 OF DALITS
Dr. Ambedkar called Gandhi the Enemy No.1 of Untouchables.
V.T. Rajshekar in his book, Why Godse Killed Gandhi? congratulated Godse for liberating India from gandhian menace.
Only few copies are available.
1995 pp.60 Rs. 20
Write to Dalit Voice office.
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DALIT-MUSLIM UNITY
A number of our DV family members have been telling us to promote Dalit-Muslim unity to counter the mounting Brahminical terrorism in the country. We want to impress that we were the first in India to launch such a movement.
Our book on this subject was released in Bangalore by Moulana Hasan Ali Nadvi (Ali Miya) in 1995 itself — over 13 years back.
The Editor later went round the country with copies of the book written by Dr. Ram Nath, a noted Dalit intellectual of UP, translated to Hindi and Urdu.
Muslims purchased the books with great enthusiasm, delivered powerful speeches supporting the unity, treated us to good dinner parties and there it ended.
At the end of 13 years now we stand where we were. Dalits are ready but the Muslim hand of friendship is not forthcoming. Why?
We got the answer from a Bihari Backward Muslim who spoke at the DV silver jubilee meeting at Lucknow on Sept.28, 2008. The entire gathering was shocked to hear why we failed.
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Please order the last few remaining copies of the book
DALIT - MUSLIM UNITY
WHY? AND HOW?
Dr. Ram Nath
Agriculture Scientist, Kanpur
Foreword by V.T. Rajshekar
1995 pp. 74 Rs. 25
The book answers 35 questions on the subject with two annexures:
“Dr. Ambedkar on Islam” & “Doubts on Dalit-Muslim unity answered”.
Write to DV office.
Latest book by a Bangladeshi scholar examines how Budhism vanished
from its very land of birth
BUDDHISM IN SOUTH ASIA
A Study in History
Dr. M. Abdul Momin Chowdhury
Formerly of the University College of London
Says the credit for destroying Budhism and erasing even its memory from India goes to Brahmins who simply burnt down all monasteries and educational institutions including the world famous Nalanda University. They even rewrote “history” saying their god Vishnu re-incarnated as Budha. They destroyed all records so that no factual history is available. They wrote their cock and bull stories in Mahabharata and Ramayana to promote Brahminical values.
2008 pp.360 Rs. 300
London Institute of South Asia, London
Write to Dalit Voice for copies.
http://www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/dec2008/reports.htm
'Ex-Pak Army officials, ISI trained Mumbai attackers'
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Agencies
Posted: Dec 04, 2008 at 1210 hrs IST
New York Former Pakistan Army officers and those from the powerful ISI helped train the attackers who targeted Mumbai last week killing over 180 people, a media report said on Thursday quoting a former Pentagon official.
However, no specific links had been uncovered yet between terrorists and the Pakistani government, the unnamed official said, according to the 'New York Times'.
"A former Defense Department official said on Wednesday that American intelligence agencies had determined that former officers from Pakistan's Army and its powerful Inter Services Intelligence agency helped train the Mumbai attackers," the paper said.
It, however, did not identify the official, saying he had spoken on condition of anonymity.
The disclosure came as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held meetings with Indian leaders in New Delhi and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met their Pakistani counterparts in Islamabad, in a two-pronged effort to pressure the country to cooperate fully in tracking down the perpetrators of the bloody attacks, the paper said.
Pakistan has refuted Indian allegations that militants operating from its soil were responsible for the deadly attacks, with President Asif Ali Zardari terming them as "non-state actors".
US tells Pak to 'investigate aggressively' Mumbai attack links
The United States has asked Pakistan to "investigate aggressively" all possible links between Pakistani groups and the Mumbai attacks and to take more action against militants across the country.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, asked Pakistan's top leadership to "investigate aggressively any and all possible ties to groups based in Pakistan", the US embassy said in a statement.
While taking note of the recent success of Pakistani security forces in operations against militants on the Afghan border, Mullen "also encouraged Pakistani leaders to take more, and more concerted, action against militant extremists elsewhere in the country", the statement said.
"All agreed that the tragedy in Mumbai represents a dangerous escalation in the sophistication of extremist attacks and an increased threat to the entire region," the statement said.
Mullen, who is on a two-day visit to Pakistan for talks aimed at defusing the tensions with India after the Mumbai attacks, met with President Asif Ali Zardari, Mahmud Ali Durrani, Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security, Gen Tariq Majid, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha.
His visit to Pakistan coincided with a visit to India by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is expected to travel to Islamabad on Thursday.
Are politicians suffering from foot-in-mouth syndrome?
The political class has never had it so bad with unprecedented public anger over Mumbai terror attacks, and they have made it worse for themselves with "foot-in-the-mouth" syndrome.
From lipstick to cur, politicians have come in for sharp criticism for their shooting-from-the-lip with eminent personalities saying time has come for them to think before opening their mouth.
Be it Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan's "dog" remark or former Maharashtra Deputy CM RR Patil's "filmi-syle" statement or BJP Vice-President MA Naqvi's "lipstick" reaction and their respective parties taking exception to them – these kneejerk comments are now being subjected to public scrutiny.
Says India's first woman IPS officer-turned-social activist Kiran Bedi: "The politicians have long been suffering from the foot-in-the-mouth syndrome. But, thanks to media now, they and their diseases are getting exposed. We need change in the country."
Concurs historian Ramachandra Guha. He says that the anger of people after the Mumbai mayhem "was aggravated by the cavalier behaviour of the politicians".
Rajya Sabha MP Chandan Mitra disagrees. "In no way, we can generalise the politicians who make comments from time to time which are not in good taste. Politicians as a class are not suffering from the foot-in-mouth disease.
"Each of the comments has to be seen as a specific case. The only exception is Kerala CM's 'dog' remark about a martyred Army Major -- that statement is despicable. However, other comments don't fall in that category."
Achuthanandan had ignited a controversy after being "snubbed" by the angry father of NSG officer Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan who was brutally killed by terrorists in Mumbai, when he went to Bangalore to offer his condolences, by saying, "If it had not been Sandeep's house, not even a dog would have glanced that way."
However, noted social scientist Shabnam Hashmi disagrees with Mitra.
"A majority of politicians suffer from some sort of disease. You take BJP leader Naqvi's audacious statement on 'women wearing lipstick and powder' and protesting against the politicians in the wake of the Mumbai carnage. These comments reflect one's feudal mindset.
"Likewise, Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi's announcement of compensation for the slain policemen – Anti- Terror Squad chief Hemant Karkare, Additional Commissioner Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar – who died fighting the terrorists in Mumbai – is also condemnable.
"It's evident Modi did it for political gains. But the bereaved wife of brave heart officer Karkare showed the nation what the politicians actually deserve by refusing the largesse from the Chief Minister," she exclaims.
Congress MP Adhir Choudhury fully agrees: "Some of our fellow politicians are suffering from the foot-in-the-mouth syndrome, no doubt. It's due to the deterioration of political ethics in this country. It's unfortunate and I feel ashamed.
"We are people's representatives. But, people hardly respect us nowadays due to the irresponsible and immature comments made by some flashy politicians.
"The father of the slain Major showed the nation what politicians deserve by shooing the Kerala Chief Minister out of his home. That was the perfect treatment which needs to be meted out by the civilian society to what is now seen as a despicable species of Indian population called politicians."
Mitra interrupts. "No I don't agree to the bracketing of all politicians as despicable people. In case of Naqvi what he was really wanted to convey was a sudden excitement among Mumbai's chattering classes."
But, Choudhury feels that whether it's his party MP or whosoever it be, any politician who indulges in irresponsible remarks should not be "punished".
"See both Shivraj Patil and RR Patil had to finally resign -- one for his sartorial fetish while the other for saying 'bade bade saheer mein chota chota blasts hota hai' respectively after the Mumbai terror attacks."
Sums up Kolkata-based psychologist Dr SK Dasgupta: "People's anger against politicians is more due to fear coming from a sense of insecurity."
Why did state government take so long to react?
4 Dec 2008, 1909 hrs IST, IANS
NEW DELHI: Two precious hours were lost as marine commandos waited that Wednesday night for authorisation to act from the Maharashtra Chief
Secretary Johny Joseph. By the time the commandos got the green signal to leave their base for Mumbai, the terrorists had already ensconced themselves in several key locations.
As the establishment begins to examine what went wrong despite the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's external intelligence agency, claiming they had given information specifying the places and the time bracket the terrorists were expected to attack, the state government's role has come under the spotlight.
Highly-placed sources told IANS that at least on four occasions and even on Nov 26, the day that 10 militants laid siege on high-profile targets, including the Oberoi Trident and the Taj hotels, RAW had tipped off authorities of the impending attack by sea and even given information of the time.
RAW's mandate is to disseminate alerts to the Intelligence Bureau (IB) that oversees domestic activities. It is now reliably learnt that the IB did pass on the "actionable intelligence" alerts to the Maharashtra government.
Why it did not act remains a mystery, says an official.
In a double whammy, it also procrastinated when the militants struck at 9.30 p.m. on Nov 26.
And so it was that the marine commandos - known by their acronym Marcos - left their naval base to leave for Mumbai an hour away only late on Wednesday night -- more than two hours after the militants had struck.
"Last week's terror attacks in Mumbai have once again exposed the sheer lack of critical connectivity needed between intelligence agencies and security agencies. We really have to do some serious soul searching," said a senior home ministry official.
Even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not informed about the intelligence inputs. Officials say briefings from the IB director and the RAW chief to the prime minister are not so regular any more.
Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta has also made it clear his force had received "no actionable intelligence" that could have helped pre-empt the Mumbai terror carnage, even as he candidly admitted the entire episode was reflective of "a systemic failure" which needs to be urgently addressed.
"We really do not know what the state authorities conveyed or did not convey to the navy for action," said intelligence sources.
According to another intelligence official, a failure of this magnitude occurred from primarily three factors.
"There was no intelligence information, there was intelligence but it was not properly relayed or the information was relayed but there was failure of optimum response," he said.
In the light of the intelligence goof-up, new Home Minister P. Chidambaram has been stressing on accountability, which needs to be fixed, and on an effective feedback system every time threat perceptions are relayed to relevant quarters.
Chidambaram has been regularly meeting top officials of the ministry, including National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta, IB Director P.C. Halder and RAW chief Ashok Chaturvedi.
"He has been patiently listening out to the top functionaries in the ministry but is in a hurry to see systems are in place so that the security establishment is accountable to the people who want to live safe," said a senior ministry official.
In the coming days and weeks, the home ministry is expected to quickly deal with some long-pending decisions aimed at enabling the government to effectively fight terrorism.
These measures would include the need to have a stringent anti-terror law and a federal investigating agency, massive modernisation of the police forces and the intelligence set-up and safeguarding coastal security.
US insurers eye India to cut costs
4 Dec 2008, 0410 hrs IST, Khomba Singh, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: The US health insurance companies are tying up with Indian corporate hospitals for flying down patients to the country for treatment in Tips for buying an insurance policy |
How to choose an insurance broker
order to cut costs. Wellpoint, the largest health insurance company in the US, and Bluecross Blueshield have joined hands with Apollo Hospitals to treat the US citizens.
Wellpoint and Apollo Hospitals are set to start a pilot project next month to treat the US insurer’s members in Apollo’s hospitals in Delhi and Bangalore, which was approved by the Joint Commission International (JCI), the US-based hospital certifying agency.
Apollo Hospitals president (corporate development) Anil Mani said: “The pilot project will run for 6-12 months.” The Wellpoint’s website says it has around 35 million members. In other words, one in every nine Americans is affiliated with the company.
Apollo, the country’s largest hospital chain, was in discussions with Wellpoint for around two years. Mr Mani said that it has also tied up with another health insurance firm, Companion Healthcare, the South Carolina subsidiary of another leading US insurance company BlueCross Blueshield.
Similarly, Wockhardt Hospital, which tied up with Companion Healthcare last month, hopes to ink similar deals with the other US health insures to treat the insured citizens. Wockhardt Hospitals CEO Vishal Bali said, “Wellpoint has already completed assessment of Wockhardt Hospitals. We are also in talks with few other health insurance companies and exploring the possibility of expanding our tie-up with Bluecross Blueshield to other US states.”
JCI approval is mandatory for hospitals to treat the US insured citizens. Currently, India has around 13 JCI approved hospitals. A recent Deloitte study on medical tourism estimates that 7.5 lakh Americans travelled abroad for treatment in 2007, and the number is projected to touch 6 million by 2010. India received 4.5 lakh medical tourists in 2007. At present, the global medical tourism market is $60 billion, said the study.
For some years, Indian hospitals have been unsuccessfully trying to tap the insured patient segment which account for 70-75% of the US market. This segment constitutes a potentially important revenue stream for Indian hospitals. The US health authorities and patients were apprehensive about getting treatment in India and other developing countries, despite a substantial reduction in premium for consumers. So far, most of the so-called medical tourist from the US are uninsured patients.
But the change in perception has come, because a large number of the US citizens have been treated in India. The US citizens are now convinced that Indian hospitals provide world-class medical facilities and the quality of Indian hospitals are approved by JCI. “A trend has been established by the two leading health insurance companies and other firms will also enter into similar arrangement,” Mr Bali added.
As per industry estimates, the cost of treatment in India, including travel cost of patient and a companion, is around one-eight the cost of treating the same disease in the US. Health insurance companies in the US are also looking at offering new products with lower premium, if patients are willing to get their treatment in Indian hospital partners.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/US_health_insurance_companies_eye_India_to_cut_costs/articleshow/3790073.cms
'Ratan Tata can be India's Obama'
4 Dec 2008, 2000 hrs IST, PTI
NEW YORK: Who could be India's Obama who could unite the country and march the nation forward at a traumatic time? US business magazine Forbes Richest Indians |
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feels it is industry captain Ratan Tata.
"While it (India) has the sympathy of the world (after the recent attacks), India could have an Obama moment -- one in which a leader, whose personal history epitomises the country's principles, marches forward to unite the country during its very moment of trauma. India has a chance now to get it right, but it needs a strong, credible leader to step up," Forbes said in a report.
"As an American, I don't get a vote in India, but if I did, mine would go to Ratan Tata," added the report written by Forbes magazine' Senior Editor (Asia) Robyn Meredith.
"He is not a politician, but he is the country's most respected business leader. His Tata Group owns the Taj hotel that was just attacked, but his family is just as connected to India's proud history as its shell-shocked present," Meredith wrote in a weekly column published online.
Posing the question whether should there be not a way to involve Tata at the highest level in the government, the report noted that "a fractured India" would immensely benefit from his acumen and constructive patriotism.
Meredith pointed out, "Should there not be a way to involve him in government at the highest level? A fractured India would benefit immeasurably from his acumen, his managerial skills, and his very obvious--but always constructive--patriotism."
Wondering what if the nation leapfrogged America's approach, the magazine pointed out that the political leap could be as successful as the country's technology jump.
SEBI restricts early exit from close-ended mutual funds
4 Dec 2008, 1734 hrs IST, REUTERS
MUMBAI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Thursday said investors won't be allowed to exit from close-ended mutual fund schemes Tackling volatile mkts
before maturity and asked fund houses to list them on stock exchanges.
The market regulator also said all such funds must invest in instruments in line with their maturity profile.
"For all close-ended schemes, no early exits will be provided by the funds," SEBI Chairman C B Bhave told a media briefing following a board meeting earlier in the day. "All schemes will have to be listed on the stock exchange," he added.
The decision comes in wake of a liquidity crisis faced by the industry two months ago as investors pulled out from fixed income funds fearing their credit quality.
More than Rs 90,000 crore flowed out of debt funds during the period, creating a liquidity crunch for the Rs 4 trillion industry and forcing the central bank to offer money through a special money market operation to ease the pressure.
Under its special repo auction, the central bank is offering Rs 60,000 crore to banks. Funds, in turn, can borrow money by swapping their large but illiquid holdings of bank debt for cash.
The regulator also extended the validity period of initial public offers to one year from three months now.
Dawood sitting pretty in Karachi
4 Dec 2008, 0135 hrs IST, S Balakrishnan, TNN
MUMBAI: Even as India seeks Dawood Ibrahim's extradition yet again, the don is ensconced safely in his plush bungalow in Karachi. Terror cover premium to rise 50%? | Places targeted
Security agency sources told TOI on Wednesday that it's business as usual for the underworld kingpin. A few days ago, a couple of his relatives, including Salim Ansari, flew to Pakistan (using their valid Indian passports) to meet him. Sources said the don was so confident that he would not be touched by the Pakistani establishment that he had made no changes in his daily routine.
He continues to phone his contacts in Mumbai. Recently, a contact who fronts for him in the real estate business reportedly sent Rs 120 crore via hawala, sources in the government stated. The hawala channel between Mumbai and Karachi remains busy.
Indian security agencies are keeping close tabs on Dawood's movements, as are their counterparts in the US intelligence establishment. It's on the basis of detailed inputs from them that India maintains that Dawood Ibrahim is in Pakistan. But central agencies question why the Maharashtra government has not taken any action against the D-company here.
"What's the point of asking Islamabad to hand over Dawood when we're not doing anything to destroy his empire in Mumbai and other places in India?" a senior official asked.
Mohammed Ali, who holds sway in the docks and is a key member of the Dawood Ibrahim network, continues to operate with impunity. Even after the November 26 terror attacks, his smuggling racket remains unchecked. Despite strong indications that it provided logistical assistance to the attackers, the police insist there was no local support. At the same time, they do not rule out Dawood Ibrahim's involvement.
Meanwhile, security agencies are hoping the US will move on Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders, including Abu Hamza and Hafeez Syed. An email sent to a TV channel was traced to an LeT hideout near Muridke in Pakistan's Punjab province. The phone intercepts of the LeT terrorists who executed the Mumbai massacre also reveal their links to Pakistan and Bangladesh.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Dawood_confident_Pak_establishment_wont_touch_him/articleshow/3790021.cms
Wealth managers go head hunting in times of pink slips
4 Dec 2008, 1341 hrs IST, Saikat Das, ECONOMICTIMES.COM
MUMBAI: In times of rising lay offs across industries, wealth managers are going head hunting for new talent as they see huge opportunity in the
wealth management domain. They are recruiting people both at senior and junior levels, to keep pace with their expansion plans.
In a downturn when investors are at a loss as to where to invest, wealth management services appear 'meaningful'.
Axis Bank, SMC Global, Reliance Money, Birla Sun Life, ASK Investment Managers are looking at recruitments in sales/wealth advisory verticals. Encouraged by an increasing number of queries, all of these wealth managers are on an expansion spree geographically.
Launched in July, the wealth management division of Reliance Money has set a target of 1,00,000 clients by the end of current fiscal. Expanding its services from 20 cities to 50, Reliance Money will be hiring close to 100 people for the wealth management team in the next couple of months.
Similarly, the wealth management arm of Axis Bank plans to recruit 60-70 people in sales by the end of 2007-08, expecting an ambitious 100 per cent growth in business.
"We are adding to the central wealth management team in Mumbai, besides other cities. With economic development of the country, the need for wealth management services will grow exponentially. Within a period of next 5 years, the market should see 10-fold growth," said Sudip Bandyopadhyay, director and CEO, Reliance Money.
Sonu Bhasin, president – retail financial services, Axis Bank, said, "Earlier, people would not listen to us when we approached them for wealth management services. Now the situation has changed. We expect to convert most of them into our clients."
The wealth management division of Axis Bank will expand to 60-70 cities from the current 30 by the end of CY2009.
Expecting 30-40 per cent growth, SMC Global is looking to expand its presence to 4-6 cities by the end of current fiscal. "We will be recruiting 15-20 people in posts like vice president, assistant vice president and senior wealth managers," said S.S. Bansal, head – wealth management, SMC Global.
Wealth managers feel there is a large talent pool which is more affordable and available now, but were not forthcoming about compensation packages being offered.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Wealth_managers_go_head_hunting_in_times_of_pink_slips/articleshow/3792067.cms
Terrorists planned to ram boat into US consulate in 2007
3 Dec 2008, 1305 hrs IST, C Unnikrishnan, TNN
MUMBAI: In mid-2007, two persons from Indonesia flew into Mumbai and stayed at the Taj President off Cuffe Parade. They were exploring the Mumbai attack: Common man blames politicians
Travel Insurance: 5 points to remember
Wanted by India, living in Pakistan
What to do when terror attacks
possibility of attacking Mumbai by sea.
One of them was related to an accused in the al-Qaida bombing of a Bali night club in 2002, which claimed 202 lives. According to sources, the duo got in touch with an aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
For several days, the two foreign nationals scouted for an apartment in Colaba Market with a local contact of this aide. They finalised the leave-and-licence agreement for a flat in the name of this local contact’s wife. The flat was completely renovated with new furniture.
"They were extremely discreet in their operations and communicated in a foreign language. They had sophisticated communication equipment like satellite phones and a laptop and at times, spoke at length on phone. They moved around in a black SUV,’’ sources told TOI.
The local contact learnt from the Dawood aide that they were planning a sea route attack on the US consulate at Breach Candy. “They planned to ram a fuel-laden vessel at high speed into the sea-facing building,” a source said.
Courtesy: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
Europeans make big rate cuts to fight recession
4 Dec 2008, 1933 hrs IST, REUTERS
LONDON: The European Central Bank, Britain and Sweden all made big cuts in interest rates on Thursday to shore up economies across Europe in the Ghosts of 1929 |
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2008: Year of global financial crisis
face of ever-bleaker financial news.
The cuts were applauded by many analysts but market reaction indicated that even more sweeping moves may be needed to halt the decline.
Sweden lopped off a record 175 basis points to 2.0 percent and the ECB slashed 75 points to 2.50 percent, the eurozone's biggest ever cut.
The Bank of England chopped 100 basis points for an interest rate of 2.0 percent, the lowest level since 1951, as recession loomed over Britain.
France meanwhile unveiled a 26 billion euro ($32.9 billion) stimulus plan for its faltering economy as unemployment rose, the latest European country to open state coffers to fight the downturn.
With the United States, Europe and Japan now in recession and other countries sliding that way, data showed a mounting pattern of job losses and corporate woes across the globe.
The rate cuts are aimed at making credit cheaper and so boost spending, but banks will need to overcome their reluctance to lend for the measure to take hold and savers will suffer.
Sweden's central bank, the Riksbank said it expected rates to remain at the new 2.0 percent level over the coming year. There was an "unexpectedly rapid and clear deterioration in economic activity since October," it said.
The Bank of England, also taking rates to 2.0 percent, made clear the downturn had gathered pace and conditions in credit markets remained difficult.
"Across the UK, deteriorating house prices and rising unemployment are both taking their toll on business and consumer confidence," said Trevor Williams, chief economist, Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets.
Analysts had widely expected the move following business indicators suggesting Britain's economy could be heading for an even deeper recession than most people had predicted.
But it disappointed some investors who had begun to speculate on a bigger easing following Sweden's action and European shares and bund futures pared Thursday's earlier gains.
Most analysts had predicted a 50 basis point cut by the ECB, but with inflation plummeting and the economy of the 15-nation eurozone sinking deeper into recession, it opted for a bigger slice.
"They are now taking bolder decisions and this reflects a shift in perception in the ECB," said Bank of America economist Gilles Moec."
Nevertheless, European shares gave up gains to turn deeply negative, tracking U.S. index futures after a bearish update from chemicals group DuPont.
U.S. interest rates will fall below 1 percent if the Fed cuts again as expected later this month.
Earlier on Thursday, New Zealand sliced interest rates by a record 150 basis points to a five-year low of 5.0 percent and said it would probably have to trim again.
Indonesia also made a surprise cut in its key interest rate, by 25 basis points to 9.25 percent, the first since December 2007 as the government sought to protect the economy.
In trading that closed before the European rate cuts, Asian shares fell as investors braced for a sharp turn lower in the global economy and sought safety in U.S. government debt.
France draws up 26 bln euro stimulus package
4 Dec 2008, 1749 hrs IST, REUTERS
DOUAI: The French government has drawn up a 26 billion euro ($32.9 billion) stimulus plan for the faltering economy, or around 1.3 percent of gross domestic product, according to official documents seen on Thursday.
The package will boost French growth by around 0.6 percent next year, but will also push the deficit to 3.9 percent of GDP against a previous target of 3.1 percent.
President Nicolas Sarkozy is due to unveil the package later on Thursday, which is expected to focus on investment and infrastructure projects rather than consumers.
Bailouts creating conditions for another economic crisis
4 Dec 2008, 1646 hrs IST, Mandar Nimkar, ECONOMICTIMES.COM
MUMBAI: With more and more industries asking for stimulus packages from US government, analysts feel it will create conditions for the next round
of economic crises: an abrupt drop in the dollar and a massive national debt.
The size of the stimulus packages is getting bigger and bigger, which financial experts say is needed to turn around the situation. Economists are now talking of a $1 trillion stimulus package.
But the US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed president Ben Bernanke could be putting consumers deeper into debt by doing so.
“They are just overlooking the facts that show US households are in deeper debt than ever before, and that consumer spending in October fell the most in seven years. What was the reason? Is it because credit card rates are too high? No. Look at the jobs data-- some 15 lakh jobs have been lost so far this year and millions more fear that their jobs are in jeopardy," said Ankit Sinha, CEO-Spark Advisory.
Not only in US but across the world, lay-offs and fears of job losses have hampered consumer spending. Companies are experiencing declining revenues, tightening their belts and laying off workers. Even companies that have the money are reluctant to spend it as economies are sinking deeper into recession.
Increasing consumer lending and dollar supplies to banks won't stem the failures and buy-outs in the financial sector. One should remember that spending more than we earn is how we got into this economic mess in the first place.
Analysts see a rise in default rates for all kinds of collateral over the next 2-3 years. Mortgage-backed securities, junk bonds, triple-A rated corporate bonds, car loans, credit-card loans, and loans made to the governments and companies of dozens of countries.
The world collateral debt swap market is over $60 trillion. These swaps are essentially insurance contracts on corporate debt. Thus, the cry by the US automakers gains importance. As, if even one of the three--GM, Ford, Chrysler--fail, it would trigger underwriting and losses of around $1.2 trillion for banks with exposure to this market.
Government intervention usually helps in the short-term, but brings unexpected and harmful consequences in the longer-term. In the current situation, even the short-term relief is not in sight.
“There is a better way to get out of this mess than relying on a consumer-led recovery. The government should let and encourage consumers to put more of what they earn into their savings accounts and for banks to use this money for infrastructure and capital equipment investments which in turn will create jobs and then automatically encourage consumer spending,” said Sinha by way of a likely solution.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/International_Business/Bailouts_creating_conditions_for_another_economic_crisis/articleshow/3793156.cms
Pak groups may use captured Indian boats for more strikes
4 Dec 2008, 1655 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: With Pakistan having captured more than 600 Indian fishing boats and trawlers over a long period of time, India is worried that these
vessels may be used to carry out more terror attacks on its soil and leave the maritime law-enforcing agencies flummoxed.
"Pakistani terrorists used an Indian fishing boat to sneak into Mumbai to execute their terror plans. With so many Indian boats with them, they can send a fleet to carry out more strikes against Indian maritime and shore-based assets," A Home Ministry source told PTI here today.
And these boats would raise no suspicion due to their Indian origin, it said. Since 2003, the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) has captured more than 600 Indian fishing boats and a large number of fishermen in the Pakistani territorial waters and has not returned the vessels to India.
"After relations between the two countries started improving, fishermen were allowed to go back through diplomatic channels, but the captured boats are never returned," the source said. Agencies have received inputs about the PMSA and other "suspicious" elements along with Pakistani fishermen using boats from the captured fleet to enter Indian waters.
"We knew that these boats were being used by Pakistani fishermen only to enter our waters. But later, we found that they were being used by PMSA and the suspicious elements to carry out reconnaissance of Indian coastal areas. These boats could provide a good platform to enter Indian waters without raising any suspicion," the source said.
'Attack on Mumbai is attack on London'
4 Dec 2008, 1548 hrs IST, IANS
LONDON: Hundreds of workers in the City of London - the world's premier financial centre - held a candle-light vigil Wednesday evening to honour
those who died in the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
The vigil at Canary Wharf, in the heart of London's financial district, aimed to show "solidarity and strength" between the two financial centres that have both been attacked by terrorists.
The financial centre of London, which includes the square mile and Canary Wharf, has a huge Indian workforce numbering thousands, but organisers said the vigil was attended by a large number of Britons as well.
The attacks have shocked the over half a million Indian-origin population of the British capital - the most Indian city outside India.
"An attack on Mumbai is an attack on London," said Arup Ganguly, president of SewaVolunteers, an Indian charity that organized the event.
"It sends a strong message to the terrorists. The special rich cultural tapestry of the city of London stands united with Mumbai," Ganguly added.
Indo-US relationship has taken on a new direction
Jyoti Malhotra
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font size New Delhi: As a US Democrat, Karl Inderfurth chose to go with Barack Obama than Hillary Clinton, which is probably why he is high on the list of those tipped to be the next US ambassador to India. South Asia is Inderfurth’s old hunting-ground. As assistant secretary of state for the region in the second Bill Clinton administration, he was part of the team that rebuilt the relationship between India and the US after India and Pakistan’s tit-for-tat nuclear tests. A speaker at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit last week, he spoke to Mint. Edited excerpts:
What does a Barack Obama victory mean for India? Does it mean anything at all?
I think it means a great deal. It means a great deal more of the same…
Click here to watch video
More of the same, business as usual…
This business is not usual, this Indo-US relationship has taken on a whole new direction and energy, including the successful conclusion of the civilian nuclear deal. That unlocks cooperation that we have not seen before, including space cooperation, although we have been with you to the moon now, we had two Nasa payloads on this Isro mission. What a great achievement that was.
But no big idea, nothing to capture the imagination like what the Republicans had…
Give the Obama administration a chance to come into office and see what they can come up with. Fact is, under Presidents Clinton and Bush we’ve seen policy continuity, there has been bi partisan support, the votes in the House (of Representatives) and the Senate show there is strong support for India…
And Barack Obama voted in the end for the deal…
Not in the end, he said what he would do before, in an indication of his support for the new strategic partnership with India.
Although Hillary Clinton, who’s tipped to be the secretary of state, voted in favour of a killer amendment to the Hyde Act in December 2006, which, if it had carried, would have killed the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Optimistic: Karl Inderfurth thinks Democrats will be as good with India as the Republicans were. In a lot of places, the Republicans and Democrats are always fighting but not about India. That is a good thing. Harikrishna Katragadda / MintThat wasn’t going to happen. The votes that took place on the Hyde Act were important votes and both senators Clinton and Obama voted for it in the end. But there were important issues that needed to be aired at the time. There’s no question in my view, and I supported the agreement from the start, that from India’s standpoint the agreement was about energy, but it also had non-proliferation aspects. The US should be a leader on that issue. This is something the US and India should work closely on. We don’t want to see nuclear materials or weapons or knowhow get into the wrong hands. Once we have signed this agreement, I think we should broaden the nuclear dialogue to talk about working together to prevent proliferation… You want a big idea? A nuclear-free world. Lets work on that… How about getting rid of nuclear weapons for all time?
So you think the Democrats could be as good with India as the Republicans were?
I absolutely do, but I don’t want to put it as “good” or “better”. The fact is that we have policy continuity, we see bi-partisan support. The best thing about the US-India relationship is that it is not partisan. India should be very relieved about that because in a lot of places around the world, the Republicans and Democrats are always fighting. But not about India. That is a good thing.
Can I ask you about 1998 when India conducted its tests and the then secretary of state Madeleine Albright said India has dug itself into a hole? In retrospect, what would you say about that?
I don’t want to go there. This is 10 years later, India is recognized as a nuclear state, the US and India are going to have full nuclear cooperation. This is a night and day situation and I think that’s where we ought to begin the discussion. We don’t need to go back to 1998.
One more question about the past. Your predecessor in the first Clinton administration, Robin Raphel, went on record to say that the US doesn’t recognize the Instrument of accession in Kashmir. What would you say about this today?
We are beyond that. These past statements may be interesting for some, but look at where we are today. You do not hear statements like that. You see India and the US cooperation across the board, on counter-terrorism, on defence relations, on space cooperation, on nuclear issues… We are in a new place.
So you’re not worried that Barack Obama will play an interventionist role in Kashmir?
No, I’m not. I think he recognizes that this is an issue that must be dealt with by the two parties, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
Are you going to be the next US ambassador to India?
I think it would be a great job to whoever is offered it. It would be a fascinating assignment…
http://www.livemint.com/2008/11/25234556/IndoUS-relationship-has-taken.html
US may change China policy again, says former NSA Mishra
November 25th, 2008 - 7:55 pm ICT by ANI -
New Delhi, Nov.25 (ANI): United States foreign policy would continue to be guided by its national interest as it had been since the World War II, feels Brajesh Mishra, National Security Advisor in the Vajpayee Government.
Chairing a discussion on the “Indo-US Nuclear Deal: Impact on Asian Security Framework” at Observer Research Foundation, Mishra said the Bush Administration had been working on two key US strategies of expanding eastward in the Europe and balancing of China.
“Mr. Obama will also do that,” he remarked, saying while the new President-elect talks of international cooperation, they also say “we have to lead it,” an ORF press release quoted him as saying further.
Mishra, a Trustee of ORF, said the Indo-US nuclear deal and alongwith it the better bilateral relations would lead to increased investments from the US. “This is a plus point in the Indo-US relations,” he said.
Saying that international situation has changed in the last few months following the financial crisis, Mr. Mishra said he was of the opinion that the US would seek Chinese cooperation to survive the economic crisis and perform well in the first four years so that he can seek re-election.
The ORF press release quoted General (retired) V.P. Malik, President of the Institute of Security Studies and former Chief of Army Staff, as saying that it is too early to assess the material gains from the nuclear agreement, especially in the hi-technology transfer area.
Giving the US and India perspective, former Foreign Secretary and former Ambassador to US, Lalit Mansingh, also said that the US would continue its hegemony in the world irrespective of whoever is the President.
“There would be continuity (in its foreign policy) though there may be some differences,” he said.
“Obama is not going to be hostile (to India), but at the same time, he is not going to be as friendly as President Bush,” he added.
Mansingh said though President George Bush articulated the US-India agreement, it really started when Pentagon and CIA said in studies that India was a ‘’swing state which would make difference war and peace.” He described 1998 as a point of departure as far as the India-US relations were concerned, with the Clinton administration making U-turn months after it imposed sanctions on India after its Pokhran II nuclear test.
Noting that the US military is under stress now, Mr. Mansingh said the US think only China can become a possible threat to it as it has the capability to challenge the US. So, the US think that strategic partnership with India can help balance the China factor, he said.
Mansingh said India can benefit immensely from the Indo-US partnership, especially in high technology and counter terrorism. Only US have the political will and military capability to fight the terror in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which is very vital to Indian interests, the ORF press release quoted him, as saying.
Mansingh was clear that there is no alternative to the India’’s relations with the US. He was not so certain about the possibility of friendly behaviour from rising China. In such a scenario, he did not see anything as effective as the Indo-US relations.
Giving the Chinese perspective, Dr. Surjit Dutta, Senior Fellow, IDSA, said though China was not happy with the Indo-US agreement, it decided to go alongwith the agreement because the “Chinese diplomacy was not willing to stand alone.”
“So, it decided to adjust to the new reality of a new world nuclear order. And attempt to engage strongly with the US and India to create a conducive situation”, Dr. Dutta said.
Giving the Russian perspective, Kanwal Sibal, a former Foreign Secretary and former Ambassador to Russia, said Russia may not be much concerned about the Indo-US deal and it was ready to give US the due credit for its efforts to get India into the Nuclear Suppliers Group which Russia was reluctant to do earlier.
Sibal said Russia would have a problem only if Indo-US relations start to trouble them strategically and economically.
Giving the Southeast Asian perspective, Prof. GVC Naidu of Jawaharlal Nehru University explained how the new Indo-US relations have fetched India a critical role in the new security architecture and deeper Indo-Japan relations, with many countries suspicious of China. He also spoke of the possibility of increased civil nuclear energy cooperation with Japan which has stakes in both US and French nuclear energy firms.
Saying that the current economic crisis has no parallel, former Ambassador M.K. Bhadrakumar said the US knows that only a cash-rich China can save the US from this crisis and hence there might be a change in the US policy towards China. “The Americans may survive their closer relations with China,” he cautioned.
He also opined that the Indo-US deal has led to losses for the United States in Afghan war as it led to mistrust in Pakistan. (ANI)
'N deal would lead to increased investments from US'
Tags: Nuke deal , Brijesh Mishra
Published: Wed, 26 Nov 2008 at 09:47 IST
New Delhi, Nov 26: The Indo-US nuclear deal along with better bilateral relations with US would lead to increased investments from that country in India, former National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra said.
"This is a plus point in Indo-US relations," Mishra remarked while chairing a discussion on "Indo-US Nuclear deal: Impact on Asian Security Framework" at Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
Mishra, however, felt that the US foreign policy would continue to be guided by its national interest as it had been since the World War II despite the historic victory of Barack Obama in the US presidential elections and "the change" he has promised.
Bush administration had been working on two key US strategies of expanding eastward in the Europe and balancing of China.
"Obama will also do that," he remarked, saying while the new President-elect talks of international co-operation, they also say "we have to lead it".
Stating that international situation has changed in the last few months following the financial crisis, Mishra opined that the US could seek Chinese cooperation to survive the economic crisis and perform well in the first four years so that he (Obama) can seek re-election.
However, General (retired) VP Mallick, president of the Institute of Security Studies which organised the discussion, said it is too early to assess the material gains from the nuclear agreement, especially in the hi-technology transfer area.
http://www.samaylive.com/news/n-deal-would-lead-to-increased-investments-from-us/600031.html
National interest will guide Obama’s India policy: ex-NSA
Font Size Express news service
Posted: Nov 26, 2008 at 0041 hrs IST
New Delhi: Former National Security Advisor in the NDA regime Brajesh Mishra has said the US under Obama will maintain ties with India on its own terms.
“Obama may have won the US Presidential elections on the plank of change but he will not change the foreign policy with respect to India,” said Mishra, who was chairing a session on “Indo-US nuclear deal: Impact on Asian Security Framework” at the Observer Research Foundation, on Tuesday.
He cited a discussion by five US secretaries of state, organised by CNN after Obama’s win, where it was said that the US will continue to have strategic cooperation with countries but it will have to “lead” (the countries). The US foreign policy would continue to be guided by its own national interest as has happened since the World War II, Mishra added.
Mishra said the Bush administration’s two key strategies — of expanding eastwards in Europe and balancing of China— will remain under Obama as well.
He said the Indo-US nuclear deal would lead to increased investments from the US. “This is a plus point in the Indo-US relations,” he said.
Saying that the international situation has changed over the past few months following the financial crisis, Mishra said he was of the opinion that the US would seek Chinese cooperation to survive the economic crisis and perform better in the first four years so as to seek re-election.
Former foreign secretary and former Ambassador to US, Lalit Mansingh, said the US would continue its hegemony in the world irrespective of whoever is at the helm. “There would be continuity (in its foreign policy) though there may be some differences¿ Obama is not going to be hostile (to India), but at the same time he is not going to be as friendly as President Bush,” he said.
Mansingh said India could benefit immensely from the Indo-US partnership, especially in technology and fighting terrorism. Only the US has the political will and military capability to fight Terror in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which is vital to Indian interests, he said.
Giving the Russian perspective, Kanwal Sibal, a former foreign secretary and former Ambassador to Russia, said the country may not be much concerned about the Indo-US deal and would credit the US for its efforts to bring India into the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group. Russia was reluctant to do so earlier, he added.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/National-interest-will-guide-Obama-s-India-policy--ex-NSA/390602
Sujit Pruseth & Sachi SatpathyFirst Published : 01 Dec 2008 02:09:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 01 Dec 2008 04:14:54 PM ISTPresident-elect Obama’s historic statement on the further consolidation of Indo-US relations in certain common areas like tackling international terrorism has gained increased relevance with the latest terrorist attack on India’s financial capital, Mumbai. It is now confirmed that the original plan of the terrorists was to attack the Indian Prime Minister in Mumbai in that particular hotel. The audacity and brazen act of terrorism has taken a new serious form with this recent incident.
At this critical juncture President-elect Obama has to carve out a ‘new deal’ in terms of international joint mechanism to counter international terrorism as both the thriving democracies have been facing the scourge of extremism.
In earlier occasions and in this recent attack, Pakistan’s hand is evident from the very nature of terrorist strategies adopted.
This fact has indeed reflected in the policy of US that has recently recognised that equating an emerging India with a growingly dysfunctional Pakistan does not serve American interests.
This led to the commencement of what is called as a policy of “decoupling” US relations with India and Pakistan.
The close proximity between USA and India in various forms including recent two incidences such as signing historic Indo-US nuclear deal and President-elect Barack Obama’s pro-India stand in reference to terrorism and other related issues of fighting poverty have become unacceptable to these anti-India-USA elements and trying to show their frustration to destabilise these two most vibrant democracies of the world. In his letter in September to the Indian Prime Minister, Obama pointed out that “the recent bombings in Kabul remind us that we are both victims of terrorist attacks on our soil, and we share a common goal of defeating these forces of extremism”.
In fact a Democratic Party document entitled “Renewing America’s Promise” adopted at its convention in Denver eschews using the phrase “Global War on Terror” and focuses on “combating violent extremism”. The new US administration will have to re-craft its relations with India and Pakistan based on an objective assessment of the intrinsic value of each country to US interests. While the US will have to recognise that India is on the way to becoming a major Asian power, and Pakistan as a country in “serious crisis” and has become the heaven for producing militancy. This approach will definitely make the Obama regime being more responsive than in the past on Indian concerns on terrorism, by acting to ban groups like the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed. Obama has, in fact, accused Pakistan of misusing funds for the war against terror and allegedly using it to fund militancy against India in one of his campaign speech. The past experiences on affairs in Indian neighbourhood the US have generally backed what India did in the interests of regional stability. There have been ample examples; like Reagan’s backing for the 1987 Indo- Sri Lanka Agreement and for our 1988 military intervention in the Maldives. This present hour of crisis also requires similar actions in Indian neighbourhood on breeding points of terrorism. Pakistan’s constant claim of being serious in clamping down terrorism activities from its soil has remained a hollow statement and it looks like Pakistan’s inability to handle these types of fundamentalist groups. As India has become the worst suffer of extremism in the region, it needs to convince Pakistan to help India in attacking terrorist camps in the Pakistan soil with international consensus.
Barack Obama even talked of launching unilateral strikes or hot pursuit across the Afghan border to hit al- Qaeda. That is the question quite a few in the region started asking. Even the next probable Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a sensational statement few days ago about Pakistan’s dangerous instability and its nuclear dimension. She even went to the extent of promising a drastic solution, just short of the demented idea of a forcible takeover of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
The attack on Mumbai has also reinforced the urgency of taking some non-conventional steps to eliminate terrorism without any trace.
India has to reach out all responsible nations towards crafting a pro-active anti-terrorist drive without delay. This shocking and most atrocious form of terrorism after 9/11 will also have policy ramifications for president-elect Barack Obama’s future foreign policy. The new US President will have to take an extra mile in enacting an Indo-US joint strategy to fight extremism. The policy has to be shifted to fighting terrorism in a new and concerted way with the active help of country like India in a leading position.
The authors are with Bangalore Based National Law School of India University and Institute for Social and Economic Change respectively sujitpruseth@nls.ac.in, sachisatpathy@isec.ac.in
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Can+US+and+India+fight+terror+together?&artid=gTuhulHxpgY=&SectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&MainSectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&SectionName=m3GntEw72ik=
Obama’s first crisis
Font Size C Raja Mohan
Posted: Dec 03, 2008 at 2346 hrs IST
The audacity of restraintAs the US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice arrives in New Delhi to handle what could be the last major international crisis for the Bush administration in the wake of the Mumbai aggression, President-elect Barack Obama is gearing up for his first.
Obama and his team are being kept in the loop by Rice and her colleagues in the Bush administration on the post-Mumbai dynamic between India and Pakistan. Obama got his first briefing as he sat down for Thanksgiving dinner, when an official team arrived in Chicago to fill him in.
When he announced his national security team on Monday, Obama reaffirmed his solidarity with India that he had earlier conveyed to Manmohan Singh. He also declared that “the situation in South Asia as a whole and the safe havens for terrorists that have been established there, represent the single most important threat against the American people”.
During the campaign, Obama articulated the proposition that Afghanistan can’t be stabilised without addressing the problems insidePakistan. He also pointed to the relationship between the crises on Pakistan’s western and eastern frontiers.The Mumbai attacks are likely to reinforce his conviction that South Asia needs an integrated approach. If the Bush administration is unable to manage the crisis in the next weeks, it could well be the first order of diplomatic business when Obama is sworn in next month.
At the moment though, American attention will be riveted to Indo-Pak crisis management rather than conflict resolution. Although Rice is not traveling to Pakistan in an obvious mediatory effort, India knows Washington is fully engaged with Islamabad on defusing the gathering tension. Obama promised that his “administration will remain steadfast in support of India’s efforts to catch the perpetrators of this terrible act and bring them to justice”.
Rice’s options
Rice is no stranger to South Asian crises. When terrorists attacked the Indian parliament in December 2001, Rice was the national security adviser to President Bush and was instrumental in pressing Pakistan to ban Lashkar e Toiba and other anti-India Terror groups operating in Pakistan. To defuse the Indo-Pak military confrontation in 2001-02, Rice got Musharraf to promise that he will put a permanent end to cross-border terrorism.
This time she will have to do a lot more. Dr. Singh has already heard many positive words from Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari about cracking down on anti-India terror groups. If Zardari can’t match his words with deeds, Manmohan Singh will have to make good of his threat to extract a cost from Pakistan for the attacks.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Obama-s-first-crisis/393369
Obama’s South Asian Dilemma Analysis: Why Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan matter
By Mimi Li
Epoch Times Staff
President-elect and leader-of-the-free-world to-be Barack Obama formally announced his national security team Monday, which includes Senator Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and Robert Gates as Defense Secretary. With two wars overseas on their hands and an ongoing War on Terror, they will have their hands full, carefully balancing support for America’s friends and resistance against America’s foes.
Most of their energy will go towards the stabilization of Iraq and a focus on multilateralism that would drastically differ from Bush’s eight years of unilateral policy. But amid the fallout of the latest terrorist attacks on Mumbai, India, Obama and his team will now have to be aware of a new worry: a volatile South Asia.
As the death toll of the Mumbai massacre rises to upward of 180, the Indian government is slowly gathering the facts of all the attacks and piecing together who was behind the assault. Early analysis has revealed that the terrorists are Islamist militants, and India claims that they have Pakistani links.
And they are probably true, according to Stratfor, a leading geopolitical intelligence and analysis company. The Mumbai attackers are likely Islamist militants operating within India, “with some level of outside support from Pakistan.” This news is troubling, and won’t bode well for Indo-Pak relations: India can’t afford to take any blame for the attacks, so all the blame will be aimed at Pakistan, and in return, India can “use the crisis atmosphere to strengthen the government’s internal position by invoking nationalism,” according to Stratfor.
“That, in turn, will plunge India and Pakistan into the worst crisis they have had since 2002,” Stratfor says. As the situation escalates, the United States would be drawn in, not only because Americans and Westerners were held hostage and allegedly targeted at the hotels in Mumbai, but also because Pakistan has always sided with the United States on the War on Terror, and would be expected to cooperate. Demands to crush domestic militants would flood into Pakistan.
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But both India and Pakistan could face another ticking time-bomb: one coming inside their borders, warns Stratfor. Should India not be assertive in its demands to Pakistan to hunt down Islamic militants, or should Pakistan not answer calls to respond, their respective leaders and governments could lose credibility and their grip on their populaces, and “massive destabilization [would be] possible,” which, Stratfor comments, is “never a good thing with a nuclear power.”
Pakistan faces a unique predicament, since its military has “created, trained and sustained [Islamic militant] groups” like those that attacked Mumbai, according to Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria. The United States even has relatively close ties to Pakistan’s military, to the point of propping up corrupt and ruthless General Pervez Musharraf as the former Prime Minister, in exchange for his allegiance on the War on Terror. Under Musharraf, and for the past three decades, the Pakistani military didn’t care to suppress some militants, for the simple fact that they felt the militants that threatened to destabilize India and Afghanistan were “good” and the ones that killed Pakistanis “bad.”
But more recently, according to Zakaria, the “problems of Pakistan, Afghanistan and India are bleeding into one another so that what you have is a kind of south Asian terrorism where these groups are feeding off each other, finding pockets where they can train in lawless parts of the country.”
One notable region is Waziristan—the mountainous region between Afghanistan and Pakistan where Osama bin Laden is suspected of hiding. During his presidential campaign and more specifically during the presidential debates, Obama has repeatedly vowed that he would make finding and eliminating bin Laden a top priority and that he would order strikes in Pakistan if Pakistan was unable to pursue bin Laden.
Bin Laden and al-Qaeda have dominated America’s attention, having been the perpetrators of the September 11th attacks and multiple other terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. However, Islamist militants breeding in South Asia, along with terrorists harbored by the resurgence of the Taliban of Afghanistan, could pose significant threats as well in the near future.
Seven years after America invaded Afghanistan, the ruling Taliban that was toppled is eyeing a resurrection, setting up “courts and other local-government institutions across southern Afghanistan, challenging U.S. efforts to pacify the country and bolster the authority of the central government in Kabul,” according to the November 20 edition of the Wall Street Journal.
American generals are saying that not enough troops are in Afghanistan to weed out the Taliban, echoing a sentiment felt by the President-elect himself, who has argued that more troops in Afghanistan were needed as much as in Iraq.
If Afghanistan falls to the Taliban, al-Qaeda and Islamic fundamentalist terrorists would likely run rampant. If India and Pakistan erupt in war, not only would all of South Asia become a powder keg, but militants would get the green-light to wreak further havoc.
Last Updated
Dec 3, 2008
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/united-states/obama-south-asian-dilemma-7997.html
Mercury rises, Indo-Pak hyphen returns
SUJAN DUTTA
Mullen: Shuttle diplomacy
New Delhi, Dec. 3: The hyphen is back in the US’s view of South Asia, with the rhetoric of conflict taking over India-Pakistan relations in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.
Secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff Admiral Mike Mullen will be criss-crossing each other between New Delhi and Islamabad tomorrow in Washington’s latest round of trouble-shooting shuttle diplomacy.
“The chairman intends to meet civilian and military leaders of both nations (India and Pakistan) to encourage a co-operative approach to regional security concerns in the wake of the Mumbai attacks,” a spokesperson for Admiral Mullen has said.
The hyphenation threatens to turn the clock back seven years. With the 123 Agreement and the civilian nuclear deal under Manmohan Singh, India was upbeat about taking the global high table. But just as in 2001-2002 after India and Pakistan mobilised troops, US officials have begun shuttling between the capitals this time, with tensions between the two countries rising.
Rice is pushing George W. Bush’s agenda, telling Indian officials that the US will tell Pakistan to act transparently against terror, even though Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has struck down India’s demand for 20 fugitives.
Admiral Mullen, America’s senior-most military officer who met Pakistan’s army chief and leaders in Islamabad today, is slated to meet Indian naval chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta tomorrow.
The Pakistan army chief had threatened to pull out troops from the Afghan frontier and deploy them against India.
According to Reuters, Mullen urged Islamabad to broaden its campaign against jihadi groups and to “investigate aggressively any and all possible ties to groups in Pakistan”. He also asked Pakistan to “take more and more concerted action against militant extremists elsewhere in the country”.
In Delhi, Mullen will meet Indian military leaders after defence minister A.K. Antony today took “a review of the security situation and the state of preparedness to face any terrorist threats”, as an official statement put it.
The defence minister “has called for greater co-ordination among all agencies — both defence and internal security — in such a way that intelligence inputs available become actionable”.
The official statement noted: “Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is known to be an important area for recruitment and training of terrorists.”
The defence minister routinely meets the service chiefs on Thursdays. Today’s meeting was called to review the situation after the terror attacks.
AIR ALERT
Defence minister A.K.Antony has told the armed forces to be on alert for possible terror strikes from airborne platforms similar to the September 11 attacks in the US. A statement after a security meeting in Delhi said Antony reviewed “the preparedness against any possible terror threats from air”. Defence sources said the coast guard was being asked to buy fast interceptor boats off the shelf to acquire “offensive capabilities.”
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081204/jsp/nation/story_10203138.jsp
Condoleezza Rice in New Delhi to showcase Indo US solidarity against terrorism
December 3rd, 2008 - 2:31 pm ICT by ANI -
New Delhi, Dec.3 (ANI): US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in New Delhi reportedly to ease tensions between India and Pakistan following last weeks attacks in Mumbai.
Rice arrived this morning and is expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee,Home Minister P. Chidambaram and the National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan.
After her meeting with the Indian leadership, Rice will address a press conference at the Roosevelt House here at 3.25 pm.
Earlier , in Brussels Rice said that the primary goal of her visit to India is to “express solidarity with the leadership there. This was a horrible attack. It was, of course, also an attack that killed American citizens. And, it is therefore of very great concern to the United States,” Rice said .
“It underscores the importance of getting to the bottom of what happened, both to bring those who perpetrated this terrible crime to justice and to try and prevent further attacks of this kind. And in that regard, I want to consult with the Indian government further about what we can do to help,” she added.
Everyone, including Pakistan, needs to cooperate fully and transparently in the investigations of these audacious attacks ,Rice said.
The real problem we have with terrorism is that terrorists can be right once and we have to be right 100 per cent all the time. And in that regard, I have not just sympathy, but empathy for what theIndian Government has gone through,” Rice said, according to a transcript released by the State Department in Washington.
“And I know that the Indian Government is looking hard at how it might be more effective in counterterrorism responses, how it might use the information better. We”ve been through that in United States; it is a tough business, particularly for a democracy.Rice added .
Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon has met American officials to discuss issues related toMumbai terror attacks that claimed 200 lives, including foreigners.
Menon met Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns during his two-day visit to Washington.
“The meetings covered a range of bilateral issues, including counterterrorism co-operation, anti-piracy co-ordination, the India-US civil nuclear agreement, defence trade, space co-operation and economic and investment relations between the two countries,” the Indian Embassy said in a press statement.
Menon’’s visit was planned ahead of the terror attacks on Mumbai last week but the trip took place as scheduled and terrorism was on top of the agenda during the discussions.
Menon received a call from the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi who offered her condolences over the tragedy.
Menon also had a conversation with Senator John Kerry, the Chairman of the Sub Committee on Near East, Central and South Asia in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and met with several think-tanks and influential opinion-makers.
Earlier, Mike McConnell, US Director of National Intelligence, implicated the Lashkar-e-Taiba in the deadly attacks in Mumbai that killed 200 people.
Speaking at Harvard University, McConnell said on Tuesday that US intelligence is left with little doubt that the group responsible for the bloody attacks on Mumbai is the Lashkar-e- Taiba.
“The same group that we believe is responsible for Mumbai had a similar attack in 2006 on a train and killed a similar number of people,” said McConnell. “Go back to 2001 and it was an attack on the Parliament,” he added. (ANI)
analysis: Obama and Kashmir —Ijaz Hussain
If Obama tries to force things on India, it would negatively impact Indo-US relations which, given the importance that India currently enjoys in American strategic thinking, the US simply cannot afford
When then-Senator Barack Obama linked peace in Afghanistan with the settlement of the Kashmir dispute, the Pakistani and Kashmiri leadership welcomed it. The Indian government, on the other hand, was quite upset, though it put up a brave face by dismissing the statement as a “pre-election rhetoric that deserved to be ignored”.
However, following Obama’s election as president, and the media speculation that he was thinking of appointing former President Bill Clinton as special envoy on Kashmir, India got worried and directed the Indian delegation, which was leaving for the UN General Assembly, to apprise Obama’s aides about the state of the ongoing peace process between the two countries and the futility of the American initiative.
Since Obama’s statement, others have expressed similar views. For example, the French government too has linked the prospects of peace in Afghanistan with resolution of the Kashmir conflict as have the Afghanistan specialists Barnett Rubin and Ahmed Rashid.
What is the significance of Obama’s statement and will he be the Kashmiris’ messiah?
To fully appreciate the significance of Obama’s statement, one needs to examine the American attitude towards the Kashmir dispute over the last sixty years. Even before the UN was seized of the dispute, the US State Department on December 2, 1947 instructed the American representative to the UN to opt for a bilateral settlement between Pakistan and India. The US practice at the UN was however utterly contrary to the instructions as the American representative took sides in the matter by voting in favour of a number of resolutions that the SC adopted, and on one occasion he, along with other permanent SC members, even sponsored a resolution (of April 21, 1948). The explanation for this departure from instructions partly lies in the fact that being unfamiliar with the issue, the US relied on the United Kingdom for guidance, and partly in the fact that Pakistan became a US ally during the Cold War.
The next event that marked strong American association with the Kashmir dispute related to the Pakistan-India talks which the US, along with Britain, sponsored after the Sino-Indian border war. It mediated because of the commitment that it had made to Pakistan to help settle the Kashmir dispute as a reward for desisting from mounting an assault on Kashmir during the Sino-Indian war, which, according to Altaf Gauhar, Ayub Khan was under pressure to undertake.
Following the end of hostilities, Pakistan and India held six rounds of talks under the US-British auspices, which were inconclusive because the US sided with India. India was not ready to part with Srinagar as it wanted to build an all-weather military artery from there to Leh for defence against China.
1972 marked a watershed in Pakistan-India relations because of the Simla Accord, under which the two neighbours made the Kashmir dispute a bilateral affair. This must have been a welcome development as it provided the US with an excuse to politely refuse Pakistan’s nagging entreaties to play a mediatory role on Kashmir.
One event where it nonetheless made a commitment of sorts related to the Kargil crisis. Following this misadventure, Nawaz Sharif flew to Washington seeking US help in getting out of that cul-de-sac. Then-President Clinton helped Sharif by forcing the Washington Agreement on him by virtue of which Pakistan was made to underwrite the sanctity of the Line of Control. Clinton at the same time made a commitment to take a “personal interest” in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. Nothing came out of the commitment because it was more of a face saving device for Sharif to withdraw troops from Kargil than anything else.
The last major event that reveals the American attitude towards the Kashmir dispute is the ongoing peace process. Its genesis goes back to the Armitage mission that took place at the height of the military standoff between Pakistan and India in 2002, and resumption of talks was linked with a permanent end to “cross-border terrorism” by Pakistan.
Two years later, the two countries signed the Islamabad Declaration, which stipulated the Indian commitment to resume talks in exchange for Pakistan’s pledge to end “cross-border terrorism”. It is an open secret that behind the scenes, the US was instrumental in getting the peace process started. However, it must also be recognised that by deciding to abandon the UN resolutions on Kashmir even before talks got underway, Musharraf too played an important role in bringing India to the negotiating table.
This review shows that the US has mostly played the role of a facilitator or a mediator on Kashmir rather than, in the words of Feroze Khan Noon, an initiator of “courageous or decisive action”. In this backdrop, how do we explain Obama’s statement, which appears to invest the US with an intrusive and proactive role?
The explanation seems to lie in Obama’s realisation that the US cannot win the war in Afghanistan without the full and unstinted cooperation of Pakistan, which it is reluctant to extend. This is due to the Pakistani perception that India is using its consulates in Afghanistan to do mischief in the tribal areas and Balochistan. Besides, it has built a strategic road linking the Afghan road network with the Iranian port of Chahbahar. Consequently, Pakistan regards India as a greater threat to its security than terrorism. In this perspective, the argument goes that if Kashmir, which is the mother of all discord between the two countries, is resolved Pakistan would extend full cooperation in winning the war in Afghanistan.
Here the question arises whether Obama would play the role that his statement requires. In our estimation, it is a non-starter because India is utterly opposed to third-party intervention in its disputes with Pakistan, and the Indian foreign minister reiterated this stance when he commented on Obama’s statement.
If Obama tries to force things on India it would negatively impact Indo-US relations which, given the importance that India currently enjoys in American strategic thinking, the US simply cannot afford. Let us not forget that in a letter addressed to Manmohan Singh last September, Obama stated that “deepening and broadening the friendship between our two countries will be a first-order priority for me in the coming years.”
Whatever the explanation for Obama’s statement, we do not think that the “Man of Change” would depart from traditional American policy on Kashmir, which incidentally also comes out from his interview in Outlook last July, in which he stated that the US should encourage the ongoing peace process. In the light of the foregoing, we do not think that Obama will be a messiah for Kashmir.
The writer is a former dean of social sciences at the Quaid-i-Azam University. He can be reached at hussain_ijaz@hotmail.com
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C12%5C03%5Cstory_3-12-2008_pg3_2
A Free Kashmir: Random Thoughts- XLVI
Part 46
Kashmir Watch, December 2
By Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal
An independent Kashmir: Poll and Politics
India has been reeling under the weight of resurgent Kashmiri freedom movement. Pro-freedom groups have boycotted the poll calling it is an exercise without any credibility and as a futile exercise to “inform” the world about its “democracy standards” with terror military occupation of Jammu Kashmir. Those Kashmiris who voted in Indian poll underway in JK have made it loud and clear that they seek independence from Indian yoke and they have voted for regaining their sovereignty form India.
Not withstanding the protests and anger of Kashmiris India is bent upon showcasing it poll under terror shield in JK. With the first two phases of the Assembly elections having passed smoothly, the focus of various political parties and anti-poll organizations has now shifted to the frontier district of Kupwara where five assembly segments are scheduled to go to polls on November 30 in the third phase. The constituencies going to polls in the third phase include Karnah, Kupwara, Lolab, Handwara and Langate in district Kupwara. Dozens of people were injured and as many vehicles damaged when agitated people hurled stones at various mainstream leaders at many places in Pulwama district. A day after polling in Ganderbal and Kangan constituencies in Kashmir, the cavalcades of several contesting candidates were attacked by mobs in this south district of Pulwama. Murders and injuries of Kashmiris have taken place in the polls highlighting the vulnerability of defenseless Kashmiris. At least 30 persons were injured in the clashes between protestors and cops while four vehicles suffered damages.
India is keen to show its faulty and fractured democracy to the wolrd terrorized by US-led nations by denying any protests by the people of Kashmir and hopes if the poll is ‘done” in JK, then every thing would be OK. The authorities, as usual, have declared that no security restrictions will be imposed when Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani returns to Kashmir after undergoing surgery in New Delhi. It is being expected that Indian authorities, with a view to removing hurdles in the conduct of poll in JK in Indian ways, might impose undeclared curfew in Srinagar on arrival of Geelani "for maintaining law and order”. The possible hysterical response of Geelani’s arrival for the remaining phases of Indian poll in JK, the Indian strategists hatched plans to strike some where. According to Geelani’s family members doctors have advised him to take maximum rest and avoid any stressful and exerting exercise. However, ailing Geelani said that he thinks it is important to be in JK at this turning point of time when Kashmiris are deciding for their future. The septuagenarian leader whose pace maker was replaced by a team of doctors in New Delhi’s Escorts Hospital on October 15, has declared his will to resume fighting the freedom cause henceforth.
After blaming a Muslim organization in India for the terror attacks, Prime Minister Manmohan slowly pinned blame for the Mumbai attacks on militant groups based in India's "neighbors", usually an allusion to Pakistan, raising prospects of renewed tension between the nuclear-armed rivals.. The idea behind this focused blame is to derail the peace talks underway now and stop the freedom movement of Kashmiris. But will they succeed now?
Amid reports that the next US administration under Barack Obama might appoint former President Bill Clinton as a mediator on Kashmir, India rejected any third party intervention and asserted that the matter would have to be addressed bilaterally with Pakistan.
Don’t divide the Kashmiris on religious basis!
I
Among Pundits a good number of them support the freedom cause. Non-migrant Kashmiri Pandits say they would follow their Muslim neighbors on casting or not casting votes. “If they vote, we too will. If they prefer to stay away from polls, we will follow suit,” they said. “Most probably we will boycott polls,” said Neeraj Koul, a non-migrant Kashmiri Pandit. “We did not leave our Muslim brothers when our entire community fled the Valley for safer destinations. We are with the resistance movement and will do the movement wants us to do.” After armed rebellion broke out in 1989, a large chunk of KPs fled Kashmir valley. However, some of them, unwilling to leave their homeland, stayed put.
India should feel ashamed of the fact, in spite of the military killings, the Kashmiris condemned strongly deadly Mumbai attack, meanwhile their own civil life is tightened under undeclared curfew by India to thwart anti-polls demonstrations. Both sides, pro-independence and pro-Indian parties condemned bloody Mumbai attack. Senior Kashmiri leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani while condemning the strikes termed it as an "anti-human act". The perpetrators are enemies of humanity; he said and called for a probe in the strikes by international intelligence agencies. In occupied Kashmir, the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has strongly condemned the imposition of undeclared curfew by the occupation authorities to thwart anti-polls demonstrations. Farooq deplored that India was not allowing Kashmiris to perform their religious rites. "We can't tolerate interference into our religious affairs. We are even ready to sacrifice our lives for protecting our religious rights," he said. Farooq was scheduled to meet Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi could not fly to New Delhi as he was placed under house arrest.
The APHC Chairman compared the prevailing situation in the Kashmir Valley with the Sikh rule. "It was during the Sikh rule that the autocratic rulers didn't allow Kashmiris to offer prayers at Jamia Masjid. The black history has been repeated by the Indian stooges in Kashmir," he added. Mirwaiz said that India claims to be the biggest democratic and secular nation. "However, the infringement into our religious affairs by its agencies has exposed real face of its so-called democracy. New Delhi seems to be so frustrated by the pro-freedom marches that it has snatched our religious right to offer prayers," he said. He maintained that imposition of restrictions to foil the anti-election program symbolizes India's defeat and a democratic victory for Kashmiris, said Kashmiri Media Service.
II
JK poll by Indian side is taking place along side the Indo-Pakistan “peace move”. Within days of coming to power, President Zardari has become unpopular party for his own faults, but mostly in spite of his best efforts to be popular. India is aware of this too and wants to exploit the situation. While India has all along stuck to its original stand that Kashmir was its integral part, Pakistan, in its bid to engage New Delhi at all costs, diluted its position to the shameful extent. Pakistan has a genuine and legitimate case but it is losing the case because of lack of necessary interest and commitment on the part of our policy and decision makers. There is no doubt that the Kashmir issue has always remained on the agenda of Pakistan-India talks but it is also a fact that there was no progress towards its resolution and the two countries are still poles apart on the issue. India has used the process of talks just as time gaining tactics, Pakistan with drifting postures recently too is to be blamed for the current dismal state of affairs on the Kashmir dispute. In its zest for ‘out-of-the-box’ solutions, Pakistan offered unprecedented concessions in the hope that it would get some reciprocal gesture from India but at the end of the day nothing of the sort happened and instead India is hardening its position and consolidating its hold with the passage of time.
India keeps its relations with Pakistan under terror shadow. Whenever there is a positive move to improve the ties, Indian employs terrorist methods to thwart the move, knowing well that Pakistan is keen to have good neighborly relations with Pakistan. Pakistan’s new leader Zardari calling the Kashmiris as “terrorists” has created some confidence in New Delhi about the prospects for a better trade deal from Islamabad. As the Poll taking more intensive shift with campaign getting more focused on independence, Indian terrorists once again struck in Mumbai, trying, to dilute the freedom move contents of the campaign. But Kashmiris are now able to se though the hidden dramas of India.
On the Mumbai terror eve, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, not knowing the hidden terror agenda in India to keep the tensions intact with Pakistan, undertook a four-day visit in India from Nov 26 Wednesday during which the two sides will review the Composite Dialogue and consider more confidence-building measures. After opening the Line of Control for trade last month, the two sides are expected to look at more CBMs like expanding the pilgrim places that can be visited by people of the other country.
The talks were taking place in the backdrop of statement by the Pakistani leadership, including President Asif Ali Zardari who promised not to use nuclear weapons against India first and talked about reconciliation to build the bilateral ties. New Delhi, keen to get trade with Pakistan in favor of India, feels that the meeting between Manmohan and Zardari in New York in September had marked a change in Islamabad’s attitude, providing positive impetus to the relations that had witnessed a low after the July 7 attack on Indian embassy in Kabul. Trade has also witnessed a boom, touching a high of USD 2.6 billion dollars officially as compared to about 300 million dollars three years back. Volume of unofficial trade, via a third country, is as high as USD six billion dollars.
Qureshi said Kashmir is an "important segment" of the dialogue process between the two countries and pointed out that Foreign Secretaries of the two countries would be discussing it under the fifth round of composite dialogue which has got underway.
Pitching for friendly relations with India, Qureshi said "we have spent six decades in hostilities and acrimony. People of the two countries have suffered. We must add a new leaf in the relations". He said the political atmosphere in Pakistan is "very positive" at the moment as most of the parties, including opposition parties are in favor of improving ties with India. "There is a window of opportunity which both countries should avail of and not let pass by".
India had violated the 1960 Indus water treaty that governs the right over Chenab River, Mukherjee said adequate water should be available in the river so that it could be given to Pakistan. Qureshi alleged that the flow of water in Chenab River from India to Pakistan had decreased substantially because of construction of Baglihar Power Project in Jammu and Kashmir.
Qureshi held talks with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee on a whole range of issues including terrorism, Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, trade and river water sharing. India, as a routine strategy to make global media to ridicule Pakistan for fun, keeps ‘terrorism” on the agenda indirectly blaming Islamabad for Indian terrorism. The 2007 blast on cross-border Samjhauta Express train in Panipat that had created tension between the two countries was also expected to figure in the talks, with the Pakistani side likely to raise the matter in view of investigators in India reportedly suggesting involvement of some Hindu groups in the attack as against the Pakistan-based elements as suspected earlier. The two sides also discussed the problem of terrorism, with Pakistan saying that it is a "common threat" and should be fought jointly by the two countries.
Addressing a joint press conference with Qureshi after their 90-minute talks, Mukherjee said the two sides discussed ways to build on the initiatives taken to improve ties, including launching cross-LoC trade and in-principle agreement to open the Wagah-Attari and Khokhrapar-Munnabao borders for commerce. When referred to reports that the Barack Obama administration could appoint Clinton as a mediator on Kashmir, Mukherjee said "Jammu and Kashmir is essentially a bilateral issue which we have agreed to resolve bilaterally from the Simla Agreement to Lahore Declaration".
Both sides agreed that the issue of inadvertent border crossers should be viewed from a humanitarian dimension and recommended early finalization of a draft agreement regarding inadvertent crossings by the expert group on conventional CBMs, which is due to meet soon, the joint statement said. Noting that a 1974 protocol on visits to religious shrines was due for revision along with lists of religious shrines in both countries, the two sides decided the matter will be discussed under the talks between Culture Secretaries on promotion of friendly exchanges, likely to take place soon. Indo-Pakistan welcomed release of prisoners and fishermen by each other ahead of the talks as a gesture of goodwill. They agreed to exchange by December 31 the names of civil prisoners who had completed their sentences and whose national status has been confirmed to facilitate their release in January next year.
A joint statement issued at the end of the two-day talks, held as part of the Composite Dialogue started in 2004, said both countries "condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and affirmed their resolve to cooperate with each other to combat the menace of terrorism". Both sides also made progress on efforts to liberalize their cumbersome Visa regime, with India saying that it would provide a draft Visa agreement to Pakistan within four weeks, which would be based on already discussed parameters.
However, the Mumbai terrorism has been cleverly used by India to thwart any further improvement in ties.
III
Some Kashmiri Diaspora members think by appeasing Hindus in India, Kashmir shall have its lost independence back. This is not just innocent but sheer hypocrisy on their part. They have not yet comprehended the issue properly. India has tactfully, more tactfully than this special Kashmiri Diaspora thinks, annexed Jammu Kashmir by cleverly using a Hindu king there. And it tries all tricks and terrorist methods to retain the region under brutal control. As such they would accept appeasement, but would not give back the stolen properly to Kashmiris. There have been a lot of pro-India Kashmiri leaders who have tried all these tricks of appeasing Hindus, but India has shown its foot on the face after creating secret graveyards. Of course the pro-India leaders got some coins form New Delhi for their “services” to India and its terror forces occupying Jammu Kashmir.
With the latest Mumbai blasts it has become pretty clear about Indian state terrorism trends. All evils affecting the Muslims in the sub-continent originate from the Indian intelligence wings, especially the military special RAW that has been waging a hidden war with Muslims in India, Kashmir, Pakistan and Bangladesh. But what has been a hidden agenda for India has become visible now RAW openly revealing its hidden agenda against Muslims. The amount of hatred this democratic and secular organization towards Muslims could be gauged from the regular statements, write-ups and talks by the Hindu leaders in military, intelligence media and bureaucracy. Indian media are keen to link the Mumbai terrorism to Muslims in Pakistan and Kashmir somehow and defame Islam.
Post-script
There is no doubt that terrorism is caused by anti-Islamic forces, funded chiefly by the US-led Western nations and promoted by their media and USA remains the global terrorist nation of today which is focused on Midestern energy resurces and killing Muslims. India’s options remain fixed at vacating the alien Jammu Kashmir and not to employ any more tricks to silence the defenseless Kashmiris by killing them.
Terrorism does help Indian posture on Kashmir. Terrorism helped India deviate from the just demand for solution of the dispute as per UN resolution that envisages plebiscite to ascertain the will of the Kashmiri people and has moved closer to Indian position that it was a bilateral dispute to be settled through bilateral talks. In bilateral talks, Pakistan however always maintains that there can’t be normalization of relations sans resolution of the Kashmir issue but now we are seeking liberal trade and all-embracing cooperation without any progress on Kashmir front.
Pakistan government has created confusion among Kashmiris recently, it also has to learn, to invest in them and re-earn their respect. The real strength of the government lies in the people and the parliament ? both support Kashmir cause. But the present Islamabad Government is seen somehow adopting a policy of total surrender with President Asif Ali Zardari even vaguely equating the freedom struggle of Kashmiris to terrorism. It is because of this kind of attitude that Kashmiris have lost hopes for solution of the problem through talks between Pakistan and India and are now re-organizing their movement. Under these circumstances, one fails to understand what Shah Mehmood Qureshi meant by “fruitful talks” when the Government itself is not clear on how to proceed further. And, the Indian verbal attack on Pakistan for the Mumbai terrorism is incredible and it makes a point in favor of Kashmir freedom fighters.
Not withstanding the international outcry for freeing Jammu Kashmir, India still resists Independence move of the Kashmiris, but, obviously, in its own peril. Many Indians now do feel Kashmir should be let free and Indian leaders should concentrate on welfare of the people at home. Terrorism tactics cannot keep Indian aggression on for too long. The official Indian ideology offers no accommodation except on its terms, still rules out all compromises, and demands an allegiance with any violation of what was declared blasphemous, inviting instantaneous annihilation. Hence it goes ahead with the polls by adding more terror troops in JK.
The Freedom leaders owe to continue with their struggle until the alien Indian occupation of our Kashmir land is evicted. Victory shall be theirs.
(....>> continued)
The author is Delhi based Research Scholar in International Studies and can be reached at abdulruff_jnu@yahoo.com
http://www.kashmirwatch.com/showexclusives.php?subaction=showfull&id=1228224607&archive=&start_from=&ucat=15&var1news=value1news
Efforts Underway to Defuse Rising Indo-Pakistani Tension
By Steve Herman
New Delhi
02 December 2008
A trio of U.S. senators is in South Asia, one of several sets of high-level foreign visitors trying to defuse rising tension between India and Pakistan following the Mumbai terror attacks. Meanwhile, India is renewing demands Pakistan hand over wanted fugitives. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from New Delhi.
Three senior U.S. senators who met with top Indian-government officials say emotions are running high following the Mumbai terror attack.
Senator Joseph Lieberman told reporters the feelings expressed during their meeting Tuesday with prime minister Manmohan Singh and external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee are understandable.
"They are clearly both full of pain and anger as I am sure most of the people of India are. And, as I can tell you, most of the people of America are," Lieberman said.
The U.S. lawmakers are among those visiting the region to offer condolences and perhaps engage in some shuttle diplomacy. The senators are to meet top Pakistani government and military leaders in Islamabad later in the week.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa is also in the Indian capital. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice arrives Wednesday. Russian president Dmitri Medvedev is due Thursday.
Senator John McCain says Mumbai's attackers meant to put India and Pakistan at each others' throats again.
"One of the objects of the terrorist attack and this act of outrage is to try to provoke confrontation between Pakistan and India," McCain said. "And I know that this [Indian] government is committed to not letting that happen."
But the senators say New Delhi, which is blaming "elements" in Pakistan for the attack, needs answers from Islamabad.
Senator Lindsey Graham says he feels there is now a "real strong resolve" among India's leaders to make needed changes to bolster the country's internal security.
India and Pakistan, which both have nuclear weapons, now face their worst state of relations in six years. The two have gone to war against each other three times since their independence in 1947.
Foreign minister Mukherjee acknowledges the India-Pakistan peace process is jeopardized. He has handed Pakistan's top envoy here a formal diplomatic note - known as a demarche - with the names of about 20 individuals India wants Pakistan to extradite.
"The demarche asks the arrest and hand-over of those persons who are settled in Pakistan and who are fugitives of Indian law," Mukherjee said.
Those on the list include the infamous Mumbai crime kingpin, Dawood Ibrahim, and Maulana Masood Azhar - a Pakistani Muslim cleric who, in 1999, was freed from an Indian prison, in exchange for passengers on a hijacked Indian airliner.
Ibrahim is considered India's most wanted man. His organization is suspected of involvement in a 1993 bombing in Mumbai that left 250 people dead. Indian media reports say there is also official suspicion some of his underlings may have provided support to the terrorists who struck last week.
Azhar leads the group Jaish-e-Mohammad, which is believed to support Muslim separatists in the part of disputed Kashmir which is under Indian control.
India initially gave Pakistani officials such a list six years ago and says it never received an adequate response.
Top Pakistani government officials promise cooperation with India to determine responsibility for the attack on Mumbai. But Islamabad rejects any allegations of complicity, blaming "non-state actors", which Pakistan says it is also battling and says India must provide specific information of those it accuses of taking part.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/news/2008/12/sec-081202-voa07.htm
'Obama administration to strengthen Indo-US biz ties'
Press Trust of India / New Delhi November 19, 2008, 19:23 IST
Former US Defence Secretary William S Cohen today expressed confidence that the change of guard in the US would further strengthen business ties between India and the US.
Cohen was in the capital to attend the three-day India Economic Forum. During a meeting with the members of US-India Business Council (USIBC), Cohen said, "The commercial relationship between the two countries (India and US), will deepen under the Obama administration."
He said, "The recently concluded G-20 talks in Washington DC demonstrated a deep respect around the world for an economically strong India. Indo-US relations enjoy strong bipartisan support in the US. It was evident by overwhelming support for the civil nuclear agreement."
USIBC was established in 1975 to promote trade between India and the US.
Experts Ponder Indo-U.S. Relations in Obama Administration
By SUNITA SOHRABJI
indiawest.com November 13, 2008 03:17:00 PM
Indo-U.S. diplomatic and trade relations under President Barack Obama’s administration will remain relatively unchanged in the short term, but the issue of Kashmir will be central to dealing with the war on terror, concluded several South Asia experts in the week following the historical election of the country’s first African American president.
“The banality of normality” will characterize immediate relations between the two countries, said Philip Oldenburg, associate director of the South Asian Institute at Columbia University and co-editor of the “India Briefings” series, at an online briefing hosted by the South Asian Journalists Association Nov. 5.
Steven Cohen, senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and an expert on India and Pakistan security policy, opined that the new administration’s first priority will be to establish a global economic structure – “the overarching thematic of the Obama-led relationship to South Asia,” he said.
“The biggest priority for the Obama administration will be the domestic economy, which will dominate the agenda for at least the first 100 days,” Rafiq Dossani, professor of international relations at Stanford University, told India-West.
India remains a relatively small player in U.S. imports, and is thus unlikely to figure large in Obama’s immediate agenda, he said.
“Reassuring noises at lower levels” will be made to both India and Pakistan in the short-term, said Dossani, senior research scholar at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford.
He added that the issue of Kashmir would not likely be on the agenda until 2011.
In an interview with Time magazine last month, Obama indicated his intention of appointing former President Bill Clinton as a special envoy to Kashmir and said he had spoken to Clinton about the matter over lunch in Harlem. Clinton successfully intervened in the 1999 Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan.
“Kashmir in particular is an interesting situation where that is obviously a potential tar pit diplomatically,” said Obama in the interview. “But, for us to devote serious diplomatic resources to get a special envoy in there, to figure out a plausible approach, and essentially make the argument to the Indians, you guys are on the brink of being an economic superpower, why do you want to keep on messing with this?”
“To make the argument to the Pakistanis, look at India and what they are doing, why do you want to keep on being bogged down with this particularly at a time where the biggest threat now is coming from the Afghan boarder? I think there is a moment where potentially we could get their attention. It won’t be easy, but it’s important,” he said.
In interviews earlier this summer, Obama said that the Kashmir issue should be settled so that Pakistan could have some breathing room to assist the U.S. with the war on terror at its borders, a statement which struck a nerve with the Indian government.
“The appointment of Clinton as a special envoy would do more harm than good,” Dossani told India-West. “What could he possibly achieve there?” he asked, adding that neither India nor Pakistan would be happy with an outsider – even a friendly one – interfering in what is essentially considered domestic policy.
Oldenburg said the Clinton battle against nuclear non-proliferation will be resumed again. “Obama has said nuclear proliferation is the biggest threat to the U.S.,” he said, adding that such a position could affect the recently-signed nuclear deal between India and the U.S.
Cohen said India’s ties to Iran and Afghanistan could be used to advantage if the Obama administration attempted to develop a relationship to those countries.
“India can play a useful role in Afghanistan, but only with Pakistan’s blessings,” said Cohen, adding: “The billion dollar question is whether India wants to work with Pakistan, ignore Pakistan, or destroy Pakistan.”
Newsweek International editor and author Fareed Zakaria as a possible Secretary of State was discussed by Oldenburg and Cohen at the SAJA briefing.
“Fareed is a marvelous person, a thoughtful guy whose strategic bent is compatible with the Obama people,” said Cohen, adding that the Mumbai-born author of “The Post American World” was “a big picture person,” not specifically a South Asia specialist, and could be tapped for an undersecretary role in the new administration.
A Web site devoted to drafting Zakaria for the Secretary of State position popped up this September, exhorting the next U.S. president to appoint the CNN analyst to the post.
The draftfareed.org Web site’s petition, which has gathered 128 signatures globally, states: “Fareed Zakaria has defined what it means to be a modern day foreign policy expert. Fareed’s interviews and writings demonstrate a rational view of the world and a keen sense of the forces shaping growth in the rest of the world.”
Other South Asia experts likely to have policy-making roles in the new administration could include Karl “Rick” Inderfurth, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs in the Clinton administration; and Jonah Blank, former journalist and policy advisor on South Asia/Near East policy to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which was chaired by Vice President-elect Joe Biden.
Cohen concluded the new secretary of state is likely to have an economics background more than a foreign relations background, because of the current American focus on international economics.
Trade relations between the two countries would likely remain untouched, Dossani told India-West, despite Obama’s statements on the campaign trail saying he would eliminate tax breaks for companies moving jobs overseas.
“There’s the realization that the real problem is not outsourcing, but the financial crisis at home,” he said, adding that outsourcing to India had no real impact on the domestic financial crisis.
Blocking the flow of jobs would not work, said Dossani, adding that countries would immediately retaliate. Obama’s proposed economic team – many old Clinton hands – are all proponents of a free market, he said.
Nasscom president Ganesh Natarajan reiterated that view in an interview with CNBC TV shortly after Obama’s victory.
“We should not worry about a ban on outsourcing; it is just not going to happen.” He added that Obama might give incentives to job creation in the U.S., which Nasscomm supports.
Indian American organizations continued to pour in their support for the new administration. Dr. Rajwant Singh, national president of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, said: “Obama’s election represents dynamic America at ease with its diversity. This is a profound and incomparable moment in American history since it is happening 232 years after the declaration of the Independence and 40 years after the Selma march for civil rights.”
“It is a giant step towards fulfilling the vision of the founding concepts of this nation and leaders like Martin Luther King who struggled for equality for all in America,” said Singh.
“Senator Obama’s personal story clearly has a special appeal to the Indian American community with him being the son of an immigrant,” said Sanjay Puri, chairman of the U.S.-India Political Action Committee.
“We celebrate his victory and look forward to working in a united manner to confront the many challenges we face today and transform our society for the better for all,” he said.
“This election also marks a turning point in the participation of South Asian American citizens in the American democracy,” said the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations in a press release. “We encourage South Asians around the country to continue to vigorously engage in all aspects of civic life, and to lend our voices and energy to creating change in our communities,” said the coalition, which represents more than 35 Indian American organizations.
"Voting is only the beginning of civic engagement; we as a community now face the tasks ahead of working with a new Administration and Congress, and ensuring that AAPI concerns and policy issues are included in the agenda moving forward," said Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote board co-chair Eunsook Lee. "APIAVote also looks to sustaining and strengthening the local and national infrastructure of AAPI civic engagement so that we can build on this momentum," she said.
Dr R.K. Pachauri, the head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, issued a statement following Obama’s victory Nov. 4, saying: “The U.S. now has a unique opportunity to assume leadership in meeting the threat of climate change, and it would help greatly if the new president were to announce a coherent and forward looking policy soon after he takes office.”
“There is every reason to believe that President Obama will actually do so. This should please people across the globe, because U.S. leadership is critical for mounting global efforts to meet this threat effectively. For this reason itself, apart from several others, the election of Mr. Obama is a development that should generate optimism all-round,” said Pachauri.
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Indo-Barack Obama Deal; Myths and Realities
MIL, Nov 8, 2008
November 8, 2008, Balaji - India loves United States' President-elect, Barack Obama. Indians love their look-alike; at least in color to become the most powerful individual in our planet. Barack Obama has more supporters in India than in his country; it's a truth. (The author has very ably tried to present the facts before the world to differentiate between myth and realities).
Diplomatic Answer-Obama keeps India equal to Pakistan
However, does he love India? Yes, of course would be his answer. Perhaps, may be.
During his campaign Barack Obama said two things relevant most to India. He idolizes Gandhi and worships Lord Hanuman.
But Barack Obama's love is not confined to India alone, it's is extended to Pakistan too. He called himself a "desi" which means a local both in India and Pakistan.
Barack Obama proved his improbably love for both the countries when he said in an interview that former U.S. President Bill Clinton will be appointed as "Special Envoy to Kashmir". This improbably love is due to "compulsion" and not in good faith.
The last thing that an Indian government either headed by the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party want is to internationalize Kashmir, though the person who announced the proposal (Barack Obama), and the one who acts (Bill Clinton) might have fan- followers in India.
Obama to favor Pakistan in lieu of cooperation in Afghanistan
Barack Obama's deal is simple: Pakistan can have an upper hand in Jammu and Kashmir but has to co-operate more in "War on Terror" in Afghanistan which would lead to the possible capture of Osama Bin Laden. On the other hand, India could be dealt with its obsession on J&K, though U.S. will continue to recognize the growing economic super power.
From a distance, Indian government has been following the U.S. politics. Indian journalists too have been following the Presidential elections. But India's journalists and the government had missed one picture of Obama.
Of all the traits essential for a great leader and visionary that Barack Obama possesses such as charisma, intellectual and articulation, nothing stands more than his ability to find and exploit the opponent's weakness and to mention "nice about them" only after defeating them.
Obama's deep diplomacy of praising his opponents
Remember how he exploited Hillary's bad judgment on "War on Iraq" and McCain's track record resemblance to George W Bush. After winning the primaries, however Barack Obama praised both Bill and Hillary Clinton's contribution to the U.S. and acknowledged McCain's patriotism on winning the Presidential elections.
Barack Obama would "deal" with India on same note. India's weakness is Kashmir. He knows it. Also, Pakistan's weakness is its sympathy to Taliban in Afghanistan even seven years after 9/11.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has not got the message. The improved Indo-US relations during George W Bush's Presidency which culminated in the Indo-US nuclear deal would become history, if Obama's deal is put in practice.
Myth of Democrat US President more favorable to India do not match facts
Also, the myth is that U.S Presidents from the Democrat party are favorable to India than the Republicans, whereas facts prove otherwise.
Democratic Party's Presidents from Woodrow Wilson to Bill Clinton had let India down whereas Republican Party Presidents who had ruled either in the beginning of the 20th century (Theodore Roosevelt) or the 21st century (George W Bush) had favored India.
Woodrow Wilson failed to implement in his promise on India's independence despite its active co-operation with the allies during the World War I, John F Kennedy was reluctant to intervene when China invaded Akai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh in 1962, Bill Clinton's presidency was quoted with Kargil War and Kandhakar hijack, Lyndon B Johnson didn't support India during the Indo-Pak war in 1965, and above all Kashmir was internationalized during the Harry S Truman's presidency in 1948.
On the other hand, 20th century's first President, Theodore Roosevelt was a Republican who supported India's independence, Dwight D. Eisenhower normalised Indo-US relations in 1958 during his visit to India, Democrat turned Republican President, Ronald Reagan started co-operation with India in the field of technology, and 21st century 's first U.S. President George W Bus pulled India out of the nuclear isolation by signing the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal.
But there are two exceptions to the reality. One, during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 Republican President Richard Nixon threatened India by sending the nuclear submarine - USS Enterprise to Bay of Bengal, and Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ( FDR) risked his working relations with then British Prime Minister Winston Churchill by proposing a "new deal". The deal envisaged U.S. co-operation with the allied forces in the World War II only after India's independence from the colonial British government. Though FDR didn't live long to see India's independence in 1947, his role in Indian independence couldn't be denied.
Obama changed American History, would he change for India?
Meanwhile, can Obama, who had changed his party, country, can change himself for India.
Even Obama's cynic will accept that Obama appeals to all religions, citizens, tribes, ethnics and parties, and "Obamania" is above bi-partisan politics.
After all, Obama emulates two Republican Presidents. The best American President- the unifier of the whites and blacks in U.S. - President Abraham Lincoln who led with success during the "Civil War" and second, the founding father of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and freedom fighter, George Washington.
India's present generations are not aware of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. But Abraham Lincoln's speech on the "Perfect Union" among all sections of the society, and George Washington's rhetoric of Freedom and Democracy holds India together as a nation.
India still wish Obama all success and hope balance in his policies
However, India wishes to see Barack Obama – the first African-American as President of the U.S. to "change" myths on Indo-U.S relations from the past and expects the today's reality that India is an economic super-power to be accepted by the U. S.
(The writer is an international reporter who's studying journalism in New Zealand. He can be contacted in his email mohanbalaji20032004@yahoo.co.in )
http://www.internationalreporter.com/News-4256/Indo-Barack-Obama-Deal;-Myths-and-Realities.html
Mumbai: Lessons For The Future
I was shocked to see on television that the top police officer with the most threats had not been given protective gear tailor-made for him
B.RAMAN
While the picture of what happened in Mumbai between 9-21 PM on Wednesday and 8 AM on Saturday, when the terrorist situation was finally terminated, is still incomplete and confusing, certain facts available should give an attitude of the magnitude of the strikes, the like of which the world has not seen before:
There were 13 incidents of intense firing with assault rifles at different places, including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Train (CST) terminus, where the terrorist operation started at 9-21 PM, the Metro Cinema junction, the Cama and Albless Hospital, outside the Olympia restaurant in Colaba, the lobbies of the Taj Mahal and Oberoi/Trident hotels, and the Leopald Café behind the Taj Mahal Hotel. The terrorists would seem to have chosen the CST for the launching of their strikes because it is named after Shivaji, a Hindu ruler, who fiercely opposed the Muslim rulers of India. Near the Metro Cinema junction, some terrorists hijacked a police vehicle and went around spraying bullets on passers-by.
There were seven incidents involving explosive devices----outside the Taj Mahal Hotel, in the BPT Colony at Mazgaon, three near the Oberoi/Trident Hotels, the Colaba market and inside a taxi.
There were many incidents of throwing hand-grenades---two of them at the Cama hospital and on Free Press Road. Hemant Karkare, the legenday head of Mumbai’s Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS), is reported to have been killed in the incident near the hospital.
There were three incidents of fidayeen style (suicidal, not suicide) infiltration into buildings followed by a prolonged confrontation with the security forces before being killed or captured. These took place in the Taj Mahal and the Oberoi/Trident hotels and in the Narriman House in Colaba, where a Jewish religious-cum-cultural centre is located, headed by a Jewish Rabbi. Jewish people of different nationalities often congregate there. The centre also has cheap accommodation for Jewish visitors from abroad.
According to the local authorities, most of the hotel guests who were subsequently rescued by the NSG, had run into their rooms and locked themselves up when the terrorists forced their way into the lobbies and restaurants and started opening fire. They were not hostages. It is not yet clear whether the terrorists did manage to take hostages and, if so, of which nationalities.
The terrorists took four Jewish people hostages in the Narriman House, three of them Israeli nationals. They were found dead when the NSG made their entry and killed the terrorists. It is not yet known how they died-----through bullet wounds or beheading as the jihadis normally do.
There were over 160 fatalities. The number may go up as the security forces inspect the hotels. According to present indications, the number of foreigners killed was about 10 only--- including three Israelis, two Greeks, one Japanese and possibly two Americans (not yet confirmed ). The terrorists were reportedly looking for people with American, British and Israeli passports.
Almost all the terrorist strikes took place against targets near the sea, indicating thereby that the terrorists, who had reportedly come by sea, were hoping to escape by sea if they managed to survive.
Between 15 and 20 terrorists, who came from outside, are believed to have participated in the operation, The kind of local support they had is not yet clear.
Two of the terrorists are reported to have been caught alive and are presently under interrogation. According to the police, one of them, who gave his name as Ajmal Amir Kamal, is a resident of Faridot, near Multan, in Pakistani Punjab. He identified himself as a member of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET). His preliminary interrogation also indicates that the others, who came from outside, also belonged to the LET and had been trained at Muridke, in Pakistani Punjab, where the headquarters of the LET are located.
The Mumbai Police, the NSG, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Mumbai Fire Brigade have confronted the terrorists and handled the crisis in an exemplary manner, of which the entire nation can be proud. Their performance has been as exemplary as the crisis management of their counterparts in New York after 9/11. About 20 officers of various ranks, including the chief of the ATS, an additional Commissioner of Police of Mumbai, and two young and intrepid officers of the NSG have died fighting the terrorists.
The Government of Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and his Congress (I) are back to their denial and cover-up mode. They play down the possibility of the involvement of Al Qaeda despite tell-tale signs of an Al Qaeda stamp on the strikes. They continue to maintain a silence on the role of sections of the Indian Muslims lest any open projection of this cost them Muslim votes. They continue to highlight the role of the LET, but without highlighting the fact that it is a member of Osama bin Laden’s International Islamic Front (IIF) and that it has many associates in the Indian Muslim community.
I watched with shock and disbelief on the TV, visuals of Karkare trying different helmets and bullet-proof vests before choosing one which suited his build. Here was the most threatened officer of the Mumbai Police and the Government had not even given him a protective gear tailor-made for him. This is a telling instance of the casual way we handle counter-terrorism and we look after our brave officers fighting terrorism.
.The Prime Minister has been unwise in reportedly suggesting a visit to India by Lt.Gen.Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the Director-General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), for discussions on the Mumbai blasts. One fails to understand what useful results will come out of it. There are strong indications of the involvement of the LET in the Mumbai strikes----either on its own or at the direction of bin Laden and most likely with the logistic support of some Indian Muslims. By failing to act against the LET, its leaders and terrorist infrastructure even after ostensibly banning it on January 12,2002, the State of Pakistan has definitely facilitated its acts of terrorism in Indian territory. By sharing the information collected by us at this stage with the ISI chief we will help him in covering up the tracks of the LET and the ISI before we could complete the investigation. There has been opposition in Pakistan to his visit particularly from the Army.
One should not be surprised if the suggestion for the visit had come from the US and the Prime Minister had accepted it just as he accepted in September,2006, the US suggestion for setting up a joint counter-terrorism mechanism with Pakistan. The American ploy would have been to divert any Indian public anger against Pakistan and the Prime Minister should have firmly rejected it.
Three of the most gruesome acts of terrorism since India became independent have taken place in Mumbai---the March 1993 blasts, the July 2006 blasts in suburban trains and the strikes of November 26-29. It is a shame that we have not been able to protect effectively this city, which is the jewel of India. Mumbai is India’s New York and Shanghai. Look at the way the Americans have protected NY after 9/11. Look at the way the Chinese have protected Shanghai. The immediate priority of the Government should be to set up a joint task force of serving and retired officers from Maharashtra in the Police, intelligence agencies and the Armed Forces to work-out and implement a time-bound plan to ensure that 26/11 cannot be repeated again. Mumbai has till now been the gateway of India. The terrorists have exploited it. We should make it Fortress India. Foreign investors will lose confidence in India if Mumbai, where most of the corporate headquarters are located, can be attacked repeatedly with impunity by terrorists.
The second lesson is that confidence-building measures with Pakistan cannot be at the expense of national security. In the name of confidence-building, there have been too many relaxations of immigration regulations applicable to Pakistan. There has been pressure on the Government for more relaxations from the so-called Indians-Pakistanis Bhai Bhai (Indians-Pakistanis are brothers) lobby. The terrorists have been a major beneficiary of these relaxations. These relaxations have decreased the vigilance of our people. For example, hotels, which immediately used to alert the Police when a Pakistani national or a foreigner of Pakistani origin checked in, no longer do so. According to one as yet unconfirmed report, some of the perpetrators of the attacks on the hotels had checked in some days before the strike and the others came subsequently by boat. If this was so and if the hotels had immediately alerted the Police, the terrorist strikes might have been prevented.
In my view, the terrorist strikes in Mumbai had the stamp of Al Qaeda in the way they were conceived, planned and executed. There has also been a touch of the Hizbollah of the Lebanon, the Popular Front For The Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade and other Palestinian organizations.
The reported use of boats and dinghies for the clandestine transport of men and material for terrorist strikes on land is an old modus operandi (MO) used in the past against Israel. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had copied it from them. The anti-India jihadis have emulated their West Asian counterparts.
The use of boats for transport enables the terrorists to evade physical security checks by road, rail and air. The numerous creeks between India and Pakistan across the Bhuj area of Gujarat enable the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan and the pro-Al Qaeda Pakistani terrorist organizations to clandestinely transport men and material by sea. Reports that the ISI had planned to use this MO for helping the Khalistani terrorists in the 1990s had led to the Border Security Force acquiring some boats which could be used for surveillance in these creeks.
The success of the terrorists in evading detection by our Coast Guard and the police reveals a serious gap in our maritime counter-terrorism architecture. If this gap is not quickly identified and closed, the vulnerability of the Bombay High off-shore oil installations and the nuclear establishments to terrorist attacks from the sea would be increased. Many of our nuclear and space establishments----not only in Mumbai, but also in other areas---are located on the coast and are particularly vulnerable to sea-borne terrorist attacks.
The stamp of Al Qaeda is evident in the selection of targets. The Taj Hotel, old and new, the Oberoi-Trident Hotel and the Narriman House were the strategic focus of the terrorist operation. The terrorist strikes in other places such as railway stations, a hospital etc and instances of random firing were of a tactical nature intended to create scare and panic.
The strategic significance of the attacks on the two hotels from Al Qaeda’s point of view arose from the fact that these hotels are the approved hotels of the US and Israeli Governments for their visiting public servants and for the temporary stay of their consular officials posted in Mumbai till a regular house is found for them.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, presently undergoing trial before a military tribunal in the Guantanamo Bay detention centre for his involvement in the 9/11 terrorist strikes, was reported to have told his American interrogators that before 9/11 Al Qaeda had planned to blow up the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi. After the visit of President George Bush to India in March,2006, Osama bin Laden had, in an audio message, described the global jihad as directed against the Crusaders, the Jewish people and the Hindus.
.Al Qaeda and pro-Al Qaeda organizations have been critical of India’s close co-operation with Israel and the US. In the past, the ISI had also shown an interest in having Indo-Israeli relations disrupted through terrorist attacks on visiting Israeli nationals in India. In 1991, it had instigated an attack by the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front on some Israeli tourists in Srinagar by alleging that they were really Israeli counter-terrorism experts.
17.The fact that the number of foreigners killed was small would show that the attacks on the foreigners in the hotels was selective and not indiscriminate. Available reports indicate that the terrorists were looking for American, British and Israeli nationals----particularly visiting public servants among them with official or diplomatic passports.
18.The only reason for their targeting the British could have been the active British role in the anti-Taliban operations in Afghanistan and in training the commandoes of Pakistan’s Special Services Group (SSG), jointly with an American team of instructors. The SSG was in the forefront of the raid into the Lal Masjid of Islamabad in July,2007, and has been playing an active role in the operations against the Pakistani Taliban in the Swat Valley of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and in the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
19. The terrorist strike has also had an anti-Jewish angle as evident from the raid into the Narriman House and the taking of Jewish hostages there. The targeting of the Americans, British, Israelis and Indian Jews has to be seen in the overall context of not only the anger of some Muslims against the Indian co-operation with the US and Israel , but also the role of the US and the UK in the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. One should be prepared for more attacks in future not only on American, British and Israeli nationals, but also on their diplomatic and consular missions and their business interests in India.
20. The attacks on the foreigners have already disrupted the ongoing tour of India by the English cricket team. it is ironic that at a time when we were considering the advisability of our cricket team going to Pakistan due to the poor security conditions there, foreign cricket teams sould start having fears about coming to India due to the poor internal security in India.Similar nervousness in the minds of businessmen in foreign countries over security conditions in India could be an outcome of the spectacular terrorist strikes.
21.In the US, Spain and the UK, the terrorist strikes attributed to Al Qaeda were followed by detailed enquiries to identify deficiencies which made the strikes possible and recommend remedial measures, which were implemented. In India, even though we have been facing a series of major terrorist strikes since November 2007, no enquiry has been held. Unless we have the courage to admit our deficiencies and correct them, our counter-terrorism machinery is unlikely to improve. The public has a right to be kept informed of the results of the enquiries and the action taken.
22.There is a misleading debate started by the Congress (I) on the importance of patriotism in the face of the terrorist strikes. It has been trying to silence criticism of its mishandling in the name of patriotism. It has been citing the example of the US after 9/11. In the US, patriotism did not mean support of the Government, right or wrong. It meant support for all the measures taken by the Government for strengthening the counter-terrorism machinery such as additional powers for the agencies and the police, increase in budgetary allocations for the agencies, tightening of immigration procedures etc. It did not mean silence on the sins of commission and omission of the Government. Electoral calculations seem to be the only motivating factor of the Government’s actions and not national interests and national security----even after the colossal Mumbai failure and the consequent tragedy. (29-11-08)
The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main40.asp?filename=Ne061208raman.asp
Spotlight Falls on Pakistan After Mumbai Terror Attacks
Monday, December 01, 2008
By Patrick Goodenough, International Editor
Caption: An Indian police officer and hotel staffer hoist an Indian national flag at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008, the day after a terrorist siege there ended (AP Photo)(CNSNews.com) – As India continues to count the cost of Mumbai’s three-day standoff with Islamic terrorists, the key question exercising government officials and security experts alike is who was behind the coordinated and well-planned operation.
A major focus of attention is the interrogation of only known survivor among the attackers, a 21-year-old Pakistani who was captured after being shot in the hand and according to police sources has provided detailed information.
The chief suspect is a terrorist group operating in Pakistan, with al-Qaeda sympathies and a long history of violent attacks. Fragile relations between the neighboring rivals have soured significantly, and the White House announced Sunday that President Bush has asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to visit India in the coming days.
Like other attacks in India in recent years, the main goal appears to have been to incite fear, inter-communal distrust and socio-economic insecurity, as well as hostility between India and Pakistan.
Although one message purportedly sent by someone linked to the attack cited perceived injustices including references to “Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Somalia and Kashmir,” the head of India’s paramilitary National Security Guard, J.K. Dutt, said the authorities received no demands from the gunmen, “who appeared to have come with the sole intention of killing as many people as they could.”
Mumbai’s ordeal began on Wednesday night, and only ended when commandos overcame the remaining gunmen holding the landmark Taj Mahal hotel early on Saturday morning.
Over a period of 59 hours, the terrorists attacked a railway station, two hospitals, a municipal facility, a cinema, a café, a bank, a Jewish community center and two hotels in India’s financial capital.
The gunmen seized control of the Taj Mahal and Oberoi Trident Hotels and a Chabad-Lubavitch facility known as Nariman House. By the time the three sieges had been broken, 30 people had died at the Oberoi, more than 50 at the Taj Mahal, and six Jewish hostages had been killed at Nariman House.
Authorities said the death toll was 183 and could rise further. Unconfirmed reports said several dozen of the victims were foreigners, including Americans, Israelis, Australians, Canadians and Germans. At least 20 soldiers and police officers were among the dead.
According to the captured terrorist, who was named variously as Azam or Ajmal Amir Kasab, 10 attackers had set off by small boat from Karachi, then rendezvoused with a Pakistani ship and were issued with weapons – an assault rifle, a handgun, half a dozen magazines and eight hand grenades each.
En route to India they commandeered an Indian fishing boat, killed its crew, later beheaded its skipper, killed a coast guard officer and forced his colleague to take them towards Mumbai before killing him too. They then transferred to inflatable speedboats for the landing, Kasab reportedly confessed.
Once ashore they split into four groups and headed for their various targets, some by taxi. The attacks began after 9 PM on Wednesday.
The Times of India said Kasab told interrogators the attackers had planned to blow up the Taj Mahal, in an intended reprise of the destruction of Islambad’s Marriott Hotel last September.
Caption: The gunman identified by police as Kasab and now in custody was photographed on Nov. 26, 2008 at Mumbai’s Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station, among the terrorists’ first targets (AP Photo/Mumbai Mirror)Collaboration
The captured man’s account suggested a sophisticated and meticulously planned operation, with strenuous training, a visit to Mumbai months earlier to reconnoiter the targets, and the involvement of individuals beyond the assault group, including those on the Pakistani ship as well as a separate group who Kasab claimed had checked into the hotels earlier to stockpile more weapons.
Rakesh Maria, Mumbai’s joint police commissioner, told Indian media the gunman told police he belonged to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), a Pakistan-based Sunni and Wahhabist group whose main focus has been to end Indian control in the disputed territory of Kashmir.
Pakistan maintains an official policy of supporting Kashmiris’ “legitimate struggle for self-determination,” and LeT is widely suspected to have enjoyed historical support from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI.
Under outside pressure, Gen. Pervez Musharraf formally banned LeT and other militant groups in 2002 but they continue operating under different incarnations – in LeT’s case a so-called political wing, Jamaat ul-Dawat (JuD).
Both LeT/JuD and the Pakistani government have denied involvement in the Mumbai attacks.
For Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, there seemed little doubt about the origin of the terrorists.
“We will take up strongly with our neighbors that the use of their territory for launching attacks on us will not be tolerated, and that there would be a cost if suitable measures are not taken by them,” he said in a statement to the nation, the reference to Pakistan clear.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack, while urging India not to “overreact.”
Emails sent to Indian media early on during the attacks claimed responsibility on behalf of something called the “Deccan Mujahideen” (the Deccan plateau accounts for most of southern India).
Some counter terrorism researchers who have been tracking “homegrown” Indian Islamists, believe they are linking increasingly with jihadist groups based abroad. A possible scenario could be an operation planned by Pakistan-based terrorists who collaborated with Indian-based radicals.
Some counter terrorism researchers who have been tracking “homegrown” Indian Islamists, believe they are linking increasingly with jihadist groups based abroad. A possible scenario could be an operation planned by Pakistan-based terrorists who collaborated with Indian-based radicals.
Animesh Roul, executive director of the Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict in New Delhi, said Monday he believed the Mumbai terrorists were likely Pakistanis who had been “trained and brainwashed” by LeT leaders.
But the scale of the attacks and prior training required suggested the possibility as well of “a covert local hand, perhaps for logistics and prior security related inputs.”
Some Indian Muslims, primarily youths, have turned towards radicalism and violence, increasingly falling prey to Pakistan and Bangladesh-based terror groups, Roul said.
As for claim of responsibility by the “Deccan Mujahideen,” he called it “a product of a fertile terror imagination and desperate attempt to Indianize the whole terror struggle.”
al-Qaeda
Former Indian counter terrorism chief Bahukutumbi Raman noted that LeT was a member of Osama bin Laden’s International Islamic Front for Jihad Against Crusaders and Jews. He said it also had “many associates in the Indian Muslim community.”
Indian security officials have said previous LeT attacks were carried out with the help of Indian Islamists, including members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). According to Indian terrorism expert K.P.S. Gill, SIMI’s operational control has for some time been based in Pakistan.
After Bush paid a first visit to India in March 2006 to strengthen Indo-U.S. strategic ties, bin Laden in a public message began referring to India as an apparent target, denouncing what he called “a Crusader-Zionist-Hindu war against the Muslims.”
Some experts believe terrorists like those behind the Mumbai attacks are likely inspired by, but not directly under the supervision of, al-Qaeda.
Unlike suicide attacks that have become a trademark of al-Qaeda, the Mumbai attackers reportedly prepared an escape route by sea, stored on a GPS device. The brazen nature of the attack – evidently well-trained men using assault rifles and grenades in multiple locations – bore similarities to earlier LeT operations.
The FBI and Scotland Yard have dispatched teams to help India’s investigation.
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=40048
Mumbai attacks - Pakistan
After attacks, India-Pakistan tensions mount in serial déjà vu
Monday 01 December 2008
The Indian government and security officials say they have enough evidence to hold Pakistan responsible for the Mumbai attacks, rapidly destroying recent progress in relations between the two countries, still divided over Kashmir.
Read Leela Jacinto's notebook from terror-stricken Mumbai.
Also read her previous report: "Heroes bow, politicians take the rap in terror's aftermath"
At a kiosk on Mumbai’s scenic Marine Drive opposite the Oberoi hotel, which was attacked last week, a scrawled message on a poster screams, “We want war with Pakistan.”
In the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, which killed at least 172 people, there is discernible sense in some quarters of Mumbai’s population that India would be justified in striking alleged Pakistani-based terrorist camps.
“When we have enough evidence that Pakistani-based groups and individuals are responsible for the attacks, why don’t we just go after them?” asks Vinod Pursran, a 62-year-old Mumbai businessman who joined the crowds gaping at one of the devastated sites of the recent attacks during their lunch break in this busy commercial district.
Indian security officials and politicians say the attacks, which began Nov 26 and lasted nearly 60 hours, were carried out by Pakistani-based militants. While New Delhi has been careful not to blame the Pakistani government for the attacks, the latest accusations have increased tensions between the two South Asian nations.
On Monday, the Indian government summoned Pakistan's high commissioner to lodge a formal protest over the attacks in Mumbai.
When asked about the grave implications of a conflict between two nuclear-armed nations, Pursran said it did not bother him. “I’m not worried, not at all, because we have to go inside Pakistan and destroy the terrorist camps,” he said.
It’s hard to take the pulse of this teeming metropolis and its 13 million-strong, extraordinarily diverse population. In the absence of opinion polls, analysts are loath to aggregate the public mood. But there’s a palpable sense of rage in India’s commercial capital. While the anger is primarily directed at the Indian government’s failure to act on intelligence to thwart the attacks, India’s old foe is also bearing some of the brunt of this rage.
The old India-Pakistan blame-game
In a case of serial déja-vu, sabres are once more rattling in this nuclear corner of the globe following one of the most brazen terrorist attacks on Indian soil. The rules of the India-Pakistan blame-game follow time-honoured patterns, although the particular contexts change.
Based primarily on the testimony of one gunman captured during the Mumbai attacks, Indian investigators say the militants of last week’s assaults were trained in an Islamist training camp in Pakistan.
Indian investigation teams have also tracked the abandoned ship from which the attacks were reportedly launched as well as some of the personal belongings of the men who carried out the audacious operations. They all point, they say, to a Pakistani involvement, most likely the Lashkar-e-Toiba, a Pakistan-based militant group.
While the Lashkar has denied involvements in the attacks, senior Pakistani officials have repeatedly asked their Indian counterparts to provide evidence of Pakistani involvement before issuing incendiary public accusations.
Islamabad’s position comes as the Indian media, quoting Indian investigation sources, produces a steady stream of reports of Pakistani involvement. These include a recovered satellite phone and a GPS device tracing the attackers’ planned return to Pakistan after their mission.
Rice to the rescue
Alarmed by the escalating tensions, US President George Bush is dispatching Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the region later this week to try to ease the tensions between the two neighbouring nations.
Amid fears of a troop buildup along the Indo-Pakistan border, a senior Pakistani security official warned that a buildup along Pakistan’s eastern border with India would result in Islamabad pulling out its troops from the western border, where they are fighting a Taliban and al Qaeda resurgence in the troubled tribal areas along the Afghan border.
It’s a disclosure guaranteed to displease US political and military officials who have repeatedly voiced concerns that Pakistan was not doing enough to fight Islamist militants in its tribal zones.
The latest escalation threatens to dampen the hopes that a new US administration led by President-elect Barack Obama would be invested in tackling the Kashmir dispute, which lies at the root of India and Pakistan’s six decade-old history of animosity.
Despite the ratcheting tensions, there are several voices of restraint in India’s commercial capital. In an editorial in “The Hindustan Times”, a national daily, renowned Indian-born novelist Amitav Ghosh called on Indians to seize the opportunity to “forge strategic alliances with those sections of Pakistani society who also perceive themselves to be under fire.”
Even here, at the ground zero of the recent Mumbai attacks, there are calls for restraint. Scrawled prominently below the shrill pitch for a war on the Marine Drive poster is a statement which reads, “We don’t want a Pakistan war.”
http://www.france24.com/en/20081201-post-attacks-india-pakistan-tensions-mount-serial-deja-vu-mumbai-attacks
November 28, 2008
India Terror Attacks Point to Need for Stronger U.S.-India Counterterrorism Cooperation
by Lisa Curtis
WebMemo #2146
Wednesday's terrorist strikes in Mumbai are the latest in a string of attacks across India over the last year, most of which appear to have been perpetrated by local Islamists with external links. These most recent attacks should lead to greater counterterrorism cooperation between Washington and New Delhi, two nations whose interests in countering regional and global terrorism continue to converge.At the same time, these strikes could heighten tensions between India and Pakistan, especially if investigations reveal that the attackers received training, finances, or logistical support from Pakistan-based terror groups. Indeed, Indian authorities have already begun to accuse Pakistan-based groups of having links to Wednesday's attacks.
A New Kind of Terrorism in India
Although the name of the group claiming responsibility for Wednesday's attacks, Deccan Mujahideen, is new, the group is likely affiliated with the same individuals responsible for conducting a series of attacks across the country over the last year, attacks that have claimed the lives of hundreds of Indian citizens.For instance, a group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen (IM) claimed responsibility for the May 13 bomb blasts that exploded at crowded markets in the city of Jaipur. The IM also took credit for the similar November 23, 2007, attacks on the Indian cities of Varnasi, Faizabad, and Lucknow.
Additionally, an organization identifying itself as ISF-IM claimed responsibility for the October 30 serial blasts in Assam (a state in northeast India) that left 75 dead.Local police believe the acronym may stand for Indian Security Force-Indian Mujahideen.
Wednesday's attacks bear another similarity to IM bombings of the past year: Just as, in most instances, the IM takes credit for its atrocities via e-mails sent either prior to or immediately following an attack, shortly after the November 26 strikes, the Deccan Mujahideen apparently also sent e-mails claiming responsibility for the attacks.
By using names that relate to India, the terrorists clearly want to portray themselves as indigenous, but given the level of sophistication, planning, and organization of the attacks, especially Wednesday's assault on Mumbai, they almost certainly have external links and support.Focusing Wednesday's attacks on Americans also further demonstrates the group's pan-Islamic agenda, yet another strong indication that these terrorists could be under the command of a well-organized group located outside India.
Information gleaned about the IM from the previous attacks indicates India is facing a new kind of terrorist threat that is not limited to any one part of the country and involves homegrown extremists who are linking domestic grievances with pan-Islamic agendas. Many of the individuals arrested for involvement in the numerous attacks of the past year are young men (under the age of 35) with good educations and lucrative, prestigious occupations, such as web designers, doctors, and engineers--a fact that has surprised Indian authorities, as well as the general public. Although these individuals could be self-radicalizing through al-Qaeda propaganda over the Internet, it is possible they have received training and support from outside India.Indian terrorism analysts have yet to determine if IM is a single organization or a united front of several autonomous groups.
Impact on Indo-Pakistani Peace Talks
Wednesday's attack could have a negative impact on Indo-Pakistani ties, which--due to revelations of Pakistani intelligence involvement in the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul on July 7, 2008--were already strained.
Although Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has made several peace gestures toward India since he took office a few months ago, many Indians question whether the Pakistani security establishment supports his efforts to improve relations.Without backing from Pakistan's still-powerful army, Zardari's efforts at confidence building will have little real impact on boosting India-Pakistan ties, especially if India believes the Pakistani security establishment is fomenting violence against India. However, Islamabad and New Delhi did recently re-open a road between Indian and Pakistani Kashmir that had been closed for over 60 years, a significant milestone in improving relations between the two countries over the complex issue of Kashmir.
The historical animosity between Pakistan and India has also begun to increasingly manifest itself in Afghanistan, where Pakistan fears it is losing influence to India.New Delhi has pledged over $1 billion in assistance to the Afghan government and increased its political and economic influence throughout the country over the last few years.Pakistan's ability to maintain influence in Afghanistan throughout the 1990s stemmed from its support to the Taliban, whose leadership is allied with al-Qaeda. Other than strengthening ties to Kabul through stronger economic and trade linkages, Pakistan now finds itself with few options to project influence in Afghanistan; any further dealings with the Taliban risk isolation from the international community.
Strengthening U.S.-India Counterterrorism Cooperation
The massive scale of the Mumbai attacks and the specific targeting of U.S. citizens should bring the U.S. and India closer in terms of counterterrorism cooperation and intelligence sharing. U.S. and Indian counterterrorism interests are increasingly converging, and Wednesday's attack could help jolt both sides into even closer coordination with the goal of preventing further regional and global attacks.
Despite their agreement on the need to aggressively contain terrorist threats, Washington and New Delhi have failed in the past to work as closely as they could to minimize terrorist threats. This failure is largely the result of divergent geo-strategic perceptions, Indian reticence to deepen the intelligence relationship, and U.S. bureaucratic resistance toward elevating counterterrorism cooperation beyond a certain level.The gravity of the threat posed to both countries from terrorists in the region require New Delhi and Washington to overcome past suspicions and recognize that they both stand to gain considerably from stepping up their cooperation.
To some degree, intelligence cooperation between New Delhi and Washington may already be improving. For example, Indian media reports indicate that the U.S. possessed intelligence information related to the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul that it shared with the Indian government weeks before the attack occurred.Unfortunately, U.S.-India intelligence sharing was unable to prevent this horrific attack, but there may be future opportunities for the U.S. and India to assist each other in preventing Taliban and al-Qaeda attacks against both coalition forces and Indian interests in Afghanistan.
Toward a Mutually Beneficial Relationship
Washington and New Delhi will both benefit by pooling their counterterrorism expertise and increasing joint activities to address regional and global terrorist threats.Since 90 percent of counterterrorism is about intelligence, Washington and New Delhi should focus on breaking down barriers to intelligence sharing. But to take full advantage of the opportunities for enhancing Indo-U.S. counterterrorism coordination, both sides will have to work on enhancing trust and confidence in each other's counterterrorism strategies.Each nation will have to increase their understanding of the other's core national security interests that drive their respective counterterrorism objectives while demonstrating that pre-9/11 regional narratives on the issue are no longer relevant.
Lisa Curtis is Senior Research Fellow for South Asia in the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation.
http://www.heritage.org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/wm2146.cfm
December 2, 2008
Was The Real Target Indo-Pak Peace?Peter Brookes
In the wake of the terror attacks that killed more than 180 people (including at least six Americans) and wounded another 300 in Mumbai, India, last week, the burning question is: Who done it - and why?
It's still speculative, but most fingers are pointing toward Pakistan and such terrorist groups as Lashkar e Tayyiba (LeT) and Jaish e Mohammed (JeM).
Yes, the attacks could've been homegrown. India is home to more than 150 million Muslims, including several active Islamist terror groups - one of which claimed responsibility for the attack early on. But few believe these indigenous groups could've pulled off such a well-coordinated, sustained assault without outside assistance from a highly capable foreign organization.
Some have mentioned al Qaeda because of the attack's relative sophistication - and the simultaneity of the numerous strikes across Mumbai, India's financial and (Bollywood) entertainment center.
The Indians claim al Qaeda doesn't exist in their country, and the lack of suicide bombers lends credence to the idea it wasn't Osama's cronies. Yet his direction or inspiration for an attack can't be ruled out - many of the suspect groups have al Qaeda ties.
Which leads us back to the notion the attacks were orchestrated by the likes of LeT and JeM.
In fact, the early investigation in Mumbai is focusing on a ship that may have carried the attackers from Pakistan to the waterfront near the Taj Mahal Hotel, one of their targets.
If it's a pack of Pakistanis, their likeliest motive was the disputed territory of Kashmir, which India has held but Pakistan has also laid claim to since the two nations divided on gaining independence from Britain in 1947.
Kashmir has driven Islamabad and New Delhi to become enemies, leading to three wars and propelling both to become nuclear-weapons states in 1998.
Regaining Kashmir is the goal of LeT and JeM, which have attacked India repeatedly - including a strike against the federal parliament, which nearly brought India and Pakistan to blows again in 2002. Both groups were established by Pakistani intelligence - the roguish ISI - to destabilize India and create pressure for concessions on Kashmir. (Islamabad has denied any government involvement this time.)
Indeed, the motivation for these strikes could be putting the kibosh on improving Indo-Pakistani relations under new Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (the widower of the slain pol Benazir Bhutto).
He has been making peace overtures to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, hoping to improve economic and trade ties between the two South Asian giants to help Pakistan's struggling economy. This led LeT's founder to say Zardari was growing too "dovish" on India. Zardari may have also added fuel to the fire by referring to Kashmiri resistance groups as "terrorists" rather than freedom fighters.
Thus, the terrorists may have felt the need to halt any improvement in New Delhi-Islamabad ties, especially if it prevents Pakistan from giving up the Kashmir struggle. They'd likely find some terror groups, such as Indian Mujahedeen, willing to assist with such an effort.
Another attack on India with even a whiff of Pakistani government involvement would kill any chance of better relations - and maintain the terrorists' leverage over Pakistani policies.
If there's any glint of hopeful news, it's that Islamabad may finally take tougher steps to rein in JeM and LeT. (We've already seen some improved efforts recently against the Taliban and al Qaeda in the tribal areas near Afghanistan.)
Zardari's offer of full cooperation with India may help restabilize relations between the neighbors. The early challenge is a possible Indian military response against Pakistani interests, which could lead to escalation.
The tragedy also provides Washington an opportunity for greater counterterror cooperation with both Islamabad and New Delhi - an idea both may be open to now. That step would make us all safer.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Peter Brookes is a Senior Fellow for National Security Affairs at the Heritage Foundation and is a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Feedback: editorialdirector@familysecuritymatters.org.
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.1906/pub_detail.asp
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