Soft State India?

Another bomb blast case; yet more homilies on how the Government is putting all measures to ensure the safety of citizens - when you look at our Hon'ble Union Minister for Home saying all this on TV - you know that this country is truly a soft state!

Contrast this to President Bush after 9/11. The fact is that the US has bludgeoned its way into Afghanistan and Iraq. The fact also is that after 9/11 no one has dared to take on the US. The countries which have been targets of terror attacks like the UK and Spain have been far more ambivalent about their national security.

India of course is in a different league altogether in terms of ambivalence about its own security. I think our heads are wired all wrong - else how can we demonstrate so much masochism? There is an enemy to take out - it is called "enemy of the state". The enemy is Islamic Terror and Naxalite Terror - both needs to be taken out.

Yesterday while flipping channels, I landed up on CNN-IBN. Sagarika Ghose (I hope I have got the name right) was on a discussion with Colin Gonsalves and another person whom I missed out. What really irked me what what Mr Gonsalves was saying - that terror laws do not arrest the incidence of terror - hence there should not be any such law! He went on to give the example of the doctor who was helping Naxalites in Chattisgarh and was subsequently arrested. I did write in one of my previous posts that indeed the doctor should have been arrested for helping the enemy. This is war Mr Gonsalves and the rules of engagement are remarkably different from that of televised discussion.

We need a terror law that should strike fear in any enemy of the state - enabled by its implementation. Implementation will have its first hurdle in the executive since all politicians care about are votebanks. B Raman had a nice article in today's Times of India in Mumbai.


"Politicians more worried about votes than lives28 Aug 2007, 0040 hrs IST,B Raman

Large sections of the nation shed tears on July 11, 2007 in memory of the 190 innocent Indians who were killed a year ago in a series of explosions in suburban trains of Mumbai by jihadi terrorists. Just as millions of Americans shed tears on September 11 every year, just as Indonesians and Australians shed tears on the anniversary of the Bali bombing of October 2002; just as Spanish people shed tears on the anniversary of the Madrid bombing of March 2004; just as the British shed tears on the anniversary of the London bombings of July 2005. But there was a significant difference between the observance of the anniversaries of these great human tragedies in other countries and in India. In India, our so-called secular political class and elite kept away from the observance of the anniversary of the Mumbai tragedy of July 11, 2006. There was not a single expression of solidarity by the PM with the relatives of the victims. Why not? Because he was worried that any public expression of sorrow for those blown up by the jihadi terrorists might be misinterpreted by Muslims? The governor of a major state reportedly turned down a suggestion to observe a two-minute silence in memory of those killed in Mumbai a few days after the attacks. Why? Lest Muslims misinterpret it as stigmatising their community. Jihadi terrorists can go on indulging in one act of mass casualty terrorism after another. But, according to our so-called secular political class and elite, we should not talk about it or even cry about it. How many acts of jihadi terrorism we have had in India since the present government came to power in Delhi in 2004? Delhi, Varanasi, Mumbai, Malegaon, Bangalore, Samjhauta Express, Hyderabad. In the past, our police might have been criticised in some instances for its inability to prevent acts of terrorism, but it had generally received high praise for successful investigations. Why is there a perception now that investigations are not as good as in the 1990s? In the 1990s, they received full backing of the political leadership, which took active interest. The political leadership of today gives sermons and no leadership. It avoids active monitoring and supervision of investigations lest Muslims misunderstand. Let us shed tears for ourselves today for having the misfortune of having a government for which the feelings of some are more important than lives of innocent civilians.

The writer is a security analyst"

Child Rights

Everyday when I go to office, I see children, clothed or otherwise, at the many "signals" of Mumbai.

All of them belong to destitute families, and you cannot look at them without a strong subliminal feeling of guilt overcoming you.

I think about my own son and thank God that he has a better life.

Then I realise that in India there are no real child rights. If there were child rights then we would have questioned whether any family can decide to have children? That shoule be based on the family's capabilities to bring them up well. This sounds like a "spartan" idea - but then why bring children into this world if they cannot be given a minimum standard of living?

Why have these unfortunate children begging at signals? Why bring them into the world in the first place?

Think about it!

Nach Baliye 3

Nach Baliye 3 was unveiled yesterday - I have been a fan of the format ever since it debuted two years back. The competitors for this format have not been able to make much of a mark though. I was at the launch function and Nach Baliye 3 looks more jazzy than ever before.

The 10 couples of Nach Baliye 3 look stylish, fit and dance friendly - though many of them are not so well known faces on TV. Shakti - Shivangi Kapoor and Pooja Bedi - Hanif Hilal of course will provide the entertainment and oomph - but they will have very stiff competition from the others. Rakhi Sawant will be in full form - so watch out for her.

Now that Nach Baliye 3 is on Star Plus it should get more eyeballs; and this is clearly Star's weapon to stave off a resurgent Zee TV.

Terrible Monday

Yesterday was one terrible day for my family.

My son - autistic (verbally cannot communicate), almost 7 years old, got left in school to be all alone for 3 hours - by one of the maids we have! The maid was not to blame - but we still can't fathom why she left him in the school premises when it was empty. School was closed yesterday (Parsi New Year) but we forgot all about it - I had office, my wife had her classes.

We are grateful to God that he came back all right - the gate was closed so he could not run out. But he was all alone for 3 hours and we can't imagine what he went through mentally. The security guard called wife's mobile - but she was in classes and mobile was on silent; they called residence - but because of lack of good communication the maids could not understand why they had called.

After that we were awake all night - he had 102+ fever - cold compress, Crocin......we did not have the mind and heart to go for a celeb book success party.

More on the Left

Here is something again from rediff.com - this is a follow through article by Ram Madhav.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/aug/20guest1.htm

Yesterday I went to receive my wife at the Mumbai Airport (domestic arrivals). She had a terrible experience on Jetlite - bad food, unclean toilets, power went off in the aircraft while landing (it appears), ladder came late, luggage came even later - the flight landed at 19:15 (on time) but my wife came out of the luggage claim area only at 20:15! She is not going to fly Jetlite again - she told me. So she is not going to patronise Jetlite and Indian (after a similar experience in December '06). So that leaves us with Jet (she is a fan). Sigh!

I am sure the MIAL is going to revamp the airport, but without aerobridges and other similar investments will they be able to make any significant impact? So many flights landing and taking off - and so many passengers - we need to get them into and out of aircrafts fast!

Mumbai Airport needs at least 100 aerobridges. Hope MIAL has planned for them!

The Problem with the Left

That the Left is blackmailing the present Government is a no brainer. In fact, India should ally with countries while keeping its strategic interests in mind. The US would not have agreed to the N - deal if it was not getting something in return - but then which deal is consummated without compromises from either party?

I came across an interesting piece on the Left http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/aug/19raman.htm

Byword: Is Jimmy Mistry the most famous Parsi in Mumbai? Saw him on the cover of two newspapers in Mumbai on the occassion of Pateti Navroze (Parsi New Year).

The Tyranny of the Left

Reading newspapers in Mumbai has become a pain in the backside.

Newspapers that beat their chests about freedom of speech and equality in society do not believe in following their professed intentions (or are they rants?). All you see in newspapers - and I am referring here to the (self professed "secular", "liberal") English dailies in Mumbai and the leading English and Bengali dailies in Kolkata (which I catch on the net on a daily basis) - is ONLY the viewpoint of leftists, and self professed secularists.

The editors were educated in the post Independence era when foggy socialist and leftist ideas ruled the roost. I am not surprised therefore that the jounos they recruit are steeped in their own philosophy - and parrot the same line.

The two dailies from Kolkata I refer to belong to a heavyweight regional media group. More than 25 years ago, their offices and press was threatened by the goons of the CPI(M) and literally laid to seige (through the militant trade union wing of the communists of course). The seige continued for almost a month (I must have been in Class IV or V). The newspaper refused to buckle down and finally the seige was lifted. M J Akbar who was the editor of the English newspaper at that time used to brave brickbats while going to office - and I remember him recollecting one of his best moments was when he walked out the office the day the seige was lifted.

Any guesses what this same group talks about the CPI (M)? For the past 10 months - since the time the Singur and Nandigram crises erupted, this group has behaved almost like a spokesperson of the CPI(M). It took the Nandigram massacre to shake them out of their stupor and gauge that public opinion was really asking why they were toeing the "party" line?

Today's (Sunday, August 19th, 2007) English newspapers of Mumbai are no better. "UPA Left divorce" and other such screaming headlines! Look back some issues and Naxalites are referred to as the Red Terror - BUT with a disclaimer - Naxalites are a socio economic problem. Well methinks the Naxals are a threat to India's sovereignity and should be dealt with as much ruthlessness as we would with an enemy of India.

So when an activist doctor who helps Naxals in Chattisgarh (he claims he helps tribals and can't help if some of them are Naxals! How naive!!) is arrested, the English press goes bonkers and questions the Government on its intentions? Well Mr Editors - I suppose it is common sense - the activists are helping the enemy so they should be arrested and tried for helping the enemy. I suggest you guys get captured by the Naxals once and then come back and have a different worldview.

Yesterday one of the editorials in one of the English dailies in Mumbai even went on to preach why the UPA - Left combine should stay - to keep out the BJP.

Well Mr Editor-who-thinks-he/ she-is-God - can I ask you one question? Why don't you expose the left for what it is - a bunch of goons who always indulges in double speak? Why do you always have a leftist point of view?

Have you forgotten S G Tallentyre's quote (mistakenly attributed to Voltaire) "I may not agree with what you say, but I will fight to the death your right to say it?" Why is there no Right viewpoint in your newspapers? Is the Left right? Far from it - the Left makes us left behind in the global race for domination.

TV news channels are worse - but let me write about them a little while from now.

Starting over

My colleague and good friend Sharath Chandra plaincurdrice.blogspot.com has been the inspiration for creating a blog of my own. Hopefully over sometime it will help me regain my fluency in written English, which, thanks to the computer, corporate reports and SMS (mobile texting) has gone for a serious spin.

Today, Sunday, August 19th, 2007 - I start writing my posts.

First let me try to explain the name of my blog - mustardpaste.

The paste from wet grinding mustard seeds is an essential ingredient of the food we cook - from where I come - Bengal - fish without mustard is like well - wine without cheese.

Mustard adds great taste to whatever we cook; yet it is so pungent.

My blog will have posts that are pungent; and posts that are not so pungent (meaning - to take a culinary metaphor - they will be tasty).