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Sunday 31 August 2014

Denial of Love Jihad by Dumb Hindu Politicians

Denial of Love Jihad by Dumb Hindu Politicians and Ignorant Telemedia Anchors - Ram Kumar Ohri, IPS (Retd) ……………. Love jihad by Muslim Romeos is not something new. Nor is the narrative a canard cooked up by the BJP top brass to win elections, as mischievously alleged by some dumb politicians (most of whom have Hindu names) and many ignoramuses among telemedia anchors. The dangerous phenomenon had found mention at least twice in the US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks in the years 2010 and 2011. It is a pity that some dumb politicians, wearing the green-coloured secularism on their sleeves have chosen to deny its existence. What is far worse is that many telemedia anchors and column-writers have started denying that love jihad has already made deep inroads into several parts of India. Nearly five years ago there was a major furore across several States of South India due to increased activities of Muslim youth working overtime to entice Hindu and Christian girls of impressionable age. Our ignoramus politicians and inadequately read media anchors ought to know that according to Wikileaks a cable mailed by Andrew T Simkin, US Consul General in Chennai on February 26, 3010, had alerted his bosses in the USA that "An alleged conspiracy of "foreign-funded" Muslim men attempting to seduce, marry, and convert Hindu and Christian women, has led to state-level investigations and generated widespread suspicions” in South India. The public at large dubbed the so-called conspiracy a "Love Jihad," and finally top politicians in Karnataka and Kerala were forced to confront the issue in public forums. The same denouement is likely to be repeated in U.P. Bihar and Maharashtra in the coming months where battalions of love jihadis funded by gulf petro-dollars have been on rampage for last several years. The contents of the wiki-cable further highlighted that many Hindu and Christian groups were outraged at the ongoing Islamic 'plot', while Muslim groups were trying to defend their co-religionists against the conspiracy theorists belonging to Hindu and Christian communities. Though police investigations in South India have cast doubt on the existence of an organized campaign of 'Love Jihad', the recurring assertion of its existence demonstrated “ the suspicion and intolerance that exist among some of the religious communities in the region." Initially the pernicious effects of the origin of Love Jihad had been noticed in the coastal region of southern Karnataka and northern Kerala, where religious and communal violence used to occur almost regularly. While India’s dumb politicians and ill-informed telemedia anchors continue to cast doubts on the existence of any love jihad campaign sweeping across many States of India, the stark truth highlighted by many researchers cannot be rebutted easily. On the one hand, Manish Tiwari of Congress, Naresh Agarwal of Samajwadi Party and the Chief Minister of U.P., Akhilesh Yadav were waxing eloquent on 24/7 television channels denying and deriding the campaign of Love Jihad. On the other hand simultaneously the complaint of a prominent national shooter, Tara Shahdeo, surfaced in media which shocked the Hindus. Tara has alleged that a Muslim, Raqibul Hussain had enticed her into love marriage by pretending that he was Hindu named Ranjit Kohli. She alleged that she was tortured to force her to accept Islam as her religion. Tara showed her injuries to Mahua Majhi, Chairperson of the State Women;s Commission. Her complaint is a complete rebuttal of the lies being trotted by the secular chatterati of India’s warped political universe! Incidentally, in a power point circulated by the World Sikh Alliance 4 years ago it was mentioned that Muslim love- jihadis in the U K were enticing Sikh and Hindu girls by pretending to be Sikhs by wearing a ‘Karra’ (iron bracelet regularly worn by Sikhs) and by claiming to have a Sikh surname like ‘Gill’. A copy of the Power Point circulated by World Sikh Alliance is appended to this article. No wonder, the modus operandi used by Raqibul Hussain to entice the unsuspecting Hindu girl Tara Shahdeo was similar to the strategem used by love-jihadis of the United Kingdom, exposed by Sikh World Alliance. The wiki-cable sent by Andrew Simkin in February, 2010, to his bosses in the USA further warned that it will be hugely embarrassing for Hindu parents to reveal to friends and relatives that their daughter had been seduced by a Muslim man. The fact that it happened due to machinations of multiple foreign-funded organizations targeting innocent Hindu girls will make the parents of seduced girl often feel ashamed to explain to themselves and others what really happened and how things went wrong. The cable mailed by the Chennai-based American Consul General further added, 'Love Jihad' brouhaha also illustrates the perceived threat that many Hindus in the region feel from 'forced conversions', and the general encroachment of 'alien' religious forces into what they see as a Hindu religious space. These perceptions -- and the related tensions -- will likely continue regardless of the content of Karnataka's official report on the alleged 'Love Jihad'." It will not be easy for India’s secular chatterati to ridicule the existence of a vigorous campaign of 'Love Jihad' launched with help of foreign funds to entice Hindu and Christian girls. The truth is already out and more truth will come before the public in the months and years ahead to damn the falsehood preching politicians wearing Hindu names and surnames. Ultimately they will succeed in further painting themselves as anti-Hindu and anti-Christian mavericks trying to charm their Muslim votebank by denial of truth. The allegations are not only true, but the fact that they have gained so much attention in the popular perception will ensure that growing hostility between religious groups will extensively tear apart the fabric of social harmony. It will promote greater tensions in the badly fractured relations between Hindus, Muslims, and Christians all over India. It is a national shame that platoons of secularism doped Hindu politicians like Akhilesh Yadav, Gaurav Bhatia and Manish Tiwari are trying to assist the Jihadis to take over India through a demographic coup. It is not only Hindu girls who are being seduced and converted. The Christians of Kerala are also angry over the demeaning antics of jihadi Romeos. In an incisive article titled ‘Love Jihad: A Myth or a Mission’, posted on the website of Uday India an honest Muslim scholar, Syed Wazid Ali, has given some startling facts based on the statistics of a survey conducted by the Crime Record Bureau of Kerala Police and Kochi’s University of Advanced Law Studies. The survey revealed that the number of girls missing from Kerala was 2127 in 2006 and 2560 in 2008. The police is said to have no information in respect of nearly 600 girls out of a total of 4,687 girls trapped in two successive years by love-jihadis. It is only dumb Hindu leaders and “possibly paid media analysts” who are trying to rescue the fundamentalist fraudsters! It is time for Hindu leaders to speak out openly instead of trying to evade this dangerously deceptive demographic challenge to the Hindu identity of India. …………..

NARENDRA MODI IN JAPAN INDO JAPAN MILITARY COOPERATION

On Friday, August 29, a few hours before Indian prime minister Narendra Modi was to land in Kyoto, the Japanese defence ministry followed through on the July amendment by asking for a record defence budget. The $48 bln budget for the year beginning April 2015 will be used to buy radar-evading F-35 stealth aircraft, Aegis radar-equipped destroyers, surveillance aircraft and global hawk drones. Abe’s Japan is putting money where its mouth is. Now, all this has a lot of implications for India. A stronger, assertive and well-equipped Japan is needed to maintain regional stability and bolster US efforts at keeping China at bay. India, like Japan, has an ongoing territorial dispute with China, one which shows no signs of resolution despite more than three decades of debates, discussion and ministerial meetings. The Manmohan Singh-led UPA government handled China with kid gloves with a prominent minister comparing Chinese PLA incursions to acne. The UPA government often gave the impression of preferring endless talks without any tangible outcomes and one hopes that the Modi government’s approach will be different. This Japan trip is actually a golden opportunity for prime minister Modi to cement a closer defence and military cooperation with India’s best Asian friend. Media reports and opinion about the visit have centred exclusively on economic issues with civil nuclear deals, infrastructure investment dominating the discussion, but there is no reason to downplay the role of military and defence cooperation especially in the context of China. Japan’s ongoing dispute over the East China Sea island (called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China) could well determine geopolitics in that part of the world, while resolution of India’s dispute over the Himalayan frontier with its giant northerly neighbour is crucial to south Asian regional security. China has used divide and division among the Asian bloc and the US’ increasing domestic problems to try and settle the issues on its own terms. It has needled all the countries with which it has disputes with aggressive and often intrusive patrolling. The Chinese strategy appears to be to get its rivals to the negotiating table by putting them on the defensive and then getting them to agree to its terms by often highlighting the high cost of non-cooperation. Such a strategy cannot be defeated through military means but only through deft diplomacy. War is often not a solution to tackle aggressive countries and China’s psychological warfare can be blunted through regional cooperation and solidarity between the affected countries. Modi has an excellent chance to use this trip to discuss a military alliance with Abe. This will not be aimed at grabbing territory or invading any country. Its purpose is not to start a second Indo-China war. But by getting countries affected by Chinese aggression into one camp, this alliance will send a strong message to Beijing that its territorial aggression will not be tolerated. By selling arms to each other, it will attempt to deter Chinese aggression and blunt its diplomatic edge through close cooperation in international forums. A few days before Mr Modi’s visit to Japan, Sushma Swaraj, the external affairs minister visited Vietnam and the two countries agreed to deepen existing defence cooperation. Vietnam also agreed to renew leases on two oil blocks given to ONGC Videsh, a move widely expected to annoy China. Japan is also considering supplying patrol boats to the Philippines, one of the countries affected by Chinese claims on the South China Sea now that its constitution has been amended. In a limited way, some kind of cooperation is already happening between countries affected by Chinese claims and demands. Abe has shown that he is no pushover and is willing to stand upto China. Modi is made of similar stuff. It is time for these leaders to send a message to Beijing that they will not be rolled over and that geopolitics in Asia will not be dominated Chinese imperialism.

Saturday 30 August 2014

LOC FIRING INDIAS DEFENCE PREPAREDNESS

सीमेवरील गोळीबार,घुसखोरी आणि देशाची युध्दसिद्धता भारत पाकिस्तान सीमारेषेवर पाक सैन्याकडून जोरदार गोळीबार केला जात असल्याच्या पार्श्वाभूमीवर केंद्र सरकारकडून भारतीय लष्करास ‘पूर्ण पाठिंबा‘ देण्यात आला असून यामुळे पाकिस्तानच्या भूभागामध्ये लष्कराने नेमके जोरदार हल्ले करण्यास प्रारंभ केला आहे. लष्कराने कोणत्याही ‘निर्बंधांशिवाय‘ पाक सैन्यास उत्तर देण्यास सुरुवात केल्यामुळे पाकमधील ठार झालेल्या जवानांची वा दहशतवाद्यांची संख्या अनपेक्षितरित्या वाढली आहे. गेल्या काही दिवसांपासून भारत-पाक सीमेवर पाकिस्तानकडून मोठ्या प्रमाणात गोळीबार होत आहे. गेल्या चार वर्षात हे प्रमाण वाढलेले असून दुसरीकडे अरूणाचल प्रदेश आणि लडाख या भागातून चीनी घुसखोरीही चालू आहे. या पाश्र्वभूमीवर भारताने शस्त्रसिद्धतेसाठी अनेक महत्त्वाची पाऊले टाकणे गरजेचे आहे. मोदी सरकारने या दृष्टीने चांगली सुरूवात केली आहे. गरज आहे ती चांगल्या अंमलबजावणीची. धगधगती एलओसी नुकसान दोनी देशांचे गेल्या काही दिवसांपासून काश्मीरमधील भारत-पाक सीमारेषेवर (एलओसी) भारत आणि पाकिस्तान सैन्यामध्ये प्रचंड प्रमाणात गोळीबार सुरू आहे. यामध्ये अनेक नागरिक मारले गेलेले आहेत आणि आपले अनेक जवान शहिद झालेले आहेत. सध्या उपलब्ध झालेल्या आकडेवारीप्रमाणे गेल्या काही दिवसात झालेल्या गोळीबारात आपले तीन जवान, तीन नागरिक आणि दोन दहशतवादी मारले गेलेले आहेत. गेल्या चार वर्षांचा इतिहास बघितला तर भारत-पाक सीमेवर जो गोळीबार होत आहे, त्यापैकी २०११ मध्ये ६५ वेळा गोळीबार झाला, २०१२ मध्ये ११४ वेळा गोळीबार झाला, तर २०१३ मध्ये हे प्रमाण प्रचंड वाढून ३४७ वेळा गोळीबार झाला. यावर्षी आत्तापर्यंत ७५ पैक्षा जास्तवेळा पाकिस्तानने भारताच्या सीमेवर गोळीबार केलेला आहे. हा गोळीबार पाकिस्तान का करते हा प्रश्न सामान्य जनांच्या मनात निर्माण होणे स्वाभाविक आहे. गोळीबार हिंदूं बहुल भागात या गोळीबाराचा आणि भारतामध्ये दहशतवादी पाठविण्याचा घनिष्ठ संबंध आहे. गेल्या चार वर्षांचा इतिहास बघता २०११ मध्ये २४७ वेळा घुसखोरी करण्याचा प्रयत्न केला गेला. हा आकडा २०१२ मध्ये २६४ होता. तर २०१३ मध्ये हा आकडा वाढून २७७ वर पोहोचला आणि २०१४ मध्ये आत्तापर्यंत पाकिस्तानने दहशतवाद्याना ५० हून जास्त वेळा घुसखोरी करण्यासाठी प्रयत्न केला आहे. या गोळीबारामुळे त्या भागात राहणार्या नागरिकांचे प्रचंड प्रमाणात नुकसान होत आहे. यामध्ये त्यांची घरे बरबाद होतात. त्यांना शेती किंवा आपला कामधंदा करता येत नाही. याशिवाय त्यांची जनावरेसुद्धा मारली जातात. सध्या पाकिस्तान या भागात मॉर्टर्सचे फायरिंग करत आहे. याचा पल्ला सहा ते सात किलोमीटर पर्यंत असतो. या गोळीबारामुळे सीमावर्ती भागातील जनता आता तेथून हलून जवळजवळ दहा किलोमीटर मागे गेलेली आहे. हा गोळीबार जम्मूच्या भागात होत आहे. जम्मूच्या या सीमावर्ती भागात हिंदूंची संख्या जास्त आहे हे लक्षात घेतले पाहिजे. हाच गोळीबार काश्मीर खोर्यात झाला असता तर तेथे शंभरटक्के मुस्लिम लोक आहेत. म्हणुन हा गोळीबार मुद्दामच पाकिस्तानी सैनिक जम्मूच्या सीमावर्ती भागात करत आहेत. या गोळीबारामुळे पाकिस्तानलाही मोठे नुकसान सहन करावे लागत आहे. कारण आपले सैन्य त्यांच्या गोळीबाराला चांगले उत्तर देत आहे आणि यामुळे पाकिस्तानचेसुद्ध अनेक जवान मारले गेलेले आहेत. तसेच त्यांच्यासुद्धा सीमावर्ती भागात असलेल्या नागरिकांनी तेथून हलून मागच्या भागात स्थलांतरीत होणे सूरू केलेले आहे. यामुळे त्यांचे नुकसान केल्याचा आपल्याला आनंद मिळतो पण दुसरीकडे आपल्या सामान्य माणसाचेदेखील नुकसान होत आहे. पाकिस्तान प्रेमीचा उपदेश २७/०८/२०१४ला भारत आणि सैन्याधिकार्यांनी यावर बोलून सुरू असलेला हा गोळीबार बंद करण्याचा प्रयत्न केला आहे. पण हा गोळीबार अजून किती दिवस चालेल हे सांगता येत नाही. जे पाकिस्तानप्रेमी भारतात आहेत, त्यांनी या फायरिंगमुळे आपल्या सरकारला उपदेश करायला सुरूवात केलेली आहे की, आपण परराष्ट्र पातळीवर जी चर्चा होणार होती ती थांबविल्यामुळे रागवून पाकिस्तानने आपल्यावर गोळीबार सुरू केला आहे. तसेच जम्मू-काश्मीरचे मुख्यमंत्री ओमार अब्दुल्ला यांनीदेखील म्हटले आहे की, भारताला जर पाकिस्तानकडून होणारा हा गोळीबार थांबवायचा असेल तर भारताने लवकरात लवकर पाकिस्तानशी शांततेचा वार्तालाप सुरू करायला पाहिजे.ह्या बद्दल एक ठराव पण जम्मू-काश्मीर विधनसभेने २७/०८/२०१४ला पास केला आहे.अर्थातच पाकिस्तानप्रेमी भारतीय आणि जम्मू-कश्मीरच्या मुख्यमंत्र्यांचे म्हणणे चुकीचे आहे.ते केवळ राष्ट्र्विरोधीचे तुश्टिकरण करत आहे. पाकिस्तानच्या गोळीबारामुळे आपण त्यांच्याशी शांतता चर्चा कधीही सुरू करू शकत नाही. पण अशा प्रकारचा गोळीबार सुरू राहिला तर आणि याचे रुपांतर छोट्या युद्धात किंवा मोठ्या युद्धात झाले तर अशा वेळी आपली शस्त्रक्षमता किती आहे, याचा विचार करणे गरजेचे आहे. दारूगोळा साठा वाढवणे महत्त्वाचे मागील दहा वर्षांपासून आपल्या सैन्याचे आधुनिकीकरण पूर्णपणे थांबले होते. आपल्याकडे जो दारूगोळा आहे तो सध्या पन्नास टक्क्यांहून कमी आहे. त्यामुळे दारूगोळा साठा वाढवणे ही सध्या महत्त्वाची गरज आहे. कारण एलओसीवर गोळीबार सुरू राहिला तर त्याचे प्रत्युत्तर देण्यासाठी आपल्याला दारूगोळ्याची गरज असते. युद्धाच्या नियमानुसार कमीत कमी ४० दिवसांच्या लढाईकरीता पुरेल एवढा दारूगोळा आपल्याकडे पाहिजे. जवळपास ७० टक्के दारूगोळा आपल्या देशातच तयार होतो आणि केवळ तीस टक्के बाहेरच्या देशातून आयात केला जातो. सध्याची परिस्थिती बघता उपलब्ध दारूगोळा हा गरजेपेक्षा ५० टक्क्यांनी कमी झालेला आहे. म्हणजे, वीस दिवस पुरेल एवढाच दारूगोळा आपल्याकडे आहे. दारूगोळ्याचा हा साठा पूर्ण करायचा असल्यास सध्याच्या किंमतीनुसार आपल्याला ९७ हजार कोटींहून जास्त पैसे खर्च करावे लागतील. दारूगोळ्याच्या साठवणीला(STOCKING OF AMMUNITION) सैनिकी भाषेत वॉर वेस्टेज रिझव्र्ह हे नाव आहे. हे वॉर वेस्टेज रिझव्र्ह दोन प्रकारचे असते. एकतर सामान्य लढाईसाठी लागणारा दारूगोळा आणि दुसरे म्हणजे, लढाई तीव्र झाल्यास तीव्र लढाईसाठी लागणारा दारूगोळा. तीव्र प्रकारच्या लढाईसाठी सामान्य लढाईच्या तुलनेत तिप्पट दारूगोळा जास्त लागतो. सध्या कमी झालेला हा दारूगोळ्याचा साठा लवकरतात लवकर पूर्ण करणे गरजेचे आहे. देशात सध्या ३९ दारूगोळा बनवण्याचे कारखाने आहेत. त्यांची क्षमता व वेग वाढविला पाहिजे. तातंडीची अंमलबजावणी महत्त्वाची यातील चांगली गोष्ट म्हणजे नव्या सरकारने तातडीचे दारूगोळ्याच्या साठवणीचे नियोजन केलेले आहे. त्यानुसार पहिल्या टप्प्यात आपण ५० टक्के दारूगोळ्याची कमतरता दूर करू मार्च २०१५ पर्यंत. उरलेली ५० टक्के कमतरता जी बाहेरच्या देशातून आणावी लागते ती २०१९ पर्यंत पूर्ण होईल.जो दारूगोळा बाहेरच्या देशातून आणावा लागतो, त्यासाठी इस्त्राईल, अमेरिका आणि इतर काही देशांशी बोलणी सुरू आहेत. आशा आहे की याच वर्षी यासंबंधिच्या करारांवर स्वाक्षर्या होतील.बाहेरच्या देशातून आयात करण्याच्या दारूगोळ्या संदर्भात लवकरात लवकर करार करून ही कमतरता दूर केली पाहिजे. करारावर स्वक्षरी झाल्यानंतर अंमलबजावणीसाठी त्यावर लक्ष ठेवून ती पूर्ण करणे देखली तितकेच महत्त्वाचे आहे. कारण युद्धात अतिशय महत्त्वाचा दारूगोळा म्हणजे, रनगाड्यांसाठी किंवा क्षेपणास्त्रासाठी लागणारा दूरगोळा हा बाहेरच्या देशातून येतो. कारगिलच्या लढाई दरम्यान बोफोर्स तोफांसाठी दारूगोळा कमी पडू लागला, त्यामुळे दहापट जास्त किंमत देऊन तो वेगवेगळ्या देशातून आयात करावा लागला. या अनुभवातून शिकले पाहिजे. यासाठी नियोजन आणि त्यासाठीची अंमलबजावणी चांगली केली तर अशा प्रकारची वेळ येणार नाही. सध्याचे सरकार हे महत्त्वाचे काम नक्कीच चांगले करेल अशी खात्री वाटते. गेल्या तिस वर्षा पासुन १२ हजार ऑफिसर्सची कमतरता आपण युध्द सज्जते विषयी बोलताना लक्षात आले पाहिजे की, आपल्या सैन्यात सद्यस्थितीत १२ हजार ऑफिसर्सची कमतरता आहे. ही कमतरता एनडीए आणि डेहराडूनच्या प्रशिक्षण अकादमीची क्षमता वाढवून दूर केली पाहिजे. याशिवाय सध्या सैन्याची क्षमता ११ लाख असून त्यात ९० हजार सैनिकांची भरती करणार आहे, असे आपण गेल्याकाही वर्षांपासून बोलत आहोत. त्याला १७ आक्रमक कोअर असे नाव देण्यात आलेले आहे. याचे मुख्यालय हे पश्चिम बंगालच्या पानागड येथे आहे. हे ९० हजार सैनिक आपण चीन विरुद्ध ठेवणार आहोत, ते २०१८-१९ पर्यंत पूर्ण होण्याची शक्यता आहे. यासाठी आपल्याला जास्त प्रमाणात सैनिकांची भरती करावी लागेल. त्यांचे प्रशिक्षण उत्तम करावे लागेल आणि त्यांना लवकरात लवकर चीनच्या सीमेवर तैनात करावे लागेल. यासाठी जवळपास ६६ हजार कोटींहून जास्त खर्च होण्याची शक्यता आहे. हा खर्च सरकारने करून चीन सीमेवर सैन्य तैनात केले पाहिजे, कारण एलओसीवर ज्या प्रमाणे होत आहे. त्याचप्रमाणे चीनी सैन्य लडाख आणि अरूणाचलच्या सीमेवर अनेकवेळा घुसखोरी करत आहे. त्यामुळे या सीमेचीसुद्धा काळजी घेणे महत्त्वाचे आहे. यासाठी सरकारकडून चांगली पाऊले जरूर उचलली जात आहेत पण त्याची अंमलबजावणी होणे आणि तीचा वेग वाढून ही कमतरता आगामी तीन-चार वर्षात दूर केली पाहिजे. असे झाले तर पाकिस्तानची एलओसी आणि भारत-चीन सीमा आपण जास्त सुरक्षित करू शकतो. थांबलेले करार पुढे जाण्यासाठी मंजूरी यामध्ये आणखी एक महत्त्वाचा पैलू म्हणजे, आपण ७० टक्के शस्त्र बाहेरच्या देशातून आयात करतो. आपल्या शस्त्रांचे आधुनिकीकरण देशात पूर्णपणे थांबले होते. ज्या ज्या कंपन्यांशी आपण करार केला होता त्याच कंपन्यांना काही ना काही कारणाने मागच्या सरकारने काळ्या यादीत टाकले होते आणि तो करार थांबविला होता. अलीकडेच आलेल्या बातमीनुसार हे थांबलेले करार पुढे जाण्यासाठी मोदी सरकारने मंजूरी दिलेली आहे. यामुळे आधुनिकीकरणाला वेग मिळेल आणि राफेल करता फ्रान्सशी झालेला करार, बोफोर्सकरता स्विडनशी झालेला करार, ऑगस्ट वेस्टलेन्ड हॅलिकॉप्टरसाठी झालेला करार आता पुढे सुरू होतील. मागच्या सरकारने या कंपन्यांना काळ्या यादीत टाकले होते कारण त्यांच्यावर भ्रष्टाचाराचे आरोप करण्यात आले होते. नव्या सरकारने या करारात एक कलम अशाप्रकारे टाकले पाहिजे की, हे आरोप खरे निघाले आणि ते सिद्ध झाले तर जेवढ्या रकमेचा भ्रष्टाचार सिद्ध होतो तेवढे पैसे कंपनीकडून घेतले पाहिजे, म्हणजे देशाचे नुकसान होणार नाही. पण करारावर स्वक्षर्या केल्यानंतर नवीन शस्त्रखरेदी अजिबात थांबायला नको. यादृष्टीने आता या सरकारने सकारात्मक पाऊल टाकले आहे आणि त्यामुळे आपल्याला नवी शस्त्रे खरेदी करता येतील. हे पाऊल नक्कीच चांगले आहे आणि आता गरज आहे चांगल्या अंमलबजावणीची. या तीन महत्त्वाच्या निर्णयामुळे देशाच्या युध्दसिद्धतेला नक्कीच चालना मिळेल.

NDTV & Chidambaram Accused of Money Laundering Scam of Rs. 5500 cr.Share

NDTV & Chidambaram Accused of Money Laundering Scam of Rs. 5500 cr.Share on facebookShare on emailShare on twitterShare on pinterest_shareShare on linkedinShare on google_plusone_shareMore Sharing Services5 IT Commissioner SK Srivastava’s Battle against Thwarted Probe into Hawala & Tax Evasion Scam by NDTV Author(s) : Madhu Purnima Kishwar Some weeks ago, my office received a big bundle of papers along with two DVDs by courier. The name and address of the recipient was Ranthambore Rana, resident of D-55, Defence Colony, New Delhi. I do not know any such person but the bunch of papers and the two DVDs contained very disturbing information. (When a Manushi volunteer went to check at the given address, we found someone else living there.) They provide in-depth information with detailed documentation regarding an unholy partnership between Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and directors of premier TV channel—NDTV. It took me days to go through and make sense of these papers, which I also got vetted by a senior lawyer. Even so, I was diffident in putting this information in the public domain lest I make an error of judgement. However, on 6 December 2013, former Law Minister and now MP, Shri Ram Jethmalani sent a letter to Mr Chidambaram directly accusing him of receiving a bribe of Rs. 5000 crore and then getting it laundered by NDTV and harassing Srivastava who attempted to inquire into this economic offence. (Click here to view Srivastava's account to his lawyers). Chidambaram has not denied or rebutted anything. Rather, he offered to get himself inquired by his own subordinates. Following this exchange of letters between a former Law Minister and the present Finance Minister of the country, I felt compelled to share the information I had received with the public at large. As per the information in these papers Chidambaram, whose job it is to stand guard over public money and state revenues, is allegedly involved in a Rs.-5,500 crore money laundering scam in collaboration with NDTV and consequent tax evasion of Rs. 3,500 crore. To facilitate this loot, two IRS officers of 1999 Batch were paid a huge amount of bribe and illegal gratification, including an ‘all expenses paid’ pleasure trip with family to Europe for one officer while the other officer was sent on pleasure jaunt to Mauritius. This claim is supported by documentary evidence presented by Srivastava in the High Court. The two DVDs I received contained a video-recorded conversation between S.K. Srivastava, 1987 batch Indian Revenue Service Officer and a small team of lawyers. After having studied the papers and going over the video-recorded conversation twice over, I phoned S.K. Srivastava and asked for an appointment. I met him with a Manushi volunteer at his residence in Pandara Park, in the hope of interviewing him to confirm or refute the authenticity of those documents and the DVDs. He took no time in confirming that the papers were genuine and that he stood by all that was stated in those IRS and court documents. However, he said he had no idea how the conversation got to be recorded or why and who sent me the DVDs. When I tried probing him further, he refused to answer them saying that as a government official he is not allowed to speak to the media or give interviews for public consumption. However, he did share the names and phone numbers of his lawyers, including that of Advocate S.K. Gupta (mob. no.: 9811211218), who has for years defended him in court against the powerful adversaries like NDTV and Chidambaram. From his house, I headed for the Supreme Court chamber of Advocate S.K. Gupta (chamber No. 57, Old Lawyers Chambers), who also confirmed the authenticity of the documents. He saw the two DVDs on his computer monitor and confirmed that that the particular conversation recorded on the DVD indeed took place in his office. But, he said he had no idea how and why it came to be video recorded. The battle waged by S.K. Srivastava is no less mind-boggling and benumbing than that of ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan against forces out to subvert India. (For details of Nambi Narayanan’s battle, read RB Shreekumar: Hero of the Secular Brigade - Part I, How India’s Space Program was Sabotaged -- Nambi Narayanan Describes the Targeting of ISRO by Shreekumar Masterminded Team of IB Officials Part II, Third Degree Torture by IB Officials of ISRO Scientist and Others - PART III His lawyer said that Srivastava was fighting more than 100 cases in civil and criminal courts right up to the Supreme Court of India against NDTV and corrupt IRS officers who are hand-in-glove with these tax-evaders and money launderers. As per Srivastava’s lawyer, these cases have been allegedly engineered by NDTV and a host of corrupt IRS officers working allegedly at Chidambaram’s behest to break Srivastava’s resolve to unearth this scam and have the guilty punished. The papers reveal how Srivastava, when he could not be coaxed or threatened into submission by NDTV and its agents within the Income Tax department from exposing the huge scam, was issued four charge sheets and repeatedly put under suspension—totaling to a period of more than 3 years—allegedly due to the personal vested interests of Chidambaram on illegal grounds and false charges of sexual harassment of two female IRS officers. The officers are alleged to have received huge bribe and illegal gratification and one of them had even got her spouse (Abhisar Sharma) employed by NDTV while she was its Assessing Officer, while another was in-charge of foreign tax division (FTD) of the CBDT and personally camped in Mauritius to arrange transfer of money laundered by NDTV through U.K. subsidiary. Two Delhi-based women IRS officers, who are allegedly partners in the NDTV scam, were set up to make false allegations of sexual harassment against Srivastava. But he put together a pile of evidence to prove to the court and to the official enquiries that the two women officers were on the payroll of NDTV. Both these women were proved liars in court for lodging false complaints. Srivastava also managed to get his suspension orders quashed by the Central Administrative Tribunal since they were patently illegal. By all accounts, Srivastava had an outstanding service record and was found to have merely done his duty with due diligence. Therefore, he could get his suspension orders quashed by court. Since, in 2010, Chidambaram was no longer at the helm of affairs in the Finance Ministry, the government not only accepted those orders but also implemented them! Chidambaram has also tried transferring Srivastava far away from Delhi but Srivastava was successful in getting his Mangalore transfer quashed by CAT because it was found to be politically motivated. It is noteworthy that the previous Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee who is now the President of India, had allowed the investigations initiated by Srivastava to go on! But after Chidambaram became Finance Minister, he is alleged to have taken active interest in keeping Srivastava from investigating the illegal activities of NDTV and its directors—just as in his capacity as the Home Minister, he did not allow CBI to cooperate in the 2G scam investigations regarding money laundering by NDTV, as requested by Srivastava before the court of CBI Special Judge Saini. Srivastava, in his submission in the 2G scam case, had alleged that NDTV has laundered a huge chunk of this money for compromised politicians. Chidambaram as Home Minister got two FIRs registered against Srivastava for reporting about the corruption of those two female IRS officers of 1999 Batch. The ostensible charge was that Srivastava had outraged their modesty and committed offences U/s 509 of IPC, 1860. As part of their resolve to browbeat Srivastava, vested interests in collusion with NDTV obtained a mischievous medical report from a private hospital, VIMHANS, Delhi that Srivastava is suffering from a mental disorder and, therefore, whatever he says doesn’t merit being taken seriously by the court. Srivastava describes in the video recording how he defeated that conspiracy by getting himself examined by doctors in five reputed government hospitals like AIIMS, Hindu Rao and Safdarjang. This medical report was later withdrawn by VIMHANS at the mere hint of an inquiry by the Medical Council of India (MCI). Advocate S.K. Gupta says he has been again and again offered inducements and enticements by NDTV and a host of corrupt IRS officers to stop him from defending and protecting Srivastava. Nevertheless, he has withstood all those pressures because he believes in the rightness of Srivastava’s cause. The full text of the SK Srivastava’s discussion with his lawyers is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIEHcitqivk This is not a sting operation, nor am I exposing anything “secret”. S.K. Srivastava’s battle has been going on in the courts for several years now. The documents that I received are part of court records and hence in the public domain. We are posting the unedited version of the DVDs sent to me (barring a small section, which has unsubstantiated charges, unlike the rest of the conversation) because the case has been successfully hushed up by the media for obvious reasons. A brief summary of the case is given below: Srivastava’s Allegation against P. Chidambram •That P. Chidambaram received several thousand crores by way of bribes, which NDTV laundered through dummy companies. Using his power positions, Mr Chidambaram has scuttled all attempts at inquiry. •P. Chidambaram’s counter case: S.K. Srivastava is indisciplined and should be removed from government service. CBDT under P. Chidambaram told the Delhi High Court that Srivastava’s "performance ... has not been satisfactory" and "the department ... are not satisfied with the manner of his work". A Partial List of NDTV’S Alleged Illegal Acts No 1: SCAM OF RS. 5,500 CRORE PLUS: •NDTV allegedly laundered Rs. 5,500 crore by raising funds through “private placements”, from undisclosed investors in NDTV subsidiaries based in UK and Holland. •The sums raised by it through dubious investors not only paid off its Rs.-3,500 crore liability but left an amount in excess of Rs. 2,000 crore to be transferred to another account. •These funds were transferred to a Mauritius-based NDTV subsidiary. •These funds were then routed to several other NDTV subsidiaries in India. •These Indian subsidiaries were later merged with NDTV Ltd., India without giving a fair share holding right to the companies of Mauritius or UK or Holland. •Shockingly, both, the UK- and Holland-based NDTV subsidiaries, were closed down and so was the Mauritius company! •Why would investors in UK and Holland allow such actions if this were not a plain money-laundering scheme? •At present dollar values, with penalties and interest, the scam exceeds Rs. 5,500 crore. •Shockingly, none of the UK- and Holland-based subsidiaries of NDTV appeared in the annual reports filed that year by NDTV India and subsequently no critical details were provided to the relevant ministry when special intimation was filed before it for condoning the lapse. None was asked for either! It is alleged by Srivastava that this money itself is “illegal”; it is not a case of undeclared business profits or money on which income tax has not been paid. It is money transferred out of the country, received as bribes by ministers, politicians or public servants or just one unknown politician through the same hawala route that terrorists use! No 2: SCAM OF RS. 300 CRORE •NDTV allegedly showed false exports to Star TV in Hong Kong under section 80 HHF of the Income Tax Act. This act defrauded the government of revenue worth at least Rs. 300 crore at present value. •NDTV claimed illegal income tax deductions without making any actual exports and by bringing in Indian rupees instead of foreign exchange as stipulated in supporting judgements! •This deduction was allowed by an Income Tax officer Sumana Sen (IRS 99005) whose husband, Abhisar Sharma, has been an employee of NDTV, a fact that she had concealed all through her employment. •Going against service conduct rules, Sumana Sen accepted a gift of a luxurious all expenses paid European holiday from NDTV, whereby the latter allegedly also paid her shopping bills. All this totals to an expense of Rs. 1 crore. She filed false reports that her involvement with NDTV was in her official capacity. She claimed eligibility for accepting this Rs. 1 crore holiday as one of the perks allowed to her husband as an employee of NDTV. Records show that NDTV has incurred no such expense on any of its employees, including Abhisar Sharma. Srivastava’s allegation that it was a bribe to Sumana Sen for giving undue tax rebates to NDTV has been backed by solid documentary evidence. •Sumana Sen failed to inform the Income Tax Department that her husband was an NDTV employee while she was handling their tax matters. This is an obvious case of conflict of interest. In fact, she manipulated her transfer to the Circle under whose jurisdiction NDTV and its directors—including Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy, Barkha Dutt, Vikram Chandra, etc.—come for the purpose of income tax assessment. •In order to pre-empt S.K. Srivastava from proceeding with these inquiries, Sumana Sen and her collaborationist filed false charges of sexual harassment against S.K. Srivastava. Srivastava alleges that P. Chidambaram had set up these women and used their false cases to suspend him and harass him through various unholy means.•Ashima Neb undertook a tour of Mauritius with her companion for about 10 days and incurred huge expenditure on shopping, hotel stay, etc., while claiming to spend a princely sum of Rs. 60,000 only on everything from air travel to hotel stay to local travelling to shopping to food, et-all! for both , she and her companion accompanying her. •All these cases against Srivastava were quashed yet P. Chidambaram continues to harass him and has set up another illegal inquiry that has been stayed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). Even though P. Chidambaram has been named by Srivastava in the inquiry, Chidambaram has not had the courage to file a reply. (Here is the link to the departmental inquiry report vindicating Sanjay Srivastava on Sexual harassment charges : http://www.scribd.com/doc/175789159/NDTV-money-laundering-Annexure-9?secret_password=2jpv6pecii7osi9fos63)NO. 3 - SCAM OF RS. 1.46 CRORE In the same Assessment Year, Sumana Sen allowed tax refund of Rs. 1.46 crore to NDTV instead of implicating it in the above scams! She handed the cheque to NDTV through her husband Abhisar Sharma, then an NDTV employee (a direct conflict of interest, not statutorily disclosed by her, therefore illegal), in gross violation of the rules of refunding dues! The refund was not admissible and she passed illegal orders to illegally pay money to NDTV from government accounts! Due to relentless battle waged by Srivastava and because of some still remaining honest IRS officers like the incumbent CIT, Delhi V and his subordinates, the I.T. Deptt. in Delhi could no longer ignore the fraud and loot of the public exchequer and public money. It has now succeeded in levying income tax on Rs. 900 crore of laundered money in one assessment year alone, i.e., 2009-10. Another Rs. 2000 crore of laundered money and bribe paid to public servants is under consideration for similar action. The fraudulent acts and conduct of NDTV is made out from their abject inability to cross-examine Srivastava who recorded his statement on oath and offered to be cross- examined by NDTV. Nor could it rebut documentary evidence submitted by Srivastava to the I.T. Deptt. But, all because of Chidambaram’s clout, the Dispute Resolution Panel (the DRP II, Delhi) of the Income Tax Department still managed to save NDTV and Chidambaram himself, as it did not ask for the list of investors who contributed the Pound Sterling 300 million to NDTV and its subsidiary in the UK, and then forgot to recover their money as that would have revealed the link of Chidambaram with NDTV, as alleged by Srivastava. The DRP has not exercised its powers to order search of NDTV to recover that list and the Member (Inv.), CBDT, who is known to be a blue-eyed boy of Chidambaram and was deputed by him to harass the Chief Minister of his home state, has simply turned a blind eye to this case to cover up the link between NDTV and Chidambaram. There is a lot more to this case than the above-mentioned scams. Since Srivastava’s battle is unlikely to get a proper hearing in mainstream media, I am posting his account in Hindi on YouTube. Was all this material sent to me because I am seen as someone similarly battling mainstream media’s partisan conduct and conspiratorial silence on many issues? I am in no position to judge these issues but feel strongly that this case deserves to be known widely at least through the social media so that the government can be pressured into starting a fair probe into these allegations. For viewing S.K. Srivastava’s account to his lawyers, click here for video. (Links to Ram Jethmalani letters: http://www.scribd.com/doc/190072062/Ram-Jethmalani-s-letter-to-P-Chidambaram-in-NDTV-money-laundering-matter, http://www.scribd.com/doc/193677788/P-Chidambaram%E2%80%99s-reply-to-Ram-Jethmalani-and-Ram-Jethmalani-s-reply-to-P-Chidambaram-in-NDTV-money-laundering-matter) Comments (8) We welcome your comments Name Email Contact No. Comment 22 January 2014 Dear Madam: Pranam! I have a received a copy of the legal notice to you from Luthra & Luthra. I hope Madam you have worked out your strategy appropriately. I hope you have got in touch with Mr. Ram Jethmalani! These are crooks, and very powerful people. The silver lining being LSE is just round the corner and I expect their wings to be clipped. Until then, for peace of mind, I hope you have people to take care of your interests. In case you need typing assistance, you can bank upon me. Record it into your computer through "Voice Recorder" and email the MP3 file. I shall type it out and email it back to you. Posted By Sri Aiyer Raju Sreenivasan On Date: 22 Jan 2014 Some more related News ...NDTV to be taxed on Rs 897.27 Crores unaccessed income ... Link : http://www.scribd.com/doc/202588312/NDTV-to-be-taxed-on-Rs-897-27-crores-of-unassessed-income-IT-Department Posted By Indian On Date: 04 Feb 2014 Madhu, am glad you have exposed this. Posted By Seema Sapra On Date: 09 Feb 2014 It is very much evident that there is a foul play, but it is very much surprising that self proclaimed IMANDAR IRS AKKejriwal kept silent in this case, and he did not voiced concerns of his IRS fellow. WHY? Why NDTV is friendly to AAP and Kejriwal? Why so called independent media is silent on this issue? Posted By Ravindra Agrawal On Date: 02 Apr 2014 Oh god! What's wrong with our country. All these unholy scams and relationships makes it ever more imp to get Modi at the helm of power Posted By Nish On Date: 13 Apr 2014 mam i thank you for sharing this with us through manushi and we assure you that we are with you may god bless you in this crusade Posted By rishesh On Date: 13 Apr 2014 Sir, There are several types of enemies. They disguise well that you cannot even know - and particularly in a democracy unless there is a swift law and a well laid system to keep these at bay we cannot survive. They must shiver to even think of such things, let alone doing it! Your's is a greatest effort that Indians should be indebted for your sacrifices. Well done sir. Am sure your efforts will not go waste. Thanking you again. Surya Posted By Surya On Date: 23 Apr 2014 Grand Salute to Srivastava Sir and Madhu madam aapko bhi Posted By anil saini On Date: 23 Jul 2014

JAPAN FRIENDS FOR FUTURE

http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/friends-for-the-future/99/ When they catch up this weekend in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe will celebrate the deep civilisational links between the two nations before they unveil the contours of a more purposeful strategic partnership in Tokyo on Monday. That Modi and Abe have developed a personal rapport over the years is well known. Although he could not make Japan his first foreign destination as PM, Modi has kept the essence of his promise that he would attach special significance to ties with Tokyo. His trip to Japan is his first bilateral diplomatic engagement outside the subcontinent. If Tokyo was disappointed with Modi’s cancellation of his trip to Japan at the last moment a few weeks ago, Abe is making a special gesture now by showing up at Kyoto to host a private dinner for the Indian prime minister. As they push for an ambitious agenda of bilateral cooperation, Modi and Abe are both privileging the past to address the challenges of the present. For Modi and Abe, widely hailed and rebuked for their unabashed nationalism, the past is not really past. They are actively mobilising the past in pursuit of their current goals. If Modi is leveraging nationalism to reconfigure India’s domestic politics and its external orientation, Abe is determined to end Japan’s post-war antipathy towards nationalism and remake it as a normal state. As they seek a larger role for their nations in Asia and the world, Modi and Abe know they need each other more than ever before. They are acutely conscious that India and Japan form unique partners for each other amid the current economic and geopolitical flux in Asia. They have one common problem, though. Both are burdened with national security bureaucracies that are stuck with mantras of the past and slowing down the prospects for civil nuclear and defence cooperation. Modi and Abe need to press their bureaucracies to quickly wrap up the nuclear negotiations and lay the foundations for a strong defence partnership. On the economic front, the challenges are more on the Indian side, where Modi must get his domestic act together to take full advantage of the possibilities that have opened up for Japan’s participation in accelerating India’s economic development. On a whole range of issues identified as priorities by Modi — from boosting India’s manufacturing sector to the modernisation of infrastructure, from building high-speed railways to constructing smart cities, from cleaning the Ganga to the development of green technologies — Japan is well placed to become a productive partner. Modi’s decision to arrive in Kyoto a day ahead of schedule and Abe’s move to meet him there are part of an effort to showcase the historic Buddhist bonds between India and Japan, so visible in Kyoto and Nara, and create a broader public support in both countries for a meaningful strategic partnership. Over the weekend, Modi and Abe are likely to announce a sister city partnership between Varanasi and Kyoto. For preserving the heritage of Varanasi and making it a modern city, Kyoto is a fine place to learn from. Past and present will also come together in the political engagement between the two leaders in Tokyo. Since he surprised the world by his return to power at the end of 2012, Abe has sought to pull Japan out of extended economic stagnation and re-establish it as a front-ranking power in Asia and the world. For more than five decades, Japan has been content to rely on the military alliance with the US to ensure its security. It also normalised relations with China when Washington warmed up to Beijing to counter Moscow. But the context has rapidly evolved with the rise of China, its emergence as a great military power, and its intensifying territorial dispute with Japan in the East China Sea. As it worries about Beijing’s new clout, Tokyo is also concerned about America’s ambivalence in the new dynamic between China and Japan. While the alliance with the US will remain Japan’s security anchor for the foreseeable future, Abe is taking some additional insurance. He is strengthening Japan’s military capabilities and preparing it for a more active security role in Asia and the Indian Ocean. He also wants to build stronger security partnerships with many countries in the region, including US allies like Australia and the Philippines as well as non-aligned nations like India, Vietnam and Indonesia. Abe’s vigorous policies have drawn flak from China. Beijing has charged him with militarism and accused him of trying to overturn the post-war order in Asia. It is into this East Asian minefield that Modi n’s re-emergence as a responsible power in Asia. In the seven decades that have elapsed since the end of World War II, Japan has proved to be a good international citizen, having contributed significantly to regional economic growth, including in China, and promoted political and institutional cooperation in Asia GOD BLESS THE COUNTRY THE DAY NDA GOVT CANCELLED MEETING WITH PAKI, THE SAME DAY PAKI ENVOY IN DELHI ARRANGED A DINNER PARTY IN A 5 STAR HOTEL FOR KASHMIRI SEPARATIST LEADERS. AND SEE WHO ARE WITH THEM; RAHUL , ANAND SHARMA WITH PAKI AMBASSADOR AND KASHMIRI TERRORISTS.

Friday 29 August 2014

NARENDRA MODI मोदीं सरकार अच्छे दिन

देशाच्या सुरक्षेला पहिल्याच १०० दिवसात ‘अच्छे दिन ’ मोदींच सरकार स्थापन होऊन १०० दिवस उलटले. ‘अच्छे दिन’ येण्यासाठी आधी ‘अच्छे निर्णय’ घ्यावे लागतात.या काळात अनेक निर्णय घेण्यात आले, जे मागचे सरकार गेले १० वर्षे टाळत होते.देशातील एक बुद्धिमान पोलिस अधिकारी इंटेलिजन्स ब्युरोचे माजी प्रमुख अजित डोबाल यांची देशाचे नवे राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा सल्लागार म्हणून नियुक्ती करण्यात आली. जनरल व्हिके सिंग यांना ईशान्य भारतात आणी सिमा भागात रस्ते,रेल्वे, विमान तळ बनवण्यासाठी नियुक्त करणे, किरेन रिज्जुना ग्रुहमंत्रालयात आणणे हे एक महत्व्वाचे पाऊल आहे.ग्रुह मत्रांलय,सरक्षण मत्रांलय,आणि परराष्ट्र मत्रांलय़ाने अनेक महत्वाचे निर्णय़ घेतले ज्यामुळे देशाची सुरक्षा व्यवस्था सुधारण्याला मदत मिळाली.यामुळे सरकारचे पहिले १०० दिवस यशस्वी राहिले परराष्ट्र धोरणात सकारात्मक परिवर्तन पहिले पाऊल परराष्ट्र धोरणात सकारात्मक परिवर्तन करून, शेजारी देशांच्या प्रमुखांना शपथग्रहण समारंभात आमंत्रित करून उचलले गेले. पहिल्या विदेश दौर्यासाठी भूतानची निवड झाली.भुतान आणि भारताची बाह्य,अंतर्गत ऊर्जा सुरक्षा जोड्लेली आहे. रशियाचे राष्ट्रपती ब्लादिमीर पुतीन, यांच्याशी पण भेट होत आहे. नेपाळ दौरा भारताच्या संरक्षण आणि आर्थिक हितसंबंधांच्या दृष्टीने महत्त्वाचा होता. मोदी यांना व्हिसा देण्यास नकार देणाऱ्या अमेरिकेने आता मोदींशी चांगले संबंध प्रस्थापित करत आहे. केंद्रात सत्ताबदल झाल्यापासून चीन वेगवेगळ्या मार्गांनी नव्या सरकारची भूमिका कशी आहे याची चाचपणी करत आहे.नव्या सरकारची मानसिक ताकद किती आहे हे जाणून घेण्यासाठी चीन अशी कृती करत आहे.वेगवेगळ्या पातळ्यावर आपल्याला चीन विरुद्ध लढण्यासाठी तयारी केली पाहिजे.आपल्या सैन्याला ६० हजार नवे सैनिक चीनी सीमेसाठी तयार करायचे होते. हे मान्य करुन तीन ते चार वर्ष झाली; पण मागचे सरकार काहीच करु शकले नाही. या सर्व गोष्टींकडे सध्याचे सरकार लक्ष ठेवत आहे.व पद्धतशीरपणे या सर्व पातळ्यांवर तयारी करत आहे.१७ आक्रमक कोअरचे ६० हजार सैनिक आपण चीन विरुद्ध ठेवणार आहोत, ते २०१८-१९ पर्यंत पूर्ण होण्याची शक्यता आहे.जपानचे पंतप्रधान शिंजो आबे भेट व व्हिएटनाम दौरा ,सप्टेंबरमध्ये अमेरिकेचा दौरा चीनच्या विरोधात समदुःखी देशांची युती बनवण्या करता केला जात आहे. खंबीर ,परिणामकारक पाकिस्तान आणी काश्मीर धोरण जेटली यांनी काश्मीरच्या भेटीत कोणताही सीमापार दहशतवाद खपवून घेतला जाणार नाही, अशी स्पष्ट घोषणा केली आहे. पंतप्रधान मोदींनी काश्मिरच्या जनतेला विकासाचे स्वप्न' दाखविले. नव्या सरकारचे काश्मीर धोरण खंबीर आणि परिणामकारक असेल. भारत पाकिस्तान सीमारेषेवर पाक सैन्याकडून जोरदार गोळीबार चालु आहे. केंद्र सरकारकडून भारतीय लष्करास ‘पूर्ण पाठिंबा‘ देण्यात आला आहे. यामुळे पाकिस्तानच्या भूभागामध्ये लष्कराने नेमके जोरदार हल्ले करण्यास प्रारंभ केला आहे. लष्कराने कोणत्याही ‘निर्बंधांशिवाय‘ पाक सैन्यास उत्तर देण्यास सुरुवात केल्यामुळे पाकमधील ठार झालेल्या जवानांची वा दहशतवाद्यांची संख्या अनपेक्षितरित्या वाढली आहे. सध्या देशाच्या अंतर्गत आणि बाह्य सुरक्षेला असलेला धोका लक्षात घेता या परिस्थितीवर नजर ठेवण्याचा निर्णय पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी यांनी घेतला असून,दर महिन्यात तिन्ही सेनादलांच्या प्रमुखांना भेटून ते परिस्थितीचा आढावा घेणार आहेत. सरकारच्या महत्त्वाच्या निर्णय प्रक्रियेमध्ये सैन्यदलाची भूमिका मागच्या सरकारने मर्यादित ठेवली होती. नरेंद्र मोदी सैन्यदल आणि त्यांच्याशी संबंधित विषयांना सर्वोच्च प्राधान्य देत आहेत. संरक्षण मंत्री अरुण जेटली यांनी नवनियुक्त लष्करप्रमुख जनरल दलजीतसिंह सुहाग यांच्या नियुक्तीवर मोहोर उठवून परंपरेचे पालन करीत परिपक्वतेचा परिचय दिला.प्रकाश जावडेकरांनी भारताच्या सीमा बळकट करण्यासाठी सीमेपासून १०० किमीवर लागणार्या कोणत्याही कामासाठी पर्यावरण खात्याची मंजुरी नाही असे जाहिर केले. गृहमंत्री राजनाथसिंह यांनी नक्षलवादी समस्येचा बीमोड करण्यासाठी एकीकृत कमाण्डचा निर्णय घेऊन आणि काश्मिरी हिंदूंच्या सन्मानजनक पुनर्वसनासाठी पाऊल उचलून जेथे आपल्या निर्णायक क्षमतेचा परिचय दिला आहे.इंटेलिजन्स ब्युरोच्या अहवालाप्रमाणे भारतात लहान-मोठे २० लाख एनजीओ आहेत. परदेशी अर्थसहाय्य मिळणा-या काही स्वयंसेवी संस्था देशाच्या विकासात हेतुपूर्वक अडथळे आणत आहेत .यापैकी चार हजार एनजीओंनी विदेशी निधींचा ऑडिट रिपोर्ट न दिल्यामुळे, गृहमंत्रालयाने निधी नियमन कायद्याखाली त्यांचे पंजीयन रद्द केले.यामुळे एनजीओंच्या घातककार्यांवर जरब बसेल. संरक्षण क्षेत्रात काही नाविन्य पुर्ण पावले सध्याची परिस्थिती अशी आहे की, गेली दहा वर्ष आपल्या सैन्याचे(आर्मी, नेव्हीआणि एअर फोर्सचे) अींधुनिकीकरण हे पूर्णपणे थांबलेले आहे. गेल्या दहा वर्षाच्या बजेटमध्ये जेवढे पैसे या सरंक्षण क्षेत्राला द्यायला पाहिजे होते, तेवढे दिलेले नाहीत. आपले आधुनिकीकरण होण्याऐवजी आपली अधोगती झाली. आज आपल्याकडे दहा दिवस लढण्याकरितासुद्धा दारूगोळा नाही, जो नियमाप्रमाणे किमान २५ ते ३० दिवसांचा असला पाहिजे आणि त्यासाठी ७९ हजार कोटींहून जास्त पैशांची गरज आहे. नव्या सरकारने तातडीचे दारूगोळ्याच्या साठवणीचे नियोजन केलेले आहे.त्यानुसार पहिल्या टप्प्यात आपण ५० टक्के दारूगोळ्याची कमतरता दूर करू मार्च २०१५ पर्यंत. उरलेली ५० टक्के कमतरता जी बाहेरच्या देशातून आणावी लागते ती २०१९ पर्यंत पूर्ण होईल.आशा आहे की याच वर्षी यासंबंधिच्या करारांवर स्वाक्षर्या होतील. आज आपण अतिशय जुनाट आणि कालबाह्य शस्त्र वापरतो आहोत. हवाई दल अतिशय जुनाट झालेले आहे. आपला तोफखाना,रणगाडे अतिशय जुनाट आहेत. नौदलामधील पाणबुड्यांची संख्या २० च्या आसपास असायला हवी ती आज पंधराही नाही .हवाई दलाबाबत बोलायचे तर आपल्याकडे फक्त ३४ स्क्वाड्रन(Squadron) एअरफोर्स आहे. ते ४४ स्क्वाड्रन असणे आवश्यक आहे. सीमेच्या संरक्षणाच्या दृष्टीने पायाभूत सोयीसुविधांचा मुद्दाही महत्त्वाचा आहे. चीनचे रस्ते, रेल्वेलाईन आपल्या सीमेपर्यंत आलेली आहे आणि त्यांची विमानतळं अतिशय आधुनिक आहेत. आपले रस्ते आजही सीमेपर्यंत पोहोचलेले नाहीत. काही ठिकाणी ते २५-३० किलोमीटर तर काही ठिकाणी ३०-४० आणि त्यापेक्षाही जास्त मागे आहेत. संरक्षण क्षेत्रासाठीची तरतूद ११.५ टक्क्यांनी वाढली या सरकारने संरक्षण क्षेत्रासाठीची तरतूद वाढवून ती २२९ हजार कोटी रुपये केली आहे. म्हणजे यामध्ये ११.५ टक्क्यांची वाढ झाल्याचे दिसत आहे. त्यामुळे आधुनिकीकरणाला चालना नक्कीच मिळेू शकणार आहे. याशिवाय ईशान्य भारतामध्ये एक हजार कोटी रुपये रेल्वे लाईन तयार करण्याकरिता देण्यात आले आहेत. त्याचा फायदा तेथील सर्वसामान्यांबरोबर सैन्यालाही नक्कीच होणार आहे.याशिवाय सैनिकांचे युद्ध स्मारक बांधण्याकरिता १०० कोटी रुपये खास जाहीर करण्यात आले आहेत. संरक्षण दलांचे आधुनिकीकरण हे प्रामुख्याने नवी संरक्षण सामग्री खरेदी करण्यावर ( भांडवली तरतुदीवर) अवलंबून असते,ज्या मध्ये ५००० कोटीची वाढ केली आहे. त्यामुळे फ्रान्सकडून सुमारे ९० हजार कोटी रुपयांची १२६ राफेल लढाऊ विमाने खरेदीच्या करारास अंतिम रूप दिले जाईल, अर्थसंकल्पामधे देशातील खासगी उद्योगांना संरक्षण उत्पादनात सहभागी करण्यासाठी प्रोत्साहित करण्यासाठी ८९२ कोटींचा निधी राखून ठेवला आहे. बजेट मधील काही महत्वपुर्ण निर्णय देशातील राज्य पोलीस दलांच्या विकासासाठी ३००० कोटी रूपयांची तरतूद आहे,यामुळे सैन्यावर पडणारा अंतर्गत सुरक्षेचा ताण कमी होईल.सीमेवरील गावांच्या विकासासाठी ९९० कोटी दिले आहेत.सध्या सीमेपासून ३०-४० किलोमीटरपर्यंत लोक वस्ती नाही.सीमा भागात लोक वस्ती वाढल्यास या भागातील जनता सैन्याचे कान आणि डोळ्याचे काम करुन देशाची सुरक्षा वाढवू शकतील.देशाच्या संरक्षणाच्या दृष्टीने महत्वाच्या असणाऱ्या सीमाभागात रेल्वेमार्गाच्या उभारणीसाठी १००० कोटींची तरतूद आहे,तर सीमा क्षेत्रतील पायाभूत सोयींचा विकास २२५० कोटी तरतुद आहे.सीमाभागातील पायाभूत सोयींचा फ़ायदा सैन्यासही होतो आणि संरक्षण व्यवस्था मजबुत होते.तंत्रज्ञान विकासाकरिता शंभर कोटीं देण्यामुळे देशातील संशोधनाला चालना मिळेल. संरक्षण क्षेत्रात परकीय गुंतवणूक ४९ टक्क्यांवर संरक्षण क्षेत्रातील परकीय गुंतवणूकीची २६ टक्क्यांची मर्यादा वाढवून ४९ टक्के इतकी करण्यात आली.सध्याच्या घडीला भारत हा शस्त्रास्त्रांची आयात करणारा सर्वात मोठा देश आहे. लष्करी साहित्याची गरज भागविण्यासठी भारताला मोठ्या प्रमाणावर परकीय चलन खरेदी करावे लागत आहे. त्यामुळे आगामी काळात देशातंर्गत लष्करी साहित्याच्या निर्मितीला चालना देण्याच्या दृष्टीने संरक्षण क्षेत्रातील परकीय गुंतवणूकीची मर्यादा वाढवण्याचा निर्णय जाहीर करण्यात आला. परकी्य कंपन्यांनी भारतीय कंपन्याच्या भागीदारीत संरक्षण साहित्याचे उत्पादन केले तर नफ्यातला वाटा भारतीय कंपन्यांना मिळेल, भारतात रोजगार निर्माण होईल, भारताला संरक्षण तंत्रज्ञानही मिळेल. आपल्याला रस्ते, विमानतळ यांबाबत चीनची बरोबरी करायची असेल तर किमान दहा वर्षे सातत्याने खर्च करावा लागेल. याशिवाय शस्त्रास्त्रनिर्मितीसाठी स्वयंपूर्ण होण्याची गरज आहे.सध्या आपल्या अर्थव्यवस्थेची स्थिती फारच नाजूक आहे. त्याच्यामुळे एकदम आपले सरंक्षण बजेट वाढू शकणार नाही.सरकारने पाच वर्षाचा प्लॅन करुन गेल्या दहा वर्षांत ज्या उणिवा राहिलेल्या आहेत त्या पूर्ण करण्याचा प्रयत्न करायला पाहिजे. संरक्षणाच्या दृष्टीने सुखावह संकेत पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी यांनी २६ मे २0१४ ला पदग्रहण केल्यानंतर दिलेले संकेत राष्ट्रीय संरक्षणाच्या दृष्टीने सुखावह आणि भविष्यसूचक आहेत. ही सातत्याने अशीच पुढे चालत राहिली, तर भारतीय सैन्यदलांना ‘अच्छे दिन आनेवाले है’ अशी अपेक्षा करण्यास हरकत नाही.एकंदरीत संरक्षण क्षेत्राच्या दृष्टीने विचार करता सुर वात चांगली आहे.आगामी चार वर्षांमध्ये अर्थव्यवस्था सुधारल्या नंतर सरकार संरक्षणासाठीच्या बजेटमध्ये प्रत्येक वर्षी २५-३० टक्क्यांपर्यंत वाढ करले अशी अपेक्षा बाळगायला हरकत नाही.ही वाढ सातत्याने अशीच पुढे चालत राहिली, तर भारतीय सैन्यदलांना ‘अच्छे दिन आनेवाले है’ अशी अपेक्षा करण्यास हरकत नाही.

NARENDRA MODI VISIT TO JAPAN HISTORIC OPPERTUNITY

http://www.hindustantimes.com/comment/analysis/befriending-japan-balancing-china-modi-s-foreign-policy/article1-1257624.aspx Brahma Chellaney August 28, 2014 Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to put his stamp on foreign policy as he holds bilateral summits in quick succession with three powers central to Indian foreign policy — Japan, China and the United States. Modi has already bared a two-fold focus to build a pragmatic, dynamic policy that ends the era of belated, reactive diplomacy: Proactively regain India’s clout in its own strategic backyard and build closer but differentially calibrated collaboration with major powers. After highly effective visits to Nepal and Bhutan, Modi now turns his gaze to the grand chessboard to underpin broader national interests. Modi’s upcoming tour of Japan is certain to deepen bonds between the world’s largest democracy and Asia’s oldest (and richest) democracy. But if this emerging democratic axis is to turn into a game-changer in Asia, the two countries must make their collaboration meatier through deeper strategic linkages. Some of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent steps, including easing Japan’s arms-export ban and reasserting the right of collective defence, open new avenues of collaboration with India. When Chinese President Xi Jinping comes calling in mid-September, Modi will have a more difficult task at hand. At a time when the India-China trade relationship is already lopsided, with Beijing exporting three times as much as it imports and treating India as a raw-material appendage of its economy like Africa, Modi must find ways to address this insidious asymmetry as he seeks to make a cash-rich China an important partner in India’s development. Another challenge for him is to balance deeper India-China economic engagement with India’s strategic imperatives, like bolstering defences against China and containing increasing Chinese border provocations. According to minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, Chinese border transgressions this year have exceeded more than one per day, totalling 334 till August 4. Given America’s critical importance to India, Modi sagaciously placed national interest above personal umbrage by shaking off the US visa-related humiliation heaped on him for over nine years. After his thumping electoral mandate, he could have, given Washington’s itch to woo him, waited for top US officials to come calling. Instead, he quickly accepted President Barack Obama’s invitation to visit the White House, thereby leaving no room for perceptions about bilateral strains to arise and hurt India’s foreign policy interests. Yet the reality is that India-US relations, after their heyday under Obama’s predecessor, have gradually run out of momentum, even though America has quietly become India’s largest arms supplier. Modi seems ready to reinvigorate the ties. But he will be visiting Washington at a time when Obama is already beset with multiple crises at home and abroad and appears increasingly as a lame-duck president under political siege, including from the Democrats. The contrast between a newly-empowered Modi and a fading Obama could not be starker. In this light, it is unclear as to what the visit can accomplish, other than to drive home the message that all is well on the India-US front under Modi. Still, as if to highlight how transactional aspects overshadow strategic elements, Washington would be expecting Modi to come bearing gifts, in the form of new economic and arms contracts. Modi, with his India-first instincts, has already shown that he will unflinchingly stand up for national interests, even if it means going against a large US-led combine, as happened at the WTO talks in Geneva. Clearly, Modi’s smoothest interactions will be with Japan, even though he has gone out of his way to befriend China. He received the Chinese foreign minister before welcoming any other foreign dignitary. Modi’s first bilateral meeting with a major State head was with Xi in Brazil. He allowed Xi to advance his India visit to September while postponing his own Japan trip by eight weeks. He sent the country’s vice president to attend the 50th-anniversary ‘celebrations’ in Beijing of the Panchsheel Treaty, a pact that China used to outfox and outflank India, culminating in its 1962 invasion. Modi agreed to let Shanghai host the new BRICS bank, accepting just a consolation-prize job offer for an Indian to be its first president. Despite all this, Abe is likely to ensure that Modi’s Japan visit is a resounding success. Modi is expected to return home with the much-sought civil nuclear accord with Tokyo. Although this deal will be played up in India as a diplomatic triumph, its practical value will be largely symbolic. As India is discovering through its negotiations with France’s Areva, the price of imported reactors is so high that it would burden Indian taxpayers with onerous subsidies. Indeed, France — the ‘poster child’ of atomic power — has announced it will cut nuclear-generating capacity by a third by 2025 and focus instead on renewables. India must use its scarce resources on advancing its expertise in fast-breeder reactors and the thorium fuel cycle and building more indigenous 700 MWe reactors. The India-Japan partnership holds the potential to shape Asian geopolitics in much the same way as China’s rise or Obama’s ‘pivot’ to Asia. This win-win partnership can help to drive India’s infrastructure development and great-power aspirations, while catalysing Japan’s revival as a world power. India’s foreign policy has never had a distinct strategic imprint, except for a period under Indira Gandhi. India has always wanted to be a state that is liked, not a state that is respected internationally. Modi recognises this failing and — as Geneva exemplified — appears intent on fixing it. His overtures to Beijing can barely conceal his resolve to build close strategic ties with Japan to put discreet checks on China’s exercise of its rapidly accumulating power, which risks sliding into arrogance. Modi’s vision for Asia is stable power equilibrium in which India can thrive unhindered.

Thursday 28 August 2014

NARENDRA MODI JAPNEASE TWEET & FORTH COMING FOREIGN VISITS

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Globespotting/high-stakes-of-narendra-modis-upcoming-meetings-with-shinzo-abe-xi-jinping-and-barack-obama/ August 28, 2014, 12:04 AM IST Indrani Bagchi Kyoto, Japan’s former imperial capital, will host a new tourist this weekend as Narendra Modi stops over to take in the sights of one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It will be the start of a month of top-notch global engagement from Shinzo Abe through Xi Jinping to Barack Obama. These meetings will not only build personal relationships and give shape to Modi’s foreign policy, but they will also give a taste of the new Asian architecture. Modi, like his predecessor, holds a special place for Japan in his strategic calculus. Nevertheless, both sides will be working with two disappointments. India’s abrupt cancellation of Modi’s visit in July resulted in significant loss of ‘face’ for the Japanese, which the Indian government should have been more sensitive to. On the other hand, with just a couple more days to go for the visit, a block by the famed Japanese Gaimusho (foreign office bureaucracy) on the bilateral civil nuclear deal is evident. If a deal is indeed struck between now and the Modi-Abe meeting, it will be because two strong leaders exercised their political will for a converging strategic future. With the clarity of vision that Modi brings to the Asian leadership pantheon, high-stakes Asian geopolitics is set to become a lot more interesting. It comes at a time when China’s expansionist outlook contrasts with the US’s fading footprint. Moscow’s economic miscalculations might, for the first time, make Russia play second fiddle to China. On the other hand, rising powers in Asia — from India to Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan (even South Korea and Australia, though they still shelter under the American umbrella) — are becoming rich and powerful almost in tandem. And all of them are working harder than ever to ensure that China remains one of Asia’s giants, not its sole spokesman. Modi will return to India next week to sign a real civil nuclear deal — with the Australian PM, Tony Abbott. Australia bids fair to becoming India’s most important partner for resources —from coal (Adani’s Carmichael project is the latest) to gas, uranium and, let’s not forget, dal. India and Australia are now embarking on increased security understandings in the Indian Ocean — Australia will join the Malabar naval exercises in 2015, which Japan joined in 2014. Japan plays an important role in India’s transformation, even if it means India has to break some china to do it. Equally, India benefits if Japan can successfully evolve into a ‘normal’ nation. Japan’s involvement in India can ensure a couple of things — higher value Indian manufacturing, higher quality infrastructure and the creation of an alternative supply chain system in Asia, which would have larger implications for the continent. Economics, as Manmohan Singh used to say, when big enough, becomes strategic. How Modi deals with Abe, Xi and Obama will be keenly watched across the globe. Xi’s visit here, scheduled for mid-September, will be crucial. In many ways, Modi and Xi are two of a kind — Xi is rated as the most powerful Chinese leader since Deng. Modi too comes with the kind of jaw-dropping mandate not seen in 30 years. They have the ability to take decisions that could affect the future of both nations. Modi wants to establish a new paradigm for ties with China, but he understands that as long as the border is disputed, these can be only sub-optimal. For instance, he wants China to invest in Indian infrastructure but will have to battle many in the Indian system who want to keep the Chinese away from critical sectors. On the other hand, India (along with Pakistan and Iran) may soon get membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a China-led security grouping intended to keep the US out. Playing a delicate tightrope, Modi presumably will not be tempted to return to articulating the ‘one-China’ policy, which India abandoned since 2010. Instead, India would do well to focus on the Chinese defence minister General Chang Wanquan’s words to Chuck Hagel — on the issue of what he called territorial sovereignty, China would “make no compromise, no concession, no treaty”. “The Chinese military can assemble as soon as summoned, fight any battle and win.” This holds the key to why Modi will find himself in the White House at the end of next month, nine years after he was refused a visa by them. Barack Obama is entering the lame duck phase of his second presidency, which means that while Modi, the ultimate pragmatist, will want results, Obama the transactional president, may have more words than action. For eyeballs, therefore, expect the Modi visit to the US to be in the nature of a big fat Indian wedding, as Modi plays the NRIs to invest in India. But the US relationship is crucial — if India wants to win the great game here in Asia. The action, particularly on the political-security front, has started with India working out both politico-security minilateral groupings, as well as building economic corridors in Asia. India, Australia and Indonesia have already begun a ‘trialogue’ to explore possibilities. A new trilateral arrangement brewing between India, Japan and Australia has greater strategic prospects. India and Japan with US have taken the first steps towards building east-west connectivity in Southeast Asia — through the northeast and Myanmar, countering China’s north-south connectivity projects. The bottomline — China’s projects are almost complete, India’s are yet to start. Can India be a successful tortoise?

Wednesday 27 August 2014

UNLEASHING OF JIHADI MONSTER

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/is-frankensteins-monster-unleashed/article6354222.ece?homepage=true BRAHMA CHELLANEY August 27, 2014 Like al-Qaeda, the Islamic State has been inadvertently spawned by the policies of those now in the lead to combat it. But will anything substantive be learned from this experience? U.S. President Barack Obama has labelled the jihadist juggernaut that calls itself the Islamic State a “cancer,” while his Defence Secretary, Chuck Hagel, has called it more dangerous than al-Qaeda ever was, claiming that its threat is “beyond anything we’ve seen.” No monster has ever been born on its own. So the question is: which forces helped create this new Frankenstein? The Islamic State is a brutal, medieval organisation whose members take pride in carrying out beheadings and flaunting the severed heads of their victims as trophies. This cannot obscure an underlying reality: the Islamic State represents a Sunni Islamist insurrection against non-Sunni rulers in disintegrating Syria and Iraq. Indeed, the ongoing fragmentation of states along primordial lines in the arc between Israel and India is spawning de facto new entities or blocks, including Shiastan, Wahhabistan, Kurdistan, ISstan and Talibanstan. Other than Iran, Egypt and Turkey, most of the important nations from the Maghreb to Pakistan (an internally torn state that could shrink to Punjabistan or, simply, ISIstan) are modern western concoctions, with no roots in history or pre-existing identity. The West and agendas It is beyond dispute that the Islamic State militia — formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant — emerged from the Syrian civil war, which began indigenously as a localised revolt against state brutality under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad before being fuelled with externally supplied funds and weapons. From Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-training centres in Turkey and Jordan, the rebels set up a Free Syrian Army (FSA), launching attacks on government forces, as a U.S.-backed information war demonised Mr. Assad and encouraged military officers and soldiers to switch sides. But the members of the U.S.-led coalition were never on the same page because some allies had dual agendas. While the three spearheads of the anti-Assad crusade — the U.S., Britain and France — focussed on aiding the FSA, the radical Islamist sheikhdoms such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates as well as the Islamist-leaning government in Turkey channelled their weapons and funds to more overtly Islamist groups. This splintered the Syrian opposition, marginalising the FSA and paving the way for the Islamic State’s rise. The anti-Assad coalition indeed started off on the wrong foot by trying to speciously distinguish between “moderate” and “radical” jihadists. The line separating the two is just too blurred. Indeed, the term “moderatejihadists” is an oxymoron: Those waging jihad by the gun can never be moderate. Invoking jihad The U.S. and its allies made a more fundamental mistake by infusing the spirit of jihad in their campaign against Mr. Assad so as to help trigger a popular uprising in Syria. The decision to instil the spirit of jihad through television and radio broadcasts beamed to Syrians was deliberate — to provoke Syria’s majority Sunni population to rise against their secular government. This ignored the lesson from Afghanistan (where the CIA in the 1980s ran, via Pakistan, the largest covert operation in its history) — that inciting jihad and arming “holy warriors” creates a deadly cocktail, with far-reaching and long-lasting impacts on international security. The Reagan administration openly used Islam as an ideological tool to spur armed resistance to Soviet forces in Afghanistan. In 1985, at a White House ceremony in honour of several Afghan mujahideen — the jihadists out of which al-Qaeda evolved — President Ronald Reagan declared, “These gentlemen are the moral equivalent of America’s Founding Fathers.” Earlier in 1982, Reagan dedicated the space shuttle ‘Columbia’ to the Afghan resistance. He declared, “Just as the Columbia, we think, represents man’s finest aspirations in the field of science and technology, so too does the struggle of the Afghan people represent man’s highest aspirations for freedom. I am dedicating, on behalf of the American people, the March 22 launch of the Columbia to the people of Afghanistan.” The Afghan war veterans came to haunt the security of many countries. Less known is the fact that the Islamic State’s self-declared caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi — like Libyan militia leader Abdelhakim Belhadj (whom the CIA abducted and subjected to “extraordinary rendition”) and Chechen terrorist leader Airat Vakhitov — become radicalised while under U.S. detention. As torture chambers, U.S. detention centres have served as pressure cookers for extremism. Mr. Obama’s Syria strategy took a page out of Reagan’s Afghan playbook. Not surprisingly, his strategy backfired. It took just two years for Syria to descend into a Somalia-style failed state under the weight of the international jihad against Mr. Assad. This helped the Islamic State not only to rise but also to use its control over northeastern Syria to stage a surprise blitzkrieg deep into Iraq this summer. Had the U.S. and its allies refrained from arming jihadists to topple Mr. Assad, would the Islamic State have emerged as a lethal, marauding force? And would large swaths of upstream territory along the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers in Syria and Iraq have fallen into this monster’s control? The exigencies of the topple-Assad campaign also prompted the Obama administration to turn a blind eye to the flow of Gulf and Turkish aid to the Islamic State. In fact, the Obama team, until recently, viewed the Islamic State as a “good” terrorist organisation in Syria but a “bad” one in Iraq, especially when it threatened to overrun the Kurdish regional capital, Erbil. In January, Mr. Obama famously dismissed the Islamic State as a local “JV team” trying to imitate al-Qaeda but without the capacity to be a threat to America. It was only after the public outrage in the U.S. over the video-recorded execution of American journalist James Foley and the flight of Iraqi Christians and Yazidis that the White House re-evaluated the threat posed by the Islamic State. Full circle Many had cautioned against the topple-Assad campaign, fearing that extremist forces would gain control in the vacuum. Those still wedded to overthrowing Mr. Assad’s rule, however, contend that Mr. Obama’s failure to provide greater aid, including surface-to-air missiles, to the Syrian rebels created a vacuum that produced the Islamic State. In truth, more CIA arms to the increasingly ineffectual FSA would have meant a stronger and more deadly Islamic State. As part of his strategic calculus to oust Mr. Assad, Mr. Obama failed to capitalise on the Arab Spring, which was then in full bloom. By seeking to topple a secular autocracy in Syria while simultaneously working to shield jihad-bankrolling monarchies from the Arab Spring, he ended up strengthening Islamist forces — a development reinforced by the U.S.-led overthrow of another secular Arab dictator, Muammar Qadhafi, which has turned Libya into another failed state and created a lawlessjihadist citadel at Europe’s southern doorstep. In fact, no sooner had Qadhafi been killed than Libya’s new rulers established a theocracy, with no opposition from the western powers that brought about the regime change. Indeed, the cloak of Islam helps to protect the credibility of leaders who might otherwise be seen as foreign puppets. For the same reason, the U.S. has condoned the Arab monarchs for their long-standing alliance with Islamists. It has failed to stop these cloistered royals from continuing to fund Muslim extremist groups and madrasas in other countries. The American interest in maintaining pliant regimes in oil-rich countries has trumped all other considerations. Today, Mr. Obama’s Syria policy is coming full circle. Having portrayed Mr. Assad as a bloodthirsty monster, Washington must now accept Mr. Assad as the lesser of the two evils and work with him to defeat the larger threat of the Islamic State. The fact that the Islamic State’s heartland remains in northern Syria means that it cannot be stopped unless the U.S. extends air strikes into Syria. As the U.S. mulls that option — for which it would need at least tacit permission from Syria, which still maintains good air defences — it is fearful of being pulled into the middle of the horrendous civil war there. It is thus discreetly urging Mr. Assad to prioritise defeating the Islamic State. Make no mistake: like al-Qaeda, the Islamic State is a monster inadvertently spawned by the policies of those now in the lead to combat it. The question is whether anything substantive will be learned from this experience, unlike the forgotten lessons of America’s anti-Soviet struggle in Afghanistan. At a time when jihadist groups are gaining ground from Mali to Malaysia, Mr. Obama’s current effort to strike a Faustian bargain with the Afghan Taliban, for example, gives little hope that any lesson will be learned. U.S.-led policies toward the Islamic world have prevented a clash between civilisations by fostering a clash within a civilisation, but at serious cost to regional and international security

LOVE JIHAD IN JHARKHAND

झारखंडमधील भारताच्या एका खेळाडू महिलेने तिच्या आयुष्यात आलेल्या एका दाहक अनुभवाला जाहीरपणे वाचा फोडल्याने देशातील तमाम मल्टिकम्युनल मंडळीची चांगलीच गाळण उडाली आहे. मात्र, सोयीस्कररीत्या तथ्य मान्य न करता उलटा चोर कोतवाल को डॉंटे अशा आविर्भावात ही सगळी मंडळी बुद्धिभेद करण्याची आपली सगळी क्षमता पणाला लावून हिंदुत्ववादी संघटनांवर तुटून पडू लागली आहेत. वास्तविक, या प्रकरणात ज्या राष्ट्रीय खेळाडूने आपला दाहक अनुभव जगजाहीर केला, ती काही कोणत्या हिंदुत्ववादी संघटनेची कार्यकर्ता नाही की भारतीय जनता पक्षासारख्या राजकीय पक्षाची सदस्य नाही. तारा शाहदेव या राष्ट्रीय पातळीवर खेळणार्‍या महिला खेळाडूचा एका युवकाशी परिचय झाला. त्याने हिंदू पद्धतीचे नाव सांगून या महिला खेळाडूशी जाणीवपूर्वक मैत्री वाढविली. दोघांमध्ये प्रेम जमल्याने दोघांनी लग्न करण्याचा निर्णय घेतला. लग्न होताच या तरुणाने या महिलेला आपण मुस्लिम असल्याचे सांगितले. तेवढ्यावर प्रकरण थांबले नाही, तर तिला मुस्लिम पद्धतीने निकाह करण्यासाठी आग्रह धरला. या प्रसिद्ध खेळाडू महिलेला मारहाण करणे, छळ करणे सुरू झाले. अखेर या तारा शाहदेव यांनी आपल्यावर आलेले हे संकट जगजाहीर करून टाकले. हे धक्कादायक प्रकरण बाहेर आल्यानंतर महिलांचा सन्मान, महिलांवरचे अत्याचार या बाबतीत एरवी किंचाळणारे, पोटतिडिकीने या प्रश्‍नासाठी आपले जीवन समर्पित करण्याची तयारी असल्याचे दर्शविणारे तथाकथित समाजवादी विचारवंत, कार्यकर्ते, स्त्रीवादी, सेक्युलॅरिस्ट हे सगळे आधी मूग गिळून गप्प बसले. राष्ट्रीय आणि आंतरराष्ट्रीय पातळीवर खेळात प्रावीण्य मिळविलेल्या एका खेळाडूच्या जीवनात केवळ धर्मवेडेपणामुळे कसे संकट आले, त्यावर आता या सर्व लोकांची बोलती बंद आहे. विश्‍व हिंदू परिषदेने व काही संघटनांनी या महिलेला न्याय मिळावा आणि झारखंड सरकारने या महिलेची फसवणूक करणार्‍या, तिच्यावर अत्याचार करणार्‍या आरोपीला अटक करून शासन करावे, या मागणीसाठी रांची बंदचे आवाहन केले. रांची बंदचे आवाहन करणार्‍या कार्यकर्त्यांवर तेथील राज्य सरकारच्या पोलिसांनी कठोरपणे लाठीमार करत बेदम झोडपले. त्याचे चित्रण बातम्यांमध्ये वाहिन्यांनी दाखविले. लगेच या देशातील कथित डाव्या, पुरोगामी विचारवंतांना आणि मल्टिकम्युनलांना कंठ फुटला. या लोकांनी टीव्ही वाहिन्यांवरील चर्चेत लव्ह जिहादवर चर्चा करत लव्ह जिहादची शिकार झालेल्या त्या महिला खेळाडूच्या बाजूने नव्हे, तर लव्ह जिहाद या नावापासून ते हिंदुत्ववादी संघटना या विषयाला कसे चुकीचे वळण देत आहेत, यावर टीका करण्यासाठी हिरिरीने आपली बुद्धी पाजळली. कोणत्याही प्रकारे दार ऊल हरब चे दार ऊल इस्लाममध्ये रूपांतर करणे यातच सगळे शौर्य आणि मोक्ष आहे, अशा कल्पनेने अन्य मार्गाने प्रार्थना करणार्‍यांना मारूनमुटकून मुसलमान करणे किंवा न झाल्यास त्यांना मारून टाकणे, अशा प्रकारची शिकवण, इच्छा, कृती करण्यालाच जिहाद हे नाव देण्यात आलेलेे आहे. मध्ययुगीन काळापासून तलवारीच्या टोकावर आपला धर्म इतरांवर लादण्याचे प्रकार ही मंडळी करत आली आहेत. आता भारतात या प्रकारची कारस्थाने करणार्‍या लोकांनी आपला धर्म, आपली प्रार्थनापद्धती इतरांवर लादण्यासाठी लव्ह जिहाद नावाचा एक प्रकार सुरू केला आहे. नाना लटपटी, खटपटी करून अन्य धर्माच्या, विशेषत: हिंदूंच्या मुलींना फूस लावायची. लग्नाचे आमिष दाखवून त्यांना पळवून न्यायचे. बर्‍या बोलाने त्यांनी इस्लाम पंथ स्वीकारला तर चांगलेच, नाही तर त्यांच्यावर जबरदस्ती करायची. त्यांना धर्म बदलण्यासाठी दबाव टाकायचा. छळ करायचा. या मुलींनी धर्म बदलला तरी त्यांचे दुर्दैवाचे फेरे संपत नाहीत. त्यांची सुटका नाही. धर्म बदलल्यानंतरही काहींना मोलकरणीसारखी कामे करावी लागली, असा अनुभव आहे. चित्रपटातून, प्रेमकथांमधून स्वप्नाळू प्रेमाच्या गोड गुलाबी कल्पनेत या मुली या लोकांनी लावलेल्या जाळ्यात फसतात. या मुलींनी घर सोडून बाहेर पडेपर्यंत या मुलींच्या भोवती सर्व प्रकारचे जाळे विणले जाते. कथित प्रेमाच्या आणाभाका, मुलींना आवडणारे सर्वकाही, चित्रपट पाहणे, बाईकवरून हिंडवणे, त्यांना मोहात पाडणे असे केले जाते. या कामासाठी या तरुणांना हवे ते साहाय्य पुरविले जाते. पैसे, बाईक, पाठिंबा, यंत्रणा सर्व काही पुरविले जाते. भारतात गावोगावी अशी प्रकरणे घडू लागली आणि केवळ इस्लामीकरणाचा एक मार्ग म्हणून ही प्रेम प्रकरणे ठरवून केली जात आहेत, असे लक्षात आले तेव्हा त्याला लव्ह जिहाद असे नाव देऊन त्या विरोधात जनजागरण, मुलींमध्ये जागृती असे प्रयत्न सुरू झाले. अशा प्रयत्नात जर प्रेम नसताना फसवणूक असेल, तर इस्लाम त्याला मान्यता देत नाही, असे एका मौलवीनी टीव्हीवरच्या चर्चेत सांगितले. मात्र, या चर्चेत भाग घेणारे तथाकथित बुद्धिवंत, मल्टिकम्युनल कार्यकर्ते यांनी लव्ह जिहाद हा शब्द चुकीचा आहे इथपासून ते सगळ्याच जातीत, पंथात प्रेम केले जाते, मग विशिष्ट पंथातल्या मुलांशी केले म्हणून हा विरोध कशाकरता, असे प्रश्‍न विचारत वेड घेऊन पेडगावला जाण्याचा प्रकार अगदी संभावितपणे केला. एका महाभागाने तर लव्ह आणि जिहाद हे एकमेकांच्या विरुद्ध अर्थाचे शब्द आहेत, असे तारे तोडले. हे विरुद्ध अर्थाचे शब्द आहेत आणि ही विसंगती एकत्र करून या देशात फूस लावून मुलींचे आयुष्य बरबाद करण्याचे कारस्थान चालले आहे, हाच तर प्रश्‍न आहे. या विषयात आधी प्रेमाचे जाळे फेकून, तसे न जमल्यास धमक्या देऊन, मुलींना जबरदस्तीने अपहरण करून त्यांच्यासोबत निकाह लावण्याचेही प्रकार घडलेले आहेत. नावानिशी तसे तपशील उपलब्ध आहेत. तारा यांच्या या प्रकरणात हे कारस्थान उघड झाले आहे. अगदी नियोजित पद्धतीने नाव बदलून या खेळाडूला प्रेमाच्या जाळ्यात फसविण्यात आले आणि एकदा फसल्यानंतर त्यांच्यावर इस्लाम स्वीकारण्यासाठी आग्रह, छळ सुरू झाला. या खेळाडूने हे जगजाहीर केले, तरी मानवता, मानवी हक्क याबाबत एरवी किंचाळणारे आता सोयीस्कर मौन पाळून आहेत. नव्हे, लव्ह जिहाद हा शब्द निघताच जणू हे सर्व जिहादचे संरक्षक असल्यासारखे आपली बुद्धिमत्ता पाजळत किंचाळू लागले आहेत. प्रत्येक घरात आपापल्या मुलींवर चांगले संस्कार करणे, समाजातील गुंड, गुन्हेगारी प्रवृत्तीचे आणि इतरांवर येनकेनप्रकारे आपली प्रार्थनापद्धती लादण्याची राक्षसी आकांक्षा ठेवणारे यांची जाणीव करून देणे, हा सर्वात चांगला आणि मूलभूत उपाय आहे. मात्र, अशा प्रकारे नियोजित कारस्थान केले जात असेल आणि त्यामुळे अनेक गावांमध्ये अशा समस्या उभ्या राहात असतील, तर सरकार आणि प्रशासन यावर काही कारवाई करणार की नाही? एरवी समाजाचे भले करण्याचा आव आणत आपली बुद्धिमत्ता पाजळणारे कथित विचारवंत या अविचाराला विरोध करणार की नाही? की ते दुतोंडीपणा करत सोयीने बोटचेपी भूमिका घेत शब्दच्छल करत राहणार? शहाबानो प्रकरणासारख्या प्रकरणात अशा प्रकारच्या विषयात सरकार, बुद्धिवादी यांनी चुकीची भूमिका घेतल्याने या देशातील जनतेमध्ये त्याची तीव्र प्रतिक्रिया उमटली त्याचे परिणाम अजून जाणवतात. तारा शाहदेव यांच्या प्रकरणात उघड उघड धर्मवेड्या उद्देशाने फसवणूक, छळवणूक झाली आहे. स्वत: सामाजिक अस्तित्व असलेल्या पीडित महिलेने स्पष्टपणे आपल्यावरचे संकट जगजाहीर केले आहे. इतके होऊनही जर या देशातील विचारवंत, राजकारणी, सेक्युलॅरिझम... सेक्युलॅरिझम असे वारंवार किंचाळणारे मल्टिकम्युनल लोक हे जर बोटचेपी भूमिका घेऊन दुतोंडी मते व्यक्त करणार असतील, तर आता यातील बदमाशी, कारस्थान आणि दुटप्पीपणा न कळण्याइतका समाज दूधखुळा राहिलेला नाही, याचे या लोकांनी जरा भान ठेवावे़! जागरूकपणे समाजाने लव्ह जिहादचे संघटित कारस्थान मोडून काढलेच पाहिजे़!

Tuesday 26 August 2014

GOOD HEALTH HAPPY READING

The real danger of high If I asked you what the danger was in having high blood sugar, you would probably say it means insulin resistance or Type 2 diabetes. Then if I asked what elevated cholesterol can contribute to, chances are good you’d say heart disease. And then if I really challenged you and asked what protein in your urine could mean, you just might know that it suggests a kidney problem. But how about if I asked you about elevated triglycerides—specifically what they are and what the big deal is about them? Hello? Anybody there? Fact is, most people don’t really understand triglycerides. The typical response I hear when I ask people about them is, “Aren't they something like cholesterol and they’re tied to heart disease?” Well, sort of. But there’s a whole lot more to it than that. Let me give you a brief crash course in triglycerides so you can better understand what they really are, what the elevations mean and most importantly, how to help keep yours healthy. So...what are triglycerides anyway? Simply put, triglycerides are your body's main type of fat. When you eat, your body converts any calories it doesn't need to use for energy at that moment into triglycerides. The triglycerides are stored in your fat cells (adipose tissue). So when you “pinch an inch” you’re viewing fat cells that are your little biological warehouses for triglycerides. Later on when it’s been a while since you had food and your body needs a source of energy, hormones (including insulin) release triglycerides into your bloodstream for your energy needs between meals. Triglycerides also insulate and protect your organs and store your body's reserve of essential fatty acids (like Omega-3 and Omega-6 EFAs). So, similar to cholesterol, triglycerides are NOT the demons that people think they are. Without them you’d be deep-sixed before long! The trouble with triglycerides is some people have WAY too many and they’re stored in an area that can spell trouble. Here’s what I mean. High triglycerides & the "apple figure" Just like elevated glucose in the bloodstream, high blood levels of triglycerides also increase your risk of heart disease by damaging your artery walls. The danger is similar to not changing the oil in your car. When neglected, both human blood and engine oil get thick and slushy, which makes the heart (or engine) have to work harder to pump the fluid. This viscous fluid also picks up excess debris and forms harmful deposits, which eventually cause a breakdown. A car engine will burn up. In humans, the result is atherosclerosis and eventually a heart attack or a stroke. And it's especially risky for people with an "apple figure" (having excess weight around their middle) and insulin resistance or Type 2 diabetes. For men with diabetes AND the apple figure, the risk for heart disease goes up two and a half times. For women with diabetes and this shape, it rises EIGHT times. Here's what’s going on: Fat cells located in your abdominal area release fat into the blood far more easily than fat cells found elsewhere in your body. Release of fat in your middle begins just 3 to 4 hours after you eat, compared to many more hours for other fat cells. This quick, easy release shows up as elevated triglyceride levels. How blood triglycerides get too high to begin with Although a common cause of high blood triglycerides is diet (more on that below), there are also MANY other causes and contributing factors including: •Obesity •Type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance •Prolonged stress and/or depression •Heavy caffeine use •Smoking cigarettes •Alcohol abuse •Lack of exercise •Chronic liver disease or kidney damage •Pancreatitis--infection of the pancreas •Dialysis •Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) •Cystic fibrosis •Lupus •Gout •Cushing's syndrome--Excess cortisol production, usually the result of steroids, which can cause a fatty hump between the shoulders, a rounded face and pink or purple stretch marks on the skin. •Estrogens like "the pill" or hormone replacement therapy such as Premarin •Corticosteroids like Hydrocortisone, Prednisolone, and Prednisone •Beta-blockers - used to treat high blood pressure and coronary artery disease •Diuretics - aka water pills; also used to treat high blood pressure •Tamoxifen - drug treatment for women with breast cancer •Quinapril (Accupril), an antihypertensive known as an ACE inhibitor •Mirtazapine - an antidepressant •Cancer But far and away, the LEADING causes of elevated triglycerides are these three dietary no-no's: 1- Eating too many refined carbohydrates such as white flour, processed grains, sweets, and other sugar-containing foods PLUS 2- Eating too many saturated fats (ESPECIALLY trans-fats) AND 3- Having too few antioxidants in your system. Here’s why that is so: The triple dietary whammy 1- The refined carb piece First of all, having a diet high in refined carbs creates an enormous influx of glucose into your bloodstream every time you eat. Your body tries its best to deal with this tidal wave by clanging the alarm bell for the pancreas to secrete insulin, hoping that the glucose will be taken in by your cells and your blood glucose level will come back down where it needs to be. Insulin also is the trigger that allows your body to use triglycerides as energy, so it has a dual purpose here. But when you take in large amounts of refined carbs day in and day out (and thus get far more glucose than your body needs for energy), your poor pancreas goes intooverdrive trying to keep up with your insulin requirements. Eventually you can reach the point where your cells start ignoring the signal to take in the glucose (insulin resistance) and your pancreas gets exhausted (and therefore can’t release enough insulin for your glucose or triglyceride needs). The end result? You get glucose and triglycerides building up in your bloodstream! 2- The saturated fat/trans-fat piece Both saturated fats (found in animal products such as meat, butter and eggs) and trans-fats (found in processed foods, baked goods and fast food) raise blood levels of triglycerides. So getting too much of either is not a good idea. However, your body does NEED saturated fats, especially your brain, nervous system and even your heart, so you shouldn’t completely swear them off. A good rule of thumb is to limit your dietary intake of fats to about 30% of your total calories, of which 1/3 is saturated fats, 1/3 monounsaturated fats and 1/3 polyunsaturated fats. This will ensure your body gets what it needs without going overboard. What you SHOULD totally swear off are trans-fats. These are fats that have never occurred in Nature and are created by infusing hydrogen into a polyunsaturated fat. They are completely foreign (like a poison) to your body and you can’t metabolize them. So instead they tax your liver, gum up your arteries, create free radicals, burrow into your tissues and create inflammation and open the door for atherosclerosis, dementia and premature aging. Oh, and they also cause your blood triglycerides to soar. 3- The antioxidant piece Antioxidants are your body’s main defense against the damaging effects of free radicals, so that fact in and of itself makes them a superstar. But studies have also shown that these impressive little guys can also help lower blood triglyceride levels! One study performed at Penn State University found that adding spices rich in antioxidants may counteract the effect of fat-rich, triglyceride-raising foods. During the two-day study, researchers worked with men between the ages of 30 and 65 who were slightly overweight but otherwise healthy. The men were first served a high-fat meal with antioxidant-rich spices like oregano, rosemary, cinnamon, turmeric, cloves, garlic powder, paprika and black powder. Then the next time the men were served the same high-fat meal, but without the spices. When the antioxidant rich spices were added, the researchers saw that blood triglyceride levels in the participants had decreased by 30% as compared to the levels with the non-antioxidant meal! What you can do Hopefully you’ve gotten the idea that the way to go here is to respect the role triglycerides play in your body, and to help make sure yours stay at a health-enhancing—not health –harming—level! Part 1- Severely limit your intake of refined carbs, get the right amount of GOOD saturated fats, avoid trans-fats like the plague, and eat more foods that contain natural antioxidants. If that sounds like a mouthful and seems difficult or overwhelming, nothing could be farther from the truth.

PAK IS NOT READY FOR PEACE

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2734054/Pakistan-isnt-ready-peace-India.html KANWAL SIBAL PUBLISHED: 23:09 GMT, 25 August 2014 | UPDATED: 23:09 GMT, 25 August 2014 We have to draw some hard lessons from the latest drama in India-Pakistan relations. If we do not, we will continue being beset with unmet expectations, unrequited gestures and a thousand cuts. Let us accept normal relations with Pakistan will elude reality in the foreseeable future. Pakistan cannot structurally make genuine peace with India. It has over the years become even more of an ideological state than when born. Islam now increasingly influences its politics and social trends are towards more conservatism. The military dominates the Pakistani state and because it is deeply hostile towards India it will always impede bilateral ties. While at the political, commercial and cultural levels exchanges take place between us, at the military level they are absent, apart from local commanders on both sides of the LOC in J&K staging occasional flag meetings and the DGMOs speaking periodically on the phone. These contacts are in the context of managing hostility, not ending it. TerrorismIt is remarkable that, unlike during the Cold War when the two superpowers, despite their global confrontation, could engage each other at the military level, the Indian and Pakistani armed forces have no formal contact with each other. If the most powerful element in Pakistan’s polity does not want to make peace with India, then peace will not come our way. The Islamisation of Pakistan will make reconciliation more remote. The basis of Pakistan’s creation was Islam. The Hindu-Muslim religious divide that partitioned India will deepen if Pakistan becomes more “Muslim” in its ethos. More...· Rajnath Singh meets BSF chief as Pakistan border tensions 'cause civilian casualties' · End of the ceasefire and the infiltration of terrorists reignites clashes on Jammu and Kashmir border as militants and soldiers die The history that is taught there does not recognise a common past and makes the idea of a shared future much more difficult to embrace. With religious radicalism spreading across the Islamic world, the environment is becoming conducive for more extremism in Pakistan. This will create even more barriers between India and Pakistan instead of breaking them down. Pakistan is unique in using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. Other countries are accused of involvement in terrorist attacks abroad but there is no parallel between the scale of such activity imputed to these countries and Pakistan. In its terrorist affiliations, Pakistan conducts itself like a radical movement, not a responsible member of the international system. For years their army has nurtured jihadi groups as a strategic reserve for use against India. This political legitimisation of terrorism externally has today boomeranged against Pakistan internally. But it still believes it can combat internal terrorism directed at the Pakistani state and its institutions, and simultaneously support terrorism directed at Afghanistan and India. Domestic terrorism has given Pakistan an alibi to deny links with terrorism targeting its neighbours. More than that, the country has become insensitive to the iniquity of using terrorism as a policy tool. Pakistan sheltered Bin Laden, a motley group of terrorists from various countries operate from its lawless regions, it is plagued with sectarian killings locally and masterminds of terrorism like Hafiz Saeed with bounties on their head are politically cosseted. The situation is now such Pakistan is unwilling to accept any remonstration from India on terrorism, our accusations irritate them as if we are conjuring up imaginary complaints, and to absolve themselves of any guilt they raise the Samjhauta Express case. In this scenario, Pakistan will never try those responsible for the Mumbai carnage or curb the jihadi groups targeting India. Consequently, they will never accept our position that terrorism is the central issue to be addressed. Our position that talks and terror cannot go together is, therefore, not taken by Pakistan seriously. Islamism We must also recognise the civil society in Pakistan is not in a position to change the course of India-Pakistan relations. That many amongst them decry the country’s lurch towards Islamism and acknowledge the baleful role of the armed forces and the security agencies in the country’s polity may impress us, but the realities on the ground remain unaffected. To think that by strengthening these elements we will be able to secure our interests better is to clutch at straws. In reality, the only way to “strengthen” them is to make concessions that would satisfy the armed forces and the religious forces. This would imply that what the “deep state” of Pakistan cannot obtain from us by recourse to armed conflict and terrorism it would secure through the “peace constituency.” Even if this were not a planned “good-cop bad-cop” situation, in effect we get trapped into one. RealityIn Pakistan there are individuals who support a solution to India-Pakistan problems on an equitable basis, but even in their case the shutters in their minds close down when Kashmir is discussed. They too cannot move away from Pakistan’s fundamentalist position on the issue and blame India for its rigidity. On terrorism, they purvey the standard line that Pakistan itself being the biggest victim of this affliction, it cannot be accused of supporting terrorism anywhere. In line with Pakistan’s hardcore agenda, they raise the issue of water despite the Indus Waters Treaty and India’s strict adherence to its provisions, which then casts doubt whether the “peace constituency” is essentially a “moderate” visage of a Janusfaced Pakistan. In any case, the value of a “peace constituency” in a dubiously democratic country should be discounted. The Pakistani “deep state” will not allow the economic agenda with India to move too far out of alignment with the political agenda. The $10 to $20 billion of trade figure bandied about is another instance of hope outdistancing reality by many miles.

KASHMIR WAY AHEAD MUST READ

ANALYSIS, INDIA, PAKISTANJ&K: AN AGENDA FOR NEW INDIAN GOVERNMENT – ANALYSIS AUGUST 8, 2014 IPCS 4 COMMENTSBy IPCS The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi, organised a discussion with Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain on an agenda for the new Government of India with regard to the state of Jammu & Kashmir. This discussion is part of a larger series of IPCS discussions the conclusions of which will be presented as a set of policy briefs to the Government of India. Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain Former GOC, XV Corps, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir The recent visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to J&K appeared to disappoint some observers of the J&K situation because they expected policy announcements and references to the Kashmir issue from the Prime Minister. The visit was in the backdrop of the apparent but unannounced BJP intent of winning a majority in the J&K assembly polls in November-Decemeber 2014 and thus forming a government on its own. The feasibility of the much desirable BJP-PDP coalition to form a government also does not appear on the cards for the present. There were no comments from the PM on the infiltration attempts from the Pakistani side across the LOC and breaches of ceasefire. Perhaps the expectations from the PM’s very first visit to J&K were unrealistic as it was too early to assume that he would highlight any contentious issues without first fully consulting his advisers and the cabinet. Issues such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Article 370 were best avoided because they are potential triggers and the PM was right in avoiding them and thus not getting embroiled in any controversy. It is advisable to keep Kashmir’s streets free of turbulence in the run up to the assembly elections. The visit has been compared to PM Vajpayee’s first Kashmir visit, where he was open and forthcoming, however the two situations cannot be compared. As probably advised by his panel of advisors, he is assessing the impact of the arrival of the new Government and will look at various options before outlining any policy. The externally sponsored internal conflict situation in Kashmir is at the mid stage of conflict stabilisation. The military situation is well under control, infiltration attempts are low, and statistically speaking there is a downturn in militancy. The Army appears to have achieved the objective of bringing down the threshold of violence to enable political initiatives and integration processes to commence. In fact this happened a few years ago and the situation demanded fresh initiatives for the integration of an alienated population. For this there is a necessity for a vision and an end state, besides the ability of non-military players to cultivate an environment of political consciousness, debate and interest. However there are some new trends evolving, trends which were not there before and these act as dampeners and obstacles to fresh thinking. Radicalisation of society, especially the youth (the post 1989 generation) is taking place in a big way and its effects are already being felt. There are enough indicators to prove that attempts are being made to convert the Kashmir issue into a religious problem rather than the political one which it actually is. Mosques with clerics owing allegiance to the Wahabi ideology have expanded exponentially and social media is indicative of the deep set radical beliefs cementing themselves. The Line of Control (LoC) is quiet and is likely to remain so contingent upon Pakistan reprioritising its emphasis. The situation will remain linked to the internal political situation in Pakistan. While Pakistan has three areas of focus its current priorities are in its internal security and the retention of its interests in Afghanistan as the drawdown of the ISAF begins. Its last priority is J&K but this must change from time to time so as not to lose focus altogether. As such, a degree of unpredictability will exist on the LoC. Need for New J&K Policy Policy is required because none exists today. The use of hard power has alienated the people. There was no option to hard power when it was used but now a different tack is required. The last five years in particular have witnessed a rudderless narrative with little clarity on what the Governments at the centre and state really wanted. There is a need to address the next phase of conflict stabilisation before the ill effects of the turbulence in Iraq and potentially of Af-Pak hits us in J&K. There is a dearth of ideas on how to take the next step. Continuing stabilisation without slippages is necessary even as the governments decide the black and white of the next steps. The no-policy-syndrome in Kashmir has led to what is called as the centre-stage cleavage: no one is aware of what the other is doing. In the last five years the centre stopped all guidance to the state so that it could not be blamed for the mess that had been created. Due to this attitude it stopped monitoring even the standard of governance in the state, which is pathetic. A look at Kashmir’s winter management proves this completely; no power, no gas, no medical aid and black markets functioning with impunity. The lack of sensitivity towards a national security issue involving J&K appeared surprising. It was abundantly clear after 2010 that the initiatives of 2011 were paying dividends. Yet, nothing was done to convert this to greater success. Policy Recommendations for the New Government Why is a policy required? A general consolidation is necessary to prevent slippages. The current situation which has been attained after twenty five years does not permit further slippages. One, if a final solution is to be sought at all, then it is required to be from a position of strength as there is no point in being in a position of weakness and commence negotiating. Therefore the end objective for the government is looking at the external and internal dimensions of the conflict. The minimum objective is to put an end to cross-border infiltration and arrest radicalisation even as we work towards greater integration of the people of J&K with mainstream India. The maximum being the full and final resettlement of J&K. Therefore policy must address something in the middle: a final maximum achievement is not the main aim as of now. On the internal front, a minimum would be the refurbishment of the internal economy, skill development, employment opportunities, effective and accountable governance and a “healing touch” for wounds. The maximum would then be the full integration of J&K and the policy should address something in between. Two, a lot of questions have been raised about the role of the Army. Is the Army a suitable organisation to take forward social engineering in the J&K? Is the Army considered the root of alienation as an organisation that continues to conduct hard operations to eliminate terror? Yet, no one understands the problem and the way forward better than the Army. Its broader understanding and outreach can be the matrix on which to rest a reconciliation. The task of the Army is not over because militancy has not ended completely and external factors, such as the Af-Pak situation and Pakistan’s internal problems, can have a cascading effect on J&K’s tenuous security situation. There are twenty thousand surrendered terrorists inside the valley who have not been integrated; they were promised a package. This is the biggest failure on the part of both the civil society and the government. Three, Kashmir is a case of rim-land insurgency as opposed to the heartland theory. In case of the crisis in Kashmir, the Army must see to it till the last day. Pakistan’s internal situation is unstable and therefore things can spiral out of control. In such a contingency a return to conventional threats can manifest overnight. The Army has to be in control of its logistics bases and the strategic arteries within the hinterland to ensure its readiness for such situations. The Army also acts as an adhesive to keep everything together. It is expected to hold the periphery – just like the Irish model – while the development and social engineering continues. Four, sensitive issues should not be brushed aside. Alleged human rights issues of the past, the unmarked graves issue, all have to be addressed. This is easier said than done. There is a need for dialogue with the civil society of J&K to see how their emotions are sensitively looked after without posing obstacles to further movement. Five, it is important to integrate the media in Kashmir with the mainstream media in the rest of India. Kashmir publishes thirty English newspapers every day, but not a single newspaper from the rest of India has any presence. The Tribune has made a recent entry. It is very important to get the act of media and information together. Six, it is important to strengthen the grassroots level democracy. The government has failed to establish Panchayats in the Valley and hence there is a dearth of democracy at a very basic level. There is a dire need to strengthen such institutions. Seven, there is a need to promote a greater Delhi-Srinagar connect – at the political, administrative and military levels. The main aim of the new policy should be clear – to marginalise Pakistan’s role and integrate the people of Kashmir, with various instruments – which can range from political, social, to the economic, psychological and diplomatic. Eight, there is a need for a National Reconciliation Commission to find ways of addressing the contentious issues that are preventing integration. A lot of consultation is required; collateral thinking that has to be put together through a structured system to put together ideas and thoughts on a possible solution for the integration of Kashmir. Nine is rehabilitation, a very emotive and important issue. A pragmatic policy is needed to address this; one that does not lead to more alienation but aims at greater integration of society. Conditions should be created to allow the Kashmiri Pandits to come back. However, it is important to take up the issue when the time is right because any incident that threatens the security of the Pandits will set us back by many years. Ten, with respect to Article 370, the only aspect worth mentioning at the moment is that it is important to know when to start looking at it. Overnight removal is only going to lead to a trigger. There is a dire need to revive debate and discussion. PM Modi set the right tone in his pre-election speech in Jammu. There will be many in Kashmir who will agree that the Act has been an obstacle to development and growth. Yet there are ways and means of overcoming them and models of such economic investment already exist. Eleven, with respect to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), there is tremendous amount of misinformation. It is an imperative if the Army has to function in the hinterland and hold the security structure together. The public order situation in J&K still necessitates the continued deployment of the Army. There is a need for a change of perception whereby AFSPA should be projected as an enabler and not an end unto itself. The Supreme Court’s do’s & don’t’s and the frequent advisories from HQ Northern Command on the humanistic conduct of operations are ignored while perceiving AFSPA as an instrument of the Army’s alleged wilful human rights violations. Twelve, addressing the youth in the Valley is of high priority. It is the youth that is most alienated. Once again, the educated youth in Kashmir are joining the ranks of militancy. Thirteen, there is a need for an all-party approach. Though the idea might seem utopian, it should be looked at as there could be some consultation between parties considering that J&K is all about national security. Fourteen, preventing human rights violations by the Army can be enabled by a change in the ethos of the force. The Army has to understand that the situation in Kashmir is now different, and therefore the Army also has to undergo change. From 2011-2014 things have changed and a professional warrior has to understand that conflict changes and transforms and the same methods cannot be used. Fifteen, the militarisation aspect of the Army is a question of context. Area domination is done to dem0nstrate the presence and to avoid militant activity and militant attacks. The camps set up at the local level produce a sense of local security. Even if the Army is set up at the periphery there is a need to fly the flag- the symbol that shows that the Army is still in control. Sixteen, China is looking at Kashmir and this part of the world with far greater attention primarily because of the ‘New Great Game’ which is all about energy, ideology and infrastructure. The areas of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and Gilgit-Baltistan are a part of this new game. Resultantly, an increased Chinese presence has been felt in POK since 2011 onwards. We should not be looking at any pull out from Siachen