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Friday 28 March 2014

PROXY WAR IN KASHMIR BOOK RELESE

PROGRAMME BOOK RELEASE: PROXY WAR IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR:A WINNING STRATEGY -BY BRIG HEMANT MAHAJAN,YSM DATE 29 MARCH 2014 TIME 0600-0700 PM VENUE PATRKAR BHAVAN,NAVI PETH,PUNE,MAHARASHTRA LT GEN KT PARNAIK, PVSM,UYSM,YSM EX GOC-IN-C NORTHEN COMMAND WILL BE THE CHIEF GUEST.ALL ARE REQUESTED TO ATTEND. THE MARATHI VERSION IS BEING RELEASED IN THE MONTH OF APRIL 2014.THIS IS THE THIRD BOOK ON ISSUES RELATED TO NATIONAL SECURITY.THE FIRST TWO BOOKS IN MARATHI ARE AS UNDER:- (A) NAXAL WADACHE AVHAN –CHIN CHE BHARATASHI CHHUPE YUDHDA (B) AVHAN CHINI DRAGON CHE PUBLISHED BY NACHIKET PRAKASHAN NAGPUR.TELE NUMBER-0712-2285473,9225210130 PROXY WAR IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR:A WINNING STRATEGY BY BRIG HEMANT MAHAJAN,YSM LAYOUT OF THE BOOK 1. Pakistan / ISI - Bleeding India by 1000 Cuts 2. India’s Internal Security Scene: Five Dangers that India Faces 3. Background and Basic Issues Involved in Proxy War 4. Avoiding Past Blunders 5. Jammu, Ladakh & Pak Refugees: Victims of a Biased System 6. Overview: Present Structure for Fighting Proxy War and it’s Short Comings 7. Terrorist Groups: An Overview 8. Modus Operandi :Terrorists and Army 9. Status of Proxy War Jammu and Kashmir in 2013 10. Winning the Public Diplomacy Battle on Kashmir 11. Comprehensive Strategy to Fight Proxy War in Kashmir 12. J&K: True Meaning of Azadi &Political Solution 13. Summary of Recommendations Pakistan could never accept the accession of the Muslim majority state of Jammu and Kashmir to India, as it flew in the face of its Two Nation Theory. India’s claim to Kashmir was historical as well as legal,Pakistan’s was based on religious affinity. It made numerous covert and overt attempts to annex Kashmir, including the tribal invasion in 1947-48 and Operation Gibraltar of 1965.A major landmark for terrorism in Kashmir was Operation TOPAC, which was planned by late President Zia ul Haque of Pakistan. More than 63,000 persons have been killed due terrorist violence since 1993. The number of seriously injured is more than 2.5 lakh. The 10 years from 1980 to 1990 witnessed Pakistan’s adoption of ‘Proxy War’ strategies. ‘The sword of Islam which defeated (Great Britain in 19 century, USSR & USA in this century)three superpowers can defeat India as well’ became commonly accepted perception, in Pakistan & in the Inter Service Intelligence (ISI)’. The viciousness of Pak sponsored terrorism in Kashmir is no less than in Afghanistan. Following the pullout of Soviet forces from Afghanistan, most of the Taliban/Al Queda cadres were inducted into Kashmir. The officers and men of the Indian Army took on these hard core jihadis and war veterans who claimed to have brought a superpower to its knees. The Indian Army could not have taken on this challenge with such imposing constraints without bravery, character and conviction. DRAFT SMS INVITATION RELEASE BOOK- PROXY WAR IN KASMIR, WINNING STRTEGY BY BRIG HEMANT MAHAJAN, MARCH 29, 06.00 PM, VENUE PATRAKAR BHAVAN, 193, NAVI PETH, PUNE

Tuesday 25 March 2014

APPEASEMENT OF CHINA ONLY FOREIGN POLICY

THE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP AND THEIR BUREAUCRATIC AND DIPLOMATIC ADVISERS, WHO STILL HAVE NO STRATEGY OR PLAN, EXCEPT APPEASEMENT AGAINST CHINA AND OTHER ADVERSARIES. Will we ever learn? Most of the contents of the much- talked Henderson Brooks Report have been available to the public in many forms. The tumultuous events of that time need to be looked at holistically and not in segments where those in power, in a bid to protect themselves, found it convenient to place the blame on the military, ignoring their own acts of omission and commission. The suppression of the HBR has so far been a product of such fears, laments former Vice Chief of Army Staff and the Founder Director of New Delhi-based Centre for Land Warfare Studies It Gen Vijay Oberoi The Henderson Brooks Report (HBR) relating to the India-China War of 1962 is back in the news after author Neville Maxwell placed a copy on the web. While many were delighted to see the report in the public dmain, the government (read the ruling party) is still living in the past and has reacted on expected lines, by blocking the web site! They obviously believe in keeping the truth under a veil, despite our national motto - “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth Alone Triumphs’)! Indian troops on the move to stop Chinese invaders Notwithstanding the governments’ response, it needs to be clarified that most of the contents of the HBR have been available to the public in many forms. There was the book by Maxwell himself, titled provocatively as “India’s China War” and later his summary of the HBR was published in 2001 under the title “Henderson Brooks Report: An Introduction”. In addition, many books and articles published since the early sixties had discussed all important aspects of the contents of the report. This was particularly so when the 50 years of the war was commemorated in 2012. Yet, such is the fascination with the report that once again considerable interest has been generated in its contents. This was expected, as the public’s interest in anything banned always zooms! Part-I of the report that was placed on the web relates mostly to how military operations were conducted; how incumbents at various hierarchical levels acted and reacted; and the background to the ill-preparedness of the country and the military. These aspects have been widely discussed in the military since the cessation of hostilities and the lessons learnt have been incorporated in military concepts and plans. However, the military fights wars based on directions and policies of the government and if such policies are flawed or absent, not only the military but the nation suffers. That is precisely what happened in the late fifties and early sixties when our political leaders and their advisers ignored realities and took decisions either on idealistic grounds or false assumptions. The tumultuous events of that time need to be looked at holistically and not in segments where those in power, in a bid to protect themselves, found it convenient to place the blame on the military, ignoring their own acts of omission and commission. They did so by suppressing facts and taking recourse to classifying relevant documents as top secret. The suppression of the HBR is a product of such fears. By these acts, the government lost even more credibility. The result is that the country has not been able to breakthe self-imposed shackles of that time and the nation continues to suffer. With this background let me now list out the main issues that led to the policy and implementation failures, resulting in a Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru did not pay heed to the warning of Home Minister Sardar Patel, probably the only political leader of stature who correctly read the long term intentions of China and who possessed a strategic sense. great debacle for the country. The intention is to learn from those events so that such a dismal situation does not arise again. Within a year of assuming power in China in 1949, Communist China first invaded Tibet in 1950-51, and then proceeded to extend its grip over the outlying areas of Tibet and East Turkmenistan, while building up an elaborate logistic infrastructure to consolidate her territorial sovereignty. India recognized Tibet as an integral part of China in a hurry, resulting in China breathing down on Indian territory, especially when we were not clear of where our borders actually lay. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru did not pay heed to the warning of Home Minister Sardar Patel, probably the only political leader of stature who correctly read the long term intentions of China and who possessed a strategic sense. Nehru’s idealism and incorrect reading of security issues resulted in his belief that a country that had won its freedom with little violence and bloodshed had no need for an army! This thinking was based on incorrect assumptions and inadequate grasp of real-politic. The then Defence Minister, Krishna Menon’s ego, self-importance; rigid views about China; and his arrogance; blinded him to the realities, but on account of his close personal rapport with Nehru his views prevailed. He was universally disliked in the armed forces as well as his political party – the Congress, but he had the Prime Minister’s ear and apparently that was what mattered at that time. Menon had an uncanny knack of rubbing people the wrong way, by his acid-tongued, acerbic wit and rude behavior. He failed to appreciate that Service Chiefs were a class apart from the civilian officials who he was used to haranguing and humiliating.The result was that within a short period there was little meeting of the minds between the service chiefs and Menon. Nehru, probably on the advice of Menon, commenced interfering in promotion of senior officers based not on professional acumen but on loyalty, sycophancy and known characteristics of being amenable. This category included Lt Gen B M Kaul, Lt Gen L P Sen, and others, including the weak Chief, General P N Thapar. He also ignored military advice rendered more than once by military experts like General Thimayya and Lt Gens Thorat, Daulat Singh and S D Varma, as well as many senior commanders and staff officers. This, along with starving the military of urgently-needed funds, resulted in adversely affecting operational planning, equippingand employing the armed forces. In frustration, in his farewell speech at the Passing Out Parade at the Indian Military Academy, General Thimayya stated – “I hope I am not leaving you as cannon fodder for the Chinese. God bless you all”. Prophetic words, indeed! Among the fawning coterie of self-serving officials, diplomats and politicians around Nehru was the chief of the Intelligence Bureau B N Malik, the author of the misguided ‘Forward Policy’, which was adopted in the face of objections by the army, being tactically unsound. Incorrect and guarded advice by the Ministry of External Affairs, as well as our Ambassador at Beijing, added to Nehru’s thinking that there will be no military confrontation with China. The cumulative effect was that there was lack of any grand strategy, as decisions were taken on whims of a handful of persons close to Nehru, whose abilities The military is clear about the capabilities and intentions of China and has applied the many lessons learnt in their plans. The same may not be true of the political leadership and their bureaucratic and diplomatic advisers, who still have no strategy or plan, except appeasement against China and other adversaries. and experience were suspect. One result was to focus on Pakistan as the major adversary and inadequate reading of China’s intentions. Nehru had four flaws in his personality. The first was a genuine belief that a country like India did not need an army as it did not covet anyone’s territory! Consequently, he curtailed the defence budget to subsistence levels. The second flaw was his idealism, which subsumed the reality that the actions of countries are governed by their national interests and not by diplomatic and populous noises their leaders make. His third flaw was encouraging a coterie and sycophants,who were loyal but lacked professionalism. The final flaw was that he had psyched himself of the fear of ‘the man on horseback’, which was stoked by power-brokers and obsequies bureaucrats bent on feathering their nests. This resulted in distancing the military hierarchy from their legitimate policy-advisory role. This was exacerbated by undermining the military authority by foisting incompetent sycophants in important command positions. The result was a flawed governing apparatus, which set the stage for the 1962 debacle. Let me dwell, albeit briefly on how our soldier’s performed. When a war is lost, the gallantry and courage of the army is forgotten and everyone gets subsumed in the national trauma and shame. The sycophants and the spin doctors of political leaders then look for scapegoats, so that blunders of the leaders are transferred to others. This is what happened following the 1962 debacle and the blame was squarely laid on the military. Although the military hierarchy too must share the blame, I must emphatically state that our troops at the brigade and below levels fought bravely and acquitted themselves in the best traditions of the army. Bravery was not only the forte of the troops in the west in Ladakh, as is the prevailing perception, but on all fronts. The battalions in 7 Infantry Brigade at the Nam ka Chu and those of 5 Infantry Brigade in the Walong Sector fought valiantly in the face of deprivation, death and defeat, and the contrasting breakdown of the ‘will to fight’ among some of the top military leadership. Let us jump to the present now. The military is clear about the capabilities and intentions of China and has applied the many lessons learnt in their plans. The same may not be true of the political leadership and their bureaucratic and diplomatic advisers, who still have no strategy or plan, except appeasement against China and other adversaries. The government is still to get its act together; and the military continues to be kept out of the policy formulation loop, in addition to being starved of funds resulting in no modernisation, especially in the army.

Monday 24 March 2014

LESSONS LEARNT-62 WAR HENDERSON BROOKES REPORT

surcharged atmosphere of pre-general election politics, an over 100-page section of the first volume of the Henderson Brooks report (“the report”), which includes an exhaustive operational review of the 1962 India-China war over both western and eastern sectors, has been posted by Australian journalist Neville Maxwell on his website. The second volume and annexures, which contain damning correspondence between army commands and Delhi, remains undisclosed. The report, authored by then Lt Gen Henderson Brooks and Brigadier P.S. Bhagat, was commissioned by the Indian Army following the 1962 debacle against the Chinese. The mandate of the report itself was limited to an operational review, and not political decision making. Yet the government has refrained from releasing its findings and maintains as recently as a few days ago that the contents of the report are “extremely sensitive” and of “current operational value”. The report is particularly critical of the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s Forward Policy, Lt Gen B.M. Kaul, and the then director Intelligence Bureau B.N. Mullick for the debacle. We acted, the report says, on a military unsound basis of not relying on our strength but rather on believed lack of reaction from the Chinese. Maxwell provided a strategic perspective to the entire conflict when he said that the Chinese were eager to settle on the McMahon Line. However, the issue was brought to a head by “an entirely irrational policy maintained (by India and Nehru) to the point of war”. Besides the much-analysed Henderson Brooks report there are some other valuable lessons regarding the Indian political-socio-military dynamics that can be gleaned from Maxwell’s comments on his blog and his candid and unfettered interview to Kai Friese in October 2012, published by the Outlook magazine. Maxwell’s comments in a blog post quite pointedly titled “My Henderson Brooks Albatross” details his dilemma on the subject and how it ultimately led him to post some parts of the report on his blog. Nation and the Truth Maxwell in his interview to Friese says he was astounded by the reception his book, based on the report (which he categorised as a whistle-blowing attempt), received in India which he saw as “ferocious personal hostility” towards him and “vicious attacks on the book as if it had been straight Xinhua (China’s official news agency), People’s Daily propaganda”. He was indicating the Indian government’s reluctance to disclose the facts to the country and achieve a closure on the conflict. He again makes a reference to this aspect in his blog, where he says he was told that if the report was leaked rather than released officially the attention of the nation would focus on the leak, and the ensuing furore over national security would result in little or no productive analysis of the text. The point here is that there is little in the report that the Indian Army does not know or for which it has not initiated corrective action over the years. A full disclosure of the report would possibly have only strengthened its case for the much needed reforms to the higher defence management structure in the country, and harmonised what is known about the 1962 war within the army to what is available in the public domain. Importance of Communication The report observed that “Militarily, it is unthinkable that the General Staff (army) did not advise the government on our weakness and inability to implement the Forward Policy”. The report stated that the defence ministry might have put pressure but it was the General Staff’s duty to point out the “unsoundness” of the Forward Policy without the means to implement it. These observations underscore the importance of clear and unambiguous channels of communication between the government and the military top brass – specifically during a crisis. In the Army, an officer from southern India commissioned into a Gurkha regiment will learn to speak Gurkhali, just as a Bengali IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer of Tamil Nadu cadre will speak Tamil. You cannot lead if you cannot communicate with the led. A prime minister and especially a defence minister must understand the language of the military and be able to communicate with them. In India the political establishment has abrogated this responsibility by interposing the bureaucracy to interpret for them and communicate with the military. A recipe for disaster, as recent events in the army and the navy have possibly indicated. Apolitical Army The political establishment and bureaucracy combine have taken the desirable attribute of an “apolitical” army to a new level by virtually isolating the military from government defence decision-making machinery. Even a pay commission for the defence is without a uniformed representative on it – in a we-know-what-is-best-for-you syndrome. The report again reminds the government that an apolitical army is one whose operational decision making is free from political interference. Commenting on former Defence Minister V K Krishna Menon in his interview, Maxwell says he didn’t like the military, though he was defence minister. And Krishna Menon’s weakness was that he liked to humiliate generals of the old school and was altogether too fond of and too open to persuasion by the generals, who were known as the ‘Kaul boys’ in those days. Discerning Media Another component of the society Maxwell brings focus on is the media. In his blog post he describes his efforts to put the report in public domain through a “direct approach” by making the text available to up to five editors of India’s leading publications. The editors, to his surprise, decided unanimously not to publish the report. One of the reasons offered was “the opposition parties would savage the government for laxity in allowing the report to get out, the government would turn in rage upon those who had published it.” It is understandable that one does not want the national media to do a Snowden on the government. In light of what is in the report and the fact that it had formed the basis of Maxwell’s book, a more judicious and forthright approach from the media would have been in order. Finally, a portion of the report is out, and true to its terms of reference it has focused on the army’s decision making and decision makers. And as Maxwell and so many others have foretold, the opposition has attacked the government over it and the government in response has declared that a 50-year-old report will not be taken seriously by anyone in the country and possibly the world. Unfortunately, the few lessons the Henderson Brooks report had to offer will have to be learnt again. This article appeared at South Asia Monitor and is reprinted with permission.

Aggressive China: Dreams for global hegemony!

Aggressive China: Dreams for global hegemony! An article by Dr. Sudhanshu Tripathi No Comments China, under the new leadership and also in the prevailing scenario of post-cold war multipolar world, has clearly decided to continue its hitherto aggressive and expansionist foreign policy not only around its vicinity but also towards far-flung areas in Far east, Africa, Southeast Asia and South Asia besides Indian Ocean. Obviously, the real aim is not confined to maintaining only its regional predominance in the East but, beyond that, to replace the US as a lone global hegemon. As China witnesses change in top leadership after every ten-year, the new leader specifies his agenda for the future. After assuming office, the new incumbent, President Xi Jinping has elucidated his vision as the “China Dream”, which sets out a new package of reforms on the anvil. These reforms aim at ensuring economic progress matching with its increasing population and their so-rising aspirations and expectations, besides enlarging its sphere of influence in its vicinity and also in the far-flung areas of the world, including Far east, Africa, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Indian Ocean. The new leader has made it clear that the world is to deal with China’s ever escalating imperialistic-militaristic aggressions and assertions in the future. And that it has already shown through its extended claims in South China Sea and also by setting up its Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the recent past, which overlaps part of the territory claimed by Japan and South Korea. Obviously, all these clearly signal China’s all-out effort to maintain not only its regional predominance in the Asia-Pacific but also to achieve a big leap forward so as to be recognised as a dominant and responsible player in international relations. Not only that, it is China’s long held desire to proceed towards assuming the role of global hegemony next only to the US, though replacing the US must be its ultimate goal, as it has not yet overcome from its Middle Kingdom complex of the yore. Further, the new leader has expounded his Dream for the people of China and above all for the Communist Party of China and the People’s Liberation Army. As a matter of fact there are no illusions in the immediate neighbourhood of China as to where the Dream is leading to. In the projected model for its growth, it is clear that the one adopted by the People’s Republic of China corresponds to the Aggressive-Dynamic Expansion Model. In fact, China now sees the post-cold war multi-polarity in the world as given, calling these developments along with on-going process of economic liberalisation and globalisation as ‘irreversible’. What is very surprising and also perplexing here is the fact that China has declared itself to be essential to the peace, security, stability and prosperity of the international system. This promulgation by China, though ostensibly for good, is particularly challenging and also threatening to the sole hyper power in the world as if the future course of the world will be markedly influenced by it, if not to be decided. With the suspicion and counter moves against China increasing, the current security challenges are being realised as worrisome to the entire world, with the major powers increasing their strategic investment and making the realignment of their strategies and also the US reinforcing its military alliances in the Asia-Pacific region. This realisation has prompted the Chinese leadership to accelerate its economic, political and security co-operation with the developing countries all over the world. Apart from security threats, surge in sophisticated military technology among major powers are driving China’s own desire to revolutionise its military. The Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) was explored in 2000 and 2002 White Papers, where it showcased it as a security reality. From 2004 onwards, it draws on China’s own foray in to RMA and acquisition of high-tech weaponry and systems. Hence, China regularly highlights the new security concept in managing relations among states. Thus, the Chinese Dream as it unfolds in conjunction with the latest White Paper on Defence make China’s neighbours even more wary. Even if the leadership were to change direction and profess peace with neighbours, the latter must not lower their guard. The White Paper clearly spells out the missions of the PLA. National resurgence in any country that treads on the aspirations of its neighbours will always remain a matter of concern for the smaller countries of the region and leave them with no choice but to form defensive alliances for their own security. China should take note that besides India, Japan too has made overtures to Russia on realising that the US commitment or even capability might decline in times to come. Tokyo and Moscow are exploring the possibility of settling their territorial dispute. The world is aware of the decline in the American power. However, one must keep in mind that China’s halcyon days of unprecedented double-digit growth are also over and even high single-digit growth might not continue for long. By extension this would have a corresponding effect on the defence budget and it would be difficult to sustain the present rate of military spending. But, despite these shortcomings, the pivot for the collective project of stabilising and strengthening the Asian Century in the present times will be China in every case because of its large and most populous geographical area and also due to its all-round and amazing progress and, consequent, development in all areas of national growth, stability and security. As a predominant regional super power and a dominant major power in the world, it can easily shun the stigma of Middle Kingdom complex. Its neighbours and also the whole world, once assured of China’s peaceful rise, would not begrudge its role as an important regional power of the East and also as a dominant and responsible actor in the world which may be a prelude to its ascendance towards global hegemony, most likely, by the middle of the 21st century

Friday 21 March 2014

COLLAPSING ECONOMY OF KASHMIR

कश्मीर खोर्‍यातील कोसळलेली अर्थव्यवस्था ब्रिगेडियर हेमंत महाजन मुलाबाळांच्या शिक्षणाचा खेळखंडोबा, रोजगारावर काम करणार्‍या कामगारांचा तुटवडा, कश्मीर खोर्‍यातील कोसळलेली अर्थव्यवस्था आणि त्यामुळे हजारो-लाखो कुटुंबांची झालेली दुर्दशा. कश्मीरमधील खरे आव्हान हेच आहे. तेव्हा असे बंद कुणाला परवडणार आहेत? कश्मीर खोर्‍यातील बांदीपूर जिल्ह्यातील फरहत दार हा युवक १५ मार्च रोजी पोलीस गोळीबारात मारला गेला. पोलीस चौकीवर हल्ला करणार्‍या जमावात फरहत होता. पोलिसांनी स्वसंरक्षणासाठी त्यावेळी केलेल्या गोळीबारात फरहत ठार झाला. हुर्रियत कॉन्फरन्सने लगेच त्याच्या निषेधार्थ बंदचे आवाहन केले आणि कश्मीर खोरे ठप्प केले. हुर्रियत किंवा इतर संघटनांना कश्मीरमध्ये जाळपोळ किंवा बंद करण्यासाठी कुठलेही निमित्त कसे पुरते हेच या घटनेने पुन्हा एकदा दाखवून दिले आहे. काही दिवसांपूर्वी आणखी एक आंदोलन कश्मीर खोर्‍यात सुरू झाले आहे. खोर्‍यामध्ये हिंदुस्थानी सैन्याची तोफांना सरावाची फायरिंग रेंज आहे. तेथे हिंदुस्थानी सैनिकांनी सराव करू नये, फायर करू नये असा आक्षेप घेण्यात आला. त्यासाठी बंद पुकारणे तसेच हिंसा करणे असे मार्ग स्वीकारण्यात आले. कश्मीर पेटवा, दिसेल ते वाहन जाळा, प्रशासन बंद पाडा, पोलिसांना चोपून काढा असे आदेशच कश्मीरमधील बहकविलेल्या तरुणवर्गाला त्यांच्या पाकिस्तानमधील सूत्रधारांनी दिला आहे. कश्मीरमधल्या जनतेला शांतता हवी असली तरी दहशतवाद्यांना आणि फुटीरतावाद्यांना मात्र ती नको आहे. वास्तविक गेल्या काही काळात कश्मीर खोरे बहुतांश प्रमाणात दहशतवाद्यांच्या विळख्यातून मुक्त झाले होते. त्यामुळे तेथे पुन्हा देश-विदेशातल्या पर्यटकांची गर्दी होऊ लागली होती. वाढत्या पर्यटनामुळे कश्मीर खोर्‍यातील युवकांना पुन्हा चार पैसे मिळायला लागले होते. अर्थात दहशतवादी किंवा फुटीरतावादी यांना नेमके हेच नको असते. कारण कश्मीर खोर्‍यातील कुटुंबांना आणि तरुण पिढीला कायमस्वरूपी रोजगार मिळाला तर त्यांच्या आयुष्यात स्थैर्य आणि शांतता येईल. त्याचा फटका फुटीरवादी आणि दहशतवादी कारवायांना बसेल. या भीतीपोटीच हुर्रियत आणि इतर संघटना पर्यटन हे कश्मीरमधील जनतेच्या उदरनिर्वाहाचे प्रमुख साधन हिरावून घेण्याची संधी कायम शोधत असतात. एखाद्या निदर्शनात कश्मिरी युवकाचा मृत्यू होतो आणि मग या मंडळींच्या हातात आयतेच कोलीत मिळते. सुरक्षा दलाचे जवान बळाचा अतिरेक करीत असल्याचा आरोप पाकिस्तानची ही पिलावळ करू लागते. त्याचवेळी दंगलखोर युवकांच्या टोळ्यांकडून पोलीस आणि सुरक्षा दलांवर केल्या जाणार्‍या प्रचंड दगडफेकीच्या घटनांबाबत मात्र हे लोक ‘ब्र’देखील काढत नाहीत. कश्मीर खोर्‍यात ज्या संघटना फुटीरवादी चळवळी चालवत आहेत त्यांना पाकिस्तान, चीन आणि इतर देशांकडून आर्थिक रसद पुरविली जाते हे उघड आहे. यातील सर्वांत मोठी लाभार्थी संघटना ‘ऑल पार्टी हुर्रियत कॉन्फरन्स’ ही संघटना आहे. या संघटनेचे ज्येष्ठ नेते अब्दुल गनी लोने यांनी पाकिस्तानी अधिकारी आणि आयएसआयतर्फे आलेल्या प्रचंड पैशाचा गैरवापर केल्याचा आरोप अल-बराक या दहशतवादी संघटनेने केला होता. ऑल पार्टी हुर्रियत कॉन्फरन्सचे जम्मूतील कार्यकर्तेही त्यांच्या कश्मीरमधील साथीदारांवर अशाच पद्धतीचा आरोप करीत आहेत. यातील अपहार केलेल्या रकमेचा आकडा सुमारे १६ दशलक्ष अमेरिकन डॉलर्स म्हणजे ८० कोटी रुपये एवढा प्रचंड असल्याचे सांगण्यात येते. असेही सांगितले जाते की, हुर्रियतच्या एका ज्येष्ठ नेत्याला दरमहा तीन लाख रुपये मिळतात. शिवाय कश्मीर खोर्‍यात दरमहा सुमारे ५० लाख रुपये उत्स्फूर्त वर्गणी गोळा होते. एकट्या श्रीनगर-सोपोरमधून २.३६ लाख रुपये गोळा करण्यात आले होते. दहशतवाद्यांकडून होणारा रक्तपात, फुटीरतावाद्यांकडून छोट्या छोट्या कारणांसाठी केली जाणारी निदर्शने, त्यामुळे उद्ध्वस्त झालेले तेथील जनजीवन या सगळ्या गोष्टींमुळे कश्मिरी माणसाचे आयुष्य लंगडे झाले आहे, मात्र त्याबद्दल कोणी बोलत नाही. निदर्शनांच्या काळात बंद राहणार्‍या शाळा-महाविद्यालयांबाबतदेखील कोणी ‘ब्र’ काढत नाही. अर्धांगवायू झालेल्या बँका आणि सार्वजनिक वाहतूक व्यवस्था याबद्दलही कुणी काही सांगत नाही. हिंदुस्थानने कश्मीरचा प्रश्‍न ‘आंतरराष्ट्रीय वाद’ असल्याचे मान्य करावे यासाठीच्या प्रयत्नांचा भाग म्हणून जिलानी आणि त्यांचा कंपू ‘निदर्शनांची कॅलेंडरे’ जारी करीत असतात. दुसरीकडे पीपल्स डेमोक्रॅटिक पार्टी ही फुटीरतावाद्यांचे मुखपत्र असल्यासारखीच कार्यरत आहे. मुलाबाळांच्या शिक्षणाचा खेळखंडोबा, रोजगारावर काम करणार्‍या कामगारांचा तुटवडा, कश्मीर खोर्‍यातील कोसळलेली अर्थव्यवस्था आणि त्यामुळे हजारो-लाखो कुटुंबांची झालेली दुर्दशा. कश्मीरमधील खरे आव्हान हेच आहे. एका सर्वेक्षणानुसार कश्मीर खोर्‍यातील व्यापार्‍यांचे सुमारे २१ हजार कोटी रुपयांचे (४.५ अब्ज डॉलर्स) नुकसान झाले आहे. जम्मूतील व्यापारीही असे सांगतात की, श्रीनगरमधील व्यापारसंबंध तुटल्यामुळे त्यांचेही सुमारे ७ हजार १०० कोटी रुपयांचे नुकसान झाले आहे. तेव्हा असे बंद कुठल्या राज्याला परवडणार आहेत?

Aam Admi Party (AAP) TO FIGHT AGAINST EXTENSION OF LEASE TO INDIAN ARMY

.: News AAP to fight against extending Tosamaidan lease to Indian Army Date: 21 Mar 2014 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AAP to fight against extending Tosamaidan lease to Indian Army Srinagar: Aam Admi Party (AAP) Friday vowed to fight against granting of further extension of lease to Artillery unit of Indian Army for using the Tosamaidan pasture as a filed firing range. In a statement issued to CNS, AAP leader and Lok Sabha candidate for Srinagar parliamentary seat Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat said that Aam Aadmi Party would resist any move of the Government for granting further extension in the lease agreement post April 2014 as AAP believes that granting extension would directly affect the local population which has suffered tremendous losses from the last more than six decades. He said that the party hopes that high level committee constituted few months back under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary would look into the human aspect first and ensure that the field firing range is shifted from Tosamaidan to some uninhabited area of the state. “If lease agreement is extended AAP would hold state wide agitation over this issue,” the statement reads.

CHINA AT YOUR DOORSTEP LOOKING NORTHEAST

Namrata Goswami March 18, 2014 Myanmar is an important neighbour country of India. It has a 1, 643 land border with India and is emerging as the gateway for India to other Southeast Asian countries. This land linkage will prove instrumental in opening up space for India’s under-developed Northeastern region. In the sidelines of the third Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit held at Nay Pyi Taw from March 1 to March 4, Myanmar’s President, U. Thein Sein reassured India that Myanmar will not let its territory be used by insurgent groups from the Northeast against India. While Myanmar and India have followed their separate political paths since independence, ties between the two countries are fast converging in recent times. In the meantime, Myanmar’s other neighbour China has had a large footprint in the country. India has to calibrate its engagement with Myanmar to not just effectively implement its Look East policy but also manage the contiguous border regions of Northeast India given the ground realities. Especially the large region of North Myanmar flanked by Indian and Chinese borders, calls for close co-operation amongst stakeholders for peace, progress and prosperity of the trans-border region in a secure environment. China’s footprint There are two broad assets that Myanmar has, which are of interest to the Chinese – access to the Indian Ocean and rich natural resources.1 Myanmar and China share over 2000 km of mountainous border and a complex earlier history of conflict. Both countries refer to their relationship as “fraternal kinsfolk’ or Pauk Phaw in Burmese. Since 1988, China has made huge investments in Myanmar with more than half of it in hydropower dam projects especially for export to the Chinese province of Yunnan across the border.2 In North Myanmar’s Kachin State, there are two big Chinese investments: the Myitsone confluence hydroelectric power plant project and the 2800 km pipeline project owned by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). 3 Both these deals were struck with the earlier military government, which received China’s political support and economic aid during International sanctions against Myanmar.4 Figure I - Chinese Projects Overview Source: Namrata Goswami Since a civilian government took over Myanmar in 2011, China’s investment projects have come under criticism.5 Public opinion in Myanmar objected to the construction of the Myitsone dam because of which the project was suspended by the government along with other projects such as the Letpadaung Copper Mine in Sagaing Division.6 In the period of 2012-13 there was a sharp drop in the flow of Chinese money into Myanmar as per the data from China’s Ministry of Commerce.7 Also China countered with harsh criticism of Myanmar’s escalating conflicts in Kachin state related to border security issues.8 There were no visits from Chinese leaders during the civilian government’s reform period. With bearish Chinese investment in Myanmar other countries have picked up the pieces. Japan is renewing its investments in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) like Dawei, South Koreans are constructing airports, and Qatar and Norway are developing the telecom sector. 9 The other big pipeline project has been dogged by protests and controversy since work began in 2011.10 According to a parliamentary hearing in January 2014 by Tun Aung Kyaw (Ponnagyun), Member of Myanmar’s parliament, the gas pipeline does not comply with international standards. This is a dual oil and gas pipeline project that aims to transport gas along with oil imports from Africa and the Middle East, to southwest China. The pipelines are planned to travel through 21 townships in central Myanmar, from Arakan State, through Magwe Division, Mandalay Division and Shan State, before entering China.11 The sister project called the ‘Shwe' (meaning ‘golden' in Burmese) Gas exploits offshore underwater natural gas deposits off the coast of western Myanmar's Arakan State. India’s Oil and National Gas Corporation Videsh Ltd (OVL) holds a 17.5 per cent stake in this, while Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), India holds 8.5 per cent stake in the project. The profit from these projects stand at US$29 billion over a period of 30 years. Latest reports say that the oil pipeline component may be delayed since the large CNPC oil refinery in Yunnan has been shelved. In Myanmar, the post reform setup include President Thein Sein’s civilian government; the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) led by parliamentary head Shwe Mann; the Myanmar military under senior general Min Aung Hlaing, and the democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party. China is dealing with these groups in isolation, which might give pointers to its overall Myanmar strategy. Chinese interests in Myanmar not only include some of the most abundant oil and gas fields in Asia, but also strategically China’s so called ‘second coast’ by some Chinese diplomats.12 Kachin and the Chinese Figure II: The Kachin Dominated Areas Source: Namrata Goswami In the eastern tip of Arunachal Pradesh live a small ethnic group called the Singpho who are related to the Kachin living in Myanmar’s Kachin state and Yunnan province of China. The Kachin take pride in their history of action as Kachin rangers during World War II on the side of Allied Powers especially the US military operating out of Assam, a fact which later lent them Washington’s ear for assistance.13 The Chinese, however, have not taken this relationship very well. What might be a troubling scenario for Beijing are these ear whispers materializing into an actual US presence once more in Kachin state, smack along China’s border. Of more pressing concern to China are the Kachin armed groups such as the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), due to their proximity to the Chinese border and recent investments in Myanmar. The Kachin state possesses major infrastructure projects such as the now suspended Myitsone dam. The KIA has also seized control of the large areas designated for the Sino-Myanmar pipeline project in the adjacent Shan state where there are big Kachin populations. The KIA is demanding autonomy for Kachin state within a federal Myanmar and there has been a ceasefire for 17 years with Nay Pyi Taw, which was, however, shattered in June 2011.14 In 2013 in an unprecedented departure from a policy of “non-interference in internal affairs,” or the ‘Beijing doctrine’ in popular parlance, China intervened as third party by bringing the two sides (Myanmar government and the KIA) for talks during two successive rounds of negotiations in the Chinese town of Ruili in Yunnan province. The next round of peace talks between the KIA and Thein Sein was moved to Myitkyina, the capital city of Kachin State inside Myanmar. China refused to join further peace talks with the US and other international entities as observers and would not recognize the event if it were held without a Chinese presence. Since the resumption of Myanmar’s military operations in Kachin, there have been other pointers of China’s involvement in the conflict.15 Several mortar shells fired have landed across the border on Chinese soil and have been met with tacit silence. There were media reports of Myanmar’s air force using Chinese airspace to attack on KIA frontline posts.16 China has allowed in Kachin refugees fleeing the war across the border.17 There have been allegations of human trafficking in refugee camps near the China-Myanmar border especially young Kachin women and girls displaced by the war. An unstable and insecure border has put tremendous local pressure on China to intervene in Myanmar and press for a ceasefire. China faces a conundrum in Kachin where it does not want to rub the Kachins the wrong way by supporting the Myanmar military fighting the KIA. On the other hand, China wants to maintain good relations with Myanmar.18 This unenviable position is largely driven by China’s big interests and investments in energy and resources in Myanmar and Kachin state in particular. An active role in the KIA/government negotiations gives China the leverage to influence the outcome in Beijing’s favor. Moreover China wants to keep on good terms with the Kachins, who share ethnicity with minorities in China’s Yunnan province. The Chinese, meanwhile, are campaigning for resumption of the halted Myitsone Dam Project, however some Kachin groups have rejected China’s outlook for development projects in their state. The new ceasefire portends to be a win on all fronts for China including possible reopening of the suspended Myitsone Dam Project. 19 China’s economic ties with Kachin have benefited some of the state’s inhabitants with informal engagement. Kachin state depends on China’s Yunnan for its entire list of subsistence needs and is far more easily accessible across the Chinese border than from Myanmar’s capital. Chinese currency is used in financial transactions as well as banks. The old World War II Burma Road in Kachin is a visible example of Chinese entrepreneurship with nearly one-third of the population in Ruili, a border city on the Chinese side, crossing the border for work. However some of these activities are illegal in Myanmar like large scale logging and jade trafficking.20 China has also supported an opium crop substitution policy in Kachin and other border areas, which may be of serious concern to locals losing their land rights. China and Shan state Myanmar’s Shan state shares the remainder of the border with China, which has been engaged with three ethnic groups in addition to the Kachin of that state, namely the Kokang, Shan and Wa. Figure III: Ethnic distribution in Shan State and contiguous areas Source: Namrata Goswami There is a background of controversial history back in the days of Chinese support to the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) who fought a long civil war with the Myanmar government. Earlier in 1949 after the victory of the Communist Party of China (CPC), members of the Kuomintang (Nationalist) army fled from China regrouping as fighting units in Shan state. Kuomintang generals trained and inducted Shan ethnic groups and formed them into fighting units. Later Shan ethnic armies like the drug lord Khun Sa’s army and military training was conducted on the Nationalist model with Chinese as the common language. The Chinese also began production of opium in Shan state to exploit its market value and support the war. Though the CPB has been disbanded, China’s ties with the earlier members from the Wa and Kokang ethnic groups have carried over to the present day. The Wa’s United Wa State Army (UWSA) and Kokang’s Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) both occupy border areas between Shan state and China. While China has close ties with both these militias, it does not like their narcotics business. Kokangs are ethnic Han Chinese who became native Myanmar citizens after a border agreement. The Wa have been more of pawns in China’s chess game against Khun Sa’s Shan army, at whose behest the UWSA relocated bulk of its forces to the south of Shan state bordering Thailand. China has provided the UWSA with advanced weaponry to battle their adversaries like the Shan State Army (South).21 Both the Wa and the Kokangs have refused to join the Border Guard Force (BGF) program of the Myanmar government. China’s actions appear contradictory, while publicly supporting Myanmar government but privately supporting rebel forces in Shan state for covert reasons. China in the Mekong Trans borders China’s rapid path to prosperity have seen expansion of economic ties between the locals in Yunnan and their ethnic counterparts i.e. the Dai of Yunnan are closely related to the Thai, the Lao and the Shan of Myanmar on the either sides of the Mekong river. What is interesting is the case of China’s actions diluting the integrity of borders and sovereignty of neighboring countries, which enabled the capture and sentencing in China of the notorious Shan warlord, Nor Kham.22 The Mekong River, known as the Lancang in China is vital to people in Myanmar and South East Asia. There have been serious concerns amongst the stakeholders of the lack of scientific collaboration and cooperative management of the Lancang-Mekong river system. India’s Calibration While Myanmar’s earlier military government enjoyed overall close ties with China there had been reservations by that leadership in 2002 to allow the Chinese shipping on the Irrawaddy for access to the Indian Ocean. India needs to support the current government in upholding its stand on Myanmar’s territorial integrity. There have been media reports followed up by comments and analyses by experts of the existence of Chinese military bases in Myanmar.23 Two cases have stood out namely the Great Coco Island SIGINT collection station in the Andaman Sea and a naval base on Hainggyi Island in the Irrawaddy River delta. These stories have gained further credence through the US’s ‘String of Pearls’ theory of Chinese built ports in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and the South China Sea. While India’s Chief of Naval Staff has ruled out the existence of Chinese bases in Myanmar, Chinese fishing boats have been apprehended near Andaman Islands with depth sounding equipment in 1994. India needs to cooperate with Myanmar to ensure the security of the Bay of Bengal. India can work with Myanmar to develop more mature plans of development especially in stalled projects of developing natural resources benefitting the Kachin and other ethnic groups in Myanmar. There are concerns of arms and drugs trafficking from Myanmar to Northeast India. There is potential for strategic military cooperation, which enables Myanmar government to provide stability in its ethnic group regions like Shan state which in turn secures India’s own northeastern region

Thursday 20 March 2014

MAKING POLICE INEFFECTIVE

कोम्बिंगच्या 'शिक्षे'प्रकरणी नाराजी म. टा. विशेष प्रतिनिधी, ठाणे सोनसाखळी चोर मुंब्र्यातील रशिद कंपाऊंड भागात वास्तव्याला आल्याची खबर लागल्यानंतर ठाणे पोलिसांनी कोम्बिंग केले मात्र, राजकीय हस्तक्षेप आणि दबावामुळे हे ऑपरेशन पोलिसांवरच उलटले. लोकप्रतिनिधींनी पोलिसांचा केलेला 'उद्धार' यू ट्यूब आणि व्हॉट्स अॅपवर फिरतोय. एका एसीपीला सक्तीच्या रजेवर धाडावे लागले. या साऱ्या घटनाक्रमामुळे पोलिसांचे मनोबल खच्ची झाले असून, वरिष्ठ अधिकारीही कमालीचे नाराज आहेत. या प्रकारामुळे गुन्हेगारी प्रवृत्तीला प्रोत्साहन मिळून कायदा आणि सुव्यवस्थेच्या मार्गातही अडथळे निर्माण होण्याची भीती व्यक्त होत आहे. गुन्हेगारांमध्ये वचक निर्माण व्हावा आणि लोकांमध्ये विश्वासाचे वातावरण निर्माण व्हावे या उद्देशाने आवश्यकता असेल तिथे कोम्बिंग ऑपरेशन करण्याच्या निवडणूक आयोगाच्या सूचना आहेत. गुन्हेगारांचे आश्रयस्थान असलेल्या मुंब्रा परिसरात यापूर्वीही अनेकदा कोम्बिंग होऊन त्यात गुन्हेगारही सापडले होते. गेल्या आठवड्यातील कोंम्बिंग ऑपरेशनही गुन्हेगारांची ठोस माहिती मिळाल्यामुळेच झाले. कोम्बिंगच्या आखून दिलेल्या कार्यपद्धतीला अनुसरूनच काम सुरू होते. त्यात काही निरपराध लोकांना त्रास झाला असेल ही शक्यता आम्ही नाकारत नाही. वास्तविक अशा घटनांमध्ये लोकप्रतिनिधींनी मध्यस्थाची भूमिका घेणे अपेक्षित असते. मात्र, पोलिसांची बाजू ऐकून न घेता ते हमरीतुमरीवर उतरले. चौकशी पूर्ण झाली नसताना केवळ राजकीय दबावामुळे एसीपी अमित काळे यांना सक्तीच्या रजेवर धाडावे लागल्याने पोलिस दलात नाराजी निर्माण झाली आहे. कायदा आणि सुव्यवस्था राखण्यासाठी केलेले काम जर नोकरीच्या मुळावर येत असेल, तर यापुढे अशी कारवाई का करावी असा सवाल पोलिस उपस्थित करत आहेत. चौकशी अहवाल आज या प्रकरणात पोलिसांकडून झालेल्या चुका आणि सरकारी कामात लोकप्रतिनिधींनी केलेला हस्तक्षेप याची चौकशी अतिरिक्त पोलिस आयुक्त (गुन्हे) रवींद्र सिंघल यांच्या मार्गदर्शनाखाली सुरू असून, शुक्रवारी त्याबाबतचा अहवाल ते सादर करणार आहेत. पोलिसांची कोंडी या ऑपरेशमनध्ये पोलिसांच्या हाती कोणतीही शस्त्रे लागलेली नाहीत, त्यामुळे चौकशीदरम्यान त्यांची कोंडी होण्याची शक्यता आहे. मात्र, कोंम्बिंग ऑपरेशनमध्ये पकडलेल्या ५० ते ६० संशयितांना दबावामुळे सोडून द्यावे लागले. कारवाई पूर्ण होऊ दिली असती तर चित्र वेगळे दिसले असते असे पोलिसांचे म्हणणे आहे. मुंब्र्यातच गुन्हेगार सापडले ज्या रशिद कंपाऊंड परिसरातील कोंम्बिंग ऑपरेशन हाणून पाडण्यात आले, दोन दिवसांनंतर तेथूनच शमू अहमद शेख (२४) या सोनसाखळी चोराला अटक करण्यात आली. तर, कौसा भागातून इरफान अब्बास मुलानी याला अटक झाली. त्यांच्याकडून दोन सोनसाखळ्या, पाच हजार रुपये आणि एक मोटारसायकल हस्तगत करण्यात आली. भायखळा पोलिसांनीही याच भागातून मोहम्मद साजीद सईद शेख (३०) याला अटक केली असून, त्याच्या विरोधात दागिने चोरीचे १८ गुन्हे दाखल आहेत.

PROXY WAR IN KASHMIR-WINNING STRATEGY BY BRIG HEMANT MAHAJAN

PROGRAMME BOOK RELEASE: PROXY WAR IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR:A WINNING STRATEGY -BY BRIG HEMANT MAHAJAN,YSM DATE 29 MARCH 2014 TIME 0630-0800 PM VENUE PATRKAR BHAVAN,NAVI PETH,PUNE,MAHARASHTRA LT GEN KT PARNAIK, PVSM,UYSM,YSM EX GOC-IN-C NORTHEN COMMAND WILL BE THE CHIEF GUEST.ALL ARE REQUESTED TO ATTEND. THE MARATHI VERSION IS BEING RELEASED IN THE MONTH OF APRIL 2014.THIS IS THE THIRD BOOK ON ISSUES RELATED TO NATIONAL SECURITY.THE FIRST TWO BOOKS IN MARATHI ARE AS UNDER:- (A) NAXAL WADACHE AVHAN –CHIN CHE BHARATASHI CHHUPE YUDHDA (B) AVHAN CHINI DRAGON CHE PUBLISHED BY NACHIKET PRAKASHAN NAGPUR.TELE NUMBER-0712-2285473,9225210130

Wednesday 19 March 2014

आमदार जितेंद्र आव्हाड यांची पोलिसांना शिवीगाळ

शिवसेनेचे सुपारीबाज.. हप्तेखोर आमदार जितेंद्र आव्हाड यांची पोलिसांना शिवीगाळPublished: Thursday, March 20, 2014 मुंब्रा येथील रशीद कम्पाऊंडचा परिसर.. संशयितांना पकडण्यासाठी पोलिसांचे कोम्बिंग ऑपरेशन सुरू आहे.. संशयितांना ताब्यात घेताच जमाव संतप्त होतो.. जमावासमोरच राष्ट्रवादी काँग्रेसचे कार्याध्यक्ष व आमदार जितेंद्र आव्हाड यांचा तोंडाचा पट्टा सुरू होतो.. शिवसेनेचे सुपारीबाज, हप्तेखोर अशा शिविगाळीबरोबरच दहा मिनिटांत सुपारी उघड करतो अशी धमकावणी देणाऱ्या आव्हाड यांची चित्रफीत सध्या यू टय़ूबवर फिरते आहे. त्यामुळे निवडणुकीच्या धामधुमीत आव्हाड अडचणीत सापडण्याची चिन्हे आहेत. रशीद कम्पाऊंडमध्ये काही गुन्हेगार लपले असल्याची माहिती ठाणे पोलिसांना मिळाली. त्यानुसार सहाय्यक पोलीस आयुक्त अमित काळे यांनी त्या ठिकाणी फौजफाटा घेऊन कोम्बिंग ऑपरेशन केले. त्यात काही संशयितांना ताब्यात घेण्यात आले. मात्र, कारवाईनंतर स्थानिक नेत्यांनी आक्रमक रुप धारण केले. त्यामुळे जमावापुढे नमते घेत पोलिसांना संशयितांची सुटका करावी लागली. परंतु या कारवाईत स्थानिक निरपराध नागरिकांना त्रास दिल्याचा आरोप करत जितेंद्र आव्हाड यांनी जमावासमोरच पोलिसांवर आगपाखड केली. त्याची चित्रफीत यू टय़ूबवर दाखवण्यात येत आहे. मुंब्रामध्ये कोम्बिंग ऑॅपरेशन करताना पोलिसांनी अल्पसंख्याक समाजातील सर्वसामान्य नागरिकांना त्रास दिल्याच्या आरोपांमुळे सहाय्यक पोलीस आयुक्त अमित काळे यांना यापूर्वीच सक्तीच्या रजेवर पाठविण्यात आले आहे. मात्र, त्याचवेळी पोलिसांना 'शिवसेनेचे सुपारीबाज', 'हप्तेखोर' अशी जाहीर दमबाजी करणाऱ्या आव्हाडांवर कारवाईचे हत्यार उगारण्यापूर्वी ठाणे पोलिसांनी याप्रकरणाची सखोल चौकशी करण्याचे ठरविले आहे. राज्याचे गृहमंत्री आर. आर. पाटील नेमकी कोणती भूमिका घेतात याकडे सर्वाचे लक्ष लागले आहे. कोम्बिंग ऑपरेशन सुरू असताना काही निरपराध नागरिकांना मोठय़ा प्रमाणावर त्रास देण्यात आला. विद्यार्थ्यांच्या परीक्षांचा हा काळ आहे. त्यांनाही त्रास दिला गेला. त्यामुळे माझा आक्षेप एसीपी अमित काळे यांच्या कार्यपद्धतीविषयी होता. पोलिसांविरोधात माझे काहीही म्हणणे नाही. जितेंद्र आव्हाड आव्हाड यांनी पोलिसांना केलेल्या शिवीगाळप्रकरणी पोलीस, तेथे उपस्थित असलेले नागरिक व परिस्थितीजन्य पुरावा यांच्या आधारावर चौकशी अहवाल तयार करण्याचे काम सुरू आहे. - विजय कांबळे, ठाणे पोलीस आयुक्त

Tuesday 18 March 2014

15 THINGS WHICH CHINA DOES NOT WANT WORLD TO KNOW

Facebook and Twitter have been blocked sites in China since 2009 and The New York Times has been blocked since a 2012 article didn't please the government. They are going to lift the ban in what is called the Shanghai Free Trade zone soon but it is more of a business decision than anything else. Poverty Even though China is the world's most populous country, at over 1.35 billion people, it still has some secrets it doesn't want us to know. But we dug some of them up just for you! For instance, despite the fact that the US borrows a lot of money from China, a lot of its population is still living in utter poverty. In fact, about 100 million people in China are surviving on less than $1 a day, which works out to less than $365 a year! And nearly 400 million people live on less than $2 a day! Death Penalty In 2005, China executed more than 4 times as many convicts as the rest of the world combined. That works out to over 1,770 executions, most of them done by firing squad. Air Pollution China's air pollution is so bad from its rapid industrial growth that many people wear masks outside just to be able to breathe. But their problems aren't limited to their own country. Due to the jet stream carrying their air over to the United States, much of that pollution has traveled to northern California. In fact, about a third of the air pollution in San Francisco comes from China! Reincarnation The Chinese government has actually banned Buddhist monks from reincarnating. That is, unless they get permission from the government first. In reality, what seems ridiculous is actually a move to limit the influence of the Dalai Lama. Empty Mall China can proudly boast that it has the world's largest mall, the New South China Mall, with space for 2,350 stores and 7,000,000 square feet of leasable space! The only problem is that 7 years after it opened it is still 99% empty. The only things actually in the mall are a few fast food stores near the entrance. Cave Dwellers About 35 million people in China still live in caves. Most of these live in the Shaanxi province where the porous soil makes the caves easy to dig. They are often decorated or reinforced with bricks. Water Contamination About 700 million Chinese people, or about half of their population, drink contaminated water every day. One of the biggest reasons is that only about 10 percent of the raw sewage produced by the big cities is treated and the rest is dumped straight into lakes and rivers where it leaks into ground water. Time Zones Back in 1949, China's Communist regime decided that, even though the country is huge, in order to assert more control it all needed to be under the same time zone, Beijing Standard Time. This has led to ridiculous sunrise times such as 10 am in certain parts of the country. Piracy 78% of the software installed on computers in China in 2010 was pirated. That is a really high number no matter how you look at it. Globally, the average piracy rate is still quite high at 42%, but it is almost twice that in China. Birth Defects Birth defects are actually increasing in China by a rate of 40% since 2001. About 1.2 million babies are born in China every year with a birth defect, or about one every 30 seconds. Christianity When you think of religion in China, probably the last thing that comes to mind is Christianity. But what is really surprising is that China has a booming Christian population of about 54 million people and growing. Soon they will have the largest Christian population in the world! They already have more Christians than Italy! Dwarf Theme Park There is a place called the Kingdom of the Little People in China where people with dwarfism put on comical shows for tourists. There are over 100 dwarfs employed by the park. Ghost Towns About 65 million homes sit vacant in China. This includes some entire towns that are completely devoid of people and they sit empty. These aren't old houses and towns that died out. They are new cities and houses that were built in expectation of a population boom expanding into them that never happened. Gobi Desert China is home to the enormous Gobi desert which is already about 500,000 square miles or about the size of Peru and it's only getting bigger. The Gobi is expanding at a rate of about 1,400 square miles a year due to over grazing, deforestation and water source depletion.

Monday 17 March 2014

YASIN BHATKAL INDIAN MUJAHIDIN PUNE CONNECTION

इंडियन मुजाहिदीनचा (आयएम) म्होरक्या यासीन भटकळच्या फॅब्रिकेशन वर्कशॉपमध्ये पुण्यातील काही व्यक्ती हत्यारे बनविण्याचे काम करत असल्याची धक्कादायक माहिती तपासादरम्यान उघड झाली आहे. गेली आठ वर्षे या 'साथीदारां'ची साधी कुणकुणही दहशतवादविरोधी पथक; (एटीएस) तसेच देशभरातील तपासयंत्रणांना लागली नसल्याबद्दल आश्चर्य व्यक्त करण्यात येत आहे. या 'साथीदारां'चा अन्य कोणत्या स्फोटांमध्ये हात आहे काय, यापुढील काळात त्यांनी देशभरात आणखी कोणत्या हल्ल्यांचा कट रचला आहे काय, अशा अनेक प्रश्नांची उत्तरे शोधण्याचे आव्हान आता तपास यंत्रणांपुढे आहे. यासीनने २००४ मध्ये 'जिहाद' पुकारून भटकळमध्ये हत्यारे बनविण्याचा प्रयत्न केला होता. त्यासाठी रियाझ भटकळने त्याला ४० हजार रुपयांची मदती दिली. या मदतीच्या आधारे त्याने 'अल्-हादीथ' नावाचे वर्कशॉप सुरू केले होते. हे वर्कशॉप तेथील एका रेसिडेन्सिअल कॉम्प्लेक्समध्ये सुरू करण्यात आल्याची माहिती यासीननेच 'एटीएस'ला तपासादरम्यान दिली. यासीनच्या अटकेनंतर 'आयएम'चा प्रमुख रियाझ भटकळ आणि यासीनचे पुण्यातील 'कनेक्शन' उघड होवू लागली आहेत. जर्मन बेकरी स्फोटासाठी स्फोटके पुरविणारा इब्राहिम, कातिल सिद्दिकीचा पुण्यातील नातेवाइकांबरोबरच यासीनच्या वर्कशॉपमध्ये काम करणाऱ्या व्यक्तींपैकी ४० वर्षीय नासीर भाई बेपत्ता असल्याने यत्रणांच्या कार्यक्षमतेबद्दल शंका व्यक्त करण्यात येत आहे. जर्मन बेकरी स्फोट प्रकरणी यासीनला 'एटीएस'ने अटक केली असून, त्याला कोर्टाने १४ दिवसांची पोलिस कोठडी दिली आहे. यासीनचे पुण्यातील वास्तव्य आणि त्याचे पुण्यातील 'काँटॅक्ट' आदींबाबत त्याच्याकडे कसून तपास करण्यात येत आहे. पुण्यातील नासीरभाई आपल्या वर्कशॉपमध्ये काम करीत होता. छोटी-मोठी कामे करतानाच तलवारी, चाकूही तयार करण्याचे कौशल्य त्याने आत्मसात केल्याचे यासीनने सांगितले. भटकळ शहराला जातीय दंगलींची पार्श्वभूमी आहे. या ठिकाणी वारंवार दंगली होत असल्याने तरुणांना भडकवण्यासाठी त्यांच्या हातात हत्यारे देण्यासाठी हे वर्कशॉप सुरू केल्याचे यासीनने सांगितले. रियाझच्या सांगण्यानुसार २००४ च्या अखेरीला यासीन शारजाला गेला होता. तेथून त्याला पाकिस्तानात प्रशिक्षणासाठी जायचे होते. मात्र, काही कारणांमुळे तो पाकिस्तानात पोहोचू शकला नव्हता. तो पुन्हा भटकळ येथे परतला तेव्हा नासीर भाई भटकळमधून पुण्यात परतला होता, असेही त्याने तपास यंत्रणांना सांगितले आहे. पुण्यातून हवाला सुरत-अहमदाबाद येथील स्फोटांनंतर तपास यंत्रणा रियाझ, यासीन आ​णि इक्बाल भटकळचा माग काढत होत्या. तिघेही देशभर लपत फरत होते. दिल्ली, लखनौ असे फिरत असतानाच रियाझ आणि यासीन पुन्हा पुण्यात परतले. कातिलचा एक बबलू नावाचा नातेवाइक तेव्हा पुण्यात होता. 'आयएम'चा दुबईतील हस्तक आफिफने बबलूच्या नावे हवालामार्गे दोन लाख रुपये पाठवले. बबलूने हे पैसे यासीन आणि रियाझला दिले. या पैशांच्या जोरावरच रियाझ पाकिस्तानला पळून जाण्यात यशस्वी ठरला.

FIELD GUN FOR INDIAN ARMY BY BHARAT FORGE

Subject: Baba Kalyani's Field Guns For India..!!!! : In two years, we have a field gun ready; it costs $2 million' Bharat Forge Group Chairman Baba Kalyani Bharat Forge on the challenges it faced building an indigenous field gun During the Kargil War, "a senior Defence Ministry official barged into my office in Pune asking us to immediately produce ammunition for Bofors guns. We made over 100,000 shells. There was no tender, no RFQ, no nothing," Bharat Forge Group Chairman Baba Kalyani recalled in an interview to Business Line . Now, the $2.5-billion group is ready with a home-built field gun costing $2 million and wants to prove that the "Made in India" label is the best. Excerpts: You have built an indigenous field gun. What's the cost and what opportunities do you see in defence manufacture? Two years ago, we decided to be in land systems, including artillery, infantry, armoured vehicles, ammunition, rockets and allied stuff, and a little electronics, now integral to defence systems. We passionately set up a programme that we call the Indian gun programme. I challenged Colonel Bhatia, who heads our defence business, that let's build an Indian gun. There's a belief that Indian companies aren't capable of this and we want to prove them wrong, as we did in components. In two years, we have a gun ready; it costs $2 million. How competitive is this compared to imported guns ? It would be much more expensive if we import. We are far more competitive. Have you got any orders from the defence establishment? Not yet. We did this due to our automotive background where people keep designing new product components, unveil them and then develop a market. What kind of gun have you made? We've made two products; one is a 155 mm 52-calibre gun, with self-propelling and towing capability. This is a field gun, the mainstay of the Indian army like the Bofors guns. Our gun is similar but of a longer range. That was 39 calibre, this is 52; the calibre denotes the length of the barrel and the range.We've also built an ultra-light howitzer gun, weighing around 900 kg; normal guns weigh around three tonnes. The technology of soft rec oil is from the US but we've built the whole gun in Pune, right from the special steel, forging in our plants and so on. This gun has the advantage of much more mobility and can be mounted on a small truck, or lifted in a helicopter and put at the front on the mountains. The government is importing from the US 150 ultra-light Howitzers at a cost of $600 to $700 million. Ours has a smaller calibre, but by next year, we'll also have a 155 mm gun at a substantially lower cost. Who are your competitors? Nobody, except for the Ordinance Factory. But the competition will be from outside -- France, Israel. This wasn't against a tender, but to show an Indian capability. There is a feeling within our system that defence equipment can't be made here and should be imported. I wanted to break this myth, so we spent our money and made a product to prove we have capability in this country, so don't just brush us aside. What kind of business potential do you see for this? From quotations we know the Indian army now needs about 1,500 to 2,000 guns. Their existing weapons platform - the Bofors guns bought in 1984 - is obsolete and needs replacement. India is the second biggest defence procurer in the world after the US. The European market is shrinking. With our current fiscal situation and the weaker rupee, if a home grown quality product is available at a competitive price, why would you import? But some Indian businesses do tend to cut corners and compromise on quality . Not everybody, or else our company wouldn't be supplying to Mercedes Benz, Audi and BMW. But the media doesn't write about manufacturing because it's not glamorous

Sunday 16 March 2014

Indian National security : Part 3. By Brigadier Mahajan (Retired)

NAXAL ATTACK AT CHATTIS GARH-NO LESSONS LEARNT

Ambush at Tongpal: History Repeats Itself Dhruv Katoch E-Mail- dhruvkatoch@hotmail.com In his book “The Life of Reason”, George Santayana, the Spanish American philosopher observed, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. This statement, made in the larger historical context, has equal applicability to conflict situations. If operational lessons are not correctly learned, casualties will continue to occur with monotonous regularity. The Maoist ambush of police personnel in Chhattisgarh on 11 March 2014is yet another chilling reminder of the truism of Santayana’s words. A 45 man strong police party left their post at Tongpal on the morning of the 11thto sanitise the area. Moving north along the road, the Maoists ambushed the group about three kilometres from their start point, killing 16 people, 11 of whom were from the CRPF, four from the local police and one civilian. The Maoists used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and small arms to cause casualties, and post the encounter, made away with 18 rifles, a few under barrel grenade launchers and a large number of magazines from the ambushed police party. It is evident that no lessons were learnt from the earlier ambushat Km 43 carried out by the Maoists on 25 May 2013 in which 31 people were killed, including a major part of the state level leadership of the Congress party.The recent ambush of 11thMarch was about 15 km form the Km 43 ambush site and was in open terrain. The area comes under the responsibility of the CRPF at Tongpal, which invites the question as to why no lessons were learntfrom past operations? Perhaps the answer lies in the way we record incidents, especially those where hostile forces have got the better of the security forces. The right questions are invariably never asked, unpleasant facts are covered up and accountability rarely established. In deference to those who have laid down their lives, statements are given to the media on the brave resistance put up by the security forces.So history repeats itself, not because it has been forgotten, but because we failed to record it correctly in the first place, leading to continuous loss of life and a further cycle of cover-ups and misreporting. A question to be asked is, ‘was the area under the domination of the security forces’? The answer unfortunately is in the negative. While the police forces do dominate the area by day, the area is left to the Maoists by night. Domination requires patrolling by night also and setting up ambushes where movement of Maoists is likely.Such ambush sites are chosen randomly, to avoid the pitfall of falling into a fixed and predictable routine. Only then can caution be imposed on the Maoists. In the present ambush, the Maoists came by night in large numbers and set up IEDs on the road. Evidently, they had a free run to do so! So the questions to be asked with respect to area domination are; does the CRPF carry out night patrolling? Are they trained to do so? Do they have the requisite night vision equipment? Do they set up ambushes at random to prevent the move of armed militant groups? Unless we ask these questions, how can we even hope to improve the quality of our response? The next question is, were the police forces moving tactically? While moving out for operations, there is a laid down standard operating procedure where troops move well spaced on either side of the road. It is important to remember that the leading elements carry out such movement cross-country, about 25 to 50 meters off the road and not on the road itself, with the rest of the column following tactically in file formation. Movement in such a manner increases the chances of detecting an ambush and obviates the possibility of the whole group being hit simultaneously. Should the leading elements come under fire, the rest of the group is in a position to react and break the ambush, in turn causing severe casualties to the militants. The Maoists took away 18 weapons from the conflict site. This indicates a lack of resistance by the rest of the group, which enabled the Maoists to collect the weapons and magazines from the bodies of the killed and injured policemen. Resistance would have prevented such an occurrence. The question to be asked is what did the rest of the group do when the leading lot came under fire? It would be important to get an answer, if corrective measures are to be applied in terms of training in battlefield skills and junior level leadership training. The last question pertains to leadership. Where were the leaders located? Where were the company commander, the battalion commander, and the DIG and IG level ranked officers? What was the briefing given to the troops? Were they trained in anti-ambush drills? How much ammunition was being carried by each man? What was the communication within the group? It is important to ask these questions and hold commanders at all levels accountable for acts of omission or commission if the war on terror is to be won. The discourse unfortunately has shifted to peripheral issues. The media consistently refers to lack of intelligence, but this does not apply to security forces moving out on operations. They have to be prepared for an ambush each and everytime they move out. Another point emphasised by the media is the large number of Maoists who took part in the attack. Some figures suggest that the Maoist strength was in the region of two to three hundred people. This does not stand up to analysis. The terrain was open, the ambush was laid near the road and such large numbers would easily have been spotted. In any case, what is the intelligence set up of the unit if such large numbers of people can lie undetected within three kilometres of the post? As the police personnel taking part in the operation could only have provided information regarding the strength of the Maoists, it begs another question. If indeed such large numbers were there, they would afford an equally big target. Why could the police not shoot down even one militant at close range? There are basic weaknesses in the training and leadership levels of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) taking part in anti Naxal operations. These need to be addressed on priority if we are to win the war against terror. For a start, CRPF units must start operating as an organised body under their own commanding officers. They must also be trained in unit or company groups. Officers of the rank of DIG and IG must leave the towns and live with their personnel who are taking part in operations to provide frontline leadership. We must train our police forces taking part in such operations to make them adept at jungle fighting. The road ahead is arduous but it is one that must be traversed. Failure to do so will only embolden the Maoists and perpetuate conflict in the affected areas. Maj Gen Dhruv C Katoch

HINDU TEMPLE ATTACKED IN PAKISTAN

पाकिस्तानात अल्पसंख्याक हिंदूंवर अधूनमधून होणारे हल्ले सुरूच असून शनिवारी रात्री सिंध प्रांतातील लरकाना परिसरातील एका मंदिरावर कट्टरपंथी मुस्लिमांनी हल्ला चढवला. संतप्त जमावाने मंदिराची धर्मशाळा जाळून टाकली. या घटनेमुळे लरकानामध्ये प्रचंड तणाव पसरला असून येथील बंदोबस्त वाढवण्यात आला आहे. 'कराची पोस्ट' या पाकिस्तानी वृत्तपत्राने केलेल्या ट्वीटनुसार, शनिवारी रात्री काही संतप्त लोकांनी हिंदू समाजाच्या घरांना घेराव घातला. या लोकांनी हिंदूंच्या मालमत्तेवर हल्ले केले आणि जवळच असलेल्या मंदिराची धर्मशाळा जाळून टाकली. मनोरुग्ण असलेल्या एका हिंदू तरुणाने कुराणाची पाने जाळल्याचा आरोप करत हे हल्ले करण्यात आल्याचे सांगितले जाते. या हिंसाचाराची माहिती मिळताच पाकिस्तानी पोलीस व रेंजर्स घटनास्थळी धावले. पोलिसांनी अश्रूधूर सोडून व हवेत गोळीबार करून जमावाला पांगवले. परिस्थिती चिघळू नये म्हणून या भागात संचारबंदी लागू करण्यात आली आहे. सिंध प्रांताचे गव्हर्नर इशरतुल खान यांनी शांततेचे आवाहन केले असून मंदिरावर हल्ले करणाऱ्यांना अटक करण्याचे आदेश दिले आहेत.

Saturday 15 March 2014

MARTYARED JAWANS WIFE BECOMES OFFICER

Fallen jawan's wife turns lieutenant Scripting history, 26-year-old Priya Semwal, who lost her husband in a counter-insurgency operation two years back, was today inducted into the technical wing of the armed force as a young officer. From a college-going woman married to an Army jawan in 2006 to an officer commissioned into the Corps of the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME) of Army today, Semwal's life has come a full circle. Semwal is one of the 62 women, besides 194 men, who were commissioned into the Indian Army as short service officers at the ceremonial passing out parade at the Officers Training Academy here. The mother of the then four-year-old Khwahish Sharma, Semwal's future looked bleak when she heard the death of her husband Naik Amit Sharma serving with the 14 Rajput regiment in a counter-insurgency operation near hilly Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh in 2012. "Her husband was serving in my unit. In that operation, he lost his life while others suffered injuries. When I learnt Amit had encouraged her to complete degree and then PG, I thought she should become an officer," said Colonel Arun Agarwal, Commanding Officer, 14 Rajput Regiment. Agarwal's word of advice, however, was not received readily. "Her brother initially asked what was I saying? She just lost her husband and how can I ask them now. But, eventually they all agreed," said the Colonel, who came all the way from the border to witness Semwal become an officer. "She (Priya Semwal) was qualified and I felt that she will do it. Initially, she had some apprehensions but once she was convinced, there was no turning back. Probably, this is the first time an Army jawan's wife has become an officer in India," the Colonel said. There might be instances where wives of Army officers would have joined the force after their death, but this is probably the first time, the wife of a Non Commissioned Officer (NCO) has become an officer, he pointed out.

Thursday 13 March 2014

DO WE HAVE THE ARMY WE NEED

Do we have the Army we need? M.J. Akbar March 9, 2014 [One of the great casualties of indecisive government in the last five years has been India’s defence preparedness.] Donald Rumsfeld, who was America's defence secretary during the Iraq war, pointed out that you fight with the army you have rather than the one you want. This truism underscores the basic responsibility of a defence minister: to maintain and hone during periods of peace the army that will be needed during times of conflict. Every war is different. Armies train to fight the next battles rather than repeat previous ones. The set-piece formations of military engagement now seem what they are, history. The enemy no longer necessarily wears a uniform, creating a dysfunctional battlefield. It fights as a disparate militia, in bands that slip through populations like Mao Zedong's famous fish in water. But Mao's guerrilla fish were all red, and obeyed the command structure of a Communist party. These bands answer to just their frenzied imaginations. The fighting units of a loose trans-national conglomeration like Taliban and its partners hit when they can, and rest when they cannot. It is a war of attrition. They do not have artillery or an air force, but they have numbers, motivation, firepower, objectives and that invaluable resource called time. These methods have seen off the Soviet Union as well as America-led Nato from Afghanistan, which is a significant military achievement. Politically, they are leading the crusade to turn Afghanistan and Pakistan into a theocracy that will spread out and engulf adjacent regions where Muslims live, like Kashmir in India, Xinjiang in China and of course the many "stans" of Central Asia which still believe in a non-theocratic state. It is easy to be gulled by seeming contradictions. Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba might, in their confrontation with India, serve as terrorist ancillaries of a larger and older war, even as they pursue their dream of changing the nature of the Pak and Afghan state. But for them these are two sides of the same ideological coin. They have the freedom to expand strategies with impunity. Newspapers are already giving us a glimpse of what the withdrawal of Nato from south and central Asia will mean. There is a visible sense of triumph as theocratic forces pause and regroup in their long march towards the "liberation" of "Muslim lands". They do not accept the concept of a secular state; for them Muslims, whether in India or Pakistan or China, who believe in secular societies are enemies twice over. We know only too well how difficult it was for the Indian Army to restore peace in Kashmir after the onslaught that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan two decades ago. Today, China is also on their radar, as are southern Russia and Central Asia. Just a few days ago, China was shocked by an unprecedented terrorist attack, when men dressed in black and armed with knives suddenly descended on commuters at a railway station, spreading mayhem. Terrorism has escalated sharply in China's only Muslim-majority province, Xinjiang. Beijing prefers to mask its worries, but this mask has begun to peel. At some point, China will have to reassess the cost-benefit ratio of its relations with Islamabad if terrorists continue to use Pakistan as their fortress. The question before Delhi is simple: are we prepared for a multi-dimensional conflict where the struggle against terrorists could conflate with conventional war if provocation multiplies? The answer is pessimistic. One of the great casualties of indecisive government in the last five years has been India's defence preparedness. Under the inert, comatose and debilitating leadership of Defence Minister A.K. Antony, India's security capability has weakened, even while tensions have risen. Our equipment is degraded; essential purchases have been neglected. The collapse of morale in our Navy is only one symptom of a prevailing disease that is gradually immobilising the nerve centres of our defence. There has been no political accountability. The enemy is at the door, and Antony is in a stupor. If nothing else, at least the coming elections will ensure that India has a new defence minister by June. But the amount of repair and reconstruction needed is enormous, and time is very short. The scenario in the region is changing rapidly, and not for the better. We are facing a decade of high risk. This will demand a new approach in our foreign policy as well. An enemy's enemy does not automatically become a friend, but he can become an associate on the battlefield. India and China may need each other more than they suspect. Russia will not need persuasion for it understands the danger to Central Asia. Ideally, Pakistan should be equally wary of gun-toting theocrats, but perhaps it will take a deeper crisis to bring such clarity. What China and Pakistan do is for them to decide. India must fight its own battles. But battles are fought by armies. Do we still have the one we need? MJ Akbar is the Editorial Director of The Sunday Guardian. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RELATED PLEASE : Antony Has Little to Gloat About as Defence Minister Kamlendra Kanwar

Wednesday 12 March 2014

SECURITY COASTAL AREAS

कोकण किनार्‍याची सुरक्षा दहशतवाद्यांच्या हालचाली किनारी भागात वाढत आहेत आणि भारतात घुसखोरी करण्यासाठी सागर किनारी भागाचा आश्रय दहशतवादी घेत आहेत अशी माहिती मिळाल्यामुळे कोकण किनार्‍याकडे एटीएसचे विशेष लक्ष आहे अशी माहिती रत्नागिरी येथे आयोजित केलेल्या पोलीस रेझिंग डे च्या कार्यक्रमात बोलताना वरीष्ठ पोलीस अधिकारी रविंद्र डोईफोडे यानी दिली आहे. यामुळे पुन्हा एकदा कोकण किनार्‍याच्या सुरक्षेचा प्रश्न समोर आला आहे.मंगलोर या कर्नाटकातील किनारी भागातील गावाजवळ भटकळ नावाचे एक सध्या सुधारलेले गाव आहे. तेथील रियाज आणि यासीन हे दोन भाऊ कसे काय पाकिस्तानी दहशतवाद्यांच्या संपर्कात आले आणि त्या दोघांनी भारतात ४५ बाँबस्फोट घडवून आणण्याइतके भयानक नेटवर्क निर्माण केले याचा पत्ताच लागत नाही. कल्पना करवत नाही. दहशतवाद्यांची यंत्रणा केवळ शहरी भागात नाही, ती केवळ सीमा भागात नाही, ती केवळ पाकमधून कार्यरत नाही तर भारतात ग्रामीण भागात,बीडसारख्या मागास गावात दहशतवादी पोहोचले आणि तेथून त्यानी तरूणांच्या मनात भारताच्या विरोधात द्वेष भडकावून दहशतवादी कारवाया घडवून आणण्यासाठी त्याना पाकमध्ये नेऊन प्रशिक्षण दिले. मुंबईवरील हल्ल्याचा एक प्रमुख सूत्रधार बीड जिल्ह्यतला होता. सध्या तो गेल्या वर्षी दिल्ली विमानतळावर पकडला गेल्यावर कारावासात आहे. अब्दुल करीम टुंडा, रियाझ भटकळ, यासीन भटकळ हे अत्यंत खतरनाक दहशतवादी भारतातीलच आहेत.दुर्गम आणि मागास गावात रहाणारे आहेत.पण त्याना दहशतवादी कारवायांसाठी पाकच्या यंत्रणेने कसे काय गाठले याची कल्पना केली की आपण हादरून जातो. यामुळे कोकणात अशा हालचाली नसाव्या किंवा होऊ शकणार नाहीत अशी शाश्वती देता येत नाही. कोकणात हवाला व्यवहाराच्या माध्यमातून पैसा येतो हे आता गुपित राहिले नाही. हा पैसा खाजगी कुंटुंबांचाच नाही तर अनेक कारणांस्तव येत असतो. स्मगलिंग चालत असे. कोकणात अनेक ठिकाणी स्मगलिंगचे अड्डे होते. किनारी भागात या हालचाली चालतात. आता त्या कमी झाल्या. पण मोठ्या प्रमाणात चांदी आणि सोने यांचे स्मगलिंग कोकण किनार्‍यावर चालत असे.आता कदाचित सिंधुदुर्ग जिल्ह्यात मादक पदार्थांचे स्मगलिंग केले जात असावे असा संशय आहे. दहशतवादी अनेक माध्यमांचा वापर आपल्या कामासाठी करून घेतात.त्यांची एक टोळी पकडली गेली आणि तिची कार्यपद्धती सुरक्षा यंत्रणेला समजली की दहशतवादी नवी कार्यपद्धती अवलंबितात.यामुळे कोकण किनार्‍यावर दहशतवादी कारवायाना पूरक अशा हालचाली होऊ शकतात, तेथे आर्थिक मदतीची केंद्रे निर्माण केली जाऊ शकतात, अत्याधुनिक यंत्रणा येथे लपवून ठेवली जाऊ शकते. किनारी भागात घुसखोरी करून दहशतवादी येऊ शकतात.विकिमॅपिया, गुगल मॅपसारख्या अत्याधुनिक यंत्रणांचा वापर आणि ग्लोबल पोझिंशनिंग सिस्टीमचा वापर करून कोकण किनार्‍यावर घुसखोरीसाठी सोयीची ठिखाणे एव्हाना दहशतवादी गटानी शोधून ठेवली असतील यात शंका नाही.अर्थात अशा अनंत शक्यतांचा अभ्यास सुरक्षा यंत्रणाना सतत करावा लागतो.कोकण किनार्‍यावर १९९२मध्ये आरडीएक्स हे संहारक स्फोटक आणि अत्याधुनिक हत्यारे कस्टममधील अधिकार्‍याना लाच देऊन त्यांच्या मदतीने उतरविण्यात आली होती.त्यात स्थानिक पोलिसांचाही समावेश होता. त्यानंतर २६ -११च्या मुंबईवरील हल्ल्यातील दहा अतिरेकी पाकमधून एका मासेमारी नौकेतून मुंबईत कुलाबा भागात राजरोस घुसले.गेटवेच्या जवळ त्यानी आपली नौका लावून किनारा गाठला होता. मुंबईवर झालेल्या दोन्ही भयावह संहारक हल्ल्यासाठी साधने आणि दहशतवादी सागरी मार्गाने आले. १९९२च्या मुंबईतील बाँबस्फोटानंतर कोकण किनार्‍यावर अहोरात्र गस्त घालण्यासाठी तटरक्षक दल, पोली, कस्टम आणि पोलिसांच्या मदतीने सागरी गस्ती पथके निर्माण करण्यात आली. ती व्यवंस्था सुरु असतानाच मुंबईवर हल्ला करण्यासाठी २६-११ रोजी सागरी मार्गाने दहशतवादी आले.त्यानंतर आता मुरुड आणि रत्नागिरी येथे तटरक्षक दलाचे तळ स्थापन करण्यात आले आहेत.पण या सर्व सुरक्षा व्यवस्थेमध्ये स्थानिक ग्रामस्थांचा सहभाग असणे आवश्यक आहे.हे केवळ सुरक्षा यंत्रणेचे काम नाही. कारण गावात घातक विचार पसरविणारे, संशयास्पद हालचाली करणारे आणि काही चुकीच्या व्यवसायात गुंतलेले यांची माहिती नियमित सुरक्षा यंत्रणेला देणे हे सर्व नागरिकानी आपले कर्तव्य समजले पाहिजे, कोकण किनारा सुरक्षित नाही. सुरक्षा दलाना याची जाणीव आहे. त्यांचे या सुरक्षेचे काम चालूच असते. पण त्या कामात सर्व स्तरातील नागरिकानी आपुलकीने सहभागी झाले पाहिजे.देशाच्या सुरक्षेचे काम सर्वानी मिळून केले पाहिजे

DEFENCES ARE DOWN-But Antony is an honourable man.” But has it helped the country?

Defences are down Mar 12, 2014 ... Nirmala SitharamanWhen issues related to A.K. Antony are raised, there is a rush of people reminding us about his ‘squeaky clean image’. But has his image been built at the cost of the image of the defence forces? .The Indian armed forces never had it so bad ever before. The morale of the forces has taken a beating as there have been one too many avoidable controversies. With the occurrence of naval accidents and scams, trust between the defence forces and the elected civilian government has hit rock bottom. This has adversely impacted acquiring resources in terms of equipment. And the forces’ overall preparedness has apparently reached an unacceptable low. Open public discourse on the nitty-gritty of the Indian armed forces — a force which is held in great honour and respect by the people of India — is indeed shocking. Experts, and amateurs like this writer, ask: Where does the buck stop? And this even as the present defence minister, A.K. Antony, is credited with being the “longest continuously serving defence minister”. He has been serving since October 2006. Before him, Babu Jagjivan Ram had served twice as defence minister cumulatively for 6.8 years. Earlier, V.K. Krishna Menon had completed 4.7 years. It is reported that Mr Antony is extremely mindful of his image — some in the media refer to him as “St. Antony”. All versions of his publicly available curriculum vitae refer to “his intolerance towards corruption in public life.” But then who is to be mindful of the image of the armed forces, known for their valour and which, notwithstanding the pressure Pakistan brought on us through US Task Force 74 of the US’ Seventh Fleet in the Bay of Bengal, made Pakistan surrender in 1971? Whenever law and order situation crumbles in any part of the country, it is the Army which, by a simple flag march, restores confidence and faith in the law-abiding citizen whilst, simultaneously, containing the outlaws. However, when issues related to Mr Antony are raised, there is a rush of people reminding us about his “squeaky clean image”. But has his image been built at the cost of the image of the defence forces? Or, even, the image of the country itself? Is his image a handy smokescreen behind which certain incidents and happenings remain hidden? In an interview with a leading news daily in March 2012, the then Army Chief, Gen. V.K. Singh, had said that he had informed Mr Antony about a shocking case of bribes running into several crores and that a bribe was being offered to him as well. Mr Antony issued a rebuttal, stating that he had asked Gen. Singh for a written complaint which the latter did not give. What came of that, if at all an investigation was held, is anybody’s guess. A list of the various controversies during Mr Antony’s tenure is sufficient for us to ask a few questions. The age row of Gen. Singh, the purchase of substandard and outrageously priced Tatra trucks, kickbacks in the purchase of AgustaWestland helicopters, shortage of India-made batteries in submarine INS SinduRatna leading to the death of two sailors, the accident in submarine Sindurakshak, two dead in the naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam, the report of the Army allegedly marching towards Delhi to attempt a coup which spooked the Government of India, the Sukhna land scam, and the Adarsh Housing society scam. Repeated Chinese incursions, with the Chinese troops sometimes camping in Indian territories, have left a string of unanswered questions. Have we driven them out of our territory completely? The defence ministry failed to coordinate its strategies with the external affairs ministry to talk with Pakistan to restore the honour of our dead soldiers, whom they had dishonoured by severing their heads and gouging their eyes out in violation of the Geneva Convention. On March 13, 2013, the CBI registered FIRs against 13 people, including former Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi and some members of his family. The Indian media went to town highlighting the fact that the Italians had arrested the CEO of Finmeccanica and that the chargesheets in the case stated that `40 million as kickbacks were paid to people in India for obtaining the contracts. Italy’s Prime Minister, Mario Monti, said: “There is a problem with the governance of Finmeccanica at the moment and we will face up to it.” In January 2014, the Government of India cancelled the `3,600 crore deal. Who received the kickbacks is yet to be revealed, though the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, put it succinctly: “The middleman gets the commission; bribes go to the decision-makers.” Ordering inquiries may partly reveal the truth. But canceling the order each and every time a scandal erupts is bound to have an adverse impact on the armed forces which has a long list of delayed purchases. The defence forces need highly specialised equipment, and failure to obtain them in good time can cripple their capability. The avoidable death of the Navymen due to lack of timely procurement of India-made batteries pushed a sensitive Naval Chief Adm. D.K. Joshi to resign. “It’s a very ominous situation to be in. The Indian Navy is going through a blighted phase,” observed C. Uday Bhaskar, a fellow at Delhi’s National Maritime Foundation. The BBC reported in April 2012 that efforts to modernise the Indian Army suffered due to “a lack of planning and acrimony between the military and the defence ministry”. There is also the issue of manpower shortage in the defence forces today. The time-tested trust between the civilan government and the defence forces is now under stress. Scandals, inquiries, lack of sophisticated arms and training make just the cocktail potential recruits would avoid. In all this, the role of the defence minister raises several questions. Why is it that we have not heard from Mr Antony at all — on the steps taken to instill confidence and trust in the people of our country that our territories are being protected, and on our soldiers who were tortured by the Pakistani Army? It may not be an exaggeration to say decision-making has suffered. When corruption was rampant, Mr Antony chose to look the other way. With apologies to William Shakespeare for tweaking his line from Julius Caesar “…But Antony is an honourable man.” But has it helped the country? The writer is spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The views expressed in this column are her own

KASMIRI STUDENTS INDO PAK CRICKET MATCH

काश्मिरी विद्यार्थ्यांवरील राजद्रोहाचा गुन्हा एक योग्य निर्णय ३ मार्चला जम्मू-काश्मीरच्या पुलवामा जिल्ह्यातील एका कनिष्ठ न्यायालयावर अतिरेक्यांनी हल्ला केला. यात दोन पोलिस शहीद झाले. दोन नागरिक जखमी झाले .बांगलादेशमध्ये सुरू असलेल्या 'आशिया कप' स्पर्धेमध्ये १ मार्चला भारत आणि पाकिस्तान यांच्यात क्रिकेट सामना झाला. या सामन्यात पाकिस्तानने भारतावर विजय मिळवल्यानंतर मीरतमधील 'स्वामी विवेकानंद सुभारती विद्यापीठा'च्या ६० काश्मिरी विद्यार्थ्यांनी आनंदोत्सव साजरा केला. विद्यापीठाच्या वसतिगृहात राहणाऱ्या या विद्यार्थ्यांनी आपापल्या खोलीतून बाहेर येऊन 'पाकिस्तान जिंदाबाद!' अशा स्वरूपाच्या घोषाण दिल्या. त्यांच्या या कृत्यामुळे विद्यापीठ परिसरात तणावाचे वातावरण निर्माण झाले. भारत आणि पाकिस्तान यांच्यात झालेल्या क्रिकेट सामन्यात पाकिस्तान विजयी झाल्यानंतर येथे आनंद साजरा करणाऱ्या काश्मिरी विद्यार्थ्यांवर उत्तर प्रदेश पोलिसांनी देशद्रोहाचा गुन्हा दाखल केला. मात्र रात्री हा देशद्रोहाचा गुन्हा मागे घेण्यात आला. शत्रू जिंकल्यावर उत्सव साजरे करणे हे फ़क़्त फितुरांचे लक्षण आहे. आणि या साठी कायदाची नाही तर नितीमत्तेची गरज आहे.अशाच प्रकारची घटना हरयानामध्ये गुरगाव येथे पण घडली.तिथे पण ४ काश्मिरी विद्यार्थ्यांवर गुन्हा दाखील करण्यात आला आहे. देशामधल्या काही प्रतिक्रिया भारताच्या पराभवाबद्दल पाकिस्तानचे उदात्तीकरण करण्याच्या या प्रकारामुळे सार्या क्रिकेटप्रेमींमध्ये संतापाची लाट उठली नसती तरच नवल. दिल्लीपासून गल्लीपर्यंत सर्वत्र या काश्मिरी विद्याथ्यार्र्ंविरुद्ध संतापाची लाट उसळली. काही प्रातिनिधिक प्रतिक्रिया:- ज्या भूमीने आपल्याला वाढवले,खाऊ पिऊ घातले, सन्मानाने जगू दिले त्या भूमी बद्दल असे ?? यांना तिकडे पाठवून द्या.म्हणजे तिकडे जाता क्षणीच भारतीय म्हणून गोळ्या घालतील. अतिशय भयानक प्रकार आहे .अनेक मुलांना पालक कोणती शिकवण देत असतील ,देशविरोधी भावना किती प्रमाणत देशात खदखदत आहे ,अनेक तरुणांना भारता पेक्षा पाकिस्तान जवळचा वाटत आहे. भारत जर धर्मनिरपेक्ष आहे तर पाकिस्तानला पाठींबा द्यायला काय हरकत आहे? अनेक जण कोणत्याच महाविद्यालयात शिकत नाहीत आणि पाकिस्तान सामना जिंकल्यावर जल्लोष करतात, अश्या लोकांचे काय करायचे? असे लोक महाराष्ट्रात देखील बघायला मिळतात. पाकिस्तानचा विजयोत्सव साजरा करणाऱ्या या विद्यार्थ्यांचे वर्तन राष्ट्रविरोधी असून, त्यांच्यावर कठोर कारवाई करण्याची मागणी केली. या विद्यापीठात विविध शाखेत २०० काश्मिरी विद्यार्थी शिकत आहेत. काश्मीर खोऱ्यात पडसाद काश्मिरी विद्यार्थ्यांवर देशद्रोहाचा गुन्हा दाखल केल्याचे पडसाद काश्मीर खोऱ्यात उमटले. या विद्यार्थ्यांवर नोंदवलेले गुन्हे मागे घेण्यात यावेत आणि विद्यापीठ प्रशसनाने राष्ट्राची माफी मागावी, अशी मागणी 'पीपल्स डेमोक्रेटिक पार्टी'ने केली आहे. सत्ताधारी 'नॅशनल कॉन्फरन्स'नेही या घटनेचा तीव्र निषेध व्यक्त केला. विद्यार्थ्यांच्या वर्तणुकीमुळे राष्ट्रीय एकात्मतेला बाधा पोहोचलेली नाही. त्यामुळे त्यांच्यावर चुकीच्या पद्धतीने कारवाई करण्यात आलेली आहे.काश्मिरी राजकीय पक्ष दहशतवादी किंवा फ़ुटीरवाद्यांच्या विरुध्द ब्र पण काढत नाही.पण राष्ट्रद्रोही कारवायांचे नेहमी्च समर्थन करतात. काश्मिरी विद्यार्थ्यांवरील कारवाईवर पाकिस्ताननेही मतप्रदर्शन केले आहे. उत्तर प्रदेश पोलिसांचा हा निर्णय दु:खद आणि दुर्दैवी आहे. शैक्षणिक संस्थांमध्ये मतप्रदर्शन करण्यास वा भावना व्यक्त करण्यास विद्यार्थ्यांना मोकळीक असावी, असे पाकिस्ताने सांगितले. काश्मिरी विद्यार्थ्यांवरील राजद्रोहाचा गुन्हा आणि कारवाई योग्य की अयोग्य यावर वाद सुरू आहे. पाकिस्तानच्या विरोधात जेव्हा सामना असतो, तेव्हा निव्वळ खेळाचा विचार होत नाही; कारण पाकिस्तान हा भारताचा शत्रू आहे. या दोन देशांमध्ये फाळणीचे कटू वास्तव आहे. त्यानंतरही पाकिस्तानने भारताच्या विरोधात चार वेळा युद्ध केले आहे. काश्मीरवरील आपला दावा कायम ठेवत तेथे गेल्या अडीच दशकांपासून छुपे युद्ध छेडले आहे.काश्मीरमधील फुटीरतावाद्यांना, दहशतवाद्यांना फूस देण्याबरोबरच त्यांना लष्करी प्रशिक्षण देत आला आहे. त्यामुळे पाकिस्तानच्या विरोधातील क्रिकेटचा सामना हा फक्त खेळापुरता मर्यादित राहत नाही. काश्मीर र्खोर्यामध्ये अनेक पाकिस्तान धार्जिणे अनेक भारतीयांना काश्मीर मधील सत्य परिस्थिती माहित नाहीं. काश्मीर र्खोर्यामध्ये(काश्मीरची २०% लोक संख्या) मध्ये अनेक पाकिस्तान धार्जिणे आहेत, तिथे लहान मुले पण भारतीय तिरंग्याला किवा राष्ट्र गीताला मानत नाहीत. ते जरी भारतात असले तरी , आजून पण तेथील लोक भारत आपला देश मानत नाहीत.१४ ऑगस्टला पाकिस्तानचा झेंडा फडकवला जातो.१५ ऑगस्टला भारतीय ध्वज फ़डकवला जात नाही. मारल्या गेलेल्या दहशतवाद्यांच्या अंतविधी करता पुर्ण शहर लोट्ते, -- अमर रहे अश्या घोषणा केल्या जातात.जेंव्हा सैनिक शहिद होतात, तेंव्हा अंतविधीस कोणीच नसते.ऊलट्या जखमी सैनिकांना घेऊन जाणार्या गाड्यांवर दगड फ़ेक केली जाते.आज हे ६७ सापडले पण असे असंख्य देशद्रोही आपल्या दे्शामध्ये आहेत आणि मते कमी पडत आहेत म्हणून बंगला देशातून ४-५ कोटी घुसखोरांना आपण भारतात येण्याचे आमंत्रण दिले. काश्मिरी कुरापत आता काश्मिरच्या बाहेर पण ‘पाकिस्तान जिंदाबाद’चे हे नारे निवडणुकीच्या उत्सवातील नव्हते, तर ते होते पाकिस्तानने भारताच्या केलेल्या पराभवाबद्दल, पाकिस्तानचा जयघोष करणारे . असे आक्षेपार्ह नारे देणारे युवक पाकिस्तानी नव्हते, तर ते होते , देशाचा अविभाज्य भाग असलेल्या जम्मू-काश्मीरमधील. या घोषणा देणार्या काश्मिरी युवकांविरुद्ध देशद्रोहाचा गुन्हा दाखल करून उत्तरप्रदेशमधील मेरठच्या प्रशासनाने योग्य तीच कारवाई केली होती. भारताचा पराभव अशा पद्धतीने साजरा व्हावा, ही बाबच देशाच्या जखमेवर मीठ चोळणारी म्हणावी लागेल. हा सारा प्रकार निवडणुकीच्या पार्श्वभूमीवर घडल्याने आणि आपल्या राज्यातील विद्यार्थ्यांवर अन्याय होत असल्याची भावना झाल्याने, जम्मू आणि काश्मीरचे मुख्यमंत्री ओमर अब्दुल्ला यांनी जो टाहो फोडला, त्याचे मुळीच समर्थन होऊ शकत नाही. उत्तरप्रदेश सरकार एकाएकी का झुकले, यामागे मतपेटीचे राजकारण जबाबदार आहे. ओमर अब्दुल्लांना देशद्रोहाची खरी व्याख्या तरी समजते काय? अरब देशांमध्ये देशद्रोहाच्या आरोपाखाली किती कठोर शिक्षा आहेत, हे अखिलेश आणि ओमर या मुख्यमंत्रिद्वायांनी जाणूनच घ्यायला हवे. मनात आले तर दाखल केला देशद्रोहाचा गुन्हा आणि कुणी दबाव टाकला म्हणून काढून टाकले ते गुन्हे, इतके का कुचकामी कायदे झालेत आपले? कुणीही यावे, भारताविरुद्ध घोषणा द्याव्या आणि त्यांच्याविरुद्ध कारवाईच्या नावाने बोंब, इतका का लवचीक झालाय् आपला कायदा? राहिला प्रश्न काश्मिरी विद्यार्थ्यांनी दिलेल्या ‘पाकिस्तान जिंदाबाद’च्या नार्यांचा, त्यांच्यावर कायद्यानुरूप कारवाईच केली जायला हवी. खबरदार! असा इशारा देत काश्मिरी कुरापतखोरांना बेनकाब करण्याची कठोर कारवाई झाली, तरच भविष्यातील अशा घटनांपासून भारताला मुक्ती मिळू शकेल.

Tuesday 11 March 2014

AAP REMOVES KASHMIR FROM INDIAN MAP

http://maharashtratimes.indiatimes.com/nation/aap-kashmir-india/articleshow/31830496.cms? देशातील प्रस्थापित व भ्रष्ट व्यवस्था बदलायला निघालेल्या अरविंद केजरीवाल यांच्या आम आदमी पक्षाने देशाचा नकाशाच बदलून टाकला आहे. भारताचा अविभाज्य भाग असलेले 'पाकव्याप्त काश्मीर' आम आदमी पक्षाने थेट पाकिस्तानला देऊन टाकले आहे. 'आप'च्या वेबसाइटवर तसे स्पष्टपणे दाखविण्यात आले आहे. त्यामुळे 'आप'च्या भूमिकेबाबत संशय निर्माण झाला आहे. 'आप'ला देणगी देणाऱ्यांची यादी पक्षाने वेबसाइटवर टाकली आहे. ही माहिती देणाऱ्या पेजवर 'आप'ने भारताचा नकाशाही टाकला असून त्या नकाशातून पाकव्याप्त काश्मिर काढून टाकण्यात आले आहे. या नकाशाच्या खाली @ AAP2014 ट्विटर हँडलकडून स्पष्टीकरण देण्यात आले आहे. त्यानुसार हा नकाशा भारताचा खरा नकाशा नाही. देशाच्या ज्या भागांतून 'आप'ला देणग्या मिळाल्या आहेत, तेवढेच भाग या नकाशात दाखवण्यात आल्याचा खुलासा करण्यात आला आहे. मात्र, हा खुलासा 'आप'चा अधिकृत खुलासा आहे की एखाद्या समर्थकाने हे टाकले आहे, हे कळू शकलेले नाही. 'आप'च्या देणगीदारांची यादी www.aaptrends.com या वेबसाइटवर उपलब्ध आहे. या साइटवर विविध देशांतून 'आप'ला मिळणाऱ्या देणग्यांची यादी दिसते. त्यासाठी By Country या बटनावर क्लिक करताच संपूर्ण जगाचा नकाशा समोर येतो. याच नकाशात काश्मीर भारतापासून तोडण्यात आले आहे. काश्मीरबाबत आम आदमी पक्षाची भूमिका नेहमीच संदिग्ध राहिली आहे. 'आप'चे एक नेते प्रशांत भूषण यांनी यापूर्वी अनेकदा काश्मीरमधून सैन्य काढून घ्या आणि काश्मिरींना भारतात राहायचे की नाही हे जाणून घेण्यासाठी सार्वमत घ्या, अशी भूमिका घेतली होती. त्यांच्या या भूमिकेला 'आप'ची मान्यता आहे की काय, असा प्रश्न आता निर्माण झाला आहे.

Monday 10 March 2014

TWO TERRORIST KILLED IN KASHMIR MAJOR INDIAN ARMY INJURED

काश्‍मीरमध्ये दोन दहशतवादी ठार - - पीटीआय सोमवार, 10 मार्च 2014 - 03:28 PM IST Tags: terrorism, kashmir, military, national, army श्रीनगर - जम्मु काश्‍मीरमधील कुपवाडा जिल्ह्यामध्ये आज (सोमवार) झालेल्या चकमकीत लष्कराने दोन दहशतवाद्यांना यमसदनी धडले. यावेळी लष्कराचा एक अधिकारीही जखमी झाला. कुपवाडा जिल्ह्यातील विलगाम या गावामध्ये दहशतवादी दडून बसल्याची माहिती मिळाल्यानंतर राष्ट्रीय रायफल्स व जम्मु काश्‍मीर पोलिस दलाच्या विशेष पथकाने संयुक्तरित्या ही कारवाई केली. "येथील एका घरामध्ये दडून बसलेल्या दहशतवाद्यांना शरण येण्याचे निर्देश देण्यात आले. मात्र त्यास न जुमानता त्यांनी बेछूट गोळीबार सुरु केला. यानंतर या गोळीबारास उत्तर देण्यात आले. अजूनही चकमक सुरु असून राष्ट्रीय रायफल्सचा एका अधिकारी (मेजर) जखमी झाला आहे,'' असे एका ज्येष्ठ पोलिस अधिकाऱ्याने सांगितले. ठार करण्यात आलेल्या दहशतवाद्यांची नावे अद्याप कळू शकलेली नाहीत.

BRAVE SOLDIERS POEM

In Your Honor Unselfishly, you left your fathers and your mothers, You left behind your sisters and your brothers. Leaving your beloved children and wives, You put on hold, your dreams-your lives. On foreign soil, you found yourself planted To fight for those whose freedom you granted. Without your sacrifice, their cause would be lost But you carried onward, no matter the cost. Many horrors you had endured and seen. Many faces had haunted your dreams. You cheered as your enemies littered the ground; You cried as your brothers fell all around. When it was over, you all came back home, Some were left with memories to face all alone; Some found themselves in the company of friends As their crosses cast shadows across the land. Those who survived were forever scarred Emotionally, physically, permanently marred. Those who did not now sleep eternally 'Neath the ground they had given their lives to keep free. With a hand upon my heart, I feel The pride and respect; my reverence is revealed In the tears that now stream down my upturned face As our flag waves above you, in her glory and grace. Freedom was the gift that you unselfishly gave Pain and death was the price that you ultimately paid. Every day, I give my utmost admiration To those who had fought to defend our nation. ~ Author Unknown ~

NAXAL TRUTH FINDING COMMITTEE & EXTORTION

माओवाद्यांची सत्यशोधन समिती आणी खडंणी राज्य माओवादी समर्थक बुद्धिजीवींकडून हेतूपुर्वक त्यांचे समर्थन केले जाते व ग्रीन हंट ऑपरेशन थांबवून वाटाघाटी करा, असे सांगितले जाते. बुद्धिजीवी दबाव गटाचे काम करतात. वृत्तपत्रे, सामाजिक संस्था, विश्वविद्यालये यांचा उपयोग करून समाजात वैचारिक भ्रम पसरवणारेच हे विचारवंत निरपराध आदीवासींच्या हत्याकांडाला जबाबदार आहेत. समाज त्यांना मोठे लेखक, पत्रकार, विचारवंत म्हणून आदर देतो पण हे मानवतावादी देशाचे प्रचंड नुकसान करीत आहे. माओवाद्यांकडून मरणाऱ्या निर्दोष नागरिकांबद्दल ते कधीच बोलत नाही. यांची मुले माओवादात कधी सामिल होत नाही. बचेली/जगदलपूर- छत्तीसगडमध्ये पोलिस व माओवाद्यांमध्ये 28 फ़ेब्रुवारीला झालेल्या चकमकीत सहा पोलिस जवान हुतात्मा झाले व दोघेजण जखमी झाले. चौदा पोलिस जवान दुचाकीवरून चालले होते. यावेळी माओवाद्यांनी स्फोट घडवून आणला. १८ फेब्रुवारी २०१४ च्या रात्री गडचिरोली-गोंदिया सीमेवर पोलिस आणि माओवादी यांच्यात चकमक झाली आणि त्यात सात माओवादी ठार झाले. एके-४७ सह इतर सहा बंदुका, दारुगोळा आणि बरीच माओवादी कागदपत्रे जप्त करण्यात आली. मृत माओवाद्यांची ओळख पटून ते किती वर्षांपासून माओवादी संघटनेत काम करत होते, त्यांच्यावर खुनाचे गुन्हे होते, याचा पूर्ण तपास पोलिसांनी केला. मागील चौदा महिन्यांत तब्बल ३७ माओवाद्यांना मारले आहे. ही बाब स्वत: माओवादी संघटनेनेच मान्य केलेली आहे. आदिवासी तरुण दलममध्ये भरती होण्यास तयार नाहीत, पूर्वी दलममध्ये भरती झालेले अनेक आदिवासी तरुण-तरुणी भ्रमनिरास होऊन मोठ्या प्रमाणात शरण जात आहेत या सर्व बाबी देखील माओवाद्यांनी मान्य केल्याच्या बातम्या वृत्तपत्रातून छापून आलेल्या आहेत. पोलिसांच्या चकमकीत ७ माओवादी ठार झाल्याबरोबर ४-५ दिवसात दूरच्या आंध्रप्रदेशमधून एक नागरी हक्क समिती सत्यशोधन करण्यासाठी आली आणि तत्काळ ‘सत्या’ चा शोध लावून पत्रकार परिषदेत पोलिसांवर बेछूट आरोप करणे ,या गोष्टींचे आता आश्चर्य वाटत नाही. याआधी जेव्हा पोलिसांनी माओवाद्यांना मारले होते, त्यानंतर देखील अशीच सत्यशोधन समिती आली होती. माओवादी मारले गेले की लगेच सत्यशोधन समितीने येणे आणि चकमक खोटी होती, पोलिसांनी निरपराध लोकांना मारले असे आरोप करणे नित्याचे झाले आहे. या पोलिसांनी राजीनामा द्यावा व सरकारने गडचिरोलीतील माओवादविरोधी मोहिमेवरील सर्व पोलिस माघारी बोलवावे, अशी समितीने मागणी केली. आंध्रप्रदेशातून शेकडो मैलाचे अंतर पार करून आलेली सत्यशोधन समिती इतका शोध कसा लावला?.सत्यशोधन समितीने जी मागणी केलेली आहे, त्यावरून या सत्यशोधन समितीबद्दलचेच ‘सत्य’ अगदी उघड होते. मागणी अशी की सरकारने गडचिरोलीतील माओवादविरोधी मोहिमेवरील सर्व पोलिस माघारी बोलवावे. सत्यशोधन समितीला असे म्हणावयाचे आहे का?, माओवादविरोधी मोहिमेतील सर्व पोलिसांना माघारी बोलावून संपूर्ण गडचिरोली जिल्हा माओवादी दहशतवाद्यांच्या ताब्यात द्यावा. पोलिसांनी माओवाद्यांना मारले की या तथाकथित सत्यशोधन समित्या येतात आणि पोलिसांनी खोट्या चकमकीत माओवाद्यांना मारले, असा शोध लावून लगेच निघून जातात. प्रश्न असा पडतो की जेव्हा माओवादी सर्वसामान्य माणसांचे, कुर्हाडीने हात-पाय तोडतात,त्याना मारतात तेव्हा या सत्यशोधन समित्या सत्याचा शोध घेण्यासाठी का येत नाहीत?महाराष्ट्रात आजपर्यंत माओवाद्यांनी २०० पोलिसांना आणि साधारणत: ५०० सामान्य नागरिकांना अत्यंत क्रूर पद्धतीने मारलेले आहे. इतक्या लोकांना मारल्यानंतरही कधी या तथाकथित सत्यशोधन समित्यांना या हत्याकांडाच्या ‘सत्या’ चा शोध घ्यावासा वाटला नाही या मागचे खरे कारण काय आहे,. माओवाद्यांनी चार वर्षाच्या निष्पाप, निरागस, बालकापासून ७० वर्षांच्या निरपराध वृद्धापर्यंत सर्वांच्या रानटी कत्तली करायच्या आणि असल्या सत्यशोधन समित्यांनी या प्रकाराकडे अगदी सोईस्कर डोळेझाक करायची पण पोलिसांनी मात्र माओवाद्यांना मारले की सत्यशोधन समितीने तेथे जाऊन आकांडतांडव करून सरकार व पोलिसांच्या विरोधात बोलायचे हा प्रकार असाच सुरू आहे. पोलिसांना नामोहरम् करून माओवाद्यांना अप्रत्यक्षपणे मदत करणे हाच असल्या सत्यशोधन समित्यांचा खरा उद्देश असतो . मानवधिकार संस्था आणि त्यांचे कार्यकर्ते सामान्य जनतेमध्ये दुष्प्रचार करून त्यांचे मतपरिवर्तन करायचा प्रयत्न करतात.त्यांच्या सायकोलॉजिकल युध्द म्हटले जाते. लोकांचे विचार, भावना, श्रध्दा, दृष्टीकोन यात बदल करणे हा या युध्दाचा हेतू असतो. या युध्दाचा संदेश अनेक प्रकारे सामान्य जनतेकडे पोहोचवला जातो. भाषणे, वृत्तपत्रे, टिव्ही, दूरध्वनी, पत्रे, पोस्टर्स, एस एम एस, इंटरनेट, चॅटिंग, ई-मेल अशा विविध प्रकारे त्याचा प्रचार केला जातो. प्रसारमाध्यमे माओवादांचे मोठे शस्त्र आहे.जो पर्यंत माओ हिंसाचाराला प्रसिध्दी मिळत नाही, तो पर्यंत त्याचे फारसे महत्व नसते. नक्षलींची आर्थिक नाकेबंदी आवश्यक परदेशांकडून आर्थिक व शस्त्रांची मदत, हिंसाचाराचे प्रशिक्षण आणि त्यांच्याकडून होत असलेला अत्याधुनिक संपर्क यंत्रणेचा वापर यामुळे माओवादी आक्रमक बनले आहेत. माओवाद्यांना परदेशातून मिळणारी आर्थिक मदत हा एक पैशाचा स्त्रोत आहे . माओवाद्यांचा प्रभाव असलेल्या राज्यात वसूल करण्यात येत असलेली कोटय़वधी रुपयांची खंडणी हाही महत्त्वाचा स्त्रोत आहे. या संबंधात केंद्रीय गृहराज्यमंत्री आर. पी. एन. सिंग यांनी राज्यसभेत दिलेल्या माहितीनुसार, देशभरातील विविध ठिकाणचे माओवादी कंत्राटदार, व्यापारी आणि खासगी कंपन्यांकडून वर्षाला सुमारे १४० कोटी रुपयांची खंडणी गोळा करतात. हे माओवादी विशेष करून तेंदूच्या पानांचा ठेका असलेल्या कंत्राटारांना लक्ष्य करतात आणि त्यांच्याकडून लक्षावधी रुपयांची खंडणी उकळतात तसेच बांधकाम व्यावसायिक, खासगी कंपन्या आणि व्यापा-यांकडूनही ते वारंवार खंडण्या उकळत असतात. बांधकाम व्यावसायिक आणि मोठय़ा कंपन्या या आपल्या व्यावसाय धंद्याला अडचणी येऊ नयेत, यासाठी खंडणीखोर माओवाद्यांना सातत्याने खंडण्या देत असतात. व्यावसायिकांनी आणि कंपन्यांनी या खंडणीखोरांच्या मागण्यांची पूर्तता केल्यामुळे ते खंडण्या गोळा करण्यास आणखी निर्ढावले व त्यांनी आपले हे ‘अर्थकारण’ आणखी मजबूत करण्यास सुरुवात केली. या व्यावसायिकांनी, कंत्राटदारांनी आणि कंपन्यांनी जर प्रारंभीच याची माहिती पोलिस व सुरक्षा यंत्रणांना दिली असती तर खंडणीचा हा सिलसिला एवढा पसरला नसता. पण सर्वच व्यावसायिकांनी खंडण्या देऊन कातडीबचावूपणा केला. त्यामुळे माओवाद्यांचे फावले. माओवादी कोटय़वधीच्या खंडण्या गोळा करतातच, शिवाय बँकांवरही दरोडे घालून लूट करतात. हा सर्व पैसा ते अत्याधुनिक शस्त्रे, दारूगोळा, सुरुंग व संपर्क यंत्रणा खरेदी करण्यासाठी वापरतात. यामुळे या खंडण्या म्हणजे आपल्याच पैशाने आपले मरण असे म्हणावे लागते. म्हणूनच पंतप्रधान मनमोहन सिंग यांनी म्हटले आहे की, माओवाद हा देशाच्या सुरक्षेला असलेला सर्वात मोठा धोका आहे. माओवादी निरपराध नागरिकांचे आणि पोलिसांचे रक्त सांडत आहेत. चीन आणि पाकिस्तान या देशांकडून तसेच अन्य अनेक दहशतवादी संघटनांकडून माओवाद्यांना शस्त्र व पैशाचा पुरवठा होतो तसेच माओवादी ग्रामीण, आदिवासी आणि दुर्गम भागातील ग्रामस्थ आणि आदिवासी यांना चिथावणी देऊन, त्यांची दिशाभूल करून, त्यांना आमिष दाखवून किंवा दहशत दाखवून संघटनेत सामील करून घेतात. आपला प्रभाव असलेल्या भागात ते विकासकामे होऊ देत नाहीत. माओवाद्यांचा जर बिमोड करायचा असेल तर त्यांना अन्य देशांकडून मिळणारी पैशाची, शस्त्राची मदत, त्याचबरोबर देशांतर्गत पैशाचा स्त्रोत बंद करण्यासाठी सरकारने परिणामकारक पावले उचलणे गरजेचे आहे. त्यासाठी केंद्र व राज्य सरकारे यांच्यात अधिक समन्वय, सहकार्याची भावना वाढीस लावणे आवश्यक आहे. माओवाद्यांना अमाप पैसा मिळत असल्यामुळे त्यांचे नेते आणि परिवार सुखाने शहरात राहतात. त्यांची मुले परदेशात जाऊन शिकतात. काही हजार रूपये मिळतात म्हणून आदिवासी माओवादी बनून हिंसाचार करतात. माओवाद्यांचे खंडणी राज्य थांबवायला पाहिजे. त्यांच्या आर्थिक स्त्रोतावर घाला घातल्याशिवाय माओवाद्यांचा बिमोड करता येणार नाही.