Burqa not integral to Islam,says Election Commission

Recently a petition had been filed before the supreme court seeking ban on photographs of Muslim women on electoral rolls. The election commision in response had filed an affidavit that use of burqa could not be considered an integral part of Islam.The apex court bench agreed with the poll panel's concern and said that it was not possible to have electoral rolls without photographs since that would not make the elections free and fair.

Now the person (M. Ajmal Khan) who has filed such a petition is either extremely stupid or is trying to be exceedingly smart. I say stupid because he probably does not realize that doing such a thing will result in voter identity fraud. A photo identity would allow identification of voters and prevent bogus enrollment. And if there is  bogus enrollment then there will be a huge political hue and cry. And then there will be politically fueled riots and bandhs all of which will either result in death of innocent civilians or bringing the state machinery to a standstill.

Now I say the man is trying to be exceedingly smart because this sort of thing can lead to serious security loopholes. No offence to women,but women have been known to perform terrorist activities. If this petition is made into a law, then if there are terrorist attacks in the country the police would have a real tough time trying to find out the terrorists especially if they are Indian nationals.

So I am extremely happy that this petition has been denied by the Supreme Court.

Advani blames Nehru for 'festering sores' of Kashmir, terrorism

L K Advani has blamed the foreign policy of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for 'festering sores' of Kashmir and terrorism. He has squarely criticised him for the poor handling of the Kashmir issue and Chinese threats. For the full report click here.


Now, I am no fan of L K Advani ( in fact I can't tolerate him) but this is one area where I will agree with him. When Pakistan attacked India in 1947 (Indo-Pak  war of 1947) India had the potential to push the Pakistani soldiers out of Jammu and Kashmir. However, Mr. Nehru as an ambassador of peace took the matter to the United Nations. The United Nations passed Resolution 47 which meant people would vote whether they wanted to be in Pakistan or India. However this required Pakistan to pull back its troops ( which they never did) and India needed to have at least minimum military presence. As a result of this the Kashmir issue has not been solved till date. Just because of one man's stupidity.


The other issue is that of handling the Chinese. Despite several border disputes, Nehru thought that " one developing country will not attack the other." He asserted his "hindi chini bhai bhai " phrase and severely underestimated China's military capabilities. China attacked and our soldiers did not even have time to acclimatise. Why ? Because they were elsewhere and the border was lightly guarded. China came, saw and conquered.


Nehru flatly refused an offer that would have gotten India a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. This showed how unconcerned he was about the country's strategic interests(Click here to read about it). The fact is we have two very hostile neighbours today, one that is fighting using its army and the other using terrorists.


If only Nehru had not committed these blunders,India would not be in the state it is in and I would have always respected him. But as a matter of fact I have never respected him and I never will. His daughter Indira Gandhi showed nerves of steel at least in the matters related to Pakistan. And that is why she is the Prime Minister I will always respect the most.


For further reading click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._S._Thimayya .(I think this is one link you should not miss).

Babbar Khalsa joins 'Karachi Plot' against India

A month ago, Intelligence Bureau officials had sounded off a warning pertaining to a 'Karachi Plot' that was being hatched in Pakistan to target several Indian cities.The plot was initially being hatched by Lashkar-e-Toiba, Al Qaeda's '313' brigade and ISI. Now according to the information bureau (IB) a new co-conspirer has been revealed- the Babbar Khalsa.


The Karachi plot involves suicide attacks, assassinations and serial bombings and each outfit has been given a specific role to perform. The Babbar Khalsa it may be remembered is one of the Sikh organizations calling for an Independent state of Khalistan. It had become greatly weakened during crackdown on Sikh militancy during the early 1990 by the  death of its two greatest leaders, Sukhdev Singh Babbar and Talwinder Singh Parmar . The remaining leaders had fled the country. According to information ISI is sheltering the Babbar Khalsa. The ISI knows Babbar Khalsa is best in business when it comes to targeting leaders.


If security measures are not stepped up there will soon be more bombings and more civilian casualties. I still say that we don't care what the world says and attack terrorists camps in PoK. Yet every one of my friends will say that we should not attack them. America was attacked just once and the reply the Americans gave was so strong that the terrorists were afraid to even think of attacking them until a few months ago. Even our armed forces are not being strengthened. The 126 multi-role combat aircraft deal has been progressing at a snail's pace(to be precise, 9 years). As Brajesh Mishra said,"9% growth is irrelavant if you do not have the military strength to support it."


Our politicians say we will not tolerate terrorism. They will condemn terrorism. However they are the ones aiding terrorists by not taking action. Our politicians are in one word:SPINELESS. They do not have the courage to take bold decisions. And they never will. Our country will continue getting bombed by terrorists. If the politicians are tough the security system will become tough. And terrorists will think thousand times before planning an attack.


The strength of the military has to be increased to be feared. Stop the red tapism and corruption in the defense deals. The government needs to fulfill its first duty of protecting the citizens. Because the citizens are the ones involved in the growth of a country. We need to remove the tag of soft state and be ruthless against terror. 


JAI HIND.

Top Cop's Excuse:Maoist attack was not expected

The Maoist attack on Monday in Shilda(West Midnapore,West Bengal) that left 24 policemen and a college student dead was not expected said the director general of police Bhupinder Singh. He said that if people cannot warn them then the camp would be dismantled.


Shilda is a place that is in the heart of the Maoist territory and to consider the people to warn them is nothing short of ridiculous.Some of the glaring errors on the part of the police were as follows:


1. The camp was situated in the middle of the market which highly increases the chances of civilian casualty during crossfire between the two sides.
2. The police let their guard down.Come on now you cannot do this sort of thing on a field mission. There were only 2 sentries at the 2 gates( ONE at each gate) and the rest were relaxing far away from their guns. On a field mission in a hostile terrain it is mandatory for all personnel to carry guns.
3. There was a lack of preparedness. As an example there were no sandbags at either entrance.
4. Best of all the toilet inside the camp could be used by civilians.Apparently a couple of Maoist women had carried out reconnaissance missions. Imagine the breach of security.


Also there was intelligence that Maoists were gathering in the Shilda area. Despite all this the personnel were lax in their own security, forget the security of the people. 


It is high time the cops stop giving excuses for their own incompetence and lack of preparedness to handle this sort of situation. They are supposed to protect the people. And in hostile places like Shilda you cannot expect people to come warn you if they are scared of getting killed themselves. If this is the best the state police can come up with, then there is only one person who can help us: GOD.


To read more on this article:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100217/jsp/frontpage/story_12116241.jsp


http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/west-bengal-says-it-knew-about-maoists-gathering-in-shilda_100321927.html

Now Pune is attacked by terrorists.

At least eight people were killed and 33 injured in a suspected bomb blast in a popular bakery in Koregaon Park, which also houses a Jewish prayer house and the Osho Ashram, in Pune today evening. Three foreigners were reportedly killed in the blast at the bakery, which is popular among tourists.


The blast took place at the German Bakery, an old business establishment, at approximately 6.30 pm. The site is reportedly located close to the local Chabad House as well as the hotel where terror suspect David Headley stayed during his visit to the city. An improvised explosive device had been used to trigger the blast. It was probably aimed at not just locals but also the foreigners in the bakery.


Now I know what will happen. The Indian Government will condemn these attacks and say this sort of attacks will not be tolerated.They will say Pakistan on its part should fight terror. That is all they will say. Last month over a flimsy reason(the IPL "controversy") the Pakistani parliament decided not to send its delegation to India. After that the Indian government decided to hold talks with Pakistan. The Pakistani Foreign Minister started saying that Pakistani pressure forced India to hold talks.Now after these blasts should India still hold talks with Pakistan??HELL NO.


The current Indian government is as stated in a magazine a few months ago "a lame duck government".And i agree with that comment.Why is our government so scared of attacking Pakistan? If it is worried about what other world leaders would say then I would say only one thing : Worry about the safety of your country's people first and worry about everybody else later. And stop treating Ajmal Kasab like a guest. He has been caught doing terrorist activity. He will not speak much.He will only waste the court's time and make a mockery of our judiciary. Just hang him and set an example.

Indians slam Oz top cop's advice to 'look poor' to avoid attack

Indian students living in Australia have slammed Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland's advice that they should not work as taxi drivers and should "'look as poor as you can" to avoid being assaulted.

Overland had made the comments at an international students' safety forum attended by about 150 people in the city on Saturday.

"Don't display your iPods, don't display your valuable watch, don't display your valuable jewellery. Try to look as poor as you can," Overland said before adding that foreign students should try to avoid living in Melbourne's poorer suburbs where crime rates are higher.

The Federation of Indian Students of Australia secretary Gautam Gupta blasted the advice, saying that Indians should not have to look "poor" to feel safe.

I agree with Mr.Gupta. Why should we Indians look poor to avoid being assaulted? Why are the Australians hell bent on disagreeing with the fact that the attacks are racist in nature. If a person is displaying his iPod or valuable watch he is more likely to get assaulted and mugged than just get assaulted.The cases of mugging in Australia of the Indians are much lesser than cases of assaults. 

Foreigners around the people have an impression that India is a very poor(and i mean poorest of the poor) country in the world(thanks to the way India is depicted in foreign movies). So any show of wealth makes them angry. Isn't that what you are saying Mr. Overland? Sorry Mr. Overland you have with this comment proved that you belong to this category of people.

As for asking the Indian students to not stay in poorer suburbs well only students who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth can afford the luxury of not staying in the poor suburbs.

Mr Overland,instead of trying to pretend that these attacks are not racially motivated you had better do your job properly and try to investigate the cases of murder and assaults on Indians.

JAI HIND.

Have our gallantry and civilian awards become a farce???

  

There are many Padma awards(6 Padma Vibhushans, 43 Padma Bhushans and 81 Padma Shris to be precise) being conferred this year.However it seems that with each passing year the value of the Padma awards are diminishing. Last year Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan surprisingly got a Padma Shri "for her contribution to Indian Cinema". As far as I know Aishwarya Rai does not have much of a contribution to Indian Cinema (unless of course you see her movies to learn how 'not to act'). If credentials are an important criteria for giving a Padma Shri award then Nandita Das' credentials far outstrip that of Mrs. Bachchan. This year there are some Padma awards that have left me bewildered. First is the Padma Bhushan for Sant Singh Chatwal. He is being given the award for public affairs. I don't know why a person who has criminal cases registered in his name is being given the award. A wikipedia entry of Mr. Chatwal says:

Chatwal has defaulted on massive loans obtained from Indian and US banks including Lincoln Savings, First New York Bank for Business, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and State Bank of India and filed bankruptcies on false grounds. He has repeatedly used political connections for personal gain.

What is more surprising is the way the government has defended its decision to confer him the award. See the following link to read the government's response :     


http://netindian.in/news/2010/01/27/0005046/govt-defends-padma-bhushan-sant-singh-chatwal.Well perhaps Mr. Chatwal used his connection to get this award as well.

Second is the award that is being given to Saif Ali Khan. Saif, it may be remembered had criminal case registered against him for poaching of blackbucks in 1998. He was later acquitted(possibly through connection or something else). Even if that is ignored he has done nothing for Indian Cinema that he has to be conferred a Padma Shri.

Similarly Aamir Khan who is being given the Padma Bhushan has not done much to be given a Padma Shri. Sure his film Lagaan made it to the final round of Oscars. But then if that is the case Mira Nair deserves as much if not more recognition.

The scene is not very different even in the gallantry awards.Last year 11 Ashok Chakras were handed out making it the single most number of awards in a single operation since 1950. As I said before in a previous post I do not doubt the courage of the men who were killed in Mumbai, but 11 Ashok Chakras?? Since 1950 only 40 Ashok Chakras were given till 2008.

I came across this blog: http://theprudentindian.wordpress.com/2009/01/26/ashoka-chakra-2009-eleven-brave-hearts/ and like the author I also wondered,"Is it an attempt to shroud the ‘Guilt Pangs’ of the Man Mohan Singh’s government’s abject failure to contain terrorism?"  Why was there politicization of bravery of these martyrs? Terrorists attack take place in our country on an almost regular basis. Our ministers do nothing but condemn these attacks, thats all. But when men in other places are killed trying to fight off  terrorists they don't get the same recognition. Since the attack on Mumbai was on a much different scale, the government seems to have given these awards " to shroud their ‘Guilt Pangs’ for their inability to contain terrorism."

It seems thus that like everything in our country the civilian and gallantry awards have become a farce. Maybe I can get a Padma Bhushan too one day.

Rahul Gandhi v/s Uddhav Thackeray

Rahul Gandhi had recently said that Mumbai belongs to all Indians.He also said that the NSG commandos that had fought during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai included men from not just North India but Maharashtra as well. He said that at that time the MNS and Shiv Sena did not ask the commandos from North India to be thrown out. Uddhav Thackeray retaliated by saying that Rahul Gandhi has disrespected the sacrifice and bravery of police officers like Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte etc.

I, for one, support Rahul Gandhi. If MNS and Shiv Sena care about Mumbai so much why were they sitting at home doing nothing while terrorists were tearing Mumbai apart. Why did they let NSG commandos hailing from North India do the dirty work of saving Mumbai? I am not doubting the courage of Mr. Karkare and the others but they were killed because of the poor quality of the bulletproof vests they wore. When an investigation pertaining to the quality of the bulletproof vests was taking place, the bulletproof  vest of Mr. Karkare vanished mysteriously. What did the Shiv Sena and MNS do then? NOTHING.You say Rahul Gandhi has disrespected the sacrifice of these officers yet in your own city your own people do not respect their sacrifice. To prevent the corruption in the police force from coming to the fore they resort to such tactics.And by the way Rahul Gandhi did not disrespect the sacrifice of the brave police officers in any way. 

Stop regionalism Mr Uddhav Thackeray. If you really want to do some good for Mumbai and your "Marathi Manoos" then stop the violence and help with the development of the city. Otherwise Mumbai will be destroyed by you and your men.

Tigers: An important part of our heritage

These days there are a lot of advertisements on TV  of movie stars asking us to support the tiger. Well to me this is not just an advertisement but a movement to save the tiger. There are only 1411 tigers left in India. This is a 60% decline from the number of 3500 in the 1990s. The sad part is the poachers are ignorant about all these facts and figures( they ought to be for all that matters to them is M-O-N-E-Y). The tigers are poached not just for their skins but also for their bones which are used to make medicinal balms. Project Tiger which was set up in 1973 tripled the number of these feline beauties from 1273 to 3500 but a lot has changed since then. We need to save our national animal from total extinction. Harsh laws will have to be implemented against the poachers who try to or kill the tigers.


The government is doing its bit by injecting 153 million US dollars into Project Tiger, setting up a poacher combat force and taking up relocation of 2 lac villagers to minimize tiger-human interaction. However we as responsible citizens of the country should do our bit to save the tiger. For that you can visit this link : http://www.saveourtigers.com/WhatCanIDoLeadtheChange.php


You can also show your support for the tiger by joining the save the tiger movement. For that you need to visit the following link:http://www.saveourtigers.com/


I have joined the movement. Now its your turn. We all need to show our support otherwise the day is not far when an important part of our national heritage will be lost forever.