SMSes after Mumbai Attacks.

There are many SMSes going around after the latest Mumbai terror episode. Here are some of them. My favorite is:

True enemies are not the ones who came in boats, but those who came through votes.

Here are the rest.

·Where is Raj Thakre and his 'brave' Sena'? Tell him that 200 NSG Commandos from Delhi (NO Marathi manoos, ALL South & North Indians!) have been sent to fight the terrorists so he can sleep peacefully. Pls fwd this so that it finally reaches the coward bully!

·Least paid, but bravest, they make biggest sacrifice, our jawans and officers. Selfless saviors. If only v cud paradrop our politicians on nariman hs or only if Dec 13 parliament attack had succeeded, our country wud hv been a safer place.

·He will screw terrorism the way he screwed the economy…introduce service tax on terrorism and fringe benefit tax on NSG (on P. Chidambaram replacing Shivraj Patil as Union Minister for Home).

·Let us hope Chidambaram will be successful in bringing down terrorism the way he brought down share prices.

·I dnt want 2 light a candle 2 bury my remembrance 4 those who hv died. My heart's full of anger, resentment, pain n revenge. I see no victory. I see no reasn 2 clebrte. I see no reasn 2 hoist my national flag outside Taj hotel. 10 terrorists had d power 2 make d entire nation go crazy for 60 hrs.V must fight back. If d governmnt wont save us, let d army rule this country. The subtle speeches of Manmohan Singh & Ptatibha Patil fail 2 extinguish my anger. For d 1st time in my life I dnt feel proud 2 b an Indian, a country which is unsafe, volatile n corrupt. We want Reaction. India needs Leaders. Its Time 2 Wakeup. For Gods sake, don't delete this msg. Pls fwd this msg 2 yr entire contact list in yr mobile. Don't u want a better India 4 yr children? Pls fwd.

· Don't worry about those who came thru boats Our forces can defeat them WORRY about those who come thru votes Those our are REAL ENEMIES Send 2 every true Indian.

.Change of guard in India's security agencies and MHA…Narayanan to be replaced by arnab goswami ass nsa, barkha dutt in place of madhukar gupta, praveen s…

.Forgiving the Terrorists is GOD's responsibility. But fixing their appointment with God is entirely OUR responsibility.

. The biggest ever hostage situation is still underway. Over a billion people are hostage to 545 terrorists who call them selves MPs. Hostages are paying their salaries too. Please pass this on to all other fellow hostages.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times

Terror in Mumbai. Inefficiencies in our System.

It has happened again. I strongly feel that we have no sense of accountability in our system. Consider the following facts -

- NSG is stationed only in New Delhi. In case of an emergency, like this attack in Mumbai, NSG commandos have to be flown in all the way from the capital. Isn't it common sense to have an emergency and counter-terrorist reponse teams in major cities in the country? Should states contact New Delhi and wait for help be dispatched?

- Even more pathetic is the fact that these NSG commandos on their arrival in Mumbai had to be taken in local city busses - BEST, to the attack sites. Localized reponse teams will lead to precise action.

- When authorities in Mumbai requested 200 NSG commandos at around 11 pm on the night of attack, NSG headquarters realized that the only plane that can take 200 men, the IL 76, is in Chandigarh. And plane was summoned and reached Delhi at 2 am. Hadn't it been wise if they sent two or three planes to accomodate 200 commandos immediately after the request rather than wait for the jumbo flight to take all 200 at once? Or, they could have asked IAF to airlift?

- There were reports that some deaths caused to mumbai police were cases where bullets actually pierced through cops 'bullet-proof' vests. It would have been lot better if money allotted for infrastructure upgrades were used to upgrade combat devices and uniforms rather than get new cars and guest houses for senior officials.

Both quality of response and time taken to respond will obviously play a crucial role in countering these attacks. Experts say that unless a response is mounted within 30 minutes of an attack, the enemy can assume key defensive positions. And NSG reached Mumbai nearly 9 hours after the attack. More than the abilities of our commandos, the efficiency of our system needs to be addressed to. Good that we were able to keep the death toll to around 170 but the damage could haveen reduced drastically further with good response.

Nevertheless, I am very proud of NSG commandos. It is also a good sign that India, for once, did not give in to any submission. There should not be any negotiations with terrorists, lest it will only make them ask for more. Mumbai has bounced back many a time and I am confident it will cripple to normalcy. But what affected citizens more is the apathy of administrators. I was shocked to hear the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, RR Patil, refer this incident as 'small'. It is 'small' to politicians as long as it doesn't happen to them. It is upto the citizens to refrain from getting drawn into useless issues on caste and regional hatred and first stand up as Indians. Once we overcome hurdles among ourselves, we can vote worthy politicians and help India become an organized country.

Aamchi Mumbai or Anarchy Mumbai?

I am and have been a huge fan of Mumbai. As a child, I cherished the word 'Bombay' and always wanted it to top lists in my geography and social classes i.e., for biggest city, highest population, highest exports etc. I used to go ga-ga over 'Bombay' pages in Manorama quiz book. I liked the terms related to Mumbain in the quiz book - Mazagon docks, Nariman Point, Santa Cruz etc. I visited Mumbai for the first time in 2004 when I was short-listed at SP Jain. I was in love with the city instantly. I liked the vibes around me. I liked the liveliness of the city. I liked the local-train rides. I liked the crowd. More than all, I liked the freedom. Aazadi, you know.

My friends pointed out that just because I had a fascination for this city, everything there appeals to me. Could be. I did not care then. But now, when I read some news articles about Mumbai, Marathi manoos, MNS etc., I feel a prick in my heart. There were many instances of violence in Mumbai. Right from colonization to the Black Friday and quite a few that followed. But I don't think Mumbai felt this vulnerable. And the reason is quite obvious. Mumbai was united throughout its struggles. But this time, it is struggling to be united.

Would Mumbai have survived if this regional divide existed in those crises? Definitely not.

So what has changed? Did we move over religious divisions and re-invent regional divisions? Are we sending out a message to terrorists across our borders that we don't need them to hurt our nation and that we are capable enough to do so ourselves? Why are we as a nation getting so indulged in emotional dilemmas and in essence preventing the coutnry from going forward?

Politicians are clever. As I mentioned in my earlier post, they want to divide people for their personal gain. 'Divide and Rule' is not something new. They know what strings to pluck that can stir regional, religious or caste sentiments. They know people, no matter if they are educated or not, are susceptible to these sentiments. And when these sentiments are aroused, reason gives way to hysteria. This is what is happening right now in Mumbai. In what is a clear power struggle between Shiv Sena and MNS, the latter has managed to unleash the regional sentiment and make the Marathis feel represented. Anyone would agree with reservations for locals. But are harassing, abusing and even killing the so-called 'outsiders' acceptable?

I came across an article in 'Times of India' where the author mentioned couple of things.

"At Mankhurd station, a north Indian boy standing at the door was deliberately hit on the head by someone in the surging crowd. The man then quickly disappeared inside the compartment but continued to pass snide remarks to provoke a fight."

"On Thursday night I found an autorickshaw driver weeping at Gokuldham in Goregaon. I asked him what was wrong and he said that his previous passenger, a Marathi man, had refused to pay and slapped him when he asked for the fare."

Quite appalling. Isn't it?

There are two ways people can deal with retrenchment or displacement. The smart way is to upgrade your skill set, retrain and relocate. It may take time but is the ethical way to handle recession. The other way is retarded. It is to campaign against 'outsiders', malign them, burn busses and what not. Not that doing this can earn them their jobs again. But this is the only way they can vent out their helplessness.

An important aspect that is totally left out in this second approach is that we are in a global recession. Recession may not be as rampant in India as it is in the US but certainly there are ripple effects and those are being felt. And due to this, jobs are retrenched here and there is no policy in place to retain 'outsiders' and lay off locals. It is happening everywhere and not just in Mumbai. But given the fact that Mumbai is the heart of India's economy, more pain is felt here. But what have the common men who have migrated from UP/Delhi/Bihar, or for that matter, anywhere from India got to do with it?

It is flurrying to notice people put aside reason and go with their instincts. It is not humane to act by instincts. Reason that is attainted by involving heart and mind is what makes one a human. Now, freedom in Mumbai is at stake. Only when we put aside these regional feelings by realizing that it is fodder for fools and make ourselves immune to political gimmicks we can claim to be independent. I hope Mumbaikers realize this sooner than later and get back Azaadi to Mumbai and not lead it to Anarchy.

We, the people of India

We, the people of India, supposedly have the power to either make or break the nation. And of late, efforts to enforce the latter are surfacing more frequently than the former. In its sixty first year of independence, India is still struggling to stamp its authority on the global front. We are yet to make our mark in a number of fields and disciplines.

Do, we, the people of India, want our country to be considered as an 'emerging economy', 'a potential superpower' or worse still 'a country with its potential unrealized' for eternity?

Do, we, the people of India, want our country to be in eternal strife not with our neighbors or enemies but with its own people?

Do, we, the people of India, want our country to be looked down by its western counterparts for its poverty, illiterates and lack of development?

Any citizen who has an iota of gratitude towards our nation will have a negative answer to the above questions. But, is a negative answer adequate? Is feeling bad for an adverse situation enough to change its state? The answer is a big NO. Feeling bad for our nation is not sufficient for it to come out of dire straits it is currently in. And more than bombs or terrorists or anti-social elements destroying the country, it is us that are hurting our nation more by not acting. It is WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, who are and who should be responsible for our nation's undoing in ways more than one.

Why are some people so selfish? They place nation's pride and its development on the altar for personal and political gains. They need to come to power for their personal gains. And for them to come to power they need people's support. And for the support they need to stir people's sentiments. And that is exactly what they are doing. This syndrome is not specific to a state or region. It is rampant all over the nation - from Jammu & Kashmir through Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and all states between them.

If there is a political outfit fighting for Maharashtra Navnirman there is a similar one fighting for Telangana. Throw in the fight for Tamil's pride in Sri Lanka and the ageless Kashmir dispute and we have necessary fodder required to stir sentiments. And what does this vote-bank politics finally bring to the common man. Nothing. It is foolish to assume that leaders of these outfits are fighting just for that pride in attaining their state or status for their region/caste or whatever. The real reason is power. Ideally, with great power comes greater responsibility. But in India, with great power comes greater MONEY. And what else do our politicans need?

I am pretty sure these politicians have not read our constitution's preamble in the first place. Agreed, the Preamble does not bestow any rights to individual or entity. But it serves as a guiding tool for the interpretation of the Constitution in its entirity. And what fraction of the preamble are today's politicians adhering? 1%? How about 0.5%? Here is an excerpt from our preamble.

"to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all"

Justice, Liberty, Equality. Aren't these terms sounding odd and out of context? Don't they seem anachronous? They do and that is the state of our politics. When our constitution was drafted and the words 'WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA' were put together, it was meant to signify that power is ultimately vested in the hands of people of India. We, as a nation, cannot claim to have justice, liberty and equality now. Many things have changed over the last 61 years. Many political/religious and frantic outfits have been established. Running to power and Ruining the nation seems to be the 'IN' thing. Poor have become poorer and rich have become richer. The divide between rich and poor, educated and illiterate and ultimately good and bad has widened. But one thing hasn't changed.

One thing hasn't changed.

The power is still in the hands of WE, THE PEOPLE. All of the abovementioned banes like rich-poor divide, castesism, regional chauvinism etc have crept in because the power to lead nations and state was placed in unworthy hands. Political leaders are still trying to capitalize this and are targetting gullible PEOPLE. They are targetting sensitive issues that are region-based or caste-based. They are instigating animosity within communities that can be devastating. And these targets that they claim to achieve may bring about infinitesimal good together with abundant harm. And the worst part is that people are still falling to these baits.

'The power of One' is often understated. More often than not, we think a single person cannot bring about the required changes to the society. We think he can easily be suppressed and get his intentions overruled. Seldom do we think about a fact that if each and everyone of us stands up for a common cause or an objective we can achieve that objective effortlessly. And obviously this is not as easy at it sounds. For sure, it needs lot of wisdom and courage. And character. And if each of us understands his or her responsibility and is righteous in electing his or her leaders, that can change our politics. Here comes the bigger problem. Whom to choose? If all leaders are corrupt and all are equally bad then whom should you choose. Well, this is not a overnight process. To cleanse up an entire nation, it is definitely going to take a good number of years. Remember, Rome is not built in a day. My point is, if each of us feels responsible to the nation and shows our patriotism by not being corrupt and by not getting carried away by regional or caste-based feelings, we can contribute to our nation's well being. And then, slowly but certainly India will arise from the dumps it is currently in.

Justice, Liberty and Equality are common virtues found in developing countries. The point here is not to ape developing countries but to understand the fact that these three virtues play a vital role in a nation's development. And if India needs to get anywhere close to becoming a superpower, we need to get our basics right. And We, the people of India need to be aware that each of us play a crucial role in contributing to India's success.

India Rising!

An excellent article on India - A Pakistan editor's perspective.

"The two Ambani brothers can buy 100 percent of every company listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and would still be left with $30 billion to spare. The four richest Indians can buy up all goods and services produced over a year by 169 million Pakistanis and still be left with $60 billion to spare. The four richest Indians are now richer than the forty richest Chinese.
In November, Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensex flirted with 20,000 points. As a consequence, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries became a $100 billion company (the entire KSE is capitalized at $65 billion). Mukesh owns 48 percent of Reliance.

In November, comes Neeta's birthday. Neeta turned forty-four three weeks ago. Look what she got from her husband as her birthday present: A sixty-million dollar jet with a custom fitted master bedroom, bathroom with mood lighting, a sky bar, entertainment cabins, satellite television, wireless communication and a separate cabin with game consoles. Neeta is Mukesh Ambani's wife, and Mukesh is not India 's richest but t he second richest.

Mukesh is now building his new home, Residence Antillia (after a mythical, phantom island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean ). At a cost of $1 billion this would be the most expensive home on the face of the planet. At 173 meters tall Mukesh's new family residence, for a family of six, will be the equivalent of a 60-storeyed building. The first six floors are reserved for parking. The seventh floor is for car servicing and maintenance. The eighth floor houses a mini-theatre. Then there's a health club, a gym and a swimming pool. Two floors are reserved for Ambani family's guests. Four floors above the guest floors are family floors all with a superb view of the Arabian Sea . On top of everything are three helipads. A staff of 600 is expected to care for the family and their family home.

In 2004, India became the 3rd most attractive foreign direct investment destination. Pakistan wasn't even in the top 25 countries. In 2004, the United Nations, the representative body of 192 sovereign member states, had requested the Election Commission of India to assist the UN in the holding elections in Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah and Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan. Why the Election Commission of India and not the Election Commission of Pakistan? After all, Islamabad is closer to Kabul than is Delhi.

Imagine, 12 percent of all American scientists are of Indian origin; 38 percent of doctors in America are Indian; 36 percent of NASA scientists are Indians; 34 percent of Microsoft employees are Indians; and 28 percent of IBM employees are Indians.

For the record: Sabeer Bhatia created and founded Hotmail. Sun Microsystems was founded by Vinod Khosla. The Intel Pentium processor, that runs 90 percent of all computers, was fathered by Vinod Dham. Rajiv Gupta co-invented Hewlett Packard's E-speak project. Four out of ten Silicon Valley start-ups are run by Indians. Bollywood produces 800 movies per year and s ix Indian ladies have won Miss Universe/Miss World titles over the past 10 years.
For the record: Azim Premji, the richest Muslim entrepreneur on the face of the planet, was born in Bombay and now lives in Bangalore.India now has more than three dozen billionaires; Pakistan has none (not a single dollar billionaire).

The other amazing aspect is the rapid pace at which India is creating wealth. In 2002, Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh and Anil Ambani's father, left his two sons a fortune worth $2.8 billion. In 2007, their combined wealth stood at $94 billion. On 29 October 2007, as a result of the stock market rally and the appreciation of the Indian rupee, Mukesh became the richest person in the world, with net worth climbing to US$63.2 billion (Bill Gates, the richest American, stands at around $56 billion).

Indians and Pakistanis have the same Y-chromosome haplogroup. We have the same genetic sequence and the same genetic marker (namely: M124). We have the same DNA molecule, the same DNA sequence. Our culture, our traditions and our cuisine are all the same. We watch the same movies and sing the same songs. What is it that Indians have and we don't?

INDIANS ELECT THEIR LEADERS and here we are .......who keep cursing Indian democracy and deploring the situation!!!!!!!!! "