KANDAHAR REVISITED

Revival of political storm over the 1999 ‘terrorists-for-passengers’ swap and the role played by various individuals in their official capacity is a disgusting commentary on the dirt and rubbish that we rely on for our safety. Falsification and intrigue determines important decisions of the nation by incompetent self centered group of office bearers.
It is indeed a sad reflection on the quality of governance that even when lives of innocent ordinary citizens of the country are at stake, our politicians holding important portfolios, are swayed by personal image and party politics in taking important national decisions which essentially calls for non-partisan evaluation of facts for protection of citizens and national interest.
The poor attempt by BJP and Advani (‘tough on terrorism’ stance) to hide behind a cloak of deceit and half truths, not only exposes the poor strategies (poll centric) that have horribly misfired, more importantly it destroys the minimum basic moral uprightness that the citizens expect from persons who are in positions to decide their fate.
The attempts by apparently qualified educated party men to defend falsification and liars by engaging in semantics purely to maintain personal interest is not only pathetic but an insult to the public who can see through their unconvincing arguments. Thanks to the electronic media that 'body language' comes into play when these 'serial liars' stand naked for all to see?
The 'dog eats dog' attitude of the ruling coalition and other political parties to extract full political mileage by fishing in BJP’s troubles, in an attempt to divert from more pressing issues of governance is also not encouraging.
It is pertinent that in the ongoing drama none of our politicians have mentioned the sensibilities and anguish of the trapped passengers and their dear ones along with the country at large during the 7 days ordeal which started 9 years ago.
We need a change of mindset to govern the affairs of India in a more robust and efficient manner. Management has to be the primary criteria rather than politics and image building.

CHIRPING SPARROW

The mostly invisible heavy price that we pay in the name of development and creature comforts makes us oblivious to simple things that silently disappear without replacement.
How many of us are aware that sparrows are gradually becoming extinct from most of our urban/semi urban areas?
It has been established by experts that the unrestricted expansion of telecommunication networks for mobile phones has destructively affected the reproductive cycle of the innocent sparrow – a bird that we took for granted around us, may be even a decade ago.
This morning drove to Bangalore airport to see off Tina for her Mumbai flight. As we were walking back to the car park – spotted a solitary sparrow within the public foyer area of the massive steel and glass facade and a whole range of emotions welled up!!
The bird kept moving and chirping within touching distance (wish had a camera handy) displaying its normal characteristics of ‘no fear’ in human surroundings. Remained glued at the spot till it flew off to another area. Isn't this a sad and unfortunate reflection on human beings?
We have systematically managed to alter the simple bird’s DNA in our quest to remain connected on a 24/7 basis BUT have got disconnected from nature’s scheme of things. The tragedy of this experience is the fact that the bird has not altered its character and has remained in its original format to remind us of our not so distant past.
May be we need to slow down and divert our attention to respect the original balance in nature to avoid the disasters towards which we seem to be moving and a solitary bird’s appearance is the wake up call to care for our Earth.

DICTATORSHIP OF DEMOCRACY

Jaswant banned from BJP then Jaswant’s book banned from Gujarat?
Two disturbing dictatorial arbitrary decisions thrust upon citizens of a democratic country disregarding basic tenets of equity and commonly accepted norms of justice.
India appears to be hurtling like an unguided missile towards intolerance and undemocratic actions by petty minded individuals who do not deserve to be in positions of power. Power corrupts and absolute power destroys.
Tolerance has been the binding force which has kept our vast country together in spite of inherent variety that is mind boggling.
Unity in diversity is the guiding principle that the world envies when looking at India. We are likely to loose this respect if the current trend is allowed to continue.
Need for reforms and clipping of unregulated power in the hands of few self seeking politicians is becoming increasingly important to save the nation from spiraling out of orbit.
Contrary to democratic criteria, the basic structure of our democratic freedom is being attacked in the guise of appeasement of minority views.

SHALLOW LEADERSHIP

Ever since their unexpected poor performance at the country wide polls earlier this year, BJP – the only political party with a national presence, capable of functioning as an effective opposition in our parliamentary form of governance, appears to be stumbling from one episode to another, similar to the mind less serials telecast on our DTH channels.
Soon after the public spat between Rajasthan’s leadership and the party president, the latest dramatic incident, being expulsion of Jaswant Singh, an ex-Minister and a senior leader for expressing his personal views in a recently published book.
The obvious contradictions in this action of the party are difficult to reconcile and appears to be knee-jerk reaction to hard line ‘Hindutva’ pressure from the RSS – in spite of the usual labored denials by BJP.
The official statement issued by the Party President (incompetent record so far), on the one hand disclaims the contents of the book by attributing them as ‘personal views of the writer’ and in the same breadth expels the writer from the party, thereby establishing a nexus between the party and the writer? This is the most stupid logic of managing the affairs of an organization expected to contribute towards healthy democratic practices. Distinction between the party and the individual is essential for freedom of thought and growth of democratic benchmarks.
The poor quality of leadership displayed by most political parties is disturbing for the ever growing importance of India as a nation. The growing prestige of Indian presence in the community of nations can be jeopardized by the shortage of statesmanship essential to retain the momentum we now enjoy.
Political ideology takes precedence over national interest in decisions taken by many of the party chiefs who portray themselves as ‘Leaders’. Complete lack of perspective and the convenience of shallow ‘vote bank politics’ dominates most party actions.
Qualitative reforms along with nationalistic approach must guide politicians rather than ‘ego trips’ and vested petty interests.

BECHARA 'MUSALMAN' KHAN?

The huge hue and cry with headlines in the print and electronic media over King (self appointed?) Khan’s recent experience at a US airport sadly reflects the false sense of superiority and total lack of respect for rules and regulations by the celebrity crowd.
Indian celebrities assume that democracy gives them the right to be treated as special persons for whom rules, regulations, systems and laws can and have to be bent.
(Un) fortunately in USA - no one is above the law - and the guy mandated to apply the law and implement rules executes it in letter and spirit without fear or favour.
The pathetic quality of statements made by SRK (also amusing) and his sundry buddies in Bollywood along with a Minister is a shame and totally unwarranted. Their reaction confirms shallow understanding of facts related to the episode and the need to appreciate results obtained by strict adherence to security protocols laid down by USA after 9/11.
Highlighting 'religious profiling' to portray one self as a victim is becoming a style statement!!
It is an undisputed ugly fact that the only religion which is used as the reason by terrorists to kill, maim and destroy innocents around the world is used by other Muslims as a veil to hide themselves and keep silent without protesting against the monsters amongst them.
The majority of Muslims (especially celebrities like Mr. Khan should take advantage of their ‘religious profile’ status) have a duty and responsibility to openly rally against the Musalman terrorists/Taliban to ensure their capabilities are compromised. Islam should not and cannot be allowed to be abused by these lunatics.
The zero tolerance attitude of USA for homeland security is a lesson which Indian security authorities should consult Mr. Khan about!!

SWINE (FLU) MINISTER

As usual India has been caught napping in preparedness to handle the anticipated outbreak of H1N1 (a.k.a. Swine Flu) in spite of adequate awareness campaigns and warnings flashed by WHO for the past few months.
The Indian Ministry of Health appears to specialize in having incompetent Ministers tenure after tenure. The present incumbent (Ghulam Nabi Azad) looks unfazed, most probably because he has no clue of ground realities and lives by the principle of ‘ignorance is bliss’ to handle the affairs of his important ministerial portfolio.
His past rhetoric on the subject has been proven completely hollow. Wonder if the HM will be presented with a pink slip by the PM who had promised to offer governance that is accountable and capable of service delivery.
The first unfortunate death caused by the virus of a 14 year old school student in Pune has merely triggered bumbling statements (minus action) from the Minister exposing the total failure of the medical infrastructure in the country to manage a developing disaster around the country.
Most unimaginative policy decisions have been put in place which is totally inadequate to handle the situation even in these early stages. The scale of panic and loss of lives waiting to happen cannot be imagined.
Considering the extremely low level of ‘hygiene sense’ that the majority of the Indian population practices it will not be wrong to assume that India will soon be reeling under the burden of an epidemic situation caused by the H1N1 virus.
Let us hope and pray that better sense will soon prevail to unlock the necessary urgent steps reducing the scope of destruction by the virus, which the HM still believes is not as virulent as its colonial cousin attacking the western world? - for once I would like to trust him!!

IN THE NAME OF ISLAM?

A Musalman celebrity (not so famous for his acting skills other than on screen kissing?) has raised the bogey of religious profiling related to a personal transaction to acquire property in Mumbai that did not materialize. Some opportunists have converted this failed deal into political hornet's nest and other fodder to gain photo-ops and remain in public domain.
This minor incident reflects the deep seated prejudice that is harbored by a large cross section of the Muslim community living in the safety and comfort of Indian Territory and enjoying the privileges offered (mostly without any commitment to it) by the democratic Indian State to all its citizens.
Trying to link individual identity to a one dimensional attribute arising from religion is the first defiance that the follower of Islam normally adopts to highlight his/her status in India (and many other nations.)
This preponderance with Islam is the ugly truth that is creating increasing differences in healthy relationships among normal people who do not belong to the religious cluster.
Unfortunately, the fanatical elements claiming to be followers of the Prophet have distorted and hijacked the tenets of Islam, to unleash terror and destruction across the globe in the ‘NAME OF ISLAM’ while the true believer continues to remain quietly silent.
The reluctance to protest by the majority of Muslims has tarnished the community to be brushed by a single trait leading to religious profiling based on misconceived hatred and prejudiced fear.
The only way this status quo can change is for the Musalman to integrate with society without flaunting religion as an identity marker but simply behave like any other normal human being capable of love and good neighborly behavior.