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NIA releases two sketches of suspect in Bodh Gaya blasts

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A file photo of a temple damaged at the Mahabodhi temple complex in Bodh Gaya after serial blasts on July 7. Photo: PTI
Published: July 16, 2013 15:37 IST | Updated: July 16, 2013 16:33 IST

NIA releases two sketches of suspect in Bodh Gaya blasts

PTI
  • Sketch of the suspect in the Bodh Gaya blast as released by the NIA on its website. The sketch on the right shows the suspect with a mask and robes.
    Sketch of the suspect in the Bodh Gaya blast as released by the NIA on its website. The sketch on the right shows the suspect with a mask and robes.
  • A file photo of a temple damaged at the Mahabodhi temple complex in Bodh Gaya after serial blasts on July 7. Photo: PTI
    A file photo of a temple damaged at the Mahabodhi temple complex in Bodh Gaya after serial blasts on July 7. Photo: PTI

The sketches of a suspect in monk attire have been released based on details provided by eyewitnesses and CCTV footage.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing the serial bomb blasts in Bodh Gaya, on Tuesday released two sketches of a suspect on the basis of eyewitness accounts and CCTV footage.
NIA released two sketches, one in which the suspect is wearing a mask and another bare face, on its website.
Sources in NIA said that the sketches have been released on the basis of details provided by three eyewitnesses who saw the suspect before the blasts on July 7 and from CCTV footage.
Among the witnesses, whose names have been kept secret for probe purposes, two are foreigners and one local. The foreigners are from Sri Lanka and Thailand while the third one is a local Gaya native, the sources said.
The suspect in monk attire is also seen moving around in the temple in the wee hours of July 7. NIA has also released CCTV footage and sought information about the suspect.
The agency has already announced a reward of Rs. 6 lakh for providing information about the blasts suspect.
Ten bomb blasts took place in the famous Buddhist temple town of Bodh Gaya on July 7 in which two monks were wounded. While four explosions took place inside the Mahabodhi shrine campus, the rest exploded elsewhere in Bodh Gaya. Three live bombs were also defused by the security forces.
Considering the sensitivity of the matter, the Bihar government had handed over the inquiry to NIA.
Arrested and released
NIA had earlier detained two natives of Gaya from Maoist-infested Barachhati and four youngsters, including a girl, in Patna in connection with the incident. But, they were all released for want of evidence.
Private security guards removed
Taking strong note of security lapses resulting in serial bomb blasts in Maha Bodhi temple recently, the service of the private security company within the temple premises has been terminated.
Maha Bodhi Temple Management Committee (BTMC) took decision to terminate contract of private security company “COBRA” for lapses that resulted in explosions within the temple on July 7, wounding two monks.
The BTMC took strong exception to the fact that while the blasts took place after 5:30 a.m. on that day, why the guards of the security company, who are supposed to be on duty from 5 a.m. in the morning, did not see the bags that carried bombs kept near Maha Bodhi tree and elsewhere within the shrine premises, BTMC member Arvind Kumar said on Tuesday.
He said the committee served a month’s notice to the company to pack off from the temple.
COBRA had been assigned the job of security within the temple since 2009. The outer security was in the hands of Bihar police earlier.
With COBRA security guards withdrawn, security guards of BTMC are assisting the Bihar Military Police (BMP) personnel in providing security to the international Buddhist shrine.
Sources in the BTMC said despite previous alerts, some meetings by senior police and civil officers were conducted with the secretary or chairman of the committee but a meeting of the full bench of the BTMC was never conducted to review security arrangements.
Meanwhile BTMC has ordered for two additional metal detectors and bag checkers for frisking of visitors.

Rural India has great expectations from NaMo -- Tavleen Singh

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Rural India has great expectations from Narendra Modi


By Tavleen Singh on July 14, 2013


Here is what rural India thinks of Narendra ModiLast week in this column I promised to tell you what I discovered about popular reactions to Narendra Modi from traveling in rural Rajasthan. So here goes. My main reason for wanting to find out what rural people think of Modi was because in the news rooms and television studios of Delhi it is widely believed that his appeal is limited to young, urban Indians. My second reason for this particular journey was to find out if Modi is seen as a Hindutva hero or a leader who can bring prosperity to India. But, let the story tell itself.
The first village I stopped in after getting off the highway between Delhi and Jaipur was Behror. The last time I came this way the road was a strip of broken tarmac crowded with handcarts selling fruit and vegetables. Today there is a new road but built so narrow that it was hard for two buses to pass each other and when a goatherd appeared with a large flock of goats and sheep it became completely clogged.
When I arrived in the village of Behror I was directed to the house of the sarpanch, Sunil Bharadwaj, and stunned to find that he lived in a style rarely seen in rural India. His small living room was air-conditioned, had a marble floor on which were placed upholstered sofas. The sarpanch, a large, florid man, sat cross-legged on one of them and told me at the outset that it was his wife who was the sarpanch and that her work for the village had been so excellent that it wanted for neither electricity, clean water, schools, hospitals or anything. When I asked him why the streets were still filled with rotting garbage and smelly drains he muttered some inadequate explanation and hurried me through the gates of the new Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendra (community centre) equipped with computers and closed circuit television and air-conditioning. In its grounds was the cleanest toilet I have ever seen in a village. Rural India is changing fast.
After a long conversation about village development when I asked about Narendra Modi, Bharadwaj immediately became wary. Then he said carefully, “I cannot tell you what other people think of him but personally I don’t like him. They say he has done a lot of work for Gujarat and won three times. But, Sheila Dikshit has done a lot of work for Delhi and won three times so why can’t she become Prime Minister?”
On the way to my next stop, Mundawar, I saw a group of villagers sitting by the roadside and asked them if they thought that the Government of Ashok Gehlot had improved their lives in the past five years. They said in unison that there had been no improvement. Electricity and clean water were big problems and unemployment the biggest of them all. When I asked why they had not taken their grievances to their MLA they said they had not seen him since the last election. When I asked what they thought of Narendra Modi they said with astonishing unanimity, “India needs a man like Modi. Only a strong leader in Delhi can bring real change not someone like Maunmohan Singh.” Then they all laughed and asked me if I had ever heard the Prime Minister speak.
In Mundawar I talked to a large group of men in the Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendra and discovered that the construction of these new community centres is linked to work done under MNREGA. This one was not air-conditioned and I did not see any computers. On its large terrace, shaded by an old banyan tree, I talked to people who gave me a surprisingly sophisticated view of politics. One of them said, “The kind of development that is going on in this country seems designed to keep poor people in poverty forever. It is a form of ‘daspratha’ (feudalism) that has existed since the British were here. Only the rulers have changed.”
When I asked their views about Narendra Modi they said they thought he was the leader that India needed today. When I asked if this was because he was seen as a Hindutva hero they said that nobody was interested in temples and caste now. What people wanted was for their lives to improve and in their view Modi was someone who could make India prosperous. I asked how they knew this and they said they had listened to his speeches on television and seen what he had done for Gujarat. I went from Mundawar to Bibi Rani and a filthy village called Alie and then on towards Alwar and Sikandra before heading to Jaipur. And, everywhere I went I asked people about Modi and everywhere came upon a consensus that he would be good for India. Expectations of him are frighteningly high. People seem to believe that just by becoming Prime Minister he will be able to put an end to corruption and make India a prosperous country. Corruption in Delhi is a big issue.
In more general terms, what I discovered on this journey was that television and cellphones have brought the rest of the world much closer to the villages than ever before. I discovered that village shops now offer a range of consumer goods they did not before. Bisleri and Lays potato chips are ubiquitous along with soap, shampoo and Fair & Lovely products. What is worrying is that right outside these shops laden with consumer goods it is often possible to find an old lady or old man seated beside traditional terracotta containers selling drinking water for a few paise. So as we approached Jaipur and the roads became smoother and the landscape more urban, I found myself wondering how it was that cellphones and television had spread so deep into villages that remain mired in old-fashioned, ugly poverty. I also found myself wondering why villagers who now do their best to send their children to private schools and demand modern healthcare do not understand the need for clean streets and sanitation.

It is a warped kind of development that is taking place in rural India and it is hard to believe that Narendra Modi can change this entrenched and twisted pattern. But, that is what is expected of him because if my travels in rural Rajasthan are anything to go by, aspirations are now higher than the skies.

http://www.niticentral.com/2013/07/14/here-is-what-rural-india-thinks-of-narendra-modi-103817.html

Cabinet Minister Moily 'lies' -- Dasgupta produces evidence

Adi Narayana Perumal temple, a laterite architectural marvel needs restoration -- Anusha Parthasarathy

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Published: July 16, 2013 17:04 IST | Updated: July 17, 2013 02:52 IST

A laterite structure that’s languishing

Anusha Parthasarathy
  • Calling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy
    The HinduCalling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy



  • Calling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy
    The HinduCalling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy
  • Calling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy
    The HinduCalling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy
  • Calling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy
    The HinduCalling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy
  • Calling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy
    The HinduCalling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy
  • Calling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy
    The HinduCalling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy
  • Calling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy
    The HinduCalling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy
  • Calling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy
    The HinduCalling for attention: Adi Narayana Perumal Temple Photo: Anusha Parthasarthy

A lot needs to be done to restore the centuries-old Adi Narayana Perumal Temple in Pulicat that’s considered an architectural marvel, writes Anusha Parthasarathy

Six years have passed. But, R. Mani, a native of Pulicat, still remembers how it felt when he first saw the ruins of the ancient temple of Adi Narayana Perumal, an architectural marvel. “I hacked my way through thick vegetation till I finally saw the majestic entrance. And just a few mt ahead, the temple materialised in all its splendour, despite many years of disuse.” Soon, it drew heritage lovers and architects. “Laterite is porous and difficult to sculpt. But one of the unique features of this temple was that the whole wall and vimana were made of laterite blocks,” says Xavier Benedict of AARDE, a non-profit architecture and design service organisation that has been active in Pulicat since 2007. “There were even sculptures made out of laterite stone. You cannot find laterite in Tamil Nadu; this is evidence of Pulicat’s importance as a trade port.”
Pulicat’s tryst with trade and ancient dynasties is legendary. From the third century BCE, it was under the early Cholas, Pandyas, Sangam Cheras, Pallavas and then under the medieval Cholas. Geographer Ptolemy’s records of ancient ports include mentions of Podouke (now Pulicat). When it came under the Vijayanagar Kingdom between the 14th and 17th Centuries, Pulicat was called Anandarayan Pattinam, and Krishnadevaraya changed it to Palaverkadu. It was during this time that the Adi Narayana Perumal Temple was built. The temple fell to disuse around 150 years ago. It began functioning after Mani chanced upon it. Eventually, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HR&CE) adopted it. A sum of Rs. 60 lakh was sanctioned to renovate the structure, and this June, they demolished parts of the temple. The entrance and the vimana of the main shrine have disappeared, and part of its copper walls are covered with cement plaster. This led to anxiety among the locals, heritage lovers and others working to preserve the temple. After much hue and cry, work has been temporarily stopped.
“We surveyed the temple,” says J. Chandrasekaran, PRO and secretary, R.E.A.C.H foundation, an organisation that looks at conserving heritage. “To be able to sculpt on laterite like that meant there were artisans of considerable skill in the area.”
Another feature of the temple is the miniature engravings that run across the supporting beams in the ardha mandapa, depicting in detail, the story of The Ramanyana. This is still intact. Apart from this, the smaller mandapa before the main shrine and two small shrines on the side still remain in their original form, though dilapidated. “The temple staircase had intricate carvings, which are no longer noticeable. The laterite block carvings on the outer wall are also completely gone,” says Xavier. He feels lime plaster could have easily solved the problem. “Laterite needs to breathe. Cement is an alien material and doesn’t allow any space. Lime plaster, on the other hand, is natural and there is a reason why buildings of those days continue to exist today,” he says.
A source in the HR&CE agrees and points out a different aspect. “It is impossible to find people who mix lime plaster as it was done hundred years ago. People use only cement these days, with some exceptions such as the Archaeology Department. We’ve stopped the renovation and are preparing an estimate to use lime plaster.”
For temples that come under the control of the HR&CE, archaeological aspects may not always be considered during renovation, feels S. Suresh, Convener, INTACH Chennai Chapter. “Temples under the ASI and those under the HR & CE follow different norms and policies when dealing with renovations. While ASI focusses on temples where there are sometimes no deity or when the monument itself is more important (such as the Tanjore Big Temple), the ones under HR&CE are temples with many footfalls. If the temple is declared a monument and comes under the ASI, then there are many rules that come along with it. But sentimental and historical value don’t count otherwise.”
Chandrasekaran believes it’s not too late to save the temple. “There is still time. We can suggest ways to rebuild thevimana and keep the laterite blocks intact wherever possible. For this, though, the HR&CE must consult with archaeologists and find a common ground.”
Suresh is also of a similar opinion. “Even if the temple is under the HR&CE, it would’ve been good if norms relating to ancient monuments are followed. Maybe they could consult with the ASI, but how feasible it is remains to be seen.”
As for Mani, he rues, “We go all over the country and worship different gods, but there is one right in our backyard and we don’t take care of it.”

http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/a-laterite-structure-thats-languishing/article4920733.ece?homepage=true

Indus writing: crocodile ligature and related glyphs of a smithy

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Inline image 1Text 4304 First three glyphs from left: 1. kuṭi‘water-carrier’ (Te.); rebus: kuṭhi 'smelter furnace' (Munda). 2. kolom (rice plant). Rebus: kolami‘smithy, forge’, ‘smelter,furnace’. 3. ranku 'liquid measure' rebus: ranku 'tin' (Santali) 

Next three glyphs from left: 4. kanka 'rim of jar' rebus: khanaka 'miner' (Skt.) 5. Ligure to rim of jar: खांडा [khāṇḍā] m a jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon); rebus: khāṇḍā ‘metal tools,  pots and pans’. 6. koḍi‘flag’ (Ta.)(DEDR 2049). Rebus: koḍ‘workshop’ (Kuwi)




Inline image 2Inline image 3Inline image 3Harappa tablet h180 (section). One glyph composition enlarged to show the crocodile ligature close to pudendum muliebre of the female with thighs apart and shown lying upside down.

The glyph showing the image of a crocodile issuing forth from a female with thighs drawn apart is one side of a tablet h180. Same text is repeated on both sides.
Inline image 1
Seal impession from Ur showing a squatting female. L. Legrain, 1936, Ur excavations, Vol. 3, Archaic Seal Impressions. [cf. Nausharo seal with two scorpions flanking a similar glyph with legs apart.

Inline image 2
Rahmandheri sea: Two scorpions. Two holes. One T glyph. One frog in the middle. Reverse: two rams.

kuṭhi‘pudendum muliebre’ (Mu.) khoḍu m. ‘vulva’ (CDIAL 3947). Rebus: kuṭhi ‘smelter furnace’ (Mu.) khŏḍ m. ‘pit’, khö̆ḍü f. ‘small pit’ (Kashmiri. CDIAL 3947), byucu बिचु; । वृश्््चिकः m. (sg. dat. bicis बिचिस्), a scorpion (Kashmiri), WPah.bhal. biċċū m., cur. biccū, bhiḍ. biċċoṭū n. ʻ young scorpionʼ (CDIAL 12081). Rebus: bica, bica-diri (Sad. bicā; Or. bicī) stone ore; meṛeḍ bica, stones containing iron; tambabica, copper-ore stones; samṛobica, stones containing gold (Mundari.lex.) Crocodile issuing forth from the womb: karā 'crocodile' (Telugu) khār 'blacksmith' (Kashmiri) dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'cast (metal)' (Santali). Hence the scorpion pair are shown on either side of the female of the Ur seal impression reported by Legrain. Pair of tigers: kola 'tiger' rebus: kol 'working in iron' (Tamil) The pair of tigers connote dul 'cast (metal)', as on the glyphs of a pair of scorpions.

A person carrying a sickle-shaped weapon and a wheel on his bands faces a woman with disheveled hair and upraised arm. kuṭhāru‘armourer’ (Sanskrit) salae sapae = untangled, combed out, hair hanging loose (Santali.lex.) Rebus: sal workshop (Santali) The glyptic composition is decoded as kuṭhāru sal‘armourer workshop.’ eṛaka 'upraised arm' (Tamil). Rebus: eraka = copper (Kannada) Thus, the entire composition of these glyphic elements relate to an armourer’s copper workshop. Vikalpa: मेढा A twist or tangle arising in thread or cord, a curl or snarl (Marathi). Rebus: mēḍ 'iron' (Munda)

Learn from Tulsi Gabbard. SoniaG Congress, be proud Hindu.

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Here below we have a report of a Hindu-American woman deciding to take her oath of office in the US Congress with a hand on the Gita, and there in the India of the Italian Congress we have the perverse ones abusing Narendra Modi for saying he is a Hindu mationalist. SoniaG Congress should take lessons from Tulsi Gabbard on being a Hindu and being proud of it.

Kalyanaraman
1st Hindu-American Congresswoman to Take Oath on Gita

She is neither an Indian-American 
nor has she ever visited India . But on Wednesday, she became America ’s first-ever Hindu-American Congresswoman.
 
Meet Tulsi Gabbard, a 31-year-old Democrat, just elected to the US House of Representatives from faraway Hawaii . Endorsed by Hawaii-born President Barack Obama, she defeated her Republican rival by a landslide (80.6% to 19.4%).
 
A practicing Hindu, Gabbard frequently recites from the Bhagavad Gita. So when she takes her oath in January as a newly-elected member, she will do so, placing her hand on a copy of the Hindu scripture. It will be the first of its kind in the history of the 223-year-old House of Representatives and the Hindu-Americans are excited about it.
 
Born in American Samoa to a Catholic father and a Hindu mother, Gabbard moved to Hawaii with her family when she was two years old. Her parents gave all their five children Hindu names — Bhakti, Jai, Aryan, Tulsi and Vrindavan. Keen to visit India at an early date, Gabbard has pledged to work for closer US-India relations.
“It is clear that there needs to be a closer working relationship between the United States and India ,” she said in recent remarks, quizzing: “How can we have a close relationship if decision-makers in Washington know very little, if anything, about the religious beliefs, values, and practices of India ’s 800 million Hindus?”
 
Defending her Hindu faith, which came under attack from her Republican rival David Kawika Crowley during the campaign phase, Gabbard believes her faith would be an asset in Congress.
“Hopefully the presence in Congress of an American who happens to be Hindu will increase America’s understanding of India as well as India’s understanding of America,” commented Gabbard, who was feted by Indian-Americans at a recent fundraiser in Washington.
 
Gabbard’s victory was a foregone conclusion from the time she easily defeated her rival Mufi Hannemann in a party primary in August. Hawaii, being a predominantly Democrat territory, few doubted her chances against her Republican rival.
 
“Hindu-Americans have run America’s major companies and universities, won Nobel prizes and Olympic gold medals, directed blockbuster movies, and even flown into space. But one profession has so far been out of reach: Member of Congress,” wrote the Washington-based Religion News Service, ahead of Gabbard being declared the winner.
Although there have been two Indian-Americans in the US Congress to date, neither of them were Hindu. The first, Dalip Singh Saund, who was elected thrice from California back in the 1950s, was a Sikh. The second, Bobby Jindal, who was elected twice, beginning 2004, had converted to Christianity in his early years.
 
In 2002, at the age of 21, Gabbard became the youngest person to be elected to Hawaii State House. The very next year, she joined the Hawaii National Guard and was deployed to Iraq in 2004 as a medical operations specialist. Awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for her service, she currently serves as a Captain. Between her two deployments to the Middle East, Gabbard served as an aide to long-time US Senator Daniel Akaka.
Gabbard, who fully embraced the Hindu faith as a teenager and follows the Vaishnava path, has said that her faith helped her through her posting in Iraq, where there were daily reminders that she could be killed any time.
“First thing in the morning and the last thing at night, I meditated upon the fact that my essence was spirit, not matter, that I was not my physical body, and that I didn’t need to worry about death because I knew that I would continue to exist and I knew that I would be going to God,” she said.
 

Tulsi Gabbard America’s first Hindu Congresswoman to take Oath on Bhagvad Gita

At the age of 21, Gabbard first held office and on completion of her first term she volunteered to tour on duty with Hawaii National Guard for a year.
Later, she also became the first woman to be nominated for a “distinguished honor graduate” by Accelerated Officer Candidate School at the Alabama Military Academy.
Gabbard strongly hopes that her faith in Hinduism will aid her in assisting her country to cultivate good ties with India. Another (non-Christian) Congress member Minnesota's Keith Ellison took the office oath over holy book Qu'ran.

Aurobindo, Vivekananda and Gandhi too oxymorons? -- S Gurumurthy

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Aurobindo, Vivekananda and Gandhi too oxymorons?

I am nationalist. I’m patriotic. Nothing is wrong. I am born Hindu. Nothing is wrong. So I’m a Hindu nationalist. So yes, you can say I’m a Hindu nationalist because I’m a born Hindu,” The moment Narendra Modi said this in his interview to Reuters last week, the secular hounds set upon him.

One of the secular hounds is Salman Kurshid, India’s External Affairs Minister. First, Khurshid being a Muslim, his secular credential is presumed. But, he has more claims to be secular. In the Indian political theatre just as hounding Modi is sufficient to prove one’s secular credential, admiring him is adequate to prove the lack of it. When Khurshid was chief of the Congress in UP, he defended the Islamic terrorist outfit Students Islamic Movement of India [SIMI] - reincarnated later as Indian Mujhahideen - as peace-loving lads, arguing as its counsel in courts. This was in 2001.

Some ultra-secularists might even feel that, by defending the ‘innocent’ SIMI, Khurshid qualifies for Padma Vibhushan, one notch less than Bharat Ratna. But they may not know that long back, in 1986 itself, he had qualified for Bharat Ratna for his book At Home In India; A Statement of Indian Muslims, expounding secular Muslim views. In that book, Khurshid wrote that in 1984, when the Sikhs were massacred in Delhi, “there was terrible satisfaction among the Muslims, who have not completely forgotten the Partition’s unpleasant aftermath. Hindus and Sikhs were alike paying for their sins. They were paying for the blood they had drawn in 1947”.

It is with such high credentials Khurshid says Modi’s claim of being Hindu Nationalist is oxymoron. The dictionary meaning of oxymoron is ‘a speech in which opposite or contradictory ideas are combined like thunderous silence or sweet sorrow’. That is, according to Khurshid, ‘Hindu’ and ‘Nationalism’ are opposites. If his poor prose is excused, he may have only intended to say that religion and nationalism contradict. But is ‘Hindu nationalism’ oxymoron? Test this on those who had laid the foundation for Indian freedom for contemporary India.

Take Swami Vivekananda first. The Swami’s nationalist exhortations deified the nation, seeded the freedom movement. The British Police repeatedly found Swami’s literature in the hands of the freedom fighters and revolutionaries, even mulled action against the Ramakrishna Math. Vivekananda inspired the passivists as well as the revolutionaries. The tallest leaders acclaimed him. Mahatma Gandhi: ‘reading Vivekananda had made me love the country ‘hundred fold.’ Subhash Bose: he ‘was the spiritual father of modern nationalist movement’. Rajaji: but for him ‘we would have lost our religion, not have gained our freedom; we owed everything to him’. Rabindranath Tagore: ‘if you want to know India, study Vivekananda.’ Finally, the ultra-secular Jawaharlal Nehru: ‘he was one of the great founders of national movement, who inspired the freedom fighters.’ Even mystics like Maharishi Aurobindo and Subramanya Bharati were inspired by him. And what did Swami Vivekananda stand for. “A nation in India,” declared Vivekananda, “must be a union of those whose hearts beat to the same spiritual tune.”

Swamy Vivekananda repeatedly declared India as Hindu nation. Comparing the three living nations - English, French and Hindu - he said ‘the Hindu nation is still living’ because of its religion. He condemned the Hindus saying most of the real evils for which the foreign races abuse the Hindu nation are only owing to us and pointed to jealousy as the reason why the Hindu nation with all its wonderful intelligence have gone to pieces.

Agonised at religious conversions - he calls them perversions - which have turned the converts enemies of the mother society, he said, “every man going out of the Hindu pale is not only a man less, but an enemy the more.”Is Swami Vivekananda, whose 150th birth anniversary the entire nation including Salman Kurshid’s Government is celebrating, an oxymoron for being a Hindu nationalist?

Move on. Maharishi Aurobindo, revolutionary, freedom fighter and mystic-philosopher, asserted Nationalism is no longer “a creed, a religion, a faith.... This Hindu nation was born with the Sanatan Dharma, with it it moves and with it it grows. When the Sanatan Dharma declines, then the nation declines, and if the Sanatan Dharma were capable of perishing, with the Sanatan Dharma it would perish. The Sanatan Dharma, that is nationalism.” Is Aurobindo oxymoron? Move further. ‘If we lay stress on common heritage forgetting all our differences that exist among the different sects...we shall ere long be able to consolidate different sects into a mighty Hindu nation. That ought to be the ambition of every Hindu.’

This is not Mohan Bhagwat. It is Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the first Indian to declare “Swaraj is my birth right”. Before Mahatma Gandhi arrived on the scene, the famous threesome ‘Lal-Bal-Pal’ [Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Bipin Chandra Pal] guided the freedom movement. They are Hindu nationalists. Even today the Odisha government website proclaims them so. Are Lal-Bal-Pal oxymorons? More.

“Though the majority of the Mussulmans of India and the Hindus belong to the same ‘stock’, the religious environment has made them different.......being heir to fresh traditions he exhibits the virility of a comparatively new system of life.......1,300 years of imperialistic expansion has made the Mussulmans fighters as a body. They are therefore aggressive. Bullying is the natural excrescence of aggressive spirit. The Hindu is an age-old civilisation. He is essentially non-violent.” Who’s this? Mahatma Gandhi.

In Hind Swaraj, which is his fundamental ideological text, he pointed out how Hinduism is the core of Indian nationalism. Gandhi said: ‘those farseeing ancestors of ours who established Setubandha (Rameshwaram) in the South, Jagannath in the East and Hardwar in the North as places of pilgrimage were no fools. They knew that the worship of God could have been performed just as well at home and yet they argued that it must be one nation. Arguing thus, they established holy places in various parts of India, and fired the people with an idea of nationality in a manner unknown in other parts of the world. But they saw that India was one undivided land.’

When asked about the advent of Muslims on the unity of India, Gandhi replied: ‘foreigners merge in it. A country is one nation only when such a condition obtains in it. That country must have a faculty for assimilation, India has ever been such a country.’ Is Gandhi oxymoron?

And finally the Supreme Court of India. The highest court declared, “Hinduism or Hindutva are not necessarily to be understood and construed narrowly, confined only to the strict Hindu religious practices unrelated to the culture and ethos of the people of India or depicting the way of life of the Indian people.....in the abstract these terms are indicative more of a way of life of the Indian people and are not confined merely to describe persons practising the Hindu religion as a faith.”

The court quoted with approval the views of Maulana Wahiuddin Khan who wrote: ‘The strategy worked out to solve the minorities problem was, although differently worded, that of Hindutva or Indianisation. This strategy, briefly stated, aims at developing a uniform culture by obliterating the differences.... This was felt to be the way to communal harmony and national unity and put an end once and for all to the minorities’ problem.’ Is the law declared by the highest Court oxymoron?

One thing is evident. The national discourse is devoid of historic sense. It does not even look at the law laid down by the Supreme Court. Result. Whatever inspired the freedom movement, whether it is Vande Mataram composed by Banchim Chandra or the ideal of Rama Rajya revered by Mahatma Gandhi or the concept of Hindu nationalism expounded by Swami Vivekananda and Maharishi Aurobindo, is regarded in the dictionary of Indian secularism as communal and anti-secular.

Are Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Tilak, Gandhi and all other revered national leaders, who spent their whole life to arouse the people to battle for freedom with their inspiring life and thoughts, all oxymorons then?

Postscript: Imagine, like Khurshid, Modi had said that there was terrible satisfaction among Hindus that Muslims, who were killed in the Gujarat riots, were only paying for their Godhra sins! What would the seculars have done? Or would not have?

S Gurumurthy is a well-known commentator on political and economic issues.
Email: comment@gurumurthy.net


Comments(40)

Another well written article from Mr.Gurumurthy. Thank you Sir! You have beautifully encapsulated the essence of Hinduism and its relevance to Nationalism n this piece. The real definition of secularism is Sanatan Dharma and we will pay a heavy price for ignoring this by saffronising a very powerful and time tested INDIAN thought, which can guarantee peace and harmony in this world.
Beautiful article. This should be forwarded to every Indian immediately. The corrupt Congress is thoroughly exposed.
The incendiary statement of Salman Kurshid recalled by you in this article exposes him as an Enoch Powel of India known for his infamous statement of “river of blood” . Kurshid is thus shown in his true colours. The tragedy of our country is that people are teaching us governance ethnics and now stepping into teaching us English grammar.
Well written and Excellent Article...Bravo Sir Gurumurthy......I proudly say ' I AM HINDU NATIONALIST'
superb article by Gurumurthyji....MSM sickularists should read this....will they debate of khurshids comments....shameless cretures..tail piece is nail piece
Awesome piece! Good commentary and facts very well laid out. All the pseduo secularists need to be thought a lesson by voting them out of power.
Today's Congress is such a bunch of shameful jokers,they are imagining themselves to be Masters of Secularism.Educated Indians must teach them a lesson in such a way that they will repent their acts of Continuous Sins for ever!
Khurshid's traitorous credentials are the reason he is in that position. But how much ever they crib, there is only one nationalism in India and that is Hindu nationalism.
Super article................... Intentionally or not, Narendra Modi has pushed on the backfoot 'secular and other Muslims' into acknowledging that they are Indians first, Indian nationalists first and then only Muslims................ This is the magic of Narendra Modi. Making people redefine their preferences, priorities and committment. Making people identify themselves as Indians first.
The ' faculty for assimilation' was responsible for the entry of the Hindu practices like ' vipUthi' (holy ash), fasting and padha yathra ( by walk to the holy places) etc into Indian Christians and holy burial place -durga , etc to Indian Muslims. They are identified only as Indian Christians & Indian Muslims - all sharing a common Hindu heritage. Will any sane human being disown his/her own heritage?
Time and again Sir you are bringing out issues which exposes congress sins and calling themselves highly secular. This article again brings out Kurshid's double voice. Thank you very much sir.
A wonderful article. Well done Gurumurthy ji. We expect more such enlightening articles from you in future.
It is very unfortunate that we Indians have to hide behind secularism for every thing and any thing. We can't declare ourselves as Hindus or nationalists since it may anger some. For me, a secular state should keep equal distance from all religions and protect the aggrieved if any malafide ie perceived. But our secularists have reduced this to meaning PRO Muslims. It is very unfortunate. Most of the Muslims appreciate the concept of vasudhaika kutumbam but our politicians re poisoning their minds.
The true identity of Indians & Hinduism fully tarnished by the half backed/power hungry netas of of our country who neither know the history & culture of India .
Sir, Kindly write more articles like this to awaken the Indians who are in deep slumber for a long long time. Very inspiring article.
What a beautiful piece. Thank you, Mr. Gurumurthy.
You are Great as Ever. What a telling exposure of Salman Kurshid. Obviously the media will not question Salman Kurshid on his deriving satisfaction in the killing of thousands of Sikhs in 1984. Rajiv Gandhi was not at all affected by the killing of Sikhs right under his nose. And Lt. Gen. J.S. Arora has written that Rajiv Gandhi as PM did not allow him to let the Army take over Delhi to stop killings of Sikhs, and precious 72 hours were lost before Rajiv Gandhi allowed the Army to take control of Delhi No media will expose Rajiv Gandhi.
When comparing the above shocking news to the trend of the 'secularists' & the media praising then Rajiv as 'Mr.Clean' & now targeting Modi for Gujarat riots, though he was absolved by the SIT, their moral bankruptcy becomes obvious.
Shri.Gurumurthy,another delightful eye and mind opening article.A voting movement should be started where we can in millions,declare ourselves as a "PROUD HINDU NATIONALIST". What is wrong as it is equivalent to declaring our parents as Our Mother & Father!
Time for the Makens, Tiwaris and Digvijays to respond to this.
A beautiful article, you will enjoy reading it
Postscript is just amazing. Only the likes of Sir Gurumurthy can do this. Hats up to you sir.
an excellent piece of work,for those trying to ruin the identity of the nation n divide it for votes
very well written and explained by Gurumurthy ji. Liked it very much.
A committed hindu genius work at its peak.Great leap forward by hindutva ushered by sir,gurumurthyji.
Sir, Compliments to Gurumurthy for a 'straight talking' Article. The concluding part of Sri Aurobundo's famous 'UTTARPARA SPEECH' of 30 May 1909, was just the right antidote to the 'all pervading STINK' emanating from a 'INDIAN IPR' on 'SECULARISM' !! As your Associate Editor succinctly put it in his 'Caste in Stone' (Jun 17, 2012) : "In Indian political patois, ‘communal’ and ‘secular’ have macabre meanings. Anyone who enjoys the support of the Hindu voter and sentiment is communal. Anyone who has the approval of Muslims and other minorities is secular". Viewed in that perspective, Sri Aurobindo, by today's yardsticks, can quite easily be dubbed " COMMUNAL" !! So too Swami Vivekananda !! The 'secular' English media CANNOT escape its share of the blame for the current 'SORDID' state of affairs. Regards
An article to be read by all Indians..especially the youth of India who are really unaware of those great people. Thank You Sir. I AM A HINDU NATIONALIST.
Yet an enlightening article by Sri S. Gurumurthy. Very systematically demolished the pseudo secularism of congress who are out and out bringing disgrace to the nation. For 65 years they have spilling the beans of divide and hate among our countrymen whether Muslims Hindus Sikhs christians. Just to be in power they can go to any extent. For them end is important not the means. Let us atleast get alerted and stop this harm now by throwing these pseudo seculars out lest we are also answerable to posterity.
Excellent reading. We have only ourselves to blame for allowing the so called secular forces to bash us into believing all incorrect things. Jaago India Jaago !!!!!
Hindusa re communal unless other wise proved, or have credentials defaming ,denigrating, calumniating Hinduism.ll constitutional protection do not apply th their being free of converting bands and being colonised. As Naipaul wrote colonisation by conversion is the ultimate triumph over a culture. Already by losing l their language powerful sections of hindus view themselves in terms of the foreigner, ii.e. with denigratory vocabulary. Language corrupts thought and thought corrupts language. Salman khurshid is silent on million hindusa dn Sikhs killed and west Pakistan ethnically cleaned .. reduced fro 30 percent of population to practically nil. Not much diiference in east Pakistan. A natursl congress stalwart. kurup
An eye-opener indeed and it was really shocking to read the comments of Salman Khurshid on the killings of Sikhs in the country. many such well researched articles are the need of the hour to educate our youngsters on the dirty tricks of congress.
A "fitting" reply to Khurshid? May be we should remember the little insight into history that Benjamin gave us. It will help us to keep things - things that really matter - in perspective. Here is the 1st para from his "Theses on the philosophy of history": The story is told of an automaton constructed in such a way that it could play a winning game of chess, answering each move of an opponent with a countermove. A puppet in Turkish attire and with a hookah in its mouth sat before a chessboard placed on a large table. A system of mirrors created the illusion that this table was transparent from all sides. Actually, a little hunchback who was an expert chess player sat inside and guided the puppet's hand by means of strings. One can imagine a philosophical counterpart to this device. The puppet called "historical materialism" is to win all the time. It can easily be a match for anyone if it enlists the services of theology, which today, as we know, is wizened and has to keep out of si
And again a wonderful article by Sri. Gurumurthy, which brings out the essence of Hinduism. A fitting reply to Salman Kurshid, who unashamedly declared during the last elections that Muslims will be given a bigger reservation, fearing that he would be trounced- and ultimately was. Shameless characters like Salman abound in the Congress party, where salutation to the First Family is the major rule.
How the secular media conveniently buried Khurshid's traitorous comments. The media must take the blame for distorting history and creating further divide between hindus and muslims. In any other country, Khurshid would have been jailed for life for rejoicing over sikh massacre of 1984
wonderful article. Thanks S.G!
These kind of extremists masquerading as securalists and their unabashed endorsement by the Congress leadership is going to result in a Hindu backlash which may catapult the hawkish Modi to power. If it happens, it will be only Congress who will be responsible. Sonia is anti-hindu. So are Salman Khurshid and Digvijay. May be Chidambaram too.But why are leaders like Antony silent on this anti-Hindu tirade? Just imagine what will happen if a Hindu attacks Islam in Pakistan? Shame on you, Khurshid !
Rama Rajya concept oxymorn? Contestants accross all the hues and parties at elections are wont to make promise in their speeches that they would achieve Rama Rajya if they come to government.Can we presume the catchword Rama Rajya a oxymorn? It is foolhardy to equate Rama Rajya which is synonymous with a welfare state with peaceful coexistence.There`s nothing wrong that Modi proclaimed himself a Hindu. At the Rajghat in New Delhi, the words Hay Ram were inscribed on the tomb to honour the Father of the Nation who used to tell that Rama naama is my infallible weapon.Is Gandhi a oxymorn? The Rip Van Winkles in our pseudo secularists should wake up from their deep slumber to realise that after all,Hinduism is a way of life.
(Revised)Rama Rajya concept oxymorn? Contestants accross all the hues and parties at elections are wont to make promise in their speeches that they would achieve Rama Rajya if they come to government.Can we presume the catchword Rama Rajya a oxymorn? It is foolhardy to equate Rama Rajya which is synonymous with a welfare state with peaceful coexistence with oxymorn concept.There`s nothing wrong that Modi proclaimed himself a Hindu. At the Rajghat in New Delhi, the words Hay Ram were inscribed on the tomb to honour the Father of the Nation who used to tell that Rama naama is my infallible weapon.Is Gandhi a oxymorn? The Rip Van Winkles in our pseudo secularists should wake up from their deep slumber to realise that after all,Hinduism is a way of life.
Today, the Congress parasites and the Gandhi family worshippers have made being Hindu in India something shameful, while barbarians who kill women and children by planting bombs and attacking train stations have become "secular". Today, Hindus have to defend themselves in their own country, where Shiva, Krishna, Rama and Ashoka were born, about being proud of their Hindu culture or Hindu heritage. If somebody says he is a proud Hindu, these "secularists" label them as "right wing fundamentalists". It is as if Hindu's are living in the land of Islam and we have to be ashamed of who we are under this Italian Christian woman and her Sardar puppet. As an Indian, I find this makes my blood boil at not only the Congress party but all the minority cockroaches that support that anti-national traitorous party run by Italians, puppets and thieves.
Well versed and factually correct article ...In short, Secularism is about nationhood not brotherhood... Thanks Gurumurthy .

SoniaCong deleted Headley's confession on Ishrat. What pray is the authorised investigating agency? SoniaCong or NIA?

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CONG DELETED HEADLEY’S CONFESSION ON ISHRAT!

Wednesday, 17 July 2013 | PNS | New Delhi
While the Centre and Home Ministry have feigned ignorance about any NIA report that showed David Headley’s confession on Ishrat Jahan’s link with LeT, the original NIA documents expose their duplicity.
News portal Firstpost on Tuesday published the NIA documents and claimed that the portion about Ishrat’s link was deleted after the document was shown to the PM and Congress Core committee. Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde declined to comment on the controversy, saying that the document was classified one.
As per the Firstpost report, an NIA note dated October 13, 2010 said Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) terrorist Headley had told them that Ishrat had been part of a “botched” operation run by the terrorist group. Later, the reference to this confession was removed from the 117-page record of Headley’s interrogation released to media, said the news portal’s report.
“Highly placed Government sources have told Firstpost that the NIA note was found on file on July 5, when it was called for by Union Home Affairs Minister Sushilkumar Shinde. It was also shown to members of the Congress Core Group, including the Prime Minister,” it said.
Point number 168 of the NIA’s note says: “One being asked about Ishrat Jahan, I state that in late 2005 Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi introduced Muzzammil to me. Having introduced Muzzammil, Zaki talked about the accomplishments of Muzzammil as a Lashkar commander. Zaki also sarcastically mentioned that Muzzammil was a top commander whose every big project has ended in a failure. Zaki added that Ishrat Jahan module was also one of the Muzzammil’s botched operations.” Point number 169 of the note further says: “Headley stated that apart from this, he had no other information / knowledge about Ishrat Jahan.”
Responding to the new revelation, Shinde declined to comment. “I have not seen the reports. Whatever Headley has said, was recorded by the FBI and there is a MoU between the FBI and NIA under which I can’t disclose any further details,” he said.
The Home Ministry during P Chidambaram’s tenure invited a controversy by filing two contradicting affidavits — in 2009 and 2012 — on Ishrat’s terror link. The first affidavit termed the encounter as genuine one and the second one kept silence on the encounter part.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/cong-deleted-headleys-confession-on-ishrat.html

Ram Setu must stand! -- Anirban Ganguly

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Ram Setu must stand!
Karunanidhi's anti-Hindu politics can't be allowed to hurt our heritage

Ram Setu must stand!These are volatile times for the Hindus in India. They should avoid expressing in public or formulate in private any religious sentiment or spiritual aspiration that they may hold deep within. 

By Anirban Ganguly on July 17, 2013


These are volatile times for the Hindus in India. They should avoid expressing in public or formulate in private any religious sentiment or spiritual aspiration that they may hold deep within. If they have the temerity to do so they are castigated, attacked and pilloried as communalists working to tear apart the Left-Liberal-Congress created secular fabric of the country!
Genuine devotees of Rama have to tread cautiously, from the Setu in the south to his birthplace Ayodhya in the north, the devotees of Ram and Ram himself is being taken to task by self-appointed guardians of Indian nationhood. In such an atmosphere, to simply articulate a cherished hope of seeing a Ram temple stand in Ayodhya someday, is seen as a sinful act!
The DMK, which has a history of divisive politics in the country, has again begun raking up the Ram Setu issue. The permanent patriarch of the DMK, Karunanidhi, has again led a State-wide stir asking the Centre to immediately resume work on the Sethu Samudram Canal Project by dredging through the rock of Hindu faith. But it is dangerous for Hindus to protest in view of the surcharged political atmosphere of the day. A protest against the desecration of Hindu sentiments is perceived as a great sin and an attempt at destroying the secular fabric of the nation. That exemplar of secularism – the Congress – is quick to give lessons in nationalism, religion and nationality to anyone who stands up for the Hindus.
Karunanidhi, who has long worked towards communalising Tamil Nadu politics, has always tilted towards and encouraged radical Islamist groups to gain a foothold in the State while viciously attacking Hindu believers. He has always gone overboard in accommodating the Islamic fringe and these groups have, in return, helped him sustain his political base. The latest case in point is the Muslim party, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi’s (MMK’s) support to the patriarch’s daughter in her bid for a second Rajya Sabha term.
In their Breaking India, a seminal study of the adversaries of Indian nationhood, Rajiv Malhotra and Aravindan Neelakandan have conclusively proved how the DMK has consistently aligned itself with “political Islam in Tamil Nadu.” The DMK’s policy of appeasement strengthened radical Islamic groups in the State in the eighties and nineties. The formation in 1986 of the All India Jihad Committee (AIJC) under the rabid Islamic preacher Ahmad Ali alias Palani Baba who “worked to spread the Jihad’s influence to Muslim areas all over Tamil Nadu” had consistent support from the DMK.
The DMK’s sympathies did not stop with Palani Baba’s death but percolated to supporting the Tamil Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK), a socio-political front of the Al-Ummah, seen by Indian intelligence agencies to be the “most active jihadist force in Tamil Nadu” in the 1990s. It was an office-bearer of the TMMK who had once demanded that the Government of India “legalise the stoning of ‘immoral’ women across India.”
The DMK’s support and deep concern for the welfare of the “godfather of south Indian Jihad”, Abdul Nasser Madhani, is too well known for reiteration, so much for the DMK’s medieval, anti-secular and anti-national brand of politics. It was the DMK’s patronisation of Islamic fundamentalism that turned Tamil Nadu, a land which had preserved the Hindu religion and culture, into a nursery of jihad and religious intolerance.
Coming to the Rama Setu, its great role in maintaining the marine ecological balance in the region, its role in deflecting to a great extent the effects of tsunami and its historicity has been amply discussed and presented with detailed proof by S Kalyanaraman in his path breaking researches on the Ram Setu. But Karunanidhi has no time for such cerebral approaches and cogency. He has got down to doing what he is best at, dividing the polity and politics of a state which has politically tolerated and sustained him for more than half a century now.
Referring to the first commission, the A Ramaswamy Mudaliar Committee set up in 1956 to look into the feasibility of a channel and creation of a port at Tuticorin, Kalyanaraman argued that this committee had even then observed against the formation of the canal, because of shifting sandbanks that would pose severe problems during construction and maintenance. Moreover the approaches to the canal would be too open “with no possibility of construction of protective works” and would entail a “definite navigational hazard.” The huge ecological imbalance and devastation that a canal in the region would introduce has also been amply proved and researched.
But what the DMK under Karunanidhi has done is to consistently and deliberately hurt Hindu religious sentiments. Each time, however, they have been met with facts by historians who have shown the historicity of the Setu as well as its deep emotional link to the vast majority of Hindus. When the DMK patriarch derisively asked which engineering college did Ram study in order to be able to construct a bridge, veteran archeologist BB Lal in his profusely illustrated and cogently argued, Rama, His Historicity, Mandir and Setuproved the reality of the bridge by demonstrating its existence and use in the antiquities. Marco Polo in course of his travels in the 13th century referred to the bridge and called it the “Setabund Rameshwara”. In the 11th century, pointed out Lal, Alberuni described the bridge and said, “Setubandha means the bridge of the ocean. It is the dike of Rama, the son of Dasaratha, which he built from the continent to castle Lanka. At present it consists of isolated mountains between which the ocean flows.”
Providing epigraphic evidences, Lal showed how the Hampi inscriptions of the mighty Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagara in 1508 CE referred “many times to the Rama Setu.” Basing himself on archeological and climate data, Lal also demonstrated that the sea along the Setu was shallow and could be walked across around the period that Rama was said to have crossed over to Lanka. Lal argued on the basis of evidence that during the period the sea-level must have been “at least 6 metres below the present” as a result exposing the “entire land-mass from Dhanushkodi to Talaimannar.” To fill up the shallow stretches of water thus did not require a “graduate degree from an engineering college.”

Subramanian Swamy opposes cutting through ‘Ram Setu’

Karunanidhi’s other contention that Rama is a predominantly north Indian god and has no tradition of worship in the south has also been proved to be insidious propaganda of the Goebbelesian type. In her just released and meticulously researched opus, Ram & Ayodhya, Delhi University historian Meenakshi Jain has demonstrated the countrywide popularity of the Rama cult since the ancient times. For Karunanidhi’s sake and understanding let us stick to evidences from Tamil Nadu.
Jain argues that epigraphic records confirm that “images of Rama had become commonplace in the Tamil region by about the tenth century AD.” By about the eighth century, the “concept of Rama as chief deity of the temple had come into vogue into the south.” Consequent to the Muslim invasions, it was the south that saw a new vision of Rama, “the intelligentsia in the south”, argues Jain, “evoked the concept of Kodanda-Rama, Rama with the bow, when they “saw their countrymen and fellowmen and their culture being shattered and mangled.”
Rama and his story also found mention in the Sangam literature. Jain points out that a verse in the Purananuru collection “referred to the abduction of Sita by Ravana.” The Rama story was further popularized in the Tamil region in the seventh and eighth century by the Alvar and Nayannar saints. Around the first half of the ninth century, one Kulashekhara Alvar, considered to be the “most ardent Rama devotee” was credited with laying the foundations of “Rama-worship in Tamilnad.” His Perumal Tirumoli narrates the entire story of Rama and expresses “deep devotion to the deity.”
The most popular rendition of the Ramayana in the south was the Ramavatarakatha by the legendary king of poets, Kamban. For Kamban, “Rama was Narayana, the Supreme Reality” and was portrayed as a “Tamil hero, a generous giver and a ruthless destroyer of foes.” Kamban saw Rama as a “god on a mission to root out evil, sustain the good, and bring release to all living beings.”
Thus Karunanidhi and his anti-Hindu outfit, by wanting to destroy the Rama Setu, are disowning their own historical and cultural expressions. They are hacking away at the very religious psyche of the Tamils. Lord Rama and his story have debunked the myth of an Aryan-Dravidian divide in India. It is the only pan-Indian saga that repeatedly exposes the hollowness of Karunanidhi’s identity politics by making him gradually irrelevant in a future India. The root of his ire thus is the fear of political oblivion.

But challenges such as his have to be resolutely met each time they arise. Hindus in India have to formulate and reiterate responses each time that they see a move to throttle their religious sentiments and aspirations. As the late Sita Ram Goel once observed, in today’s India it is not sufficient to just be a Hindu, “Hindu society and culture are under attack from several quarters. One has to be a convinced and conscious Hindu to meet and survive that attack.”


 

பதிவு செய்த நாள் : ஜூலை 15,2013,00:00 IST

சேது கால்வாய் திட்டம்: உண்மை என்ன?

ஊ.முருகையா, கடற்படை கமாண்டர் (பணி நிறைவு), சிவகாசியிலிருந்து எழுதுகிறார்: என், 35 ஆண்டு கடல்சார் பணிகளில் கிடைத்த அனுபவத்தை கொண்டு, சேது கால்வாய் திட்டத்தின் லாப, நஷ்டத்தை பற்றி மக்களுக்கு தெளிவுபடுத்த விரும்புகிறேன். அதிக நீளம் இல்லாத, சூயஸ் கால்வாயும், பனாமா கால்வாயும் இரு கடலுக்கு இடையே உள்ள, நிலப்பரப்பில் தோண்டப்பட்டு, இரு புறமும் மதில் எழுப்பப்பட்டு, கடல் மண்ணால், கால்வாய் மேவாத அளவுக்கு உருவாக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.


கால்வாயின் இரண்டு புறம் உள்ள, கடல் பகுதியின் தரை மட்டம், கால்வாயின் தரை மட்டத்தை விட அதிகமாக இருக்கும். எனவே, இயற்கை சீற்றத்தாலும், ஆழ்கடல் மணல் அரிப்பாலும், ஆழ்கடல் நீரோட்டத்தாலும் கால்வாயின் ஆழத்துக்கு எந்த பாதிப்பும் இங்கு இல்லை. இதன் மராமத்து செலவும் மிகக் குறைவு. கப்பல் போக்குவரத்து மிக அதிகம். எனவே, வருமானம் அதிகம். சேது சமுத்திர கால்வாய் திட்டம், இதற்கு எதிர் மாறாக உள்ளது. சேது கால்வாய் திட்டம் என்பது, நடுக்கடலில் ஆழம் தோண்டி கால்வாய் அமைப்பது. இயற்கையை எதிர்த்து, நாம் போராட முடியாது. உலகில் உள்ள, அனைத்து கடல்சார் அமைப்புகளுக்கும், பாக் - ஜலசந்தி, மன்னார் வளைகுடாவைப் பற்றி நன்கு தெரியும். உலகிலேயே, மிக அதிகமான ஆழ்கடல் நீரோட்டம் உள்ளது இப்பகுதி. திசை மாறி மாறி வீசும் காற்றின் வேகமும், இந்தப் பகுதியில் தான் அதிகம்.


நாம் மணல் தோண்டிக் கொண்டே போனால், பின்னால், மணல் மேவிக் கொண்டே இருக்கும். இப்பகுதியில், கடலில், ஆறு மணிக்கு ஒரு முறை, நீர் மட்டம் ஏறும், இறங்கும். இந்த கால்வாயின் நீளம் அதிகமாக இருப்பதால், கடல் நீர் மட்டம் உயர்ந்துள்ள நேரத்திற்குள், கால்வாயை கடக்க முடியாது. காற்றின் வேகம், அதிகப்பட்டால் கப்பல் நேர் கோட்டில் செல்ல முடியாது. எவ்வளவு திறமை வாய்ந்த கேப்டன்களாக இருந்தாலும், தவறு நடந்து விடும். ஒரு கப்பல் சுற்றி வந்தால் நேரமும், எரிபொருளும் கூடுதல் ஆகும் என்பது சரி. 5,000 கோடி ரூபாய் மதிப்புள்ள சரக்கு கப்பலை, இம்மாதிரி பயணித்து விட்டு தரைதட்ட விடுவரா? சந்தேகத்தின் அடிப்படையில் உள்ள எந்த கால்வாயையும், கப்பல் கேப்டன்கள் புறக்கணித்து விடுவர். பின், நாம் கடையை திறந்து என்ன பிரயோஜனம்? கல்லா பெட்டி நிறைய வேண்டுமல்லவா?


முழு சுமையோடு வரும் கப்பல், தரையில் உட்கார்ந்து விட்டால், பின் இந்த கால்வாயின் பூகோளமே மாறிவிடும். இந்த கால்வாய் மராமத்துக்கு பின் ஆழம் தோண்டிக் கொண்டே இருக்க வேண்டும். குறைந்தது, ஆழம் தோண்டும், 10, "டிரெட்ஜர்' கப்பல்களை வாடகைக்கு எடுக்க வேண்டும். நாம் செலவு செய்யும் பணத்துக்கு, வட்டி கூட கட்ட முடியாது. பின் ஏது வருமானம்? இப்பிரச்னையை வைத்து, பலர், பாமர மக்களை திசை திருப்பி அரசியல் செய்கின்றனர். இதுவரை, மக்கள் வரிப்பணத்தை, கடலில் கொட்டியது போதும். மக்கள் அறிவாளி ஆகிவிட்டனர். இனி, மக்களை ஏமாற்ற முடியாது. உண்மையிலேயே, தமிழ் மண்ணுக்கு ஏதாவது செய்ய வேண்டும் என்று நினைத்தால், தென்னக நதிகளை இணைக்க பாடுபடட்டும். மக்களுக்கு, ஓரளவு ருசியான குடி தண்ணீராவது கிடைக்கும். 


http://www.dinamalar.com/splpart_detail.asp?id=67
English translation:

Dinamalar, 15 July 2013 (Tamil Daily)

What is the truth about Setusamudram Channel Project?

U. Murugaiah, Indian Navy Commander (Retd.) writes from Sivakasi. Based on my 35 years' experience working in the oceans, I wish to inform the public about the pros and cons of the Setusamudram Channel Project. Short distance Suez and Panama canals are canals dug in the land between two oceans; the canals have embankments on either side and are so designed as to prevent sandbanks entering the canals.

The canal bed is at a higher elevation than the sea-bed on either end of the canals and hence, during high waves during sea-sstorms or movements of sands from the ocean beds do not adversely affect the depth of the canals. Hence, the maintenance costs of the canals are very minimal. Navigation through the canals involves a large number of high-volume carrying ships and hence, the revenue earned by the canals is high. The Setusamudram Channel Project is an exact opposite of this situation.

Setusmudram Channel Project is a deepening of the mid-ocean to create a navigable channel and is an affront against natural forces. We cannot fight against nature. All organizations and institutions involved with coastal zones and oceans know about the Gulf of Mannar and the Persian Gulf. This Mannar region is situated in the ocean with very deep ocean depths and very heavy wind-currents alternating with clocjk-wise and anti-clockwise movements of wind-currents.

If we keep on dredging the deep-ocean sands, sandbanks will keep filling up the dredged areas. In this Gulf of Mannar ocean region, sea-depths (bathymetry) increase and decrease cyclically every six hours. Because the Setusamudram channel is long, navigation through the channel is NOT possible during the periods when the ocean waves reach great heights. When the wind currents intensify, the ships cannot navigate in a straight-line. However efficient a ship's captain, mistakes will occur. As the ship tosses about, time is lost and increased consumption of fuel will result in higher navigation costs. Will any captain allow a Rs. 5000 crore ship to be exposed to such navigational hazards including the possibility of getting stuck in sand-beds? Any captain will avoid navigation of a ship through such nautically hazardous channels. So, what is the benefit of opening the shop of such a Setusamudram channel? Should we not be ensuring income to the nation's exchequer through charges levied for navigation through a channel?

If a fully-laden ship gets grounded in a sand-bank, the entire geography of the channel will be changed. Continuous dredging of the channel will be required apart from regular maintenance of the depth of the channel and at the minimum, the channel has to be deepened as a continuing process. We may have to rent 10 dredger vessels. We cannot even service the interest payments for the capital costs we incur. Then, where is the income from the channel?

Many people are diverting attention from the real issues and politicising the channel issue.

Enough of this. Already a lot of tax-payers' money has been sunk in the ocean for this channel. People have become smart. They cannot be fooled anymore. If really someone wants to do something real for Tamil land, let the rivers of the nation be interlinked, at least some sweet drinking water will be available to the people.

Chicks coming home to roost. P-note-fame PC goose yet to be cooked as the rupee is in shambles.

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FDI reforms: Chidambaram digs a well as fire consumes rupee

by  13 mins ago 11:30 AM July 17, 2013
One should pity Palaniappan Chidambaram. Over the last few days, thanks to the rupee’s southward journey, he has been forced to start digging a well just when a fire is raging, and the actual actions aimed at putting out the fire show up the contradictions in his own low-interest rate policy.
Yesterday, the cabinet announced easier foreign direct investment (FDI) rules in 11 industries – ranging from telecom to defence. While 100 percent FDI will be allowed in telecom, in defence more than 26 percent will be allowed on a “case-by-case” basis.
In nine other sectors, rules were eased to allow foreigners to invest upto 49 percent through the “automatic route” in petroleum, natural gas and refining, commodity exchanges, power exchanges, stock exchanges, depositories, single brand retail trading, courier services, asset reconstruction companies and credit information companies. Barring petroleum and gas, the other eight segments were in no big need for foreign capital.
If the Congress party is on board for all these changes, it is only because the economy has been going steadily downhill and threatens to cost it the next election. This is why these reforms may ultimately mean nothing. They could be reversed if the Congress wins; or they could be in jeopardy if we have a hotch-potch coalition.
In any case,the time to start digging a well is not when the fire is raging. You first have to put it out, and then worry about digging a well. Making umpteen announcements about FDIis not going to put out the fire, or prevent the rupee from doing down in flames. At least, not immediately.
In a year of political uncertainty, not many foreign parties will be willing to risk big bucks on India. Moreover, opening up FDI by way of announcement is not the same as actually putting out the welcome mat when someone arrives. A case in point: FDI in multi-brand retail was opened up last year, but not one rupee of FDI has come in as investors are unhappy with the fineprint.
It is likely to be the same in the case of the nine sectors opened up for the “automatic route”. Even if the fineprint is legible, investors will wait to see what happens in 2014.
As for allowing more FDI in defence beyond 26 percent on a “case-by-case” basis, every cynic knows what this means: more scope for bribery. It is a non-reform, unless collecting political bribes is considered reforms.
On the other hand, Chidambaram’s fire-fighting measures on the rupee are an indirect admission of his own flawed policy of trying to cut rates to reignite growth.  When, two days ago, the Reserve Bank of India acted to curtail liquidity by raising overnight interest rates, it was a tacit acceptance that the premature push for rate cuts contributed directly to the rupee’s precipitous fall.
It is basic economics. If you want to boost supply, you raise prices. If you want to lower demand, you cut them. The market will balance the forces out and do the rest. So, if you want to boost investment, you first raise savings by upping rates – especially in an inflationary scenario. When the supply of savings rises faster than demand, interest rates automatically fall. And investors will swarm all over.
Opening up many sector for higher FDI is good, but not when India is in poll mode.
Opening up many sector for higher FDI is good, but not when India is in poll mode. PTI
But what has Chidambaram been doing? He has been demanding lower rates at a time when consumer inflation has never lost sight of double-digits. Even today, he has been quoted as saying that the RBI’s moves “should not be read as a prelude to policy rate changes” – which is his veiled warning to Governor D Subbarao, whose next monetary policy action is due on 30 July.
Consider the damage done in the process.
One, the call to keep lowering rates in the past forced savings growth to slow down from 36 percent to 30 percent. Domestic savers went for gold, and foreign investors noted the trend of rising dollar yields and concluded that the rupee is a loser. Chidambaram has thus directly contributed to the rupee’s weakening perceptions by his call to cut rates when it was not warranted.
Two, calling for lower rates when the current account deficit is so high is sheer folly. It is difficult to understand the government’s logic of allowing foreigners to invest more in Indian debt even while calling for lower rates. Little wonder, they all came in last year, and are now fleeing – worsening the rupee’s fall.
Three, the panicky action of the RBI by raising overnight rates has had the net effect of making government borrowings costlier since bond prices have crashed and yields have risen. Several state governments have had to postpone their market borrowings due to the RBI’s actions. The Economic Times reports that five state governments, including Gujarat and Karnataka, had to postpone their bond issues due to the rise in bond market yields.
Four, rising borrowing costs, a weak rupee, and slowing growth mean government tax revenues will also grow slowly. Chidambaram will thus be starved of budgetary resources this fiscal. This means he has to borrow more, which will push up rates further in the second half of the year.
Five, if the monsoon this year turns out to be good – as seems likely looking at its spread so far – we are going to have a bumper kharif harvest. This means banks will have to lend even more for food procurement, and food subsidies will soar. In this climate, we have Chidambaram saying that the Food Security Bill is the need of the hour. If the fiscal deficit is already going to be bad, how is the Bill going to make things better? The bills for food security will have to be met from higher borrowings – which means higher rates.
Six, the noises made by government banks aren’t reassuring either. The SBI went on record to say that it won’t be raising rates since the RBI’s measures were “designed to curb speculation in the market and are not seen by SBI as any systemic problem of deeper malaise.”
If a high current account deficit, a falling rupee, high consumer inflation and weak investment due to a drop in business confidence is not a sign of systemic problems, one wonders what is. It is more than likely that banks will have to raise short-term deposit rates if liquidity remains tight for an extended period.
The chickens are coming home to roost.

Uttarakhand Himalayan Tsunami -- BharathGyan

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Please find embedded a thought provoking article on the possible causes of recent tragic events in Uttarakhand.

This is an initiative of Bharath Gyan with Art of Living.

Few salient aspects of the possible causes of the nature's fury have been attributed to the following:

An Overpowering situation: plethora of Hydel power projects being built at close proximity of the the main river itself.

Shifting the silt: damning the river and in the process restricting the perennial enrichment of the plains by mineral rich silt from the hills.

Footprints on the Himalayas: Commercial opportunities have presented themselves in such times and man’s greed to make the most of them without thought. Special focus on Badrinath & Kedarnath

Barren without the Banj: pivotal role the Banj tree had played in maintaining the ecosystem of these hills. A bacteria called “pseudomonas Syringae” and Cloud Burst

Power of Energy, Shakti: the Dhari Devi temple had a subtle connect with the temples of Kali Math and Kedarnath that were designed and installed at specific angles with each other to balance the Shiva – Shakti energies.

The same have been dealt in detail in the document.

More at www.bharathgyan.com

http://www.scribd.com/doc/154271174/Uttarakhand-Flood-2013-Bharatgyan



Four Point Musharraf Formula – Oxymoroning India? -- Lt Gen Prakash Katoch

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Four Point Musharraf Formula – Oxymoroning India?

IssueNet Edition| Date : 16 Jul , 2013
Critics would scoff at the word ‘oxymoroning’ saying there is no such word. What the minister could not learn at Oxford that it was the minister’s party that had first coined the phrase “Nationalist Muslims” rightly for people like Maulana Azad which set the tail of MA Jinnah on fire, who in turn labeled them “Congress Muslims”. So any Indian, of any religion, caste or creed can be a Nationalist no matter how hard you want to deny it.
Ironically, nationalism is something most Indians appear to have forgotten, partly because it hardly is part of our education system aside from perfunctory routine shows on Independence and Republic days. The bottom line is that the minister, his peers and media puppeteers need to understand that a Hindu Nationalist is not an oxymoron. But the minister himself, his peers, media puppeteers and the pressured or paid media that bending backwards to Pakistan and China for sake of political power and personal gains will, if not already, earn them the unenviable title of “oxymoron” – or shall we say “political oxymoron” irrespective of being Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, whatever.
But what even Ma Jun fails to elaborate is whether the 30 feet red banner proclaiming the area as Chinese territory was made of pashmina to keep the intruders warm…
Political oxymoroning will obviously be lapped up by adversaries, latest example being, Ma Jun  of PLA’s Academy of Military Science describing the 19 kms deep PLA intrusion in Depsang Bulge as “activity not deliberately staged – camp set up merely to keep out the cold”, obviously cashing on the minister’s description of the intrusion as “a small acme on the face”. But what even Ma Jun fails to elaborate is whether the 30 feet red banner proclaiming the area as Chinese territory was made of pashmina to keep the intruders warm, whether the particular spot was chosen because of some unknown hot springs to “keep out the cold” and with this startling discovery whether the area is being claimed for keeps as a tourist destination, replete with bowls of hot biang-biang noodles.
One wonders how many in our political hierarchy are aware that in a ‘Letter to the American People’ that Osama-bin-Laden wrote in 2002, he stated that the one of the reasons he was fighting America is because of its support to India on the Kashmir issue. Simultaneously, the Christian Science Monitor reported in the same year their investigations having evidenced that Al-Qaeda and its affiliates were prospering POK with tacit support of the ISI. Now that was 2002 and today in 2013, the ambiguity created is that whether Al Qaeda is fighting America, if so in what measure or more importantly, whether Al Qaeda is fighting ‘for’ America? Same goes for Taliban. Those who cannot see the writing on the wall have surely qualified to the next level of oxymoroning – the ‘blind oxymoron’.
Now America using Al Qaeda in Libya and Syria, arming and embedding them in Middle East is no secret. Unfortunately, the Al Qaeda has not made much progress in Syria in toppling the Assad, implying that much is the delay in tackling Iran. But lo and behold, the Pakistan Taliban is now setting up base in Syria to help oust Assad; another remarkable fallout of America-Pakistani or shall we say Obama-Kiyani Bhai Bhai syndrome. Afghanistan in any case is offered to Al Qaeda-Taliban-Pakistan on a platter. So, the obvious pressure on India to give or rather keeps giving “more concessions” to Pakistan – act like Big Brother (India) because Big Brother (America) says so. Not without reason plenty analysts feel America couldn’t care less if J&K and even Arunachal Pradesh goes to China-Pakistan as long as India supports America in the Indo-Pacific Regions as part of their Asia Pivot.
Pakistan did the opposite and, unlike India, drastically altered demography of POK by design. 1948 UN Resolution on Kashmir gave Kashmiris only two choices – either remain with India or join Pakistan.
There is every possibility that when our hierarchy is so much at loss simply about ‘nationalism’, it would be utterly chaotic for them to understand as to what are these concessions to Pakistan that Big Brother is hinting at. But then for learning, one must start with the basics as to what is the ground situation, what ‘concessions’ India has already given and how has Pakistan responded. The 1948 UN Resolution on Kashmir, vide which Pakistan still demands, plebiscite, had categorical pre-condition that Pakistan withdraw all her security forces from territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) prior to plebiscite.  Pakistan did the opposite and, unlike India, drastically altered demography of POK by design. 1948 UN Resolution on Kashmir gave Kashmiris only two choices – either remain with India or join Pakistan.
Results of first ever poll both sides of the Line of Control in J&K conducted by Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatam House), UK in conjunction King’s College during 2009-2010 brought out that 98% of people in J&K do not wish to be part of Pakistan and 50% of people in POK do not wish to remain with Pakistan. It may be noted that this poll was financed by Gaddafi’s son on instigation of Pakistan. India has more Muslims than entire population of Pakistan. Muslims in India enjoy freedom of action in all spheres.
Three former Presidents of India and current Vice President (in his second tenure) are Muslims. Muslim community of Mumbai unanimously refused to permit bodies of Pakistani terrorists killed in the 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack to be buried in their burial ground. Indian Parliamentarian, Maulana Mehmood Madani of  Jamiat-e-ulema-e-Hind , gave President Musharraf a shut up call during the India Today Conclave held at New Delhi in 2009, telling him to mind his own business and leave Muslims of India alone. India has a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Army has its own Human Rights set up. Figures of NHRC (available on the web) prove that only 4-5% of human rights allegation in J&K against security forces have proved true. Where allegations have been proved true, exemplary punishments are given.
Numerous concessions given by India to Pakistan, some of which are : India declared a unilateral ceasefire in J&K in 1948 when Pakistani forces were on the run and Pakistan still illegally held one third of Kashmir. As per UN resolution of 1948, Pakistani security forces were to clear out from POK. Not only did Pakistan counter the UN mandate by reinforcing her security forces in POK, she has deliberately altered the demography of POK; India did not pursue delineation of Cease Fire Line (CFL) between India-Pakistan under the Karachi Agreement of 1949 beyond NJ 9842 – “northwards” to the Wakhan Corridor bordering China and Afghanistan; India did not go to UN when Pakistan transferred the Shaksgam Valley of J&K to China; India is giving 80 percent of water to Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty – far in excess to global norms related with size of the river basin; captured strategic Haji Pir Pass was returned to Pakistan in 1965; India treated 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of the 1971 prisoners with respect and returned them relying on verbal promise of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto during the Shimla Accord to resolve the Kashmir issue – a promise Bhutto reneged later; with a heart filled with friendship, Prime Minister Vajpayee took the bus to Lahore while Musharraf prepared to stab us in Kargil; Indian Army gave formal religious burials to Pakistani soldiers unclaimed and abandoned by Pakistan during the Kargil Conflict while Pakistani Army brutally tortured, maimed and killed Captain Saurabh Kalia, five other Indian soldiers and Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja; India granted MFN status to Pakistan years ago; India has given investment opportunities to Pakistanis in India.
Indian Army gave formal religious burials to Pakistani soldiers unclaimed and abandoned by Pakistan during the Kargil Conflict while Pakistani Army brutally tortured, maimed and killed Captain Saurabh Kalia, five other Indian soldiers…
Now let us look at how Pakistan has responded to Indian concessions: breeding terrorism in India; infiltrating terrorists; creating an armed terrorist architecture pan-India since early 1990’s; engineering endless terrorist attacks / acts in Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Gujarat, other parts of India including IC-814 hijack, attack on Parliament, 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack etc; refusing to act against Pakistani perpetrators of 26/11, nurturing,  patronizing and masterminding LeT acts against India; using the Haqqani network to target Indians and Indian interests in Afghanistan; pumping drugs and fake currency (minted in Pakistani government facilities) into India; open rallies in Pakistan professing balkanization of India, collection of funds and recruitment for jihad against India under the very nose of the administration and with open support of military veterans in connivance the ISI and military; refusal to acknowledge continuation of the ‘Karachi Project’ and other Pakistani complicity as disclosed by Abu Jundal; funding anti-India terrorists openly –as done in Pakistan’s Punjab etc.
Our political hierarchy needs to understand that given the stranglehold over Pakistan, the Pakistani Army does not ‘want’ peace with either India and Aghanistan least they be asked to return to barracks. This is the harsh truth and Pakistan has the backing of China and even the US in what they are doing to both India and Pakistan. So any amount of back bending is not going to ease the situation whether it is naiveté, Nehruvian utopia of everlasting peace or political oxymoroning for the sole purpose of retaining political power. The situation is going to get from bad to worse. The short, medium and long-term consequences of what policy we are following must be strategized with the bottom-line that India is on its own in conflict situations but at the same time we have no dearth of power if we know how to harness it.
As the story goes, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Musharraf came close to striking a deal on Kashmir in 2009. According to a US Embassy, New Delhi cable of April 21, 2009 leaked by Wikileaks,  Manmohan Singh confirmed this to a visiting US delegation, saying that the solution included free trade and movement across LoC. How have we accepted the perfidy of Musharraf in the first place when the slimy reptile has stabbed us at every possible step, describes India as the most devious enemy in his autobiography, was the master architect of Kargil intrusions, used Haqqanis to target Indians in Afghanistan and is being treated as an oxymoron in his own country? Let us not be carried away by open borders, trade and MFN, Pakistan will not stop working towards the balkanizing of India in conjunction China.

Click to buy on www.amazon.com
Most significantly, what is quoted in the wikileaks cable “solution included free trade and movement across LoC” is hiding the treachery behind the agreement;  softening of Line of Control, self-governance, phased withdrawal of troops from entire Jammu and Kashmir and joint supervision by India and Pakistan. No matter you may confer the Sadr-e-Riyasat what Omar Abdullah is angling at but then you are not fooling the Indian public are you? Even Omar and Co may end up paying with their lives since this agreement would be a prelude to Pakistan gaining full sovereignty over the Kashmir Valley and adjoining areas unless Omar takes an oath of allegiance to Pakistan. By restricting the army only to the borders and opening up the hinterland to terrorists, are you yourself not stabbing your own army in the back no matter however insignificant the military is for you? As it is, you have been facilitating the Hurriyat hardliners travel to Pakistan to meet Hafiz Saeed and gang, keeping the population in the dark, and with both the IB and ISI lining the pockets of these fellows, future plans for J&K must have already been chalked up in conjunction Pakistani military-ISI-Let especially after Americans scoot from Afghanistan. Then you are also instituting visa on arrival to facilitate terrorists entry so why this agreement?
The looming danger now is during the Prime Minister’s forthcoming visits to Pakistan and China that may also be preceded by some specially chosen oxymorons.
What appears incomprehensible is that you are not able to read indications like and are talking of open borders when: Pakistan is not letting up on terror against India – arming and supporting terrorists and insurgents including Maoists; LeT is attending the Maoists meetings; both LeT and Al Qaeda are firmly linked with the Popular Front of India headquartered in Kerala (as confirmed by both R&AW and IB) but political oxymoroning in india is preventing the MHA banning this organization; Pakistan is trying its level best to revive the Khalistani movement. This has also been conveyed directly to us by Special Forces of friendly countries who have been to Pakistan for training in recent times. Pakistanis have been telling them they ‘will’ succeed in this, these being just few examples.
The looming danger now is during the Prime Minister’s forthcoming visits to Pakistan and China that may also be preceded by some specially chosen oxymorons. As marriages are made in Heaven, so are Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers. Disregarding national interests for political power is not going to help. As for strategy, one could read the Gita but then that may itself be construed oxymoroning. So why not then heed at least Chanakya, who simply said that you neighbor is you natural enemy but more importantly went on in great detail to describe how to deal with neighbours. There is this document called Arthshastra provided our policy makers have the time to read and interpret it.




Modi offers a new Camelot. A wave may give him the numbers -- Pritish Nandy

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Modi offers a new Camelot

Pritish Nandy
20 June 2013, 07:50 PM IST




There's no doubt Narendra Modi is a big deal. He may not be everyone's hero. But for young, urban India, those who read Chetan Bhagat and watch Kai Po Che, his appeal has grown exponentially in recent months. Media pundits (the last to climb on to his bandwagon) think he could be the next PM. From a pariah in 2002, Modi is the star of 2013. And I don't think his support base is hardcore Hindu fanatics, as the Congress wants us to believe. Rather, it comes from young, secular, well educated, successful young men and women. They don't follow Modi because he espouses Gujarati asmita (which he does occasionally) or sells some exotic blend of Hindutva and nationalism (which he also does, but increasingly rarely) or because he's rabidly anti-Muslim, anti-Pakistan or anti-anything. They follow him because he promises them a new India.

What this new India is no one quite knows. It's a curious promise Modi has conjured up. Rajiv was the last Gandhi who sold us Camelot, much in the grand old tradition of the Kennedys. Modi, on the other hand, offers us a simpler version. Good roads, well built flyovers, electricity that does not fail, a modern, transactional society where corruption may exist but will not be half as corrosive and soul killing as it is today, and cities that can grow without falling apart. He doesn't offer high pitched rhetoric on stuff everyone knows he can't deliver on. He wants business to flourish, jobs to be created, dollars to come in, the rupee to stay strong. His vision may not be entirely inclusive. But then who offers inclusive politics in a country split by caste, religion, language, regionalism? What Modi offers is the dream of a new nation unburdened by history.

This suits our times. The young no longer care for history. Gandhi is a distant memory. Ayodhya, a bad dream. The young are not bothered about last week's headlines, leave alone last year's. Modi's pogrom is a decade old. Even the Muslims have moved on since then and, like the rest of India, are thinking about jobs, careers, money and opportunities. If Modi can offer them that, integrate them into the larger Indian dream, they will be happy to forget the past and look ahead. The Congress offers them the lollypop of secularism but nothing else. And no one is enamoured of empty promises  any more. The young want change. They want it quickly. Anyone who offers it to them is welcome, no questions asked.

It's not political amnesia alone that defines them. What defines them also is the search for a new India. They have heard about it before, in election doublespeak. But once elections are over, the traditional dynamics of Indian politics come back into play. Caste based reservations. Pampering of khaps. Vote bank politics. Socialist rhetoric. Gender prejudice. And corruption, all pervasive corruption. The more things promise to change, the more they stay the same. Both Congress and the BJP have the same problem: They seek the comfort of numbers on the basis of the existing status quo. The young resent that. They know they have no role to play in such politics. Their only hope lies in change, and Modi for them represents the possibility of that change. Rahul doesn't. (In fact, last week's Cabinet reshuffle underscored that.)

Rahul doesn't because he's a Congressman, a Gandhi. Whereas Modi is not the BJP. He is a lone wolf. He may make all the right noises but he reports to no one, is accountable to none That's why he takes the kind of decisions a party man may not, being forced to balance countervailing forces. Modi balances nothing. He allows rebellion to raise its head and then squashes it. The young see that as the capacity to act, to take a decision against all odds. That's why Modi appeals to them. He's everything they want to see in the new India. Quick decision making. Decisive policy changes that can achieve swift results. No looking back at the past. The burial of history, and a new Discovery of India. It's ironic Nehru's great grandson has abdicated that role. It's equally ironic the BJP which saw glory in our Hindu heritage has now found itself a leader unabashedly campaigning to be the next PM on the plank of a new, modern, unapologetic identity that seeks to capture the future.

Will he succeed? I have no clue. The algorithms of electoral politics are fickle. But many people believe (and no, they are not all BJP flunkies) that he could. Traditional arithmetics don't give him the numbers. But then, a wave just might.
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/extraordinaryissue/entry/modi-offers-a-new-camelot

Chinese soldiers lose sanity controlling peaceful Tibetan protesters -- Claude Arpi

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Chinese soldiers lose sanity controlling peaceful Tibetan protesters

By Claude Arpi on July 16, 2013
Chinese soldiers lose sanity controlling peaceful Tibetan protestersLast week, during their annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Deputy Secretary of State William Burns had some wide-ranging discussions. During the two-day talks, Burns asked his Chinese counterpart about the fate of the Tibetans and Uighurs in the People’s Republic.
On the last day, when the two leaders held a joint Press conference, Yan Jiechi reiterated that all was well in the Land of Snows: “China has made important progress on human rights. People in various regions in China including Xinjiang and Tibet are enjoying happier lives and they are enjoying unprecedented freedoms.”
Yang was deeply unhappy with the annual human rights report of the US State Department which spoke of deteriorating conditions in Tibetan areas and Xinjiang. He hit back at US, urging Washington to look into its own courtyard: “We hope the United States will improve its own human rights situation.”
Yang may believe that the Tibetan enjoy ‘unprecedented freedoms’, but his own People’s Armed Police (PAP) suffers in an unprecedented manner on the Roof of the World.
This emerges from a secret Chinese document which has recently been smuggled out of Tibet and later translated by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), a human right agency based in Dharamsala.
The document, dated October, 2008 is called ‘A Handbook on Psychological Counseling and Protection During Stability Maintenance Work in Tibetan Areas’. It was drafted by the medical staff department of the Sichuan’s PAP Corps. Its objective is to counsel the paramilitary forces doing “maintenance stability work in Tibetan areas”, an euphemism for repression of peaceful gatherings on the Tibetan plateau. The ‘handbook’ was prepared to take care of the psychological health of the armed police. Various hospitals and heath institutes participated in drafting the document which explained: “The purpose of this handbook is to create awareness on common psychological problems faced by PAP soldiers in stability maintenance in Tibetan areas and to identify common psychological problems to strengthen the ways and means to handle such problems while carrying out stability maintenance tasks” because the PAP’s ‘psychiatric well-being is needed to maintain stability’.
Well Mr Yang, even if the Tibetan masses are unprecedentedly happy, your police forces seem to have a serious problem.
The handbook answers the questions of the stressed jawans in a question-and-answer format.
First question: How to ease mental stress faced by stability-maintenance troops in Tibetan areas?
The answer gives the background of ‘the work’: “Ever since the soldiers began their responsibility of maintaining stability in Tibetan areas despite all the risks and dangers, on the whole they have kept a determined mind, without succumbing to fear, and made lots of efforts bearing all hardships.”
But it is not so easy to control unarmed non-violent Tibetan crowds. The handbook says: “However, the environment of Tibetan areas is very unique and special, and carrying out activities there entails lots of complexities.”
Indeed, 60 years after the so-called Liberation of Tibet, the Chinese stress out as soon they reach the plateau.
The handbook goes into detail into different cases of severe headaches, nightmares, flashbacks of brutal episodes such as beating (self-immolations had not begun when the manual was written): “If you face unbearable experiences such as insomnia, it would have an extremely negative impact on your responsibility to carry out work successfully.” The unnecessary psychological traumas should be resolved in an appropriate time, says the manual. It explains further: “If you are suffering flashbacks, you should close your eyes and imagine that you are zooming in on the scene like a camera. It may feel uncomfortable. Then zoom all the way out until you cannot see anything. Then tell yourself the flashback has gone.”
Perhaps, perhaps not!
It appears now that special teams have been visiting the region, spending months at a time counseling Chinese troops.
The handbook even says that the lack of oxygen at high altitude can worsen the syndrome by “decreasing rational thinking and leading to short temper or depression.”
There is a consolation, you will have the support of the masses and praise from the Party, if you “resolutely implement the directives of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission and Chairman Hu Jintao” and fight the ‘separatists’. Does this really help?
The handbook even provides a phone number (0833-2452776) to call in case of emergency.
The main issue seems to be that the PAP works in a completely foreign environment, with no understanding of the country, the language, the culture or the mindset of the Tibetans. Many of the soldiers live (and sleep) in fear of being attacked; some even see maroon frocks of monks in their nightmares.
Matthiew Akester, a Tibetan speaking scholar who has studied the handbook, explains: “This document provides rarely seen low-level testimony that China’s security forces see themselves as engaged in a taxing counter-insurgency in Tibet, despite the absence of armed opposition, or indeed any substantial threat to their personnel.”
The latest example of unreasoned and needless shooting by the PAP occurred on the occasion of the 78th birthday of the Dalai Lama on July 6 in Tawu County in Kardze Prefecture of Sichuan.
It was reported that at least nine Tibetans sustained serious gunshot wounds; some of them are believed to be in a critical condition. Horrific pictures of a monk, Tashi Sonam, who was shot in his head circulated on the Internet. Apparently, the PAP troops lobbed teargas shells on a religious gathering, and later beat monks and lay people.
The manual clearly explains the symptoms of constant fear of the soldiers who often panic in front of the ‘peaceful’ sight of a crowd burning incense and chanting mantras.
By the way, last week the Commander of the People’s Armed Police in Tibet, Major General Guo Yili, died suddenly of heart attack. He was just 56 years old and had served his entire career in Tibet.
Still not acclimatised? Too much stress? Who knows?

Setusamudram Channel Project makes no nautical sense: only DMK's politics (Tughlak, 24 July 2013)

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Capt. (R) Balakrishnan who had commanded the Frigate Trishul of the Indian Navy had noted in a series of articles that the Setusamudram Channel Project does NOT make nautical sense. His views have been upheld by the Pachauri committee appointed by the PM for over 2 years and declared that the project was NOT economically nor ecologically feasible.

Any guesses as to why DMK Chief Karunanidhi is raking up the issue despite such counsel from experts? With only 2000 ships worldwide of the category of 15,000 to 35,000 dwt., can Karunanidhi reasonably expect heavy traffic through this mid-ocean, shallow channel -- subject to the risks of perpetual sandbanks -- to make Tamilnadu a vallaras'u -- rivalling the navigation traffic through Suez or Panama canals which are land-based? Which Captain of which ship will choose and will risk navigating through a hazardous channel and subject his vessel to run aground hitting sandbanks?

A two-page article in Tughlak magazine (Tamil) by Venkat provides some details of interest.

Tad Murthy, an international expert on tsunamis had warned about the dangers posed by the channel because the area is tsunami-prone. And, if another tsunami strikes, the waves will rush through the channel devastating the south India coastline ports.

Fisherfolk of Tiruelveli and Kanyakumar districts are opposed to the project since it will ruin their livelihood. Pearl and conch diving industries will be decimated.

Even assuming Rs. 5 lakhs as cess for each navigating vessel, only ships with less than 30,000 tonnage can navigate the channel.

But, the total number of ships all over the world, of less than 30,000 tonnes are only 7,000 according to computations by Lloyd Insurance. Most ships are larger than 50,000 tonnes capacity. The total number of ships navigating ALL Indian ports has not exceeded 12,000 per year. So, the money spent so far on the project is wasted and more expenses should not be incurred for an uneconomical venture with very little nautical sense.

According to intelligence sources, most of the ships out of the 7000 with carrying capacities of less than 30,000 tonnes were either directly or indirectly  owned by LTTE. An Interpol message noted that these 7000 vessels are used for illicit arms and drug trafficking.

DMK which did not raise a war-cry then is now taking up the cause of the channel project which does not make nautical sense, is an economic and ecological disaster. What is the reason? Don't the DMK cadre know the realities outlined? They know. Karunanidhi seems to have this up to feed the political hunger of his party folk.

[End of free translation and excerpting.]

Here is a report on small-sized ships; according to this report, there are only 2000 ships of Handysize, that is of deadweight of 15000 to 35000 tons:

Handysize most usually refers to a dry bulk vessel (or, less commonly, to a product tanker) with deadweight of about 15,000–35,000 tons. Above this size are Handymax bulkers (typically 35,000 - 58,000 tons deadweight); there is no well-defined or widely accepted size sector below 15,000 tons.Handysize is numerically the most common size of bulk carrier, with nearly 2000 units in service totalling about 43 million tons.
Handysize is also sometimes used to refer to the span of up to 60,000 tons, with Handymax being a subclassification, rather than a larger category...Handysize bulkers are built mainly by shipyards in JapanKoreaChinaVietnam, thePhilippines and India, though a few other countries also have the capacity to build such vessels. The most common industry-standard specification handysize bulker is now about 32,000 metric tons of deadweight on a summer draft of about 10 metres (33 ft), and features 5 cargo holds with hydraulically operated hatch covers, with four 30 metric ton cranes for cargo handling. Some handysizes are also fitted with stanchions to enable logs to be loaded in stacks on deck. Such vessels are often referred to as 'handy loggers'.
Despite multiple recent orders for new ships, the handysize sector still has the highest average age profile of the major bulk carrier sectors.

Today, most of handysize vessels operate within regional trade routes. These ships are capable of traveling to small ports with length and draught restrictions, as well as lacking the infrastructure for cargo loading and unloading. They are used to carry small bulk cargoes, often in parcel size where individual cargo holds may have a different commodity. Their dry bulk cargo includes iron ore, coal, cement, phosphate, finished steel products, wooden logs, fertilizer, and grains to name a few.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handysize

With this background information, read the report of Commander Muthiah of Sivakasi:


 

பதிவு செய்த நாள் : ஜூலை 15,2013,00:00 IST

சேது கால்வாய் திட்டம்: உண்மை என்ன?

ஊ.முருகையா, கடற்படை கமாண்டர் (பணி நிறைவு), சிவகாசியிலிருந்து எழுதுகிறார்: என், 35 ஆண்டு கடல்சார் பணிகளில் கிடைத்த அனுபவத்தை கொண்டு, சேது கால்வாய் திட்டத்தின் லாப, நஷ்டத்தை பற்றி மக்களுக்கு தெளிவுபடுத்த விரும்புகிறேன். அதிக நீளம் இல்லாத, சூயஸ் கால்வாயும், பனாமா கால்வாயும் இரு கடலுக்கு இடையே உள்ள, நிலப்பரப்பில் தோண்டப்பட்டு, இரு புறமும் மதில் எழுப்பப்பட்டு, கடல் மண்ணால், கால்வாய் மேவாத அளவுக்கு உருவாக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.


கால்வாயின் இரண்டு புறம் உள்ள, கடல் பகுதியின் தரை மட்டம், கால்வாயின் தரை மட்டத்தை விட அதிகமாக இருக்கும். எனவே, இயற்கை சீற்றத்தாலும், ஆழ்கடல் மணல் அரிப்பாலும், ஆழ்கடல் நீரோட்டத்தாலும் கால்வாயின் ஆழத்துக்கு எந்த பாதிப்பும் இங்கு இல்லை. இதன் மராமத்து செலவும் மிகக் குறைவு. கப்பல் போக்குவரத்து மிக அதிகம். எனவே, வருமானம் அதிகம். சேது சமுத்திர கால்வாய் திட்டம், இதற்கு எதிர் மாறாக உள்ளது. சேது கால்வாய் திட்டம் என்பது, நடுக்கடலில் ஆழம் தோண்டி கால்வாய் அமைப்பது. இயற்கையை எதிர்த்து, நாம் போராட முடியாது. உலகில் உள்ள, அனைத்து கடல்சார் அமைப்புகளுக்கும், பாக் - ஜலசந்தி, மன்னார் வளைகுடாவைப் பற்றி நன்கு தெரியும். உலகிலேயே, மிக அதிகமான ஆழ்கடல் நீரோட்டம் உள்ளது இப்பகுதி. திசை மாறி மாறி வீசும் காற்றின் வேகமும், இந்தப் பகுதியில் தான் அதிகம்.


நாம் மணல் தோண்டிக் கொண்டே போனால், பின்னால், மணல் மேவிக் கொண்டே இருக்கும். இப்பகுதியில், கடலில், ஆறு மணிக்கு ஒரு முறை, நீர் மட்டம் ஏறும், இறங்கும். இந்த கால்வாயின் நீளம் அதிகமாக இருப்பதால், கடல் நீர் மட்டம் உயர்ந்துள்ள நேரத்திற்குள், கால்வாயை கடக்க முடியாது. காற்றின் வேகம், அதிகப்பட்டால் கப்பல் நேர் கோட்டில் செல்ல முடியாது. எவ்வளவு திறமை வாய்ந்த கேப்டன்களாக இருந்தாலும், தவறு நடந்து விடும். ஒரு கப்பல் சுற்றி வந்தால் நேரமும், எரிபொருளும் கூடுதல் ஆகும் என்பது சரி. 5,000 கோடி ரூபாய் மதிப்புள்ள சரக்கு கப்பலை, இம்மாதிரி பயணித்து விட்டு தரைதட்ட விடுவரா? சந்தேகத்தின் அடிப்படையில் உள்ள எந்த கால்வாயையும், கப்பல் கேப்டன்கள் புறக்கணித்து விடுவர். பின், நாம் கடையை திறந்து என்ன பிரயோஜனம்? கல்லா பெட்டி நிறைய வேண்டுமல்லவா?


முழு சுமையோடு வரும் கப்பல், தரையில் உட்கார்ந்து விட்டால், பின் இந்த கால்வாயின் பூகோளமே மாறிவிடும். இந்த கால்வாய் மராமத்துக்கு பின் ஆழம் தோண்டிக் கொண்டே இருக்க வேண்டும். குறைந்தது, ஆழம் தோண்டும், 10, "டிரெட்ஜர்' கப்பல்களை வாடகைக்கு எடுக்க வேண்டும். நாம் செலவு செய்யும் பணத்துக்கு, வட்டி கூட கட்ட முடியாது. பின் ஏது வருமானம்? இப்பிரச்னையை வைத்து, பலர், பாமர மக்களை திசை திருப்பி அரசியல் செய்கின்றனர். இதுவரை, மக்கள் வரிப்பணத்தை, கடலில் கொட்டியது போதும். மக்கள் அறிவாளி ஆகிவிட்டனர். இனி, மக்களை ஏமாற்ற முடியாது. உண்மையிலேயே, தமிழ் மண்ணுக்கு ஏதாவது செய்ய வேண்டும் என்று நினைத்தால், தென்னக நதிகளை இணைக்க பாடுபடட்டும். மக்களுக்கு, ஓரளவு ருசியான குடி தண்ணீராவது கிடைக்கும். 


http://www.dinamalar.com/splpart_detail.asp?id=67
English translation:

Dinamalar, 15 July 2013 (Tamil Daily)

What is the truth about Setusamudram Channel Project?

U. Murugaiah, Indian Navy Commander (Retd.) writes from Sivakasi. Based on my 35 years' experience working in the oceans, I wish to inform the public about the pros and cons of the Setusamudram Channel Project. Short distance Suez and Panama canals are canals dug in the land between two oceans; the canals have embankments on either side and are so designed as to prevent sandbanks entering the canals.

The canal bed is at a higher elevation than the sea-bed on either end of the canals and hence, during high waves during sea-sstorms or movements of sands from the ocean beds do not adversely affect the depth of the canals. Hence, the maintenance costs of the canals are very minimal. Navigation through the canals involves a large number of high-volume carrying ships and hence, the revenue earned by the canals is high. The Setusamudram Channel Project is an exact opposite of this situation.

Setusmudram Channel Project is a deepening of the mid-ocean to create a navigable channel and is an affront against natural forces. We cannot fight against nature. All organizations and institutions involved with coastal zones and oceans know about the Gulf of Mannar and the Persian Gulf. This Mannar region is situated in the ocean with very deep ocean depths and very heavy wind-currents alternating with clocjk-wise and anti-clockwise movements of wind-currents.

If we keep on dredging the deep-ocean sands, sandbanks will keep filling up the dredged areas. In this Gulf of Mannar ocean region, sea-depths (bathymetry) increase and decrease cyclically every six hours. Because the Setusamudram channel is long, navigation through the channel is NOT possible during the periods when the ocean waves reach great heights. When the wind currents intensify, the ships cannot navigate in a straight-line. However efficient a ship's captain, mistakes will occur. As the ship tosses about, time is lost and increased consumption of fuel will result in higher navigation costs. Will any captain allow a Rs. 5000 crore ship to be exposed to such navigational hazards including the possibility of getting stuck in sand-beds? Any captain will avoid navigation of a ship through such nautically hazardous channels. So, what is the benefit of opening the shop of such a Setusamudram channel? Should we not be ensuring income to the nation's exchequer through charges levied for navigation through a channel?

If a fully-laden ship gets grounded in a sand-bank, the entire geography of the channel will be changed. Continuous dredging of the channel will be required apart from regular maintenance of the depth of the channel and at the minimum, the channel has to be deepened as a continuing process. We may have to rent 10 dredger vessels. We cannot even service the interest payments for the capital costs we incur. Then, where is the income from the channel?

Many people are diverting attention from the real issues and politicising the channel issue.

Enough of this. Already a lot of tax-payers' money has been sunk in the ocean for this channel. People have become smart. They cannot be fooled anymore. If really someone wants to do something real for Tamil land, let the rivers of the nation be interlinked, at least some sweet drinking water will be available to the people.
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/07/setusamudram-channel-what-is-truth-u.html

Shinde's explanation rings hollow, Congress can't hide truth about Ishrat Jahan -- Kartikeya Tanna

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Shinde’s explanation rings hollow, Congress can’t hide truth about Ishrat Jahan


By Kartikeya Tanna on July 17, 2013

Shinde's explanation rings hollow, Congress can't hide truth about Ishrat Jahan
Yesterday afternoon, several reporters asked Union Minister for Home Affairs Sushil Kumar Shinde on why an NIA note (or an excerpt from a report) on the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba agent David Headley mentioning Ishrat Jahan was not being released or confirmed by his Ministry. Shinde avoided commenting on Ishrat’s terror links giving an excuse which holds little water.
Before Shinde’s explanation is examined, it is useful to understand the reason why it was sought by the media. Apparently, an NIA note/report (NIA UO No. 4/2009/NIA/16104) dated 13/10/2010 contains a Paragraph 168 wherein Headley mentions that Ishrat Jahan was one of Muzzammil’s “botched up” operations. This has been circulating in the media for a few weeks now. The writer has previously written a column explaining this.
In response to questions seeking clarification on what exactly Headley said about Ishrat, Shinde said(originally in Hindi) that: (a) he did not have any report with him; (b) whatever Headley may have said, that would have been said to the FBI; (c) there is an agreement between the FBI and our police (i.e. NIA) to not disclose anything.
The reason why this explanation rings hollow, and looks like a rather lame excuse, is that a version of the NIA interrogation report of October 2010 along with Headley’s 175-paragraph statement explaining his association with the LeT is already in the public domain. There are at least two portals where one can find the report and Headley’s statement.
One is The Investigative Project on Terrorism, a US-based non-profit research group founded by an eminent consultant, where a scanned copy of the entire NIA report has been uploaded. Readers interested in examining that report may click here. The other portal, closer to home, is IBNLive. Readers may clickhere. In fact, this report was made available to the media.
This report, though, does not contain any reference to Ishrat Jahan. It seems increasingly clear now that the version made public is a ‘sanitised’ one which removed references to Ishrat on the pretext that they were in the nature of ‘second hand information’ and ‘hearsay’. Strangely, though, the report made public has several instances of ‘second hand information’ and ‘hearsay’ as pointed out by this writer.
Now, Headley has never been in the custody of Indian investigating agencies. The NIA interrogated him in the US in 2010 after the US Department of Justice permitted it to do so. More importantly, Headley has never been probed by the NIA alone. As the NIA report states in the beginning, NIA probed him for a total of 34 hours in the presence of FBI prosecutors and FBI officials.
Therefore, if Shinde is trying to say that anything said by Headley in the presence of FBI is subject to the non-disclosure ‘agreement’ between the FBI and NIA, that ‘agreement’ has all but lost its efficacy given that Headley’s statement is very much in the public domain.
Moreover, much has been made of former Home Secretary GK Pillai’s volte-face of sorts where he appears as giving Ishrat the “benefit of doubt” despite making vehement assertions on her LeT links two years ago. Lost in this “U-turn” is a critical concession later on in the report where he says that FBI did provide MHA with an input that Headley had mentioned about Ishrat.
Did Headley talk about Ishrat to FBI alone? It isn’t entirely clear why Headley would talk about Ishrat to FBI and not NIA. Moreover, if one carefully examines Paragraph 168 that has been circulating around, it starts with “on being asked about Ishrat Jahan”. This implies that the interrogators asked Headley about Ishrat Jahan pursuant to which he gave information.
If this implies that FBI asked Headley about Ishrat, one wonders why. And, if FBI actually did ask, does it mean that even the FBI thought Headley might know about Ishrat? A US investigating agency questioning an LeT agent about Ishrat is either unfathomable or revealing – either way, it is extremely significant.
If, on the other hand, the NIA asked Headley about Ishrat, why is that information being withheld when 175 paragraphs uttered by Headley are already in the public domain?
It is becoming increasingly clear that Shinde and, possibly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are concealing vital information about Headley’s reference of Ishrat under some or the other pretext. Shinde, Singh and the Congress core group have reportedly seen, and perhaps discussed, this NIA note. It is rather obvious that any concession from these individuals on Headley’s reference to Ishrat would be a political risk Congress cannot afford at this stage.
Secondly, it is useful to remember that the MHA, led by P Chidambaram, had hurriedly rushed a ‘further’ affidavit in proceedings before the Gujarat High Court which sought to dilute the sensation created by its first affidavit. Did Chidambaram, the then Home Minister, have any role in ‘sanitising’ the NIA report of which he would have first access?
This has only muddied the waters further giving rise to some crucial questions, the answers to which might be even more difficult to obtain.
http://www.niticentral.com/2013/07/17/shindes-explanation-rings-hollow-congress-cant-hide-truth-about-ishrat-jahan-105599.html

Evidence proves Ishrat Jahan was an LeT member: Ajit Doval


By Niticentral Staff on July 8, 2013
In an exclusive interview with Kanchan Gupta on NWRLive’s Views Hour, Ajit Doval, former Director of the Intelligence Bureau said there was, “impeccable evidence to prove Ishrat Jahan was a member of the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba. Doval said, “The very manner in which the entire investigation was started indicates that the things were less than transparent.”
Doval had been the head of the Operations Wing of the IB for a decade before he became the director of IB and is the recipient of the highest gallantry awards, the Kirti Chakra. He was the first police officer to receive this medal which was previously only given as a military honour. Doval has the distinction of being the youngest police officer ever to get the Indian Police Medal for meritorious service. He got it six years after joining the police. The norm is at least 17 years of service.
The incident had taken place way back in 2004 and that year itself the Ministry of Home Affairs had given an affidavit that they had done their investigations and found that there was nothing wrong in the way the encounter happened. The investigation also found that Ishrat Jahan and the other three who were killed with her were members of the terrorist group.
During the conversation, Doval said that for years no one thought that there was any need to start the investigation in the case prima facie as there was no evidence against the police and the Government of Gujarat. What the motivation was behind such an investigation to start with is worth considering. It was politically motivated or showed some kind of vendetta.
He very categorically said that it is evident that the investigation was not done on the proper lines. The investigating agency did not consider David Headley’s evidence, LET’s report, evidence from police in Kashmir, and evidence from people who knew Ishrat Jahan and her terror links. He said, “This is a case where the conclusion was pre-decided and evidences were created where none existed, to arrive at the pre-decided conclusion.”
He said, “CBI is an institution and all institutions are made and run by people. People who investigated the case must have some personal or other consideration and that is why they did not act in professional way when they investigated the case. In recent times, for many cases it has been observed that CBI has not conducted the investigation objectively but have conducted them for political gains.”
Doval was of the view that one political party, to gain political mileage from a particular segment of the society, is using Ishrat Jahan as an icon to show that one particular State and its Government will undo the favours that they want to grant to that segment of the society. He said that this is one reason why no one talks about what Ishrat Jahan was doing with those three men in Gujarat who were killed along with her and that is why no one is talking about the precedents of those three men and for what motives they were in Gujarat.
During the talk with NWRLive, Doval said that the links of Ishrat Jahan with LET is unquestionable. There is enough evidence that she was LET’s terrorist and there is so much evidence that has not been put forward before the court. Ishrat Jahan was under observance for long for her connections with ISI and LET and she was regularly communicating with them.
Doval gave no importance to the fact that Ishrat was a student and said, “One can be a student and still be a terrorist if the evidence proves so and there has been ample evidence to prove that Ishrat was a terrorist and not just a cover that the three men killed along with her were using her as.” Doval said she knew all about what they did and she was very much a part of their gang. In normal situations, 19-year-old girls do not move around with three men for work purposes and it has never been mentioned for what work she was moving with them for.
In a one-of-its-kind incident where an IB officer is named publicly, Doval said, “It is really unfortunate that an officer of the calibre of Rajendra Kumar has been named.” He said there is lot of bad blood between IB and CBI and this cannot go on for long and that the issue should have been handled with more maturity. Doval also added that the investigating agency, by implicating Rajendra Kumar, tried to crack him and that they wanted to implicate someone else through Kumar by making him provide evidence against them but that did not happen and the result has been in creating great damage to the reputation of the government and CBI. It is very unfortunate that an intelligence officer was ousted and named in public for political gain.
http://www.niticentral.com/2013/07/08/evidence-proves-ishrat-jahan-was-an-let-member-ajit-doval-101111.html

China: out of India, out of Tibet. More power to India's Mountain strike corps.

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Centre okays 50,000-strong force to tackle Chinese threat

  • By Express News Service - NEW DELHI

18th July 2013 07:34 AM
The Union government on Wednesday decided to raise a 50,000-strong force of mountain strike corps along the eastern sector at a cost of Rs 65,000 crore to boost India’s offensive capability to counter  neighbouring China.
The nod for the Indian Army’s proposal came from a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, government sources said here.
The expenses for raising the new strike corps, which would have more than 50,000 troopers and specialist mountain warfare equipment, will be spread over a seven-year period till 2020, with funds flowing during both the 2012-17 12th plan and 2017-22 13th plan periods under its Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP), sources said.
Along with the mountain strike corps, which will be based at Panagarh in West Bengal, the Indian Army has also mooted two new ‘independent’ infantry brigades and as many ‘independent’ armoured brigades. Plans in this regard are yet to finalised, though the new brigades are likely to cost Rs 19,000 crore.
The new brigades would plug operational gaps along the 4,057-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) and would boost counter offensive capabilities.
The new mountain strike corps will be tasked with an offensive role in the north-eastern part of India, where Arunachal Pradesh shares a long LAC with China, which has been claiming the State as its territory.
The proposed formation will be the fourth such offensive corps apart from the existing three strike corps — 1 Corps based in Mathura, 2 Corps at Ambala and 21 Corps at Bhopal — focused on Pakistan. The new mountain strike corps was mooted after the Indian armed forces incorporated the possibility of a two-front war with Pakistan and China in it doctrines.

The new mountain strike corps proposal has already been tweaked and approved by the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC), headed by Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne and has Army chief General Bikram Singh and Navy chief Admiral D K Joshi as members.http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Centre-okays-50000-strong-force-to-tackle-Chinese-threat/2013/07/18/article1688814.ece

Published: July 18, 2013 01:58 IST | Updated: July 18, 2013 09:32 IST

Cabinet nod for mountain strike corps along China border

Vinay Kumar
In this file photo, an Indian soldiers patrols near the Line of Actual Control at Kaman Post, Jammu and Kashmir. The Cabinet Committee on Security has given its in-principle approval to the Army’s proposal to raise a mountain strike corps along the China border.
The HinduIn this file photo, an Indian soldiers patrols near the Line of Actual Control at Kaman Post, Jammu and Kashmir. The Cabinet Committee on Security has given its in-principle approval to the Army’s proposal to raise a mountain strike corps along the China border.

The Army unit will take care of India’s operational gaps along the Line of Actual Control

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Wednesday gave its in-principle approval to the Army’s ambitious proposal to raise a mountain strike corps along the China border.
At a long-drawn CCS meeting here on Wednesday, presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the proposal to raise a mountain strike corps was discussed in detail, highly placed government sources told The Hindu.
The CCS approval came after the Defence Ministry clarified certain questions raised by the Finance Ministry over the proposal. The CCS nod for the Army’s proposal, has been pending for the past few years, came nearly two weeks after Defence Minister A.K. Antony returned from his maiden visit to Beijing.
The strike corps is expected to cost Rs. 62,000 crore, spread over the entire 12th Plan (2012-17), the sources said.
The Army is learnt to have proposed raising a mountain strike corps, two independent infantry brigades and two independent armoured brigades to take care of its operational gaps along the entire line of actual control (LAC) with China.
The proposed strike corps, with about 45,000 soldiers and headquartered at Panagarh in West Bengal, will also give India the capability to launch offensive action in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in the event of a Chinese offensive. India has also got two infantry divisions at Lekhapani and Missamari in Assam, which were raised in 2009-10 to take care of operational needs in Arunachal Pradesh.
On the other hand, China has about five fully-operational airbases, a well laid down rail network and over 58,000- km of roads along the Indian border, which enable it to move over 30 divisions (each with over 15,000 soldiers) to the LAC, outnumbering the Indian forces.
The Army has been evaluating the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) ground-air combat military drill on the Tibetan plateau that took place in March.
On infrastructure-building by China along the border, Mr. Antony told Parliament earlier this year that the government was regularly monitoring all developments in “our neighbourhood,” which have a bearing on national security. “Required measures have been initiated through development of infrastructure and operational capabilities to achieve desired levels of defence preparedness to safeguard the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of India,” he had said in a written reply.
Keen to get the Air Force also on board, the CCS on earlier occasions is learnt to have asked the armed forces to work out finer details and come up with a compact proposal for raising a strike corps. Discussions on raising such a force, and two additional divisions for defence of Arunachal Pradesh, began about six years ago and continued at various levels, before the proposal was sent to the CCS a year ago, government sources familiar with the development said.
The proposed strike corps will draw support from IAF fighters operating from renovated bases in the northeast. Sukhoi-30s have been posted at bases in Tezpur and Chhabua. In addition, Jorhat, Bagdogra, Hashimara and Mohanbari bases are also being upgraded.
“The PLA has held at least 21 exercises in the Tibet region over the past one-and-a-half years. These have been designed for specific scenarios. These exercises also convey to India that they are gearing preparations in high altitude conditions. China wants to convey that it is testing and strengthening its conventional deterrents and enhancing military capability in hostile territory,” Srikanth Kondapalli, chairman of Centre for East Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, had earlier told The Hindu.
ONE XI TAUGHT A LESSON, ANOTHER FAILS TO LEARN IT
President Xi Jinping has been talking a great deal of reclaiming the past glories of communism in China and building on it a new ‘dream’ for his country. What if that dream sours, like others did in the past?
The 10th Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party’s 8th Central Committee was held in September 1962 in Beijing. It was to be a crucial meet not only because Mao Zedong had decided to attack ‘arrogant’ India, but because it witnessed the first purge which culminated in the Cultural Revolution a few years later.
According to Dr Li Zhisui, Mao’s private physician and author of The Private Life of Chairman Mao, “During the Plenum, Mao retook the upper hand on the Party and his old comrades. He reemphasized class struggle in order to prevent the emergence of revisionism.” The main casualty of the Plenum was Xi Zhongxun. The Vice-Premier’s mistake was that he was too close to Marshal Peng Dehuai who had dared to criticise Mao’s Great Leap Forward in 1959; further, Xi Zhongxun was suspected to support the ‘Three Nis’, thanks to the Chinese pronunciation: Kennedy (Ken-ni-di), Nikita Khrushchev (Ni-ji-ta), Nehru (Ni-he-lu).
At the time of the Plenum, Xi Zhongxun’s son was a young boy; he was only nine years-old. He must have been deeply traumatised when his father was sent to the wilderness of Chinese gaols for the next 16 years. Senior Xi would only be rehabilitated by his old Comrade Deng Xiaoping in 1978.
Fifty-one year later, Xi Zhongxun’s son, today China’s President and General Secretary of the Communist Party, exhorts the Chinese nation to return to the good old Communist values. It is difficult to comprehend, but last week, Xinhua reported: ‘Xi urges China to keep red’.The new Emperor paid a visit to Xibaipo in the northern province of Hebei; it was the old revolutionary base, where from May 1948 to early 1949, the Communist leadership worked on the blueprint of the new Red China.
According to Xinhua, addressing the Party cadres, Xi Junior “urged the 85 million members of the Communist Party of China to work hard and serve the people wholeheartedly to ensure the color of red China will never change.”President Xi Jinping warned the Party cadres against the Four Decadences: Formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance. While fighting laxity, mediocrity and corruption, Xi said the campaign should focus on self-purification, self-perfection, self-renewal and self-progression. Xi called for “thorough inspection, overhaul and cleanup”.
He probably did not have in mind the rectification session of the 10th Plenum, when he said: “Late Chinese leader Mao Zedong’s remarks on Party members’ work styles prior to the founding of New China in 1949 still have far-reaching ideological and historical significance.”
His recent leitmotif has been: “If every CPC member and every grassroots organ…do a good job, the Party will be strong, the country will be strong and people will be strong. Thus, the Party’s rule will have a solid foundation.” The President asked the senior provincial officials to take the lead in the ‘Campaign on Mass Line Education and Practice’; Mao Zedong used the word, ‘mass line’ to explain the need for the Party to stay in touch with the ‘masses’.
President Xi’s point is that if the Party is unable to do this, it will die. The ‘chaos’ so feared by the old emperors will then follow. At the same time, he does not want to blindly follow the ‘Western’ style of democracy which would, according to him, destroy the ‘Chinese characteristics’ of the Middle Kingdom. He probably believes that the Indian model is not efficient enough.
The new drive is not limited to the cadres, the People’s Liberation Army too have to “nurture the core values of the contemporary revolutionary soldier” and have to do “a better job in educating, nurturing and molding the soldier’s character”. This mass line scheme follows a campaign calling for a Chinese Dream, the catchword of the new Chinese leadership. The People’s Daily explains Xi’s Dream: “The Chinese dream is a dream for development.” The leadership today believes that China has become the stabiliser of the world economy and following the international financial crisis, its new engine.
For the new President: “The Chinese dream is a dream for harmony. Unfair and unreasonable old international order which has not been fundamentally changed is the most important cause of world chaos and dilemma.” That is not all, the Chinese dream is a dream for cooperation and finally a dream for peace: “China stands for peace settlement for global disputes and issues and the new security concept of mutual trust, mutual benefit and cooperation.”
The South China Morning Post quotes Professor Wang Yukai of the Chinese Academy of Governance agreeing with Xi: “The key to the Party’s rule is to improve its capacity to rule and maintain its internal vitality.” That sounds nice. Chinese like it so much that hundreds of think-tanks, universities, national and regional institutions have started studying ‘The Dream’ and begun publishing comments and dissertations on it.
Even the PLA is praising the Dream. The People’s Liberation Daily has even gone a step further: “It is like seeing a ship’s mast in the sea, like seeing the radiant sun rise in the east”. The Editor added: “It is the dogma of my belief, the cosmic truth. ...The dream is more important than anything…it is like water that carries the ship; like the wind that sustains the wings.”
It is rare for the Chinese Army to have glimpses of the ‘cosmic truth’. Is it this ‘cosmic’ experience which guided some Chinese jawans to the Depsang Plain, near Daulat Beg Oldi in the rarefied altitude of Ladakh or in Chumar, when some of them stole ‘dysfunctional’ surveillance cameras from the Indian side of the LAC? But some voices already doubt the new campaign. Li Haiqing, a Communist Party historian at the Central Party School writes in Study Times, the School newspaper: “The mass line is not an effective substitute that can realise the function of democracy.”
This reminds me of the thoughts of Li, when looking at the flat ECG of the Great Helmsman who had just passed away: “In the beginning, I had adulated Mao. He was China’s saviour, the country’s messiah. But this had long since passed. My dream of a new China, where all men would be equal and exploitation ended, had been shattered years before. I had no faith in the Communist party, of which I was still a member; [today], an era has ended, Mao’s time has passed.” President Xi wants to revive the past, it seems a pipedream.
The problem is that if the Dream turns sour, it may have serious consequences for China as well as its neighbours. India should watch carefully.



The CIA's New Black Bag Is Digital -- Matthew M. Aid

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MATTHEW M. AID 

JULY 17, 2013


[When the NSA can't break into your computer, these guys break into your house.]


During a coffee break at an intelligence conference held in The Netherlands a few years back, a senior Scandinavian counterterrorism official regaled me with a story. One of his service's surveillance teams was conducting routine monitoring of a senior militant leader when they suddenly noticed through their high-powered surveillance cameras two men breaking into the militant's apartment. The target was at Fridayevening prayers at the local mosque. But rather than ransack the apartment and steal the computer equipment and other valuables while he was away -- as any right-minded burglar would normally have done -- one of the men pulled out a disk and loaded some programs onto the resident's laptop computer while the other man kept watch at the window. The whole operation took less than two minutes, then the two trespassers fled the way they came, leaving no trace that they had ever been there.

It did not take long for the official to determine that the two men were, in fact, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives conducting what is known in the U.S. intelligence community as either a "black bag job" or a "surreptitious entry"operation. 

Back in the Cold War, such a mission might have involved cracking safes, stealing code books, or photographing the settings on cipher machines. Today, this kind of break-in is known inside the CIA and National Security Agency as an "off-net operation," a clandestine human intelligence mission whose specific purpose is to surreptitiously gain access to the computer systems and email accounts of targets of high interest to America's spies. 

As we've learned in recent weeks, the National Security Agency's ability to electronically eavesdrop from afar is massive. But it is not infinite. There are times when the agency cannot gain access to the computers or gadgets they'd like to listen in on. And so they call in the CIA's black bag crew for help. 

The CIA's clandestine service is now conducting these sorts of black bag operations on behalf of the NSA, but at a tempo not seen since the height of the Cold War. Moreover, these missions, as well as a series of parallelsignals intelligence (SIGINT) collection operations conducted by the CIA's Office of Technical Collection, have proven to be instrumental in facilitating and improving the NSA's SIGINT collection efforts in the years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 

Over the past decade specially-trained CIA clandestine operators have mounted over one hundred extremely sensitive black bag jobs designed to penetrate foreign government and military communications and computer systems, as well as the computer systems of some of the world's largest foreign multinational corporations. Spyware software has been secretly planted in computer servers; secure telephone lines have been bugged; fiber optic cables, data switching centers and telephone exchanges have been tapped; and computer backup tapes and disks have been stolen or surreptitiously copied in these operations. 

In other words, the CIA has become instrumental in setting up the shadowy surveillance dragnet that has now been thrown into public view. Sources within the U.S. intelligence community confirm that since 9/11, CIA clandestine operations have given the NSA access to a number of new and critically important targets around the world, especially in China and elsewhere in East Asia, as well as the Middle East, the Near East, and South Asia.(I'm not aware of any such operations here on U.S. soil.) 

In one particularly significant operation conducted a few years back in a strife-ridden South Asian nation, a team of CIA technical operations officers installed a sophisticated tap on a switching center servicing several fiber-optic cable trunk lines, which has allowed NSA to intercept in real time some of the most sensitive internal communications traffic by that country's general staff and top military commanders for the past several years. 

In another more recent case, CIA case officers broke into a home in Western Europe and surreptitiously loaded Agency-developed spyware into the personal computer of a man suspected of being a major recruiter for individuals wishing to fight with the militant group al-Nusra Front in Syria, allowing CIA operatives to read all of his email traffic and monitor his Skype calls on his computer.

The fact that the NSA and CIA now work so closely together is fascinating on a number of levels. But it's particularly remarkable accomplishment, given the fact that the two agencies until fairly recently hated each others' guts.

Ingenues and TBARs

As detailed in my history of the NSA, The Secret Sentry, the CIA and NSA had what could best be described as a contentious relationship during the Cold War era. Some NSA veterans still refer to their colleagues at the CIA as 'TBARs,' which stands for 'Those Bastards Across the River,' with the river in question being the Potomac. Perhaps reflecting their higher level of educational accomplishment, CIA officers have an even more lurid series of monikers for their NSA colleagues at Fort Meade, most of which cannot be repeated in polite company because of recurring references to fecal matter. 

One retired CIA official described his NSA counterparts as "a bunch of damn ingenues." Another CIA veteran perhaps put it best when he described the Cold War relationship amongst and between his agency and the NSA as "the best of enemies." 

The historical antagonism between the two agencies started at the top. Allen W. Dulles, who was the director of the CIA from 1953 to 1961, disliked NSA director General Ralph Canine so intensely that he deliberately kept the NSA in the dark about a number of the agency's high-profile SIGINT projects, like the celebrated Berlin Tunnelcable tapping operation in the mid-1950s. 

The late Richard M. Helms, who was director of the CIA from 1966 to 1973, told me over drinks at the Army-Navy Club in downtown Washington, D.C. only half jokingly that during his thirty-plus years in the U.S. intelligence community, his relations with the KGB were, in his words, "warmer and more collegial" than with the NSA. 

William E. Colby, who served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1973-1976, had the same problem. Colby was so frustrated by his inability to assert any degree of control over the NSA that he told a congressional committee that "I think it is clear I do not have command authority over the [NSA]." And the animus between CIA director Admiral Stansfield Turner (CIA director from 1977-1981) and his counterpart at the NSA, Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, was so intense that they could only communicate through intermediaries. 

But the 9/11 terrorist attacks changed the operational dynamic between these two agencies, perhaps forever. In the thirteen years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the NSA and CIA have largely, but not completely, moved past the Cold War animus. In addition, both agencies have become increasingly dependent on one another for the success of their respective intelligence operations, leading to what can best be described as an increasingly close symbiotic relationship between these two titans of the U.S. intelligence community. 

While the increasingly intimate relationship between the NSA and CIA is not a secret, the specific nature and extent of the work that each agency does for the other is deemed to be extremely sensitive, especially since many of these operations are directed against friends and allies of the United States. 

For example, the Special Collection Service (SCS), the secretive joint CIA-NSA clandestine SIGINT organization based in Beltsville, Maryland, now operates more than 65 listening posts inside U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. While recent media reports have focused on the presence of SCS listening posts in certain Latin America capitals, intelligence sources confirm that most of the organization's resources have been focused over the past decade on the Middle East, South Asia,and East Asia. For example, virtually every U.S. embassy in the Middle East now hosts a SCS SIGINT station that monitors, twenty-four hours a day, the complete spectrum of electronic communications traffic within a one hundred mile radius of the embassy site. The biggest problem that the SCS currently faces is that it has no presence in some of the U.S. intelligence community's top targets, such as Iran and North Korea, because the U.S. government has no diplomatic relations with these countries.

At the same time, SIGINT coming from the NSA has become a crucial means whereby the CIA can not only validate the intelligence it gets from its oftentimes unreliable agents, but SIGINT has been, and remains the lynchpin underlying the success over the past nine years of the CIA's secret unmanned drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere around the world. 

But the biggest changes have occurred in the CIA's human intelligence (HUMINT) collection efforts on behalf of NSA. 

Over the past decade, foreign government telecommunications and computer systems have become one of the most important targeting priorities of the CIA's National Clandestine Service (NCS), which since the spring of this year has been headed by one of the agency's veteran Africa and Middle East hands. The previous director, Michael J. Sulick, is widely credited with making HUMINT collection against foreign computer and telecommunications systems one of the service's top priority targets after he rose to the top of the NCS in September 2007. 

Today, a cadre of several hundred CIA NCS case officers, known as Technical Operations Officers, have been recruited and trained to work exclusively on penetrating foreign communications and computer systems targets so that NSA can gain access to the information stored on or transmitted by these systems.Several dozen of these officers now work fulltime in several offices at NSA headquarters at Fort George G. Meade, something which would have been inconceivable prior to 9/11. 

CIA operatives have also intensified their efforts to recruit IT specialists and computer systems operators employed by foreign government ministries, major military command headquarters staffs, big foreign multinational corporations, and important international non-governmental organizations.

Since 9/11, the NCS has also developed a variety of so-called "black boxes" which can quickly crack computer passwords, bypass commercially-available computer security software systems, and clone cellular telephones -- all without leaving a trace. 

To use one rudimentary example, computer users oftentimes forget to erase default accounts and passwords when installing a system, or incorrectly set protections on computer network servers or e-mail accounts. This is a vulnerability which operatives now routinely exploit.

For many countries in the world, especially in the developing world, CIA operatives can now relatively easily obtain telephone metadata records, such as details of all long distance or international telephone calls, through secret liaison arrangements with local security services and police agencies. 

America's European allies are a different story. While the connections between the NSA and, for example, the British signals intelligence service GCHQ are well-documented, the CIA has a harder time obtaining personal information of British citizens. The same is true in Germany, Scandinavia and the Netherlands, which have also been most reluctant to share this sort of data with the CIA. But the French intelligence and security services have continued to share this sort of data with the CIA, particularly in counterterrorism operations. 

U.S. intelligence officials are generally comfortable with the new collaboration. Those I have spoken to over the past three weeks have only one major concern. The fear is that details of these operations, including the identities of the targets covered by these operations, currently reside in the four laptops reportedly held by Edward Snowden, who has spent the past three weeks in the transit lounge at Sheremetyevo Airport outside Moscow waiting for his fate to be decided. Officials at both the CIA and NSA know that the public disclosure of these operations would cause incalculable damage to U.S. intelligence operations abroad as well as massive embarrassment to the U.S. government. 

If anyone wonders why the U.S. government wants to get its hands on Edward Snowden and his computers so badly, this is an important reason why.

Conversation on FP.com

Nasser_Alyassi
Nasser_Alyassi
In the discussion of the American history in espionage and covert actions, one controversial issue has been how to execute such operations without endangering the old morale and ethical reputation of the USA as being the beacon of freedom, liberty and equality. When it comes to the national security and stability, does the United States welling to sell its claimed values? If the US did so, isn't hypocrisy? On The one hand, many members of the US intelligence community (since their training is based on the military doctrine) believe in the Machiavellian rule “ends justify means". For them, national security is paramount, and therefore such idealistic values should not come across the road of eliminating the enemies of liberty and democracy. Moreover, they believe that espionage and covert actions contrarily will secure these values against a wild savage world that hates the American freedom.
On the other hand, however, many will argue that derailing the moral and ethical values is in fact an undermining for the foundations of the US and its constitution that came from the struggle of the founding fathers against a tyrannical, authoritarian British regime at that time. If the US gave up its own core values, it will lose its credibility and its exceptionalism against other nations. They even contend that by doing so the US will lose the war of ideology against the barbaric nations.
Although I agree with the former argument on the importance of preserving the national security against all threats, I fully find myself attracted to the second argument. Yes, losing the ethical basis of the US is an existential threat. I would argue that it is the number one threat that has the ability to drag the US into unprecedented situation similar to the Civil War in 1861. First, the US political structure is nested on the constitution and the bill of rights. Any attempts (intentionally or non-intentionally) to liquidate them will result in weakening the adhesiveness of the only glue that holding the diverse elements of the American nation. By spying on its own citizens, the US will suffer from a long-term mistrust especially from the minorities and new immigrants who primarily fled prosecution and security monitoring. Second, the baseless spying will add another reason (beside the unequal distribution of wealth in America) for the remnants of 99% movement. The protesting spirit is still there in the US, and the failure of the polarized government to deliver its people expectation would boil up the American streets. Losing the only ideological advantage will take off the last fig leaf, and will revive the 99% movement in a new form. Finally, the US would find itself in a worse position than the dictatorship regimes in the Middle East. At least in those regimes, people already noticed that they are being monitored by the security apparatus. While in America the US government is not only abusing people’ rights, it is lying about it.
I believe that the major problem with the US security strategy that it has a frozen ideology of the Cold War Era. The Intelligence community failed to free itself from the prison of George Kennan doctrine which in public claims it is taking peaceful diplomatic approach, while behind the scene it is executing  an aggressive covert actions against its enemies, allies, and most important of all its own people.
John Newcomb
John Newcomb
Interesting that the CIA-NSA tiff seems to reflect something also going on in Canada, between CSIS and RCMP, as evidenced in recent Royal Canadian Navy spy working for Russia probably being fingered by NSA, and then passed on to FBI, and then the delay while CSIS and RCMP got their act together - but probably only when goaded by FBI.

CSIS knew of navy spy's activity, left RCMP in the dark: 

Don't know what the Dutch government thinks about NSA/CIA, but for the British, appears that at least one parliamentary committee doesn't seem to have to much of a problem. Ditto the Germans if NSA or CIA work helped get their Russian spys: 

UK spy agency's use of U.S. data was legal - parliament: 

Spy trade: Russian agents in Germany may be up for exchange:  


HughO
HughO
ARE = acronym rich environment: BFW to all you 3-letter acronyms. This whole ghastly article is a paean of praise to creepy sleaze-ball spooks - those slithery slimy creatures of the night found under stones, devoid of any moral purpose or deed beyond the perceived need for more and more information. And yet, no matter how much data you acquire, you lack both brains and integrity to serve any useful purpose to Mankind. Why don't you measure your success by the number of lives you have saved or improved, rather than aiding ghoulish corporates?  Try and understand that though we may not be American, our lives have equal value.
Why don't you get yourself a real job doing something useful - like mending shoes? God Bless Ed Snowden.
Kaliban
Kaliban
 HughO A) As far as any government but your own is concerned, your life does not have equal value. That goes for the Americans, the British, the Chinese, Brazilians, anyone.

b) By their very nature most intelligence agencies are only know for their failures, not their successes. The CIA and NSA have both saved lives but we rarely hear about it until long after that fact because that is the way intelligence works. 

c) Grow up. No matter what country you live, I can guarantee you only have the ability to sit at a computer and complain because someone, somewhere is spying and killing to keep it that way.   
HughO
HughO
 Kaliban a) According to International Law my life has equal value. It is your government that is in defiance of International Law.
b) I suggest that you are talking rot. Think of the millions killed at CIA behest in ideologically-driven programmes conducted in Indonesia, Vietnam, Central and South America. Its a pretty long indictment of murder, torture, terror and injustice. And you can bet your bottom dollar if these murdering thugs ever saved any life, their propaganda machine would make it known (in articles like this above).
c) "Grow up" to you = accept the status quo. As we say in NZ, "yeah, right" = I don't think so. Why do you think anyone needs or wants extreme violence and subterfuge? The CIA/NSA is a business designed primarily to foment wars and insurrections to justify their own existence and to ensure that arms manufacturers more business.

One can only presume that you yourself are a part of this spying and killing regime, or perhaps some cog in its propaganda vomitorium. So when you stop killing and spying, I'll stop complaining. Until then, get used to it.
SeandaRealist
SeandaRealist
 HughO  
What programs are you referring to that the CIA has killed millions?

Apparently you have access to some information the rest of the world needs to know about.  Come on, don't keep it to your self, share with the rest of the world all of these dastardly deeds.

And be specific, with details and dates and places.  We don't want to have any vague or misleading information floating around.  Inquiring minds want to know.  Where are all of the bodies and evidence to back up your claims.

Don't delay, you could be saving a life after all..........

Wikipedia and SNOG lyrics won't count mate!


http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/07/16/the_cias_new_black_bag_is_digital_nsa_cooperation?print=yes&hidecomments=yes&page=full

Bharati: a script to unite all 22 Indian languages -- Prof V Srinivas Chakravarthy to unveil in a few weeks' time

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Single Script That Unifies All 22 Indian Languages [In Conversation With Creator]

India is a very diverse country, but its diversity is amplified due to presence of hundreds of dialects, tens of languages spoken and about dozens of different scripts that are used to write these languages.
While there are quite a few people in India who can understand or know to speak more than 5 different languages, there is hardly anyone who can write more than 2 scripts apart from English. Due to this, communication becomes a major issue between people from across the states.
unified script 001 | Single Script That Unifies All 22 Indian Languages [In Conversation With Creator]
This scenario may change soon, if an ambitious project undertaken by IIT Madras Professor becomes successful. Prof. V Srinivas Chakravarthy has applied a patent for unified script that unifies 22 different Indian languages. The script has been created with a simple goal of enabling communication in all languages via a single script.
We spoke to Professor Chakravarthi to understand more about this unified script and here is what he had to say:
In simple terms, this Bharti script is derived from sounds made by words that we used in all languages. Existing Indian scripts have a issue, they are quite complicated – even a small change in sound may need a completely different letter. Bharti Script removes this problem by creating only a small change in alphabet based on difference on how it sounds.
The most appealing aspect of Bharti script is its simplicity – According to prof. Chakravarthy, anyone with a knowledge of a single Indian language can learn Bharati script in matter of couple of hours.
One thing is for sure, it is a very ambitious idea, but something that can surely change how we communicate and learn our languages. Even  if it is not widely accepted, it has many applications such as creating public Signs in Bharti script that can be easily understood by anyone. (Think tourist places, Highway directions and signage etc)
Prof. Chakravarthy told us that he has already applied for patent and will be unveiling the language in few weeks time.

IIT prof writes one script to unify 22 languages

M Ramya, TNN Jul 17, 2013, 05.18AM IST
CHENNAI: India has 22 official languages. Schools teach in 58 different languages. There are newspapers in 87 languages. And, about a dozen major scripts are used to communicate in these languages.
Though the country once boasted about this linguistic complexity, people have since found that it poses barriers to effective communication.
An ideal situation would be the use of a single language across India, but researchers feel that it is too ambitious a project. "There are impossible difficulties to creating a unified language in India, not least because of the huge emotional component," said V Srinivas Chakravarthy, an IIT-Madras professor. A simpler goal would be to figure out a unified script that can convey information in all Indian languages, said the professor of biotechnology, whose work spans computational neuroscience and pattern recognition.
Chakravarthy has drawn up one such script that he calls Bharati, which can be used for regular writing and can be learnt easily. "Anyone who knows one of the major Indian scripts can learn Bharati script in an hour," said Chakravarthy, who has applied for a patent for the Bharati script.
Most Indian alphabet systems are organised as vowels and consonants; Bharati follows this pattern without the elaborate flourish. The script combines the simplest features of several existing scripts to come up with a new one that is logical and simple.
Chakravarthy said English is arbitrary. "There is no logic to why A comes first and Z last. Indian scripts are logical," he said. "But, they are also unreasonably complicated and ornate."
For instance, he said, the long form of the alphabet that makes the sound 'ah' in the Devanagiri/Hindi script is written by adding a vertical bar to produce the sound 'aah'. The long form of the alphabet making the sound 'e' is written by adding a hook to make the 'ee' sound.
"Why should we have so many different conventions just to denote the long version of a vowel?" said Chakravarthy. He studied these inconsistencies and made sure that the Bharati alphabets follow a consistent design.
Experts welcome the initiative, saying Indian languages had a lot of shared words. "It's a good attempt that can bring people together. But, whether people, politicians or teachers like me will let it happen is a different thing," said S C Chaudhary, member of the Indian Linguistic Association in Pune. He hoped that the effort would put an end to the domination of English, which is threatening to overtake all other languages.
Awadesh Kumar Mishra, director of Central Institute of Indian Languages in Mysore, said such a script would be useful for the average Indian, who is likely to know just one language. The Technology Development for Indian Languages programme, initiated by the ministry of communication and information technology, is making a similar attempt to facilitate human-machine interaction without a language barrier, he said.
Chakravarthy's script has immediate application in signs, especially at tourist attractions. Bharati can be developed into an online handwriting recognition system for Indian languages on smartphones and PDAs because it can be used to help develop better algorithms to recognise all languages.

Tweet Francis @Pontifex to get an indulgence

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THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013 A blogpost of Jayasree Saranathan


Twitter finds new utility as Gate way to Christian God by writing off sins!

The idea of God is indisputable only when the religious Thought that supports that idea stands indisputable from all counts of human probing. That is why there are numerous discourses and debates in Hindu Thought, the crux of which can be seen in Brahma sutras and Upanishads. These texts have established that such a God is "Satyam, gyanam, anantham Brhama" .  The rishis have established that even words and mind cannot reach Him. That puts God in a pedestal high above everyone. One has to emulate Him (madbhaavam) if he wants to reach Him. 

Suppose a God can be reached by the modern tool of Twitter, can he be a God? For Christians it is not an issue. By offering to reduce the time of confinement for the sins, to the Twitter followers of the Pope, Christians have demonstrated how shallow their Faith is and how there is absolutely no theological or even rational basis for their Religion. 

Given below is the best of the comments I have come across on this amusing idea. It is given by an Octogenarian, Mr MK Krishnaswamy, who was one among the two who were instrumental in making me take up blogging. He says,

It was interesting to note that 'time' measured by earth-standard is the universal scale to determine the period of punishment in other regions of the universe. Science may yet escape this by discovering travel-back in time; they can then patent their technique and compete with the pope! 
Or, the well-funded sinners can manage to escape from confinement (purgatory)  by continuing their earthly cunning ways after death from wherever the prison is. 
May be, after failing to prevent/catch sinners, the Pope likes to try in other ways adopting modern techniques like Twitter - minimum effort, maximum result. Tweet and catch - it's so easy. Wonder how they didn't think of it earlier."

Another comment from an unknown person,
"I thought Rome had abolished Hell and Purgatory, 
leaving  Heaven as the only option [ without the Seven Virgins, of course ].
Nota bene:     Today is NOT the 1st of April "

Details in The Guardian article here:

Vatican offers 'time off purgatory' to followers of Pope Francis tweets
Papal court handling pardons for sins says contrite Catholics may win 'indulgences' by following World Youth Day on Twitter

By
Tom Kington in Rome
The Guardian, Tuesday 16 July 2013 18.50 BST

In its latest attempt to keep up with the times the Vatican has married one of its oldest traditions to the world of social media by offering "indulgences" to followers of Pope Francis' tweets.

The church's granted indulgences reduce the time Catholics believe they will have to spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins.

The remissions got a bad name in the Middle Ages because unscrupulous churchmen sold them for large sums of money. But now indulgences are being applied to the 21st century.

But a senior Vatican official warned web-surfing Catholics that indulgences still required a dose of old-fashioned faith, and that paradise was not just a few mouse clicks away.

"You can't obtain indulgences like getting a coffee from a vending machine," Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, head of the pontifical council for social communication, told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Indulgences these days are granted to those who carry out certain tasks – such as climbing the Sacred Steps, in Rome (reportedly brought from Pontius Pilate's house after Jesus scaled them before his crucifixion), a feat that earns believers seven years off purgatory.

But attendance at events such as the Catholic World Youth Day, in Rio de Janeiro, a week-long event starting on 22 July, can also win an indulgence.

Mindful of the faithful who cannot afford to fly to Brazil, the Vatican's sacred apostolic penitentiary, a court which handles the forgiveness of sins, has also extended the privilege to those following the "rites and pious exercises" of the event on television, radio and through social media.

"That includes following Twitter," said a source at the penitentiary, referring to Pope Francis' Twitter account, which has gathered seven million followers. "But you must be following the events live. It is not as if you can get an indulgence by chatting on the internet."

In its decree, the penitentiary said that getting an indulgence would hinge on the beneficiary having previously confessed and being "truly penitent and contrite".

Praying while following events in Rio online would need to be carried out with "requisite devotion", it suggested.

Apart from the papal Twitter account, the Vatican has launched an online news portal supported by an app, a Facebook page, and it plans to use the online social networking site Pinterest.

"What really counts is that the tweets the Pope sends from Brazil or the photos of the Catholic World Youth Day that go up on Pinterest produce authentic spiritual fruit in the hearts of everyone," said Celli.
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