Nov

30

A few things we already knew last Sunday

November 30, 2008 posted by indiatime | 2 Comments

So much seems to have changed in a matter of just one week. Here’s a short list of things that we already knew last Sunday.

1. Home minister Patil was incapable of handling war on terror
I wrote about this exactly one week ago last Sunday, asking for the job to be given to someone else with military perspective. Most Indians would have agreed with this last Sunday, but some in government didn’t. Patil has now resigned and the current finance minister is taking the home portfolio.

2. Pakistani agencies and India’s most wanted man Dawood Ibrahim continue to support terrorist operations against India
Once again, most Indians knew this last Sunday, including those within the Indian government. For some strange reason, India is unable to make this case on the world forum. This Sunday morning, we are a tad surer about this.

3. Hemant Karkare, the ATS chief, was a man of unquestionable integrity and character
Almost two months ago, I wrote about Hemant Karkare, having known him personally for years. Now the rest of the nation knows that to be a fact.

4. Jihadi terrorists in India regularly communicate with Pakistani agencies
Last year, a Gujarat politician and the first cousin of spacewoman Sunita Williams was killed by this combined crime gang. The perpetrators were jailed. Those jailed terrorists have been busy making calls to Karachi, using cellular phones smuggled inside the Sabarmati jail. So if jailed terrorists can communicate with their Pakistani backers using cell phones, imagine what those not in jail can do. But we have known this for years. Now, we are a bit surer.

5. It is safer to be under the radar
Terrorists usually prefer big name and known targets to publicize their actions. Somehow, western tourists who flaunt to India usually prefer big name hotels, pursuing and preferring a sanitized and exotic version of India. But there is a huge India that starts just off of the Taj and the Oberoi, which are two hotels at the border. It is a little below the radar and probably a little safer.

Nov

30

26/11, The blame game, chapter 3 - Dawood Ibrahim

November 30, 2008 posted by indiatime | 3 Comments

“….Mumbai was Mumbai. There we had everything, here one cannot have the life or the fun we did in India….”
- Dawood Ibrahim’s associate to Pakistani journalist

India’s most wanted criminal, our own Osama - Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar has proved to be an elusive character. Having left India in the late 1980s, his grip on Mumbai’s underworld is still intact, and his connections in Karachi’s underworld have never been better. That’s because Dawood Ibrahim’s illegally accumulated wealth has been playing wonders for him wherever he is. When he lived in Dubai for years, famous Bollywood stars were eager to be photographed with him (including a sitting parliament member from Mumbai), famous singers and composers (including a sitting judge on Indian Idol) entertained him, politicians knew him, film financiers borrowed from him, Cricketers thanked him for his patronage of the game.

A few years ago, Dawood, having turned a small-time mafia operation into a corporation with the help of Pakistan’s ISI, formed a partnership with radical fundamentalists and separatist militants. The merger gave Dawood something he never had before - young impressionable minds with religious fervor. And it gave the militants a venture capitalist who would invest in their ideology so long as it fit his purpose. The third and the most important link in this terror trifecta is the local political machinery of Pakistan, its spy agencies, and elements within its military.

India has been tracking Dawood and his activities for last 20-plus years. India has known about his Bollywood and sports connections for years if not decades. After the 1993 blasts, some of the accused and Dawood accomplices were rumored to have escaped on flights with some heavyweight politicians sitting in the next seats. Some of India’s recent television celebrities have been known to have associated with and romanced with Dawood’s closest friends.

All of which makes one believe that India has never been really serious about Dawood. We have known that he has lived in Dubai for years. We never really pressured Dubai into handing him over. We have known about his Karachi residences and his email ids and phone numbers and everything. But all India has ever managed to get out of the rest of the world is Dawood’s name being listed by the US on the top world terrorist list. That’s hilarious because his one-time wife and his son from her are said to be living a peaceful life in America. Time and again, Pakistan has denied that Dawood lives in Karachi. But everyone else seems to know his residential address in Clifton, Karachi.

Dawood’s friends and family still live happily in Mumbai, and seem to have quite cordial relations with the Mumbai police. And almost a dozen of his known associates have been let out of jail in recent times.

So once again, we come to this point where, knowing well that Dawood has a hand in the Mumbai terror attacks (providing the logistical and backend support and probably financing the operation itself), the real blame must lie with those who have taken this dangerous man for a friendly gangster, allowing him to be in our public lives, whether as a cricket bettor or a film financier or a political backer. It is beyond belief that India knows where this person lives and still cannot pressure countries much smaller than ourselves, to hand him over to us.

Maybe we just don’t have enough leverage or international standing to pressure any other nation about anything. If that is the case, we should stop any and all poppytalk about superpowerdom. Because that makes us look really stupid. Or maybe our politicians just do not have it in them to muster enough will and gather enough fortitude to stand up and demand from, or pressure any other nation. Maybe that’s why, even when they try in earnest, our leaders’ demands sound more like beggings and their roars sound more like mere whimpers.

And shame on all those Indians who associated themselves with Dawood Ibrahim. The music composers, actors, parliament members, Cricketers, politicians, chief ministers, all of them. I hope they feel sorry and I hope they feel some remorse for having befriended the killers of Hemant Karkare and Vijay Salaskar and Ajit Kamte and Major Unnikrishnan and all other heroes who lost their lives this week.

Nov

29

From the moment we first heard of the terror attack in Mumbai, it was clear that the shield and sense of security that we thought we lived under, had been breached. Most of the agencies that are normally tasked with being our protectors from external and internal enemies, were taken by surprise and completely caught off guard two days ago. Wait. How can they be caught off guard if being on guard is their job in the first place. Well, then someone didn’t do their job right.

No matter how smart the terrorists, no matter how brilliant their tactics, we thought we had people who knew how to protect us. Once our protectors woke up however, they went above and beyond their duty, many of them giving their precious lives, and all of them eventually did us proud. And most of us would agree that hindsight is always 20-20 and second-guessing of such courageous public servants is unwarranted, especially in volatile hostage situations, where one has to fight the enemy with hands tied behind. Still, nothing should be taboo since this is a land of free speech and we value that more than anything else.

The navy:
The navy is supposed to be our first and last line of defense at the sea. It is just unbelievable that foreign combatants were able to land on our coast with bags laden with heavy ammunition. For last few weeks, Indian navy has been basking in glory because they fought and sunk a pirate ship or two hundreds of miles away from home. And here we are with enemy boats lining right up against the gateway of India, and the navy has no clue that the defense barrier has been breached. Why were the coast guards sleeping at their job? Where was the commander partying that night? We are talking about the world’s fifth largest navy that has 55,000 personnel and 150-plus vessels and an aircraft carrier and nuclear submarines and missile-launching capabilities. What good is all that if you cannot bloody keep awake on your duty?

The intelligence agencies:
We can put a satellite all the way on the moon and can take the high-resolution pictures of the lunar surface. But we do not have a satellite constantly watching our own coasts. Well, we do have satellites constantly looking down upon us, but they are used to broadcast our stupid and idiotic daytime soaps and utterly useless Cricket games that go on 500 times a year. So all that satellite technology we have invested in and all the work that ISRO has done and all the efforts of the space scientists cannot produce one watchful eye in the skies for us? Darn it.

India is supposed to be one of the most advanced user of cellular technology. With all the cellphone conversations that go on amongst the terrorists and their supporters and their ISI friends, how is it that we cannot tap any of that stuff barely a few miles away on the planet? Or maybe we forgot that such things are possible and routinely done by most nations!

Our intelligence agencies must have gathered some data on the Kashmiri militants, the ISI operatives, the Dawood henchmen, the high-ranking sympathizers within Pakistani government, every one of them. What have our analysts been doing at their desks? How come none of them thought of a scenario such as this one? Why haven’t they prepared a detailed plan of a suicide-hostage drama in the middle of a bustling metropolis?

We cannot use technology to our advantage. We don’t seem to have penetrated the inner rings of the bad guys. We have absolutely no idea of devastating plans being made across the border, to wipe out our existence. We do not have any idea how to prepare ourselves for worst-case scenarios.

The Anti-terrorism squads:
Hemant Karkare was a family friend. He was a rare man with integrity and honesty the likes of which are hard to come by nowadays. And his death is a personal loss and a very painful one.

Having said that, I cannot understand how the ATS leadership in general, not foresee a disaster scenario such as this one. And how did they end up underestimating the enemy? Why did the top officers of the ATS stay close together instead of spreading out? Why did the ATS leaders not have a rapid action plan that included a sea-route trespass by the enemy? Why was Karkare not protected better by those around him? Why did the ATS not get the early rapid support by commandos?

Why did we need to fly 200 National Security guards from Delhi to Mumbai? Does that mean we did not have the highest caliber commandos in Mumbai and so they had to be imported from a thousand miles away? Did we not lose precious early seconds by waiting for the elitest commandos to show up? And why doesn’t Mumbai have the elitest commandos?

The Mumbai police:
Mumbai police always go above and beyond their duty, considering how ill-paid, ill-equipped and ill-prepared they are. One almost feels sorry for the guys in khaki who looked absolutely unfit to combat elite and well-trained international terrorists. But there they were, doing whatever they can. I salute these guys, but am deeply upset with their leaders who have left this force incapable of fighting a modern-day 21st century urban battle where the opposing party aren’t your average thieves but a well-coordinated pack of ruthless psychopaths.

Having said everything that can fairly and unfairly be said about our law enforcement and the military in this regard, I must mention the big caveat that all these guys work under. They report to some of the dumbest politicians on the planet. That fact alone takes away any inherent edge these good guys might have against the bad guys. But then, this is the blame game and they had to be part of it.

Nov

28

Thinking a step ahead

November 28, 2008 posted by indiatime | Leave a Comment

One of the captured terrorists from the Mumbai attacks is said to have confessed to Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and ex-Indian gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s involvement in those attacks, especially with the logistics of the local operation. Anyone could have speculated this, of course, but now we know this for a fact.

When the local mujahiddeen outfits perfected their techniques to terrorize Indians using serial bomb blasts, India’s intelligence agencies and the law enforcement woke up and devised ways to combat such attacks. After the latest terror attacks; the navy, the coast guards, the National Security Guards, and the Rapid Action Force will begin exercises to combat such hostage scenarios. It is clear that the law enforcement and the agencies that are supposed to guard the nation are a step or two behind the terrorists who are getting sharper and smarter in their planning and execution. So it is vital for India’s agencies to think ahead, think out of the box, and to stretch their brains a litle to imagine what could come next and how.

India must make certain valid assumptions to prepare ourselves for the next round of terror attacks:

1. the next terrorist attacks will be more ferocious, more innovative, and deadlier.

2. the terrorists and their friends inside Pakistan’s ISI want to kill more of us.

3. the weapons will not be simple automatic guns or hand-grenades or rocket launchers.

All those assumptions point to only one thing. The next attacks will be either biological or nuclear, types of attacks capable of wreaking destruction that is several magnitudes larger than a few hundred casualties.

The biological attacks could be of a kind where there is a deliberate spread of biological agents such as anthrax particles or contamination of drinking water sources using chemical agents. That means protecting drinking water reservoirs, rivers and lakes, private wells that provide water for international soft drinks. The kind of protection we provide for such facilities right now, is dismally inadequate. That also means educating people about anthrax powders and bird flus and things like that - definitely a major challenge to our preventive and social medicine departments and overall healthcare infrastructure.

The nuclear attacks of course could be coming from any place in Pakistan. Such an attack will come in the form of short or long range missiles, at the hands of rogue elements in the Pakistani army, coordinated by ISI agents who are doing double duty as terrorist masterminds. Such attacks, however unlikely they seem now, are not only possible but practically easier to execute from a place where the normal checks and balances structure has collapsed.

So as we prepare ourselves for the next attacks, the most important thing to remember is not to underestimate the enemy. We aren’t dealing with human beings who usually have developed concepts of conscience and kindness and humanity. The terrorist species is a uniquely rabid animal species that makes even the most vicious animal species look like domesticated pets. There is no neutering them. There is no domesticating such bastards. There is no predicting what they will do next.

Nov

28

26/11, The blame game, chapter 1 - the politicians

November 28, 2008 posted by indiatime | 4 Comments

Man Mohan Singh, the prime minister
Indian PM with Gandhi statue behind himIn his speech to the nation, PM Manmohan Singh mentioned ‘foreign powers’ without naming any. Sure, he is reticent about making direct accusations, but what is stopping him from standing up for his countrymen and let the rest of the world know what they already know. Even newborn babies would tell you that militants backed by Pakistan’s spy agencies are responsible for most terrorist attacks against India.

And while asserting his forceful stand on fighting terror, why did Mr. Singh have a bust of Mahatma Gandhi behind him? Did he mean to convey that India will advance another cheek if slapped on one?

Shivraj Patil, the home minister
His response to yesterday’s attacks was a classic cover-your-ass (CYA) response in which he kept insisting nobody knew if the attacks would come from sea, land or air. If Patil and his people cannot figure it out, they should just let someone else do the job.

LK Advani, the great Hindu hope
Until yesterday, Lal Krishna Advani was blasting the ATS chief for his investigation of radical hindu outfits. Today, everybody knows what a patriot and a braveheart Hemant Karkare was. Speaking to the media, Advani blamed intelligence failures. If the politicians keep involving intelligence agencies in politics, how will the ATS people have time to investigate? But of course, it’s the Hindu vote banks Advani has his eyes on.

Lalu Yadav, Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh - the rock stars of Northern skies
The influential trio of North India’s politics has sometimes advocated support for Islamic terrorist suspects and one of them has actually been busy garnering support for legal defense funds for those terrorist suspects. But of course, it’s the Muslim vote banks that they have their eyes on.

Bal Thackeray, the monarch of Hindu hearts
The monarch of Hindu hearts, and the only politician of any real influence in Mumbai, is quiet for a reason. His tiger’s den has been exposed to be a defenseless playground for terrorists. After 40 years of ruling Mumbai, Sena leaders and their followers have not succeeded in making this city any safer. In fact, Thackeray’s son and nephew lately diverted the law enforcement attention a little away from terrorism by bringing the Marathi-non Marathi issue back into limelight.

Other Maharashtra State politicians:
Their stature is so insignificant that they cannot influence anything either way.

Defense minister:
Anybody know who the defense minister is?

Nov

27

Three incidents and two countries

November 27, 2008 posted by indiatime | 2 Comments

I have three stories from the past and want to demonstrate how two countries reacted to those. I will leave you to draw your conclusions.

first story:
Back in late in 1770s, Charles Cornwallis, the then British military commander waged several battles in the then young United States of America, showing his military skills in the forage war, the battle at Bound Brook, the battle of Brandywine creek, the battle of Germantown, and a few more. A few years later in 1781, the American forces led by George Washington, decisively defeated Cornwallis, making him surrender and never return to the North Amercian continent ever again.

In 1786, the same defeated commander Cornwallis traveled to India, this time as the governor-general and commander-in-chief of India. In 1791, he defeated the army of Tipu Sultan, the great warrior of Mysore. He also initiated a series of activities on behalf of the British, things that led to a permanent British occupation of India within a few decades.

second story:
In December of 1941, the Japanese airforce bombed the naval outpost of Pearl Harbor, killing more than two thousand Americans and injuring several more. Within days, the Americans who had so far stayed away from participating, entered the second world war, and changed the equation of the war, incinerated two of Japan’s cities forcing the Japanese to surrender, and eventually emerged as one of the two superpowers.

In October of 1962, Chinese forces entered the then Indian territory of Aksai Chin, occupying the 16 thousand square miles highland. In fact, a few years earlier, China had built a highway inside Aksai Chin, a fact Indians did not even find out about, until later. Today, the region, all 16 thousand square miles of it, is officially a disputed territory with most of the world maps showing it as part of China and not of India.

third story:
In September of 2001, al-qaeda terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in New York and attacked the Pentagon in Washington. Within months, Americans forces entered Afghanistan, uprooting the political structure that had supported the al-qaeda terrorists. Within a few more months, the Americans entered Iraq, uprooting the Saddam Hussain regime.

In March of 1993, Mumbai was rocked by serial bomb blasts that killed hundreds of residents. In December of 2001, armed terrorists attacked India’s parliament. Since then, thousands have been killed, maimed or left orphans in terrorist attacks that have spanned the Indian subcontinent.

Oh, I’m done with my 3 stories.

Nov

27

The Wednesday night terror attacks in Mumbai are a little different in design and execution than the previous attacks that India’s financial capital has seen over last 20 years. Although a group called Deccan Mujahiddeen is said to have taken responsibility for the attacks, there is every reason to believe that the attacks were masterminded by al-qaeda with the help and support from Pakistani intelligence as well as Mumbai’s former mafia lords who now call Karachi their home.

The information coming out is still sketchy, but I am going put forth my ten reasons to believe why the terror attacks were perpetrated by al-qaeda.

1. Weapons:
The terrorists were heavily armed with hand-grenades, rocket launchers, AK-47s, pistols. These were not the acts of suicide bombers, crazy gunmen, low-level disgrutnled jihadists. This operation smells planning, financing, timing, a bigtime conspiracy hatched not by one small outfit but by an organization with wider reach and access to money.

2. Ferocity:
The ferocity of the attacks is an indicator that the perpetrators were foreign mercenaries who have been in the business of terror for some time. When confronted by the police vehicles, the terrorists fought back almost as if an army unit would.

3. Training:
The methodical and quick way the terrorists executed a plan, is a mark of trained fighters. Although the local jihadi outfits such as SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) have been known to be training their members regularly, it seems that such local outfits at most provided some manpower and logistical support to the planners of this operation. But the actual participants seemed well-trained professionals who are probably some elite unit from al-qaeda, trained as in those al-qaeda videos seen before.

4. Planning:
The way the terrorists moved and operated across several miles of Mumbai skyline shows their detailed knowledge of Mumbai. One might argue that such topographical knowledge is easy to come by for anyone who is able to use googlemaps. But these gunmen knew a lot more than that, details of the insides of Mumbai’s famous 5-star hotels, getaways, hideouts, lighting details - those that come after months of surveillance, analysis and planning.

5. Money:
A lot of money is needed to move that kind of firepower, manpower and execute it precisely after months of meticulous planning. Those financiers probably live somewhere in Karachi, some of them the same ones who perpetrated the last big attack on the Mumbai in 1993. Dawood Ibrahim is the man who masterminded those back in 1993 and he may also be the person who has financed this operation.

6. Origin:
Pakistan is said to have released 101 Indian prisoners early on Wednesday. The prisoners were released in Amritsar which is about 4 hours flying distance from Mumbai. Is it just a coincidence that the first attacks in Mumbai happened a little late in the evening? The afternoon flights from Amritsar typically reach Mumbai around 6 or 7pm. Another fact that might bolster this theory is that the terrorists also attacked several spots along the western highway, starting from the western highway near the airport. So it is likely there was a local group ready with arms and ammunition, waiting for some serious professional terrorists to join them in the evening. They then drove to the southern tip of Mumbai, leaving a few behind at specific spots, eventualy reaching their ultimate destinations at the Taj and the Oberoi.

In the past few years, Pakistan is said to have released a whopping 6000 Indian prisoners (mostly fishermen who were said to have stranded into Pakistani waters). What is the possibility that many of them were trained Pakistani agents and not innocent Indian fishermen?

Yet another possibility is of course the terrorists coming via the sea route all the way from Karachi. There was a blast near the dockyard and that may support the theory about terrorists coming via small and fast boats.

7. Target:
The terrorists targeted westerners more than the Indians. That is a giveaway for an al-qaeda operation. Among the places targeted were Mumbai’s topmost residential hotels frequented by westerners and Cafe Leopold, a cafe frequented by westerners. That sounds so much like the Bali bombings a few years ago where the al-qaeda targeted tourists from western countries.

India’s usual round of suspect mujahiddeens aren’t that upset with westerners as they are with Indians. They would have targeted Mumbai’s busiest locations, not its swankiest hotels.

8. Complicity:
The foreign minister of Pakistan was in India when the attacks happened. That is hardly a coincidence. Somebody higher up in Pakistan’s agencies, either a rogue group within the ISI or ISI-loosely-supported al-qaeda operatives would have known such details months ago, enabling them to plan an operation on this exact day.

9. Terrorist mix:
Many of the terrorists are said to be between 30 and 50 years of age and the group is said to include female terrorists as well. That really hasn’t been seen before with Indian terror outfits. It is likely that the people that led the group’s entry inside the 5-star hotels were comfortable entering the 5-star surroundings and hence were not noticed as oddities by the staff in the hotel lobbies. That kind of detailing is a reminder of certain things that happened around 9/11 attacks, and indicates that some of the group may have been educated or lived long in some western countries.

10. Deccan Mujahiddens?:
It is likely that many local members of this group may be based off of Hyderabad area which is a hotbed of religious radicalism. And the masterminds of the operation from somewhere else, most likely sitting pretty in some posh flats in Karachi, or sitting not so pretty inside some hot sweaty caves in northwestern Pakistan.

Nov

26

Fear over Mumbai, anti-terrorist chief Karkare killed

November 26, 2008 posted by indiatime | 4 Comments

Armed terrorists have struck several crowded spots in south Mumbai, killing several dozens and injuring hundreds. The attacks happened Wednesday night inside the Chhatrapati Shivaji train terminus as well as inside some posh hotels in southern Mumbai. Train stations have been evacuated and the domestic as well as international airports are on high alert. The terorrists carrying rocket launchers, AK-47 guns, pistols and handgrenades attacked more than 10 isolated spots in and around Mumbai from Vileparle to south Mumbai.

Around midnight Wednesday, the armed terrorists were said to be holed up in Taj and Oberoi Hotels and they have several hostages. A petrol pump was said to have been blown up in Colaba, killing several people. A blast inside a taxi near the dockyard has also been reported.

Latest reports indicate that India’s anti-terrorism squad chief Hemant Karkare, Mumbai’s encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar, and DIG Kamte have been killed. Home minister Patil said to be flying to Mumbai. A group of 200 NSG commandos are also said to be reaching Mumbai soon.

Only 3 days ago, I had written that India’s home ministry was not able to handle the terrorists and the task should be handed over to India’s military. At this very moment, Indian military has entered the Taj Hotel to combat armed insurgents who have held several people hostage, including some members of India’s parliament and several British and American citizens. Also, 20 people are said to have been taken hostage on the 18th floor of the Oberoi hotel.

In the nearby Nariman House, an Israeli family had been taken hostage and latest reports indicate that 3 members of that family have been shot by the terrorists.

It has been reported that some Hindi-language newspapers received an email from a group calling itself Deccan Mujahiddeens, who have claimed the responsibility for the dastardly attacks, which are turning out to be India’s worst terror attacks ever.

Nov

26

A different ballgame, for a change

November 26, 2008 posted by indiatime | Leave a Comment

Cricket, the only major team sport in India, is about to lose its luster in the eyes of millions of youngsters. For the first time in modern India’s sporting history, the game of Cricket now faces its new competition - the national pastime of North America, the ballgame - baseball.

Two Indians have won professional contracts to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates ball club. Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, both 20-year old youngsters with strong and accurate arms, made it to the top of the contest held by the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise who have been looking to find pitching talent in India. The young duo from Uttar Pradesh have never before played baseball, are not fluent in English and had never traveled to America before. But after dazzling the Pirates coaches with 90+ mile per hour pitches, Singh and Patel have become pioneers in an arena that is sure to attract thousands of talented Indian sportsmen. If they eventually get a chance to actually play in a major league game and if they succeed, Singh and Patel stand to make huge payoffs, bigger and wilder than most top-level Cricketers.

Said baseball promoter Bernstein, “…imagine if either of these boys makes it and plays with the Pirates. You could have 300-400 million [more] people tuning into that. I think that would be hard to find in other places….”.

Baseball isn’t yet popular in India in spite of its 25-year official history and a few wins for the Indian team at the Asian level. But now that Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel have opened up the floodgates to the American major leagues, there will be a tremendous surge in kids interested in baseball.

Singh and Patel have been in the US for a few months now, learning baseball and visiting places. Sais Singh, “…It’s hard to put in words what all of this has meant to us…This is a world we didn’t even know existed. We’re living it now and we don’t want it to end….”.

Take me out to the ball game
Take me out with the crowds
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack
I don’t care if I never get back….

- Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Nov

25

A compound sentence

November 25, 2008 posted by indiatime | Leave a Comment

The high court in Mumbai is debating a unique case where the issue on the table is sentencing convicts who have multiple convictions against them. An HIV-positive convict currently in Kolhapur prison, who may not have many years left to live, but has been convicted in 2 separate cases, has 2 sentences from those - One is a 2 year sentence from a drug-related case, and another is a 7-year sentence from a case in Satara. This convict is pleading the court to allow him to serve both the sentences concurrently, so that he may outlive his jail-time and be still able to go back to his native place and die in peace.

The public prosecutor, acting on behalf of the government, has argued that both the sentences be served separately. The defense lawyer is claiming a humanitarian point, asking for leniency in this particular case, since there is a possibility that the convict may not live long.

Each has a point. There may be someone who has committted several small thefts and end up serving a very long time if all the sentences must be served separately. On the other hand, a person may have committed several big offenses and then a capital crime. That person should not have to serve all his prior sentences before he can be punished for his biggest crime, since there may not be time remaining to serve that sentence if someone remains in jail far too long for other smaller crimes, dying a natural death.

Which brings to forefront the inadequacies of the written law to address all the problems human beings can create. e.g. in many cases, the convict is not caught immediately after commiting one crime and may end up committing multiple ones before being hauled in jail. For career criminals, it may make more sense for the judge to keep them as far away from the good guys and as long as possible. For those who cannot be termed hardened criminals, leniency and concurrent sentencing may actually make more sense, allowing for rehabilitation and a productive life afterwards. But there are other factors as well, aggravating ones and mitigating ones, that must all be considered.

For a convict such as in this case, how forgiving is the society willing to be? If this convict just had 6 more months to live, should he just be allowed to let go and live his remaining days in peace with his family? Or should the word of law always hold precedence over such practical matters? What about the rights of the victim’s families? Would it be considered insensitive and unfair if the sympathy for the convict conflicts with their wishes? Where does the law find its place when you have to strike a sensible and a reasonable balance between strict guidelines and humanitarian issues?

I sometimes wish India had a jury system. Things would get so very interesting and we will have so much more to talk about with the legal wranglings like this one. Just imagine the housewives, the secretaries, the neighbors, the boss, the domestic helps, the vendors on the street, the babus in the bank, teachers and hoteliers and engineers, professors and pensioners, sitting in the jury boxes, mulling over serious legal issues. I cannot believe we are missing out on all that drama, all that excitement and fun, and all that vibrant debate that we all could be having.

Nov

24

“…You are my wife, I’m taking you, you have to come with me..”, he told her.

“….I’m not coming, I’m not coming….”, she said.

And then the shots rang.

- church member describing the church shooting in New Jersey

It was only day before yesterday that I wrote about NRI marriages gone sour and violent. Yesterday, in New Jersey, a Kerala man shot and killed his estranged wife at a church service.

24-year old Reshma James thus became the latest statistic in a strange year that has seen more mysterious NRI deaths than any other year in history. Earlier this year, she and her 27-year old husband Joseph M. Pallipurath, had moved to Sacramento, California. Pallipurath was an abusive husband and Reshma tried to get out of the relationship. Recently, she moved out of her husband’s house, and obtained a restraining order against him, preventing him from having any physical contact or vicinity. But that wdidn’t deter Pallipurath who apparently went nuts with anger last week and drove about 3000 miles (4800 kilometers), entered the St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church in the town of Clifton and started firing.

Even during his insane behavior, Pallipurath was deliberate and stuck to some plan, as he shot his wife, her cousin Silvy Perincheril (47) and Dennis John Malloosseril (23) - a good samaritan who tried to intervene. The shots were aimed at the victims’ heads. Reshma James died, and for now, the two others are in critical condition, with Malloosseril said to be near death.

Pallipurath is now absconding, probably driving on highways or hiding in some motel.

What did Reshma James do wrong? Nothing. Many a time, women are blamed for staying far too long in abusive relationships. Reshma James was a smart young woman who realized that she had married a monster and made every attempt to get out of the frightful torture of her marital nightmare. She moved as far away from her husband as she could, 3000 miles away to the other side of the continent. But it seems she had signed her death warrant the moment she had married this crazy maniac, who though, will not be facing the death penalty because New Jersey does not have one. But I don’t not think this obsessive bastard has the guts to face life imprisonment. I bet he will most probably be found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. It will be good riddance.

Knanayas, the church Reshma James belonged to, are one of the earliest Christians from India, the Jewish Christians who are the descendants of 72 Jewish families who migrated from Edessa (today’s southeastern Turkey) in three ships in the fourth century, and settled on the Malabar coast. Knanayas marry within themselves, and still keep many of their original Jewish traditions although they follow the teachings of Jesus. This led to the 16-th century persecution of Malabar Knanayas at the hands of Goa’s portuguese archibishop, who ordered that the members of this community be burnt to death. But a few survived and the Knanaya tradition now has a following of a few hundred thousand.

For Reshma James, persecution and torture did not come at the hands of any other faith. It came in the form of an arranged marriage in an endogamous community which dealt her an abusive relationship. Ironically, it came within the house of her faith, during the time of her prayers and in the company of her fellow faithfuls.

Nov

24

Navy blues

November 24, 2008 posted by indiatime | 2 Comments

Recently Indian navy sank a pirate ship close to the Somali waters, its second straight win over the pirates after it had earlier thwarted a pirate attack saving a Saudi and an Indian tanker.

Now there is news that India has called upon the regional countries to build a roadmap to curb piracy. Who are the Indian Ocean countries that are supposed to help India create that roadmap in the pirated waters of Somalia? Yemen, Ethiopia, UAE, Pakistan, Oman, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Madagaskar, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania.

Recent reports indicate that China is hastily building an aircraft carrier, and although it is officially a part of China’s coastal defense strategy, experts see it as China’s strategy to control the sea lanes in the East Asian waters. Whenever China does these things, one does not see China extending a diplomatic arm or inviting a summit conference. Whenever Russia or the United States decide to act as superpowers, they do their own things without consulting anyone else, and still claim the mantle of morality.

India, however, is strangely uncomfortable with the superpower role and probably is still trying to seek approval from smaller countries. Almost like the person who, at a party, does not offend anyone, smiles and greets everyone with politeness, respect and humility and still ends up doing everybody else’s dishes at the end.

But the real problem is not with India’s navy. It’s not that the naval officers lack confidence and decisivenessor anything. It’s the lack of political will and the wimpish attitude of those in New Delhi who do not seem to understand how other superpowers posturing themselves. Superpowers don’t hunch, superpowers don’t droop their shoulders, and superpowers don’t bend backwards (or forwards for that matter) for others.

The Somal government recently made it known to other countries that it will not mind if any foreign military vessels enter Somali waters to fight the pirates. India can take the battle to the pirates hideout destroying this menace once and for all. And unlike previous western invasions in Somalia, India would have a much wider international mandate, especially from all those countries whose ships and people have been held hostage for ransom by the Somali thieves. This is no time to get bogged down into summit conferences and peace processes. The pirates do not understand any of that. Having hijacked almost 2 dozen ships in 2 weeks, their brazen behavior has already netted them 150 million dollars. Before long, this will grow into such menacing proportions where the American and the Russian navies will be speeding up and down the Arabian coast. This is Indian naval territory and India cannot afford to let this get out of hand.

Nov

23

Victory in spite of all terror

November 23, 2008 posted by indiatime | 2 Comments

“…At present, terrorists are using sophisticated small weapons and explosive devices. In future, they are likely to use nuclear, biological and chemical devices and other mechanical and psychological devices…..”
- Home minister Patil, inaugurating a high-level police conference

The home minister seems to have conceded to the terrorists in his tacit admission that they will be around for a long time and that the police forces under his command will not be reigning them in any soon. That’s a sad revelation, the kind of which defeats huge armies when the commander who is supposedly leading the forces, seems to be raising the white flag of surrender. Many a battle in history, have been lost because of the inability of the generals or the commanders to inspire the armies. India’s battle against terrorists seems to be heading the same way, and that’s a big, big disappointment.

In the same speech, the home minister also spoke of the terrorists’ use of fear psychosis as a weapon. The terrorists seem to have used it well, because the home minister himself seems to be worried about the terrorists, and their potentially using the nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.

When you’re that impressed by the enemy and when you seem to be almost in awe of the enemy’s abilities, it is time to let someone else do the leading. That’s not to say that the terrorists can be taken lightly, but with one of the world’s largest armies at one’s disposal, what more does one need to root out such home-grown operations, than pure and simple will to act? In late 1940s, Vallabhbhai Patel, the then home minister of India, was confronted with separatist elements that were far more organized and had far more money than the present day terrorists. But Patel was able to root that problem out with such finesse, finality and force, that to this day, not a single one of the princely states who then wanted to separate from India, has spoken about again.

Unfortunately the current home minister does not have that kind of clout, charisma or character. India needs someone who isn’t worried about the fear psychosis created by terrorists but someone who could himself strike terror in the hearts of the terrorists. Someone who understands the modern warfares, the guerilla mindsets, the agile armies, the blitzkriegs, the rapid reaction forces, the lighteningly fast offensives, the cyberkinetics of terrorism. Someone who doesn’t straitjacket the law enforcement with political shackles and someone who is not afraid to call upon the military. War on terror is a war, not a wargame. It cannot be won by an ill-prepared, ill-equipped police force constrained by political necessities & correctness. Police forces do not fight a war. That is a job for the armies. It is time for India to take this mantle off of the home minister’s shoulders and put it on the defense minister’s.

“….Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival……”
- Churchill

Nov

22

Another Andhra woman dies mysteriously in the US

November 22, 2008 posted by indiatime | 3 Comments

Yet another young woman from Andhra Pradesh is found dead in the US. This time it is 24-year old Goli Sushma, who had been living in America since her marriage to a software engineer more than a year ago. Late Thursday afternoon, Goli Sushma was found dead in the store room of her home near Los Angeles.

The LA police have not indicated any foul play in their preliminary findings, her family back home has raised questions and has even brought up suspicions of the dowry factor. After Sushma’s death, her father in India was unable to immediately communicate with her husband, and it is reported that miscommunication may also have fueled the suspicions.

It seems Andhra girls have had it particularly hard this last year, with the deaths of Soumya Reddy, Arpana Jinaga, Jayalaxmi Nerusu, mysterious deaths all of them, and unsolved to this day. And it is something that will definitely be on the minds of all those parents who will be sending their sons and daughters to the US, wondering about the crime sprees and the freely available guns and the campus violence.

For those who see off their newly wedded daughters flying off to the west, the worries and concerns about their daughters being able to cope with all the tension and excitement of a new relationship overweigh most of those other issues. One of the thing that distinguishes newly married Indian couples flying off abroad to those who start their lives here in India, is that the in-laws and relatives from either side have little direct influence on the new couple. But that may not always mean the marriage has a better chance to succeed. A few years ago, an newly married Indian wife in South Carolina climbed out of her bathroom door, escaping out of an abusive relationship where her engineer husband used to strip her and beat her up every single day. Her neighbors and friends arranged for her to leave the Unites States and she safely made it back home to India.

In Goli Sushma’s case, her family is insisting that she did not have suicidal tendencies and would not have killed herself. But there are accusations of demands for money and suspicions of foul play. Hopefully, additional investigation will soon clear that matter up. For those parents who are about to send married daughters off to the west, especially to the US, it would help to know about the organizations who work on behalf of non-resident south asian women in distress - Sakhi and Manavi in the New York area, Raksha in Atlanta, Apna Ghar in Chicago, Kiran in North Carolina and many others. Yes, there is help available for victims of domestic abuse, especially the newly married NRI women who do not know anyone else in their new surroundings.

Nov

21

Ayo Lumley (Here comes Lumley)

November 21, 2008 posted by indiatime | 3 Comments

“..Jai Mahakali, Ayo Gorkhali…”
- The Gurkha battle cry

Noted British TV actress Joanna Lumley is insisting Britain honor its debt to the brave Gurkhas who fought in the British army in Britain’s former colonies. Otherwise, says Lumley, she will dump her British passport and apply to become a citizen of India. Why India? Here’s why.

1. Joanna Lumley was born in Srinagar (Kashmir), India a year before India’s independence in 1947. Her father James Rutherford Lumley (1917-1999) was born in India (Lahore, India) in 1917. Her great-grandfather William Faithfull Lumley was born in Mussoorie, India in 1845. Her great-great-grandfather James Rutherford Lumley (1808-1874) was born in Calcutta, India in 1808. Lumleys have an almost 200-year history with India with almost a 100 members of that family born and raised in India over that time period.

2. In 1944, during the world war, Gurkha fighters saved the life of Major James Rutherford Lumley. That was 2 years before Joanna Lumley was born. For Joanna, those Gurkha veterans in the British army made her life possible. And she has now made it her singular mission to fight the British government all the way into making it accept a recent legal ruling that will grant citizenship rights to thousands of those Gurkhas.

So far, the fiercely loyal Gurkhas, the Kukri-carrying Nepalese and northern Indian warriors who distinguished themselves by their outstanding bravery on the battlefield, have gotten the raw end of the stick from the British. They are the only foreign group in the British army, that is not allowed a direct British citizenship as most other non-British groups serving in the British army are.

joanna lumleySaid Lumley before the courts the other day, “…My father would be absolutely overwhelmed with shame and fury that we behaved this way to our most loyal and constant friends. We have discriminated against them dreadfully and it is a stain on our relationship….”.

That may very well be. But I think James Rutherford Lumley would be very very proud of his daughter for having taken up a good cause for the community that has given more than its share of dues to the British empire. 45000 Gurkhas died fighting for the British empire. Many of them won bravery awards, some of them got Victoria crosses. Most who survived the war, got one-sixth of the pension that the rest of the British army received.

But now they have got Joanna Lumley. And here she comes.

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