Desicritics Category: Politics: Governance

Please let the Baath Party Survive

Vinod Joseph — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:29:53 EST

The Arab Socialist Baath Party, called the Ba'th party or the Baath party for short, was founded in Damascus by a group of secular Arabs in the middle of the 20th century when Syria and the rest of the Arab world were still under European rule.

The founders of the Baath party included Christians and Muslims. The most prominent of the founding members was Michel Aflaq, an Arab Christian. Baath means renaissance in Arabic and the Baath party was meant to herald a new dawn in Arab politics. Relatively secular by Arab standards, it stood for socialism, Arab nationalism and modernisation and encompassed Christians, Shias and Sunnis.

The Baath party had its offshoots in various parts of the Arab world, but it has traditionally been strongest in Iraq and Syria. The Iraqi and Syrian branches of the Baath party soon diverged ideologically, with the Syrian branch more socialist (and therefore closer to the Soviet Union) and the Iraqi offshoot much more to the centre. The Baath party came to power in both Iraq and Syria in 1963. In Syria, the Assad family came to control the Baath party which soon became indistinguishable from the Syrian state. The Assad family is Alawite, a Shia sect. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein took control of the Baath party and made it his personal instrument of power. Saddam being a Sunni Muslim, Sunnis came to dominate the Baath party in Iraq.

After the fall of Saddam, the Americans banned the Baath party. Members of the Baath party were even banned from holding any position in the new government. Very recently, the New York Times reported that over 35 in the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior, including some with ranks as high as general, have been arrested, after being accused of quietly working to reconstitute the Baath Party. Those arrested included Shias and Sunnis.

The Baath party is the only truly secular movement to have originated in the Arab world, which has had a pan-Arab appeal. The only other secular Arab movement is the Fatah Movement, which was formed by Yasser Arafat for the liberation of Palestine from Israel. In a region where there is a dearth of secular movements, the Baath Party stands out for having Shias, Sunnis and Christians under one roof. Saddam Hussein, for all his faults, was relatively secular and ensured that Christians and Shias had the freedom to practice their religion. In the West Bank which is controlled by the Fatah Movement, Arab Christians are similarly free to practice their faith, something they cannot do so easily in Hamas controlled Gaza strip, despite the fact that they have lived there for countless generations. Countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait which are supposed to be allies of the West have a horrible record of religious freedom compared to Baath party ruled Iraq and Syria.

There are many vested interests in the neighbourhood who do not want secular Arab nationalism to rise again. No, I am not talking of Israel. None of the monarchies in the Arab world, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or Oman or Bahrain, want democracy in the region. Israel too would not be cheered by the rise of pan-Arab unity. Despite all that opposition, I believe that pan-Arab secular nationalism can purge the region of many of its ills and possibly help steer the Arabs to a decent settlement in Palestine.

I always thought that it was unbelievably stupid of the Americans to have banned the Baath party. In fact, they ought to have co-opted the Baath party, after purging it of Saddam loyalists, in the fight for democratising Iraq. Currently, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is a Shi'ite who is propped up by two leading Shi'ite parties of Iraq, namely Moqtada al Sadr's party and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SICRI). SICRI is very much pro-Iranian and Maliki himself is very close to Iran. For this reason, the Sunnis of Iraq don't really trust him. For the moment, government armed Sunni militias are co-operating in the fight against the al-Qaeda. However, there is no guarantee that the Sunni-Shia unity will survive the departure of the Americans.

The only other secular Arab movement, the Fatah, has been totally discredited in the eyes of the common Arab on the street by its corruption and its close association with the US and Israel. It lost the Palestinian Authority parliamentary elections to fundamentalist Hamas in January 2006, though it has managed to hold on to power in the West Bank by means which are not really democratic.

There is still time to rectify the grave mistake of disbanding the Baath party, which despite the corruption and depravity foisted on it by Saddam, is still secular and is the only pan-Arab nationalist party in the world. I hope that once Obama is in office, the vilification of the Baath party will come to an end and it will be allowed to regain its rightful place in Iraq and the rest of the Arab world.

Israel & Palestine: Force Is Never the Solution

temporal — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:25:14 EST

Taking advantage of the lame duck Presidency of Bush, the deliberate distancing of President Elect there-is-only-one-president Obama, the holidays in the West and the attending low emphasis of politicians, Israeli Air Force launched a devastating attack on Gaza.

Israel is the non NPT signatory Occupier in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Golan and East Jerusalem, aided (up to 5 billion a year) and abetted by the West.

President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmood Abbas is perceived as an Palestinian Uncle Tom and he was soundly beaten in the elections by Hamas.

The infamous US dichotomy re: democracy sprung into action and immediately cut off all aid to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It also twisted its allies and lackeys' arms (including Canada's) to do the same. This US amnesiac approach is well documented and understood globally. Do as I say, not as I do.

Hamas leadership did not go to the same school.

This latest foray into the Gaza Strip would wane away sooner or later. But the violence and "terrorism" it would spawn would perpetuate the cycle for long.

Can anything be done to avoid the unnecessary spiralling of violence? I have written about the solution before here: Peace With Dignity: Another Gift For Israel

Criticizing Zionism is NOT anti-Semitism. States do not exist without an “official” map. Israel has to exist. Its citizens have a right to live in peace and harmony within its defined borders. They forget that to ensure this its neighbors should also have the same rights.

Both Israel and Palestinians have to demonstrate more effectively that they want to live in peace and do not want to kill, maim, expel from their land. It is for them to deliberate and decide if this should come under One State of Two State solution.

The world should help them reach this decision but should not refrain to remind Israel that it should curb its policies of occupation, subjugation, ethnic cleansing, and terrorising.

We should encourage initiatives that will let all Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace, with dignity, justice and guaranteed fundamental human rights in secure borders, as enshrined in the various UN resolutions.

To remove misgivings, doubts and suspicions, international bodies including the UN, the European Union, OIC should be enlisted to provide guarantees. Peace in the region is not to be equated with death for the state of Israel.

Israel portrays itself as the David but acts as the Goliath in the region. Here are the (boxing preliminary) statistics of Israel and the Palestinians of the occupied Gaza Strip.

The Occupier Goliaths

High quality tanks 970
Medium and low quality tanks 1830
APCs, IFVs, ARVs, LCVs 6930
Self-propelled artillery 1204
Combat warplanes 875
Transport warplanes 84
Training warplanes 171
Military helicopters 286
Heavy SAM batteries 25
Warships 13
Submarines 3
Patrol boats 50 50
nuclear bombs over 300-500

The Occupied Davids

Five major militant factions operate in Gaza. These are the Islamic groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad; the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, which is loosely tied to Abbas' Fatah faction; the Popular Resistance Committees, a shadowy umbrella group; and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The size of the groups is unclear, but they are equipped with assault rifles, mortars, anti-tank missiles, homemade rockets and other explosives.

****

The point neoconzix in Israel and the West refuse to fathom: force is never the solution.

Raj Thackeray Creeping Out

Manoj Khatri — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:19:38 EST

Raj Thackeray is back in business. He’s “banned” all Pakistani artistes from performing in Maharashtra and warned music stores not to stock/sell cassettes/CDs/DVDs featuring them. Shiv Sena too issues a similar statement just a day before, according to PTI.

I call this the Thackeray brand of politics, which is always about fuelling hatred. It thrives on the vulnerability of the common man who doesn’t understand that politicians like Raj don’t have his interest in mind. All they want is to exploit the sentiments of the masses to further their own agenda. Over the past few months, Raj has also been cleverly using the media to gain popularity.

According to our politicians, we, the people of India, are dumb fools. We do not know what is right for us. We can’t decide, for instance, if a film should be watched, a book should be read or a painting exhibition should be patronised. We need Raj and his men to educate us, tell us good from bad.

The Mumbai terror attacks did something unprecedented. It made the ordinary man realise that politicians like Thackeray only come out when they can further their own agenda. Raj’s anti-north Indian campaign has backfired in wake of the terror attacks. So he was lying low for a while…and I suppose, all the while thinking which issue to rake up to get the attention of the media and to prove that he is the son of the soil.

I have a question to ask Raj: While banning Pakistani artistes may find favour in the present circumstances when there is so much anger against Pakistan, are there no other pressing issues that his state faces? Is Maharashtra’s, or indeed India’s, biggest problem Pakistani singers or actors? What exactly will he achieve by banning their performances and their CDs?

If I were Raj, I would ask every MNS member to offer their services to the Government of India in some way…say, to collect intelligence about the terror attacks being planned across the nation?

Any suggestions?

Gaza Is Aflame. Again!

Sarah Islam — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:10:05 EST

Just heard on the television that Israeli F-16 bombers have carried out massive air strikes in Gaza which have killed 200 and injured 400 mostly women and children. Scores of dead bodies have been thrown out on the streets as hospitals have no place to keep them.

They said that the weather had been exceptionally beautiful in the West Bank, for the past couple of days. Christmas was celebrated with much pomp and splendor and tourists had thronged Bethlehem for the first time in many years in record breaking numbers. Taking advantage of good weather, Israeli planes bombed around 40 Palestinian police stations, posts and other targets early Saturday morning. Time says that the ‘the first strikes came in a coordinated three-minute blitz’.

Israeli officials say the strikes are being carried out on response to the rocket attacks from Gaza, a Hamas ruled territory. The Israeli Government spokesperson on BBC told viewers that the ‘Palestinians were exaggerating the number of civilian casualties for propaganda purposes’.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in June this year. Israel wants the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shilat. Hamas needed a break to consolidate its control over Gaza. Neither side recognizes the other’s legitimacy but had agreed to negotiate through an Egyptian mediator.

On November 5 this year, the Israeli government sealed all the ways into and out of Gaza. fuel, electricity, food, medical supplies and water equipment are no longer being allowed to enter the besieged Palestinian Territories.

According to Oxfam only 137 trucks of food were allowed into Gaza in November.

Sara Roy, author of Failing Peace: Gaza and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict says in the LRB: ‘The majority of commercial bakeries in Gaza – 30 out of 47 – have had to close because they have run out of cooking gas. People are using any fuel they can find to cook with. As the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has made clear, cooking-gas canisters are necessary for generating the warmth to incubate broiler chicks. Shortages of gas and animal feed have forced commercial producers to smother hundreds of thousands of chicks. By April, according to the FAO, there will be no poultry there at all: 70 per cent of Gazans rely on chicken as a major source of protein.’

The holocaust is happening all over again right here, right now. The International Community is not bothered and apart from a few UN warnings, there is no concentrated effort to stop Israel from carrying out violent attacks on the Palestinian people, their properties, their civil institutions, their livestock and their very dignity.

The EU announced recently that it wanted to strengthen its relationship with Israel while the Israeli leadership openly calls for a large-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip . Ehud Barack has just announced that ‘the time to fight in Gaza has come.’

The world is talking about change, countries are quick to pounce on their ‘right to defend’ themselves and Barak Obama’s victory in the US presidential elections has triggered a Mexican wave of joy across the world. It is scary that here is a man who has not even taken over the office yet and people everywhere are already treating him like he is the next best thing after sliced bread.

Obama has already shown his pro-Israel stand and is said to be a firm believer in Israel’s right to defend itself. I suppose we should resign ourselves to Obama murmuring the same clichéd lines when asked to comment on the Isreal-palestine conflict. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has already accused Hamas of having triggered the new bout of violence. So Israel’s hands are clean. Again.

The mind boggles how the world can be so spineless once again and not ask Israel a simple question that Sara Roy asks: ‘How can keeping food and medicine from the people of Gaza protect the people of Israel? How can the impoverishment and suffering of Gaza’s children benefit anyone? International law as well as human decency demands their protection.’

Never before has a noble and dignified slogan like ‘Never Again’ been twisted into such a cruel joke.

India has the dubious distinction of being Israel's principal arms market, as well as being eager customers of Israeli intelligence reports, technological expertise and its propaganda prone foreign policy. Haven’t we all seen how we in India were singing hymns in favour of Israel after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai? Didn’t we all listen in as various experts and the aam junta upheld Israel as a ‘model state’ against combating terrorism on their soil?

Pakistan, on the other hand has always had a hardnosed religious approach to the issue of Palestine. Hardliners in that country have always treated Israel as another Kashmir that is theirs to be fought for. Calls for Jihad have been given many times and truckloads of eager illiterate Pakistani and Afghani youth have left their families to fight for their Palestinian 'brothers and sisters'. Again, a supreme example of how agood idea can be completely distorted.

What Palestine needs right now is not patronizing behavior but a few brave countries to stand in its corner and help their cause in front of the international community. No amount of humanitarian aid or sympathy can help the West Bank. The political leadership in that country has failed. It needs civilian action, not violence, to make the world hear its plight.

There is an overkill of the Israel-Palestinian issue in world media and I suppose a certain fatigue has set in with the common man who does not live in the Middle East. What we need to do right now is to shake ourselves out of this apathy, yes, you and me, and do whatever we can to make the Two-nation theory a plausible option for the world community. Let’s write letters, blog about it and create a human network that not only sympathizes with the Palestinians and their troubles, but is also active enough and strong enough to take this to the end.

This is not a Muslim-Jewish-Christian conflict. This is the unraveling of a society and the annihilation of a people and their way of life. Violence is the not the way forward. Neither is helplessness.

UPA Government and Mumbai: Election Posturing or Statesmanship?

Chandra — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 01:47:51 EST

The last few days have been really interesting. Our foreign minister has been talking about all kinds of 'options', we have submitted a 'letter' to the Pakistanis from Kasab, Condy Rice talks about Terrorism destroying Pakistan and the Pakistanis themselves have become even more defiant (apart from Air exercises).

In some circles, it appears we are inexorably heading towards war and in some circles, the feeling is nothing is likely to happen (2001-2002).

My opinion is that the current congress government is just posturing. They are incapable of doing anything. This is evidenced by two major news stories over the last one week.a. The demand to hand over Masood Azhar

There are four names that are floating around with respect to the attack on Mumbai - Yusuf Muzammil, Zaki-Ur-Rehman Laqkhvi, Hafiz Saeed and Dawood Ibrahim. So the question is why are we demanding that they hand over Masood Azhar? Well, that is because the previous (equally spineless) BJP Government had handed over this clown during the Kandahar Hijacking. They want to get him back so that they can parade him during the next elections. Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, this Government gives a rat ass to the attack on Mumbai, they are worried about the next elections.b. The inability to deal with AR Antulay

All of us are now familiar with AR Antualy's comments. AR Antulay is a marginalised politician in Maharashtra. Once a powerful CM, he has now dissolved in the background. He claims, he represents many Muslims when he says Hemant Karkare was sent in the wrong direction to his death. I think he is being coy.

The fact of the matter is that out of the 15 policemen who were killed on the 26th-28th, five of them were killed in that single Qualis. Whoever killed the 3 top ATS men, the fact of the matter is that as a Govt minister, there is a time and place to bring about these allegations.

To do it openly means one of the two things. a. A fear that the Govt will sweep these under the carpet and b. Why lose an opportunity to garner a few votes? A simple analysis of the situation is that seasoned politicians like these give a rat's ass to the truth, so (b). is a more likely reason. That brings us to how the Government has responded to his statements. They have two options - a. either agree with or b. disagree with him. Instead of doing either, they have spent the last 3-4 days doing focus groups to understand the impact of his dismissal. It is ironical that the original ATS investigation (and daily leaks) by Mr. Karkare had won them so many Muslim votes and now in his death there is a possibility that they will lose many of these votes. Anyway, the time they took to arrive at the decision indicates the level of seriousness within the congress in dealing with the attack on Mumbai.

It is frustrating to see the way our Govt is handling an obvious attack from across the border. As an Indian citizen, Dec 31, 1999 was the most humiliating day of my life. This Govt is doing it’s very best to reach that nadir. Somebody save us. Jai Hind!

Mumbai Musings And Talking Terrorism

Kavita Chhibber — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:24:48 EST

The past weeks since the terrorist attacks on Mumbai, have gone in round the clock interviews with people from India and Pakistan from different walks of life, talking to Dr Deepak Chopra, Pakistani cricketer politician Imran Khan, counter terrorism experts, UK businessman Sir Gulam Noon, who defied death for the fourth time when he escaped from the burning Taj in what seemed a miracle in just the way the events built up in his case and of course a cross section of people in India and Pakistan.

While you can read all the outstanding interviews and some other really thought provoking articles on my website (www.kavitachhibber.com) in the latest issue, I remember when the initial reportage came in, having read about the previous attacks, and the flooding that left Mumbai paralyzed and other similar attacks across India, I didn't pay much attention to the headlines for a couple of hours, thinking it was indeed some gang war as the media was reporting; until my brother's email that one of his close friends was missing on the 6th floor of the Taj came in and that his last contact with her was at 2 a.m. The friend was well known journalist Sabina Sehgal Saikia and sadly her body was found 2 days later. Just 10 days earlier, she had gone to Ustad Amjad Ali Khan's house to gift her new book to his wife Subhalakshmi Khan, said the Sarod maestro to me as he was about to leave for her funeral.

Soon burning questions and a burning city captured the attention of both the national and international media. Never, said terrorism expert Dr Robert Friedmann to me, has he seen such prolonged international coverage for an attack in India-not just that, he had not even seen that kind of coverage when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in what was a clear case of political terrorism.

As I called people from all over, to get their impressions, one thing emerged with crystal clear precision-while the political leaders in India jumped the gun and immediately started pointing fingers at Pakistan, the people of India were really angry with the breakdown of the political and intelligence system in their own country.

I saw a volcanic anger that I had not seen earlier when a breakdown of infrastructure has happened in any part of India.

While there were some people from the Indian and Pakistani community that sent inflammatory articles, emails and comments to my website, by and large the majority of Indians, no matter what their background, understood that there is a need to separate the state and the government from non state perpetrators of the crime. Most Indians also made the point that they have deep love for the people of Pakistan and recalled the unparalleled hospitality they have been offered every time they visit India. They also said that they realize the Pakistani government is too weak, being run with the blessings of the Military and that the country is now as much a victim of ingrown terrorism: but most Indians were adamant that they cannot excuse the apathy of the state in eliminating these terrorists or those members of the Pakistani government or ISI, that is training these terrorists.

On the Pakistani side, the memories of the ravaged Marriot in Islamabad still fresh in their minds, people were shocked and sympathetic at what happened in India. But that shock and sympathy turned into anger and defensive defiance when the blame game began. The media reporting from India was by and large a prime example of tabloid TV and yellow journalism and a blatant attempt at garnering the highest ratings. Even veteran journalists jumped in the fray-and many people turned into self appointed experts passing judgment, giving an analysis and jumping to all kinds of conclusions while the siege was still on, and little concrete information to base those opinions on.

The Pakistan bashing brought retaliation from Pakistani news media and many Pakistanis I spoke to in the first few days, told me they were convinced the terrorists were Hindus from RSS and BJP paid to create mayhem just before the elections. One told me that Geo TV had specifically conducted an investigation and that the lone captured terrorist wasn't even from the village in Pakistan as claimed. All these presumptions of course have been refuted, and even more so when former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif acknowledged that indeed the terrorist was Pakistani and his family has been isolated from everyone a few days ago in an interview.

Condoleezza Rice arrived and added fuel to the fire by jumping on the "blame Pakistan" wagon. Rice reprimanded the government like a school Principal scolding an errant child, instead of trying to cool tempers and act as a mediator, and as a representative of a global super power, that would in times such as these, be expected to want peace in the subcontinent and would work towards that-especially when the two countries are nuclear powers. And of course accept that US has to accept a lot of the blame for the current chaos in Afghanistan which has flowed into Pakistan.

But then the reason why a large part of the world, hates America, is because America, said Dr Deepak Chopra to me in a conversation - has only self interests and no allies or friends. He made a lot of sense when he said to me "Right now America's interests are the World's interests; our economic system, the economic melt down is telling us now that there is only one economy, the weather patterns are telling us that there is only one ecology; when are we going to learn that there is only one humanity?"

There were many discussions on global terrorism and its Islamic face. Imran Khan the cricketing legend and now the only Politician people of Pakistan and India respect, because of his honesty and integrity, said for the umpteenth time that terrorism has no religion - a sentiment shared by many across the board. He also added that the youngsters many of whom are university graduates, and from middle class families don't even fit the stereotypical image of the so called Islamic terrorist with a beard. There is a lot more to learn why things are the way they are today.

The spirit of Mumbai was invoked by some, and dismissed by others who said every big city has a similar spirit, where people want to get back to normal, but what remained simmering was an anger at the political system that nurtures corruption and is caught napping again and again at times of need.

The good thing, said one interviewee is that the elite have been hit this time, and so those who fill the coffers of these politicians, especially the corporate head honchos are now taking a second look at security and terrorism. There are also lawsuits asking for regulation and a strong criticism of the way the media handled coverage, disclosing crucial and sensitive information, that may have caused the death of many in the two hotels as their location and how many security personnel was involved in counter attack came tumbling out on real time reporting.

There was a conciliatory email by Barkha Dutt, a journalist I used to admire once upon a time, but who has joined the ranks of tabloid reporters, where she said that the media reported only what was told to them. At no point were they briefed to keep things off record. While she has a point and this opens a new discussion on how to train the media and have a close relationship with it in case something of this nature occurs again-it does not take away from the disservice Dutt and similar veteran journalists like her have done. Someone with her experience, should instinctively know when crucial information if reported, can endanger the lives of others and not wait to be spoon fed by those in authority at what she should and should not say. Unfortunately, her apology came a bit too late and as a preventive measure because public opinion against her may make her head roll as well.

I would like to share some lines from 3 of the interviewees that sprung out at me when the interviews were being conducted.

Dr Deepak Chopra:

The first important question is- why is global terrorism predominantly an Islamic phenomenon? Secondly, what is it that radicalizes young Muslim men in relatively middle class families in Europe, Britain and other places? Where is the money coming from? It's very obvious this takes a lot of training, this takes a lot of organization and it is clear that the money pipeline starts in Saudi Arabia in which case we should be asking- what role does the US play in this,

So as long as America thinks only of its own interests, its never going to have a complete understanding. Right now America's interests are the World's interests and they don't understand that; our economic system, the economic melt down is telling us now that there is only one economy, weather patterns are telling us that there is only one ecology; when are we going to learn that there is only one humanity?

Imran Khan cricketing legend and Pakistani Politician:

Terrorism has nothing to do with religion. All root causes of terrorism lie in politics

When they say Islamist terrorists and start looking for a cure in Islam, they are surprised to find that these young terrorists don't fit the stereotype of the Islamic terrorist with the big beard. Then they are even more shocked when they find that most of the suicide attackers-one half of them according to one estimate-are university graduates. What is happening is that Muslims are getting radicalized and it's not because of Islamic extremism, it's because of political issues which are unresolved.

You can always talk about moderate Islam but the struggle between Israel and Palestine is not going to go away unless there is a political resolution; All religions-not just Islam, preach about compassion and justice-no religion wants anyone to kill innocent people or patronize injustice.

To blame a religion is the biggest injustice we do on people of a certain religious community. So when you say Islamist terrorist and try to find solutions in religion you actually make the situation much worse because among the Muslims this war on terror after 9/11 is being perceived as a war against Islam, and when it is perceived as a war against Islam, there will be no shortage of Muslims willing to kill themselves may be to protect their religion. So terrorism needs to be de linked from religion.

Dr Robert R Friedmann: nationally renowned expert on criminal justice and counter terrorism:

The implication then is that just because someone is poor they have a justification to become a terrorist. That is atrocious and a tremendous mistake to suggest that. One has to look at political interests, ideologies, who benefits, what are the strategies; just because someone is poor they become terrorists is simply not backed by any facts.

The first distinction is that all terrorist groups have local interests, though I hesitate to say that about Hamas and Hezbollah because if you look carefully at their writing and ideology they clearly veer into the globalization of terrorist objectives.

Society cannot afford to let terrorism become a part of normal living and treat it like vehicular fatalities and do not do too much about it.

I don't believe that US, Europe, South Africa or Australia, for that matter anyone else can influence Islam and I don't think it's their duty either. I would shy away from religion or religious wars. I think what needs to be done is to let moderate voices within Islam carry that battle inside and not to have outsiders tell the Muslims what to do.

Today there is no safe place in the world....While the public safety community understands the threat, I don't think the public does, in any part of the world-even in Israel."

While questions, allegations continue, I believe that in the end it boils down to personal responsibility whether it's a journalist or a politician or the common man who chose the corrupt or inept politicians who rule, who adds to the ratings of sensational programs by watching and listening to them, the rich who pay to get things done. We have in the end become victims of our own apathy and our own disability, to be , as Gandhi said, the change we want to see in the world.

The buck begins and stops with us all.

Going Slow on Highways Development

Ashish — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 08:41:26 EST

The subject of this post can be captured using the word 'Critical'. Are the highways projects being undertaken by the National Highway Authority of India critical for the development of the country ? The current pace of development is so bad that it can also be termed critical. This outlines the problems that this country faces in terms of infrastructure.

The development of good, fast highways is an extremely important part of the infrastructure of the country; it helps in keeping the movement of goods across large distances, enables greater mobility of people, reduces the dangers of perishable items expiring, reduces cost fluctuations caused by distance factors, improves the life of vehicles and tyres, reduces fuel consumption, and a few others. In India, one of the best things that the BJP Government is remembered is for the massive road projects that it launched, and with the Highways Minister Col. Khanduri running it, the projects were on track. Given the importance of this area, one would have thought that the Congress Government would ensure that the projects are on track. However, for some time now, it has been clear that these projects are not on track, and here is a severe admonishment of the Government from the Delhi High Court:

The Delhi High Court seems to have hit upon the root cause of why crucial highway projects across the country have been moving at a snail's pace in the past few years. And the discovery has left the court both shocked and angry. The HC found that the ministry of surface transport and highways was indulging in "day to day interference" into the affairs of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), a statutory body granted functional autonomy by Parliament.

"The actions of the Union of India...indicates that not only autonomy granted to NHAI by Parliament through a statute enacted in this regard has been curtailed and eroded, but NHAI is sought to be reduced to a mere department of the ministry of road transport and highways," an anguished HC noted. The court discovered through evidence tabled before it how the ministry kept forwarding bidders to NHAI, asking the latter to re-evaluate their applications even though NHAI had finalized its bidding process for the Hyderabad project.

Unfortunately, this is not the only case where the Congress Government interferes with institutions. The strictures on the Health Minister over its interference in AIIMS, the severe crippling of the autonomy of the CBI, and numerous other cases are already there; in many of these cases, there has been adverse opinions from various courts that the Government shrugs off.

Defending Kasab

Somik Raha — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 08:38:50 EST

As the world watches and supports India in its investigation of the Mumbai terror attacks, we are on the verge of dismantling the very spirit of our democracy that we should have been striving to protect. One wonders which law schools have trained the members of the Mumbai Bar Council when all of them refuse to represent Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist caught by the police in the Mumbai attacks. What is wrong with the people of India that they think an accused should be denied legal rights?

There are several disturbing reports in the media about this. Here is a badly written piece that argues the following, "What would have been the treatment if this would have happened in some middle east countries. India is turning out to be heaven for this terrorist groups, they have every oppurtunity to use the loose laws in there favour and save themselves in jail......in long and safe trials. The democratic heaven of terrorist give them right to life to kill several lives." This is what I call a "self-defeating argument." It is clear that the author does not hold the Middle East in good light. Yet, if we follow his thinking to its logical conclusion and deny legal rights, we will create a middle-eastern system within India, which I assume he won't like. Of course, it is another discussion if the middle-eastern system is indeed as primitive as it is made out to be.

The lone lawyer who was "appointed" to represent Kasab withdrew, and the Times of India presents it in a manner that makes it look patriotic. The Mumbai Bar Council passed a resolution saying it would not represent Kasab or any of the defendants.

One brave and sensible advocate, Mahesh Deshmukh, showed the willingness to take up the case. The Shiv Sena, which had disappeared all this time, re-emerged and attacked Mr. Deshmukh's house. The police were apparently present when the Shiv Sainiks manhandled Mr. Deshmukh, and as far as I have seen, there has been no action taken against the Sena.

All this paints a very disturbing picture of an India that is throwing logic and the law out of the window. The outcome will come back to haunt us in ways that we won't like at all. First, for all those people who have fooled themselves into believing that patriotism is about not representing criminals, To Kill a Mockingbird comes as highly recommended reading. In fact, we ought to read this book as high-school children. The story is about a black man convicted of raping a white woman, and a white lawyer who is requested by the judge to represent the accused. Of course, all hell breaks loose, and the town is furious with the lawyer for taking the case.

To me, the white lawyer in the story is a hero. And we have such living heroes who uphold the values we hold dear in our country. One of them is Ram Jethmalani. Shockingly, the Indian media is also unaware of the fact that the accused in our country are given legal rights. Sagarika Ghose tried to ask Mr. Jethmalani why he was representing Manu Sharma, a convicted murderer accused of killing Jessica Lall, and a person who does not arouse any sympathy from any quarter in India (including myself). Jethmalani's response was classic:

"Who the hell is the press to decide who is indefensible? Courts decide that. .. The press has no right to determine this issue. The press in trying to determine this issue is guilty of the highest form of contempt." He also says in the interview that it will be the saddest day in India when lawyers refuse to defend an accused. Unfortunately, that day is here.

Here is the must-watch interview:

I am also critical of the way in which the government is interacting with Pakistan on this investigation. Zaid Hamid, a vitriolic Mujahideen turned defense analyst from Pakistan, has been screaming himself hoarse on how all this is a Hindu-Zionist conspiracy. While on first glance, he looks and talks like a clown, it is in our interest to listen carefully, for he brings up simple points like the kalash on the hand of Kasab, and that he was talking in Marathi instead of Punjabi, as was alleged. How hard can it be for Indian investigators to refute this? All they need to do is invite a senior investigator from Pakistan to talk to Kasab and determine if he has a Punjabi or Marathi accent.

I think Pakistan cannot be represented by outspoken clowns - there are several sane voices in the land, and we must appreciate them. Today, Nawaz Sharif has talked about the cordon around Ajmal's village, and how he believes that Ajmal is indeed from Pakistan. Meanwhile, Geo TV, Pakistan's private television channel, is busy getting sued by a ruling party politician for doing an undercover investigation and showing villagers agreeing that Ajmal was from their area. These guys are heroes for having the courage to go after the truth, and it will be nice to see some appreciation from the Indian side. And of course, the other voice I respect from Pakistan is that of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who gave a very sensible and sane interview in David Frost's show. Imran follows this up with an interview with NDTV (you can see how the journalist is least interested in the points that Imran is making).

Perhaps, there is an opportunity for engagement. India could invite people like Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan, along with Pakistani investigators, to come talk to the accused and then tell their fellow citizens what they think. How hard is it for us to do this? Let us not be blinded in patriotic anger, for no good can ever come from it. Rabindranath Tagore once wrote, at the height of the freedom struggle, "Patriotism cannot be our final spiritual shelter; my refuge is humanity. I will not buy glass for the price of diamonds, and I will never allow patriotism to triumph over humanity as long as I live."

In summary, if we lose this opportunity to stand up for the Indian system that gives defense rights to even the most damned criminal, we might as well give up on democracy altogether, and go back to a feudal system. There is still time - let us not make a bad decision here. We must come down very heavily on politicians who are no less than hooligans when they beat up or threaten lawyers who want to take this case. They should be on the dock for contempt of court, if not treason for subverting the judiciary and the state. We must also come down heavily on the media who claim to be representing the public voice and milk people's anger for their ratings. I think they should be inspired to help the public transcend their anger and go to a place of reason where our judgment is not clouded. All is not lost, as there are some people still willing to come out and defend Kasab. Let us encourage and not vilify them. Let us also consider the opportunity to connect with the sane voices in Pakistan and try a constructive approach in the investigation.

A Love For Shoes: This Has Nothing to Do With Iraq and Yet...

temporal — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:32:20 EST

mera joota hay japani
yeh patloon inglistani
sir pay laal topi roosi
phir bhee dil hay hindustani
shailendra - shri 420

tr:

my shoes are Japanese
this trouser is English
the red cap 'ver my head is Russian
but my heart is all Indian

Shoes had a fascination for me. (Notice the tense?)

The diabolical reason for that fascination was champagne. I had seen some actor drink champagne from his companion's red high heels. I was enamored with the companion too, but geography won over anatomical inquisitiveness by a few thousand miles - more in kilometers.

Backgrounder: Prince Henry of Prussia visited the Everleigh Club of Chicago in 1902. A dancer's shoes flew off, hit a wine bottle, spilling some champagne into the shoe. A guest at the table picked up the shoe and imbibed the wine. As if on a cue, everyone there borrowed a shoe from their companion and drank wine from it. In case the reader is fascinated with this more here.

In the mall, or on the street, passing by a shoe store, eyes inadvertently look for red high heeled shoes - whirling sleek stilettos.

And if encountered on a hourglass bombshell - double the envy. More on Kelly shortly.

***

Leather can be tough. It protects the animal through ravages of heat and cold and when turned into footwear it can withstand the wear and tear of trudging miles upon miles.

Memory is fickle - high school or college it was - when I heard a sweet one warn a friend "jooti khao gay." Gold Rush and Charlie Chaplin aside, there was something in her tone that sent a chill up my spine even though the young lady was so diminutive.

A movie still shows Charlie Chaplin in the

classic shoe-eating scene from The Gold

Rush (1925). (Bettmann/Corbis)

The scar above my left eyebrow, comes in handy when government directives blatantly ask one to mention scars or body marks on official applications. In the pre-scan passport days they even used calligraphy to highlight this minor blemish for foreign officials.

Yes, a leather chappal caused it. She hurled it at my friend J. He ducked. Passports can reveal unusual stories sometimes. [Reading a draft of this M says, 'hmmmmmm.' - translation - so you did not fall on your face?]

Wonder what George W's passport says. He ducked today. Luckily no one was standing behind him. The shoe hurler also called him man's best friend.

I wonder if in Arab culture what is worse, calling one a dog or a pig? Yasmin can you help?

I also wonder where is Kelly LeBrock? Am not sure if it is the shoes or...

Another Post-Mumbai Agenda: Getting Internal Security Right

Dweep — Mon, 8 Dec 2008 21:11:24 EST

This is part 1 of a two part series on actions India should take, post-Mumbai. Part 2 will look at the specific challenge of managing Pakistan.

A picture has emerged of how the Mumbai attacks were planned and executed, mostly in Pakistan. The NY Times highlights evidence that Pakistan was the source of the attackers and the group behind it had received substantial support from the ISI. The report quotes not just the Mumbai police, but former Defense Department officials.

A picture is also emerging of the "rot" in India's own criminal justice and intelligence systems, pointed out most effectively by the BBC.

The attacks and their aftermath again point to the rot that has set into the country's internal security system and a lack of cohesion between civilian and security wings of the government...One telling example: six days after the attack, even the number of dead and injured keeps going up and down, due to poor co-ordination between the police and hospitals.

The Prime Minister has pledged to act with "resolve and determination" but what does that mean? The temptation to lean on Pakistan is strong, yet India's government might do better to learn a few basic lessons first. Here are a few.

Win the Information War
First, learn to win the war for world opinion. This should hardly be difficult, given the immense sympathy India has garnered over the attacks. Yet, the government can bungle this too.

For one, constant allusions to "external elements" and "neighbors" do not help. India has made it a habit of crying wolf and pointing to Pakistan everytime anything goes wrong. This, unfortunately, increases the burden of proof on India. That India pointed to Pakistan within hours of the attacks suggested either prior knowledge or - more likely to the public eye - the usual fearmongering. That is why an NY Times article is more credible when it quotes the US Defense Department, than the Mumbai police or Shivraj Patil. Make your words count.

Second, be consistent and professional in releasing information. If there is one thing that marked the operations in Mumbai, it was the many contradictory statements released in turn by the head of the NSG, an Army General, the Mumbai police commissioner, and the Home Minister. Protecting the credibility of information is as important as protecting the information. It was never clear who exactly was in charge of the operations, leading the bystander to believe that no one was in charge.

Finally, control the channels by which information is released. Is it not surprising that to find "evidence" of Pakistan's involvement, one has to go to the NYTImes? Why is the Home Ministry not releasing the evidence and ensuring that its security officials not "leak" information to the press?

Get Security Right
Winning the information war is about getting perceptions right - that India's authorities are in control and not simply smoking pot when they accuse Pakistan. If India can convince the US and Pakistan that it knows what it is doing, it will also convince them of the earnestness of India's words - and if necessary, threats.

But you cannot have others believe you are serious if your house is in disarray. And India's security apparatus certainly is. Nine hours for the NSG to get to Mumbai, three days to get the terrorists, and another two days to clear out bombs from the train station at Mumbai!

To be taken seriously, India must fix its anti-terror mechanism. And a first step is to invest heavily in the local police. The local policeman is India's first defense against crime and terror. It is these people - long reviled and under paid - who face the first bullets, secure crime scenes, and call in the big guns. You cannot expect to be safe if these people are not motivated to protect you. Fixing the local police will not be easy, nor cheap. It requires that every state pay its policemen more, invest in better training, offer better equipment and a safer work environment, and improve communications across state police and military intelligence divisions. The creation of a "federal" agency or a stronger law is useless, if we cannot catch the people to begin with.

Second, leverage technology. Britain's enthusiastic adoption of video surveillance in the 1990's, in response to IRA attacks, shows how successful it can be - at least in managing the aftermath. Today, London has over 10,000 cameras, and Britain over 4 million (1 for every 14 people - the highest in the world). The cost of technology, critical to coordinating first-response between fire, medical, and police services, is dropping exponentially. There is really no excuse for why India's police forces still operate with WWII era walkie talkies.

Third, upgrade the NSG to be one of the best anti-terror response units in the world. India is one of the most frequently attacked countries - it needs to have a matching capability. Yet, in the BBC article a security analyst illustrates how the NSG have no dedicated aircraft and insufficient training in responding to a Mumbai-style attack:

The commandos have been trained to rescue small groups of people. "They have not been trained on multiple location operations of such scale."

Four, India needs to be creative in its training of the NSG - and this will come from working with more creative partners. Why not train with Israeli and US security forces on a regular basis? Their agencies, amongst the best in the world, would not only be willing to share intelligence, but also tactics. Mumbai shows that whether we like it or not, the terrorists see us as one group of enemies. So it is time we embraced our new allies.

Finally, the NSG should be a dedicated anti-terror unit, not a team meant to provide protective cover to corrupt politicians. In the USA, the Secret Service does not conduct anti-terror operations, just as SWAT, Seal, and other special forces teams do not provide individual protection services. The former is dedicated to protecting key people, the latter to anti-terror operations. Likewise, the NSG should not be wasted on protecting corrupt politicians, the bulk of whom should be protected by local police. And, doing so would have the added benefit of creating incentives for politicians to improve local law enforcement.

Mumbai: An Opportunity to Reflect
Mumbai was a wake-up call. It seems increasingly likely that the attack was planned in Pakistan, yet the inability to prevent it or to respond effectively was a domestic failure. It brings home the rot, not only in our police system, but in our politics.

In such an environment, it is easy to lash out at an "external party" and in time India must do so. Yet, Mumbai offers us the opportunity to look within before we look without. India's first act of determination must be to set our own house in order. It will be difficult and politically tricky for the Congress to admit to lapses. But if the government is serious about tackling terror, they must follow the advice of an earstwhile opponent, Iqbal:

Khudi ko kar buland itna ke har taqdeer se pehle khuda bande se khud poochhe bata teri raza kya hai