Roger and Rafa - Take VII

The greatest rivalry in all of sports is renewed on Sunday at Melbourne Park. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will do battle for the 7th time in a Grand Slam Final. There are few things in sport today, if any, that people would rather watch than a Federer-Nadal battle royale. It is the perfect rivalry, with a complete contrast of styles, temperament and demeanor. The five year age difference is not paid much heed to.
They've faced each other from Shanghai to Dubai, Miami to London, but they've never played in Melbourne. Six Slam finals across Wimbledon and the French Open, they now square off at a hardcourt slam at the Aussie. Nadal has held the edge till now, but few are betting against Federer capturing his record-tying 14th Grand Slam today.

Regardless of Nadal's physical state and well being for the final, I don't believe he is quite ready to defeat Federer on hard-court over five sets, especially with Federer being in the kind of form he has showed over his last two matches. Like he did at Wimbledon, he will get closer slowly, and perhaps eventually be able to take on Roger on all surfaces on an equal footing, for the present I don't believe that is happening.

Rafa is still very conservative on hard courts. Preferring to play 8-10 feet behind the baseline against the big hitters and concentrating solely on a defensive strategy to win him points. Hitting the ball when it is on the decline, with loads of topspin he gets caught out on hardcourts in a way he doesn't on clay or on grass, where he has become far more aggressive over the years, playing now from inside the baseline. Federer on the other hand, hits the ball while it is still on the rise, giving him automatic zing, and of course he can hit all the shots in the book with angles that defy the laws of physics and differential equations. Federer looks hungry and will be aggressive from the start. Rafa's serve might keep him in the match longer than you might expect, but not enough to seriously hurt Federer.

The rivalry is only three years old and we're sure to have several more matches between these two greats. The first one on hard-court though should be a letdown. Rafa's not quite ready. Federer in straight sets.

Tamils for LTTE

Much in keeping with my colleague's previous post, I must expand on the syndrome he talks about to include Tamils for LTTE in the discussion, for it is much the same scenario here, as the one he describes in Pakistan.

The Sri Lankan army's advances are now well documented, and by all accounts the LTTE has taken a massive beating, if not suffered total annihilation. In Tamil Nadu people are up in arms. Yesterday a self proclaimed great advocate of the Tamil cause decided his own life was worth taking in response to the decimation of the LTTE and ended up in self immolation. Today great numbers of law students are picketing the Sri Lankan consulate in Chennai. While the scale of protests might not be in the same league as those in Pakistan, what is being protested is even more disproportionate. Regardless, my point here is to consider why people are so quick to espouse causes that appear to be quite removed from their immediate surroundings.

Why do people find it far easier to protest actions occurring in far off lands and not protest any similar injustices in their own? And it is not simply the government here, but the public as well. The DMK and these protesters do not seem to be very perturbed by the plight of Tamils in front of their eyes on the streets, but deem it a matter of life and death that some Tamils in another country are in trouble.

It is almost as if it is far easier to protest these injustices in a far off land, knowing that no action is required of oneself, while if one were to consider the plight of people in our own surroundings one would need to take responsibility and act. Protesting comes easy. Action does not.

People are quick to jump to the defense of people of their own religion, ethnicity, race and kin, but if some action was called for on their part all this attachment they feel would quickly turn to indifference.

It is a rather surprising syndrome to say the least. The two examples we've mentioned do not by any means exhaust similar occurrences the world over, but they serve as two clear examples of how groups of men and women behave when it comes to social causes.

Pakistanis for Gaza

As 2008 came to a close, the world responded with as much fanfare and celebration as the recession/depression/bankruptcy/'whatever economic crisis condition your country is in' allowed. However, for the unfortunate people of Gaza, there were no celebrations. Instead, the city was turned into a war zone by an invading Israeli army. Hundreds of people lost their lives in the assault. Throughout the Muslim world, enraged protesters took to the streets of the big cities, showing their solidarity with the plight of the Palestinian people in the face of wanton destruction. The people of Pakistan were not to be outdone. Scores of people turned out for protest marches around the country, even including a children's protect in Karachi. Organized by the Islamic political group, Jamaat-e-Islami, the protest in Karachi was quite a sight as scores of young children held imitation corpses and placards expressing hatred for Israel and the USA, while chanting violent slogans. Both the compassion and anger of the Pakistani people was there for all to see. Seeing the level of passion with which Pakistanis were willing to come out on the streets, in support of their Palestinian brethren, was admirable. It did not matter how distant the conflict was and how the conflict had next to no impact on the people of Pakistan, these committed folk were out there, showing the world, that its problems mean more to Pakistan’s people, than Pakistan’s own problems.

To these angered protesters, it did not matter, that a war was taking place within the heartland of their country. The people have responded with silence and disinterest to the fact that one of Pakistan’s most breathtakingly beautiful and serene regions has been transformed into a zone of chaos, bloodshed and persecution. These folk are not going to be restricted by the concerns of their own country. The daily news of scores of people being killed in Swat does not faze them. Word of dozens of people being torched alive solely on the basis of their political affiliations does not concern them. The stories of local leaders being publicly executed and then their bodies being left hanging in the middle of public markets for days on end as an example to others, does not worry them. The alarming news that the local government cannot even stop the burning down of schools all across the region by these militants does not sway them. These men and women of Pakistan are far too focused on the problems of Gaza, to take heed as the Taliban continue their drive to bring their own version of hell to bear upon the people of Swat, and soon on the rest of Pakistan.

The Pakistani people have clearly shown their unparalleled level of selflessness and sense of self-sacrifice to the world. It does not matter that our nation faces an existential threat, that our peoples are being put through untold suffering, and that a cancer of unprecedented malignancy is spreading through the body of our country without any hindrance. This sacrificial middle and upper class of our society, the only segment of our country that can resist the danger from the north, will ignore its own plight to show support for others facing difficulties. We are a nation to be proud of, a people characterized by such empathy, such commitment, such selflessness. Let it be known, around the world, the people of this crumbling state Pakistan are willing to give themselves wholeheartedly for any just cause around the world, except for their own. Truly with this attitude, I am sure God must be smiling down upon us and our nation will live long and prosper. Pakistan Zindabad!

India and the US - A New Hope

India's relationship with the US has come a long way in recent years. From the Clintons' love for the country to the Republicans' understanding of India's strategic benefits to America's own interests, the Cold War days of mistrust and deep suspicion between the two countries' diplomats are for the most part a distant memory. That India is increasingly being used by the US as a counterweight to China has gone from being a purely academic conjecture to a more explicitly understood fact. Barack Obama's overtures to India are in keeping with recent American governments' overly friendly policies toward India. While Indians are aware of America's reasons for a close relationship, they are confident of their independence and place in the world and so have no qualms about them and are happy to take what they get.

The US is nowhere more popular abroad than in India. While there are several plausible reasons for this, the fact that they are both large, diverse and young democracies is a foundation for many other similarities. Both countries also share a distrust of China, at least at the popular level. Being ideologically similar also renders them close. While Democrat governments have tended to harp on human rights issues and development, as is their wont, the Republicans have treated India in more Realist terms, and Indians have for this reason tended to be more forthcoming when Repubicans have been in power. The last few years are a clear indicator of this. George Bush for all his other shortcomings (if I may call them so, euphemistically) was a great friend of India's. However history remembers him, Indians will remember him for getting us the nuclear deal.

Barack Obama seems to understand India's strategic influence in the future world order and will surely only improve upon Bush's efforts to court India and possibly make it one of America's closest allies in the world. India and the US need each other. The Cold War years were a false start in many ways, with only the brief but glorious respite of Kennedy and Nehru's friendship. Thankfully the ambiguities of that relationship never turned to hostility at any point. Things were only waiting to take off. All the signs for them to do so now are evident. Let us hope it leads to a better, safer world at the very least.

How much is too much?

India is home to one of the fastest growing pharmaceuticals manufacturing industry in the world. Estimated to be worth at least $ 4.5 billion, it produces a combination of bulk drugs and pharmaceutical formulations. 60% of the bulk drugs produced are exported, the United States and Russia being the largest buyers. Over 20,000 registered drug manufacturers operate in India. Apart from the 250 large companies that control most of the drug formulation market in the country, the rest are all small and medium enterprises. The growth of India's pharmaceutical manufacturing industry is much reported in the international press and discussed with pride at global business and medical summits. While there is much to be proud of, a critical element threatens to become a major roadblock in the industry's long term sustainability - the damage to human life and environment from irresponsible manufacturing processes.

Only 28 km outside of Hyderabad is the 440 acre industrial estate of Patancheru. Home to some of the largest drug manufacturers in the state of Andhra Pradesh, it is also infamous as one of the 24 critically polluted areas in the country. Countless surveys of water bodies in the region, innumerable complaints from locals regarding the hazardous qualities of the water and after being classified as a polluted area, Patancheru was recently hailed as a 'Golden Land' by some state publications, for its contribution to the state's GDP and increasing real estate prices.

Recently, an extensive independent survey of the streams flowing near Patancheru by scientists from the University of Gothenberg, Sweden revealed some baffling conclusions. Treated waste water from the Patancheru Enviro Tech Ltd, a treatment plant where about 90 drug companies dump their residue was found to contain enough anti-biotics for a city of 90,000. Lakes upstream from the treatment plant contain similar levels of anti-biotics. Since so many drug manufacturers are concentrated in the region it is very difficult to monitor which companies are responsible for the dumping. The potent cocktail found in the water contains at least 21 different pharmaceutical ingredients.

Besides the obvious damage to human beings and animals who use the water from nearby streams (tributaries of the Godavari), there is also a growing concern that the prevalence of the concentrated ingredients in water bodies may give birth to drug resistant bacteria. Such bacteria can severely reduce the medical effectiveness of these drugs as they spread beyond the region. 'An ecological sacrifice zone', Patancheru now boasts of the highest concentration of pharmaceutical ingredients ever detected in the environment.

India has an outdated Environmental Protection Act, passed in 1986 based on guidelines set by a UN Conference on the Human Environment in 1972. According to the local head of the pollution control board, a Mr. R. Tiwari, the law in India does not require screening for pharmaceutical residue at the end of the water treatment process. President of the Indian Bulk Drug Manufacturer's Association, calls the survey spurious and recommends that locals use water transported from other parts of the state through pipes. Meanwhile, the manufacturing, dumping, polluting, killing goes on. Better regulation, concern for the human and natural environment and improved manufacturing standards remain the real problem.

The Army of the Pure - I

It is has often been joked, that whereas other countries have armies, Pakistan's army has a country. This is probably the most accurate appraisal of Pakistan’s predicament.

Pakistan suffers from an identity crisis, one that the establishment has attempted to resolve through imposing upon Pakistan the identity of a national security state. If security was the key premise for Pakistan's existence, a security apparatus was the vital organ holding up the country, protecting it from all that dares tear it apart. The most obvious enemy in this regard lay to the east of Pakistan, the state from which these Pakistani Muslims fled for protection, the state of India. Right from the 1950s, the army and its civilian allies settled on labeling India a perpetual existential threat to Pakistan, describing Kashmir as a symbol of Indian aggression, and determining that all decisions and actions in Pakistani policy must be made based on an underlying rationale of this constant Indian threat. The logic following from this constant national security crisis is that if national security is at the core of Pakistan's well being, then the organization best suited to deal with the national security threat is best suited to be in charge of Pakistan's well being. From this, the army was able to derive its power, and, as the years went by, the army developed a sense of entitlement, that became embedded in the thinking of most army officers.

Pakistan’s first military ruler displayed his disdain towards other institutions of the country in his patronizingly titled autobiography “Friends not Masters,” in which he makes his “dislike of both politics and politicians” plain. This sense of entitlement in the army, and contempt for the political institutions that competed with the army for control, meant the army made every effort to keep the politicians away from any serious hold on power, except those politicians who depended on the army, and ruled within the framework the army set for them. There have been three moments, when the army has had to relinquish this control.

Firstly, there was the 1971 war, in which the Pakistani army was decimated and unable to take the reins of the country and reconstruct it. This burden fell upon the civilian leadership headed by Zulfiqar Bhutto. Bhutto had the opportunity at this point to relegate the army to a permanent position of subordination to the civilian government, an opportunity he squandered, while at the same time treating the army leadership with contempt. The army took time to rebuild, and shake off the skeletons of the ‘71 war, an experience that, as Stephen Cohen claims, left the army with a thirst for retribution against all those who they claimed participated in bringing about the humiliation of the army. The army retook control of the country from the civilian leadership with a vengeance, even having Zulfiqar Bhutto hanged. The civilian political leadership was swiftly dismantled.

The second moment came when the rule of General Zia ul Haq came to an end, with the population demanding a return to civilian leadership under the daughter of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto. The army understood that the immense unpopularity that Zia ul Haq had accumulated meant that the army needed to take a back seat to the civilian leadership. However, the army quickly devised a new strategy to dismantle the new leadership. The army used its weapons and money to pit a whole host of political groups, on the national and local level, against the Bhutto government. Leaders like Nawaz Sharif, emerged as unrelenting opponents of the Bhutto government on the national level, while on regional and local levels, Islamic groups as well as ethnicity-based organizations destabilized the country, rendering the Bhutto government completely ineffective. Thus, the army turned into the patron of the opposition, ensuring that no civilian government could take any meaningful control of the country. Finally, when its own creation Nawaz Sharif, began to show resistance to the army, and attempted to consolidate political control, the army assumed direct control once more.

The third moment came last year. A series of dramatic events swept the nation, turning popular opinion against military rule, as was demonstrated in national elections in which the politicians supported by the army were roundly defeated. Once more the army was compelled to cede control, this time, to the husband of Benazir Bhutto, Asif Zardari. However, unlike in 1971, in both 1988 and 2008, the circumstances surrounding the army’s departure were less dramatic, and the army’s position was not as weak, which is why the army was able to keep one hand on the reins of the country, without deeming a need to compromise much.

It seems clear that the army and the current government are at odds with each other. Firstly, the current leadership comes from a family that has always been at loggerheads with the army. Secondly, this government has shown that they are not willing to tow the army’s line on Afghanistan and India, two areas that the army considers its domain. Several incidents have made the differences between the two sides quite apparent, including the government’s unsuccessful attempt to bring the army’s intelligence agency under more direct civilian control, and the publicly evident rift between the two sides on how to handle the crisis ensuing from the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Given, the history and mindset of the army, and the current tension between the army and civilian government, there seems little doubt that the army would want to take back control. It is just a matter of choosing the right time and creating the right circumstances to give itself the necessary public justification. How India, Islam and the Taliban fit into the army’s mindset and strategy will be the subject of my next entry in this series.

We, the People of India, in our Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic; For Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity

The most sacred document in the Republic of India begins with these ennobling words. Words, that fell silent yesterday as the country marked the 59th year of adopting its Constitution. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity - after 62 years they do not stop a mob of educated thugs from assaulting their fellow citizens, whether it is a group of girls getting a few drinks at a pub or school children and their parents celebrating the glorious republic in Nashik.

Defenders of our faith, guardians of our culture - who authorized these titles for hooligans? There are 18 official regional languages in India and many more dialects. Every citizen is free to express themselves in any one or more of them. That is the diverse and unique cultural heritage of our country. If children in Nashik wish to sing songs in Bhojpuri, then so be it. Any persons who are not members of their school have no business opposing their choice of language and least of all beating them up and vandalizing the school property. Far from preservation of culture, such actions of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena amount to criminal behavior at the least. The words from our Constitution stare at the state of affairs and the words from our Constitution seem silent.

"The ways employed by our boys may be debatable but their objective was absolutely right and justified... We will continue to fight against asatya, adharma and anyay even if some of our men have been arrested. This is a small price to pay for a larger cause."
- Such is the concern shown by our fellow citizen, a Pramod Muttalik, now President of the Shri Ram Sena and former convenor of the Bajrang Dal. Mr. Muttalik, just to remind you and your cronies, curbing any Indian's freedom to express themselves is 'anyay'. Assaulting women by beating them up and dragging them by their hair is 'adharma'. And claiming to defend a culture whose ethos of tolerance you choose to ignore, 'asatya'. And if you wish to be Shri Ram's Sena, then do ask yourself - would Shri Ram dare to attack a woman in the manner in which you have insulted so many? Your organization clearly has neither read the Ramayana and definitely not laid its eyes on the Constitution of India - the very document that gave birth to the country whose morals you have set out to defend.

You reject the verdict of the people in Jammu and Kashmir, calling the elections 'wrought with fraud'. The very political party you hope to bring back to power through your efforts of cleansing us of all evil refuses to acknowledge your legitimacy to save its own thorny record of allowing groups such as yours to spring up in the first place. You and your brothers are an aberration who must realize that there is no room for your hooliganism in our country. It is best you retire and re-educate yourselves. This time do read the Ramayana and the Constitution of India with sincerity and attention. So words from both do not feel silenced. Let words become deeds.

Talibaning Our Way to Superpower Status

India, feeling rather left out with the Taliban holding sway in two of its neighboring countries, seems to have given rise to its very own version of the legendary Afghani group. The choice of name for this group might irk a few, but as it is in the name of the lord, Sri Ram Sena shall do. Forced to take up the role it has assumed due to incompetence on the part of the majority of Indians, it acts as a modern day Knights Templar, protecting the sanctity and holiness that is supposed to pervade this great land. Its rise is inevitable, and the current secular, infidel government should know it. Mild shout outs to not "Talibanize India" are nothing more than a futile PR effort. One does not imagine Najibullah requesting Mullah Omar to not Talibanize Afghanistan, does one? The infidel government must learn from history. There is no stopping Talibans. And the Indian version will restore India to the greatness that is its due.

Indians awoke to the rather glorious news yesterday of two young women being assaulted in a pub in Mangalore by a group of 50 strapping youths of the said Sri Ram Sena and the litmus test had been passed. People who previously doubted India’s resolve and toughness to tackle such grave national problems like feminine alcohol consumption, intermingling of people within its citizenry who professed different faiths, and a scant regard for the clothing of their bodies within particular sections of society, have now been won over. Our men had boldly defended the country's ideals and we were once more on the right path; the path that will inexorably lead us to our destined status as a superpower. What! Two women keeping India back like this? Never! Not on our watch said these brave young lads. They will be worshiped and suitably honored for their intrepid actions. Bharat Ratnas are in store.

Our forefathers had intended the sexual repression of this country for this very reason. Such visionaries all. Who would have thought it would come to this? But as prescient as they were in their wisdom of keeping a populace so repressed, their decrees had not been completely executed. How else do you explain the existence of two such renegades within the ranks? Shamelessly flouting all known standards of superpower like behavior. Thankfully they were nipped in the bud. Otherwise one does not know how far this could have gone. We have traitors amongst us, beware! They do not wish to see India become a superpower. Such evil elements must not be allowed to exist in our society. Thanks to the valor of our boys, the menace is being reigned in.

Working within the confines of the brilliant program of “moral policing”, as they are unfortunately forced to call it due to immature citizens who do not know what is good for them, they are slowly ensuring India’s cleansing and setting us on the fast track to attaining greatness. All previous superpowers are put to shame with this one act of superhuman bravery and resourcefulness. None of them can name a single instance of such self-sacrifice on the part of its citizens. They must have lacked the foresight and temerity that young Indian men possess in such abundance. But with commendable modesty, a hallmark of our boys, they termed their noble actions a "small thing".

One should not underestimate the sense of purpose and self-sacrifice with which our boys acted. As one clearly thankful citizen, paying due respect aptly put it, "it was a spontaneous uprising against girls flouting decent Indian morals". So proud they made us all these chivalrous young men. With the unimaginable fortitude and strength of will it takes to physically assault a member of the fairer sex they set an example for all young men to look up to. They make up only a handful of the youth that India is so happy to possess, but let us not be mistaken, their bravery will be contagious. Soon we shall see valiant young men all across the country acting with a similar cognizance of the country's direction and they will all do their bit towards the common good. All other countries would be envious of us, having as we do, troves of such young lads, waiting to give up all self indulgences and act in the best interests of the country. We should be rather thankful. Years and years of meticulous training have provided us with an opportunity the likes of which our forefathers never saw, but envisioned for all of us, being as they were, so compassionate and caring. Winston Churchill might very well have meant his historic words for this particular band of brothers, so that one day, when their work is done, we shall all proclaim, “Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few”.

We still have some way to go, by the look of things. Certain evil elements continue to exist and flourish in all parts of the country. They will be rooted out no doubt. It is a war of attrition, but if people all over were to act with the alacrity with which we saw our young men act yesterday, the menace will quickly fade. Nothing must come in between us and our dreams of greatness. This storied, ancient and diverse civilization is once again rising, let the world know. The true bearers of the faith rose yesterday and others shall soon follow. Ladies and gentlemen, India, the next superpower.

Mr. Holbrooke Goes to Islamabad/Kabul

Welcome Mr. Holbrooke, to the theater that is Pakistan and Afghanistan, a troupe of non-state actors, stateless actors, stated actors, unstated actors, and others without clear roles, engaged with each other, both through cooperation and conflict, in constructing a whole host of charades to perplex the world with, while they themselves continue to follow their own scripts behind their presented scripts. Sounds confusing? Well, obviously. This part of the world has confused and confounded everyone for decades now, especially the Pakistanis and Afghanis. Those who have claimed to be able to comprehensively explain the entire situation in this region are committing the dangerous sin of oversimplification. So, instead of committing this grave mistake Mr. Holbrooke, I would just give you a briefing on a few of the major players.

The battlefield for the war on [insert term here depending on what party you are and what side you are on] lies in the north western regions of South Asia.

For the Afghani Government, this is the War for Survival. The Afghani government is threatened on every front by the Taliban menace. Recent reports by NATO show that the Taliban are not just a threat in Southern and Eastern Afghanistan but have now become a threat within Kabul itself. Moreover, there is sufficient evidence to show that even within the Afghani government there are elements covertly profiting from supporting the Taliban as they destabilize the government and the country.

For Al-Qaeda, the notorious international terror network, this is the front for the War on Attrition. For Al-Qaeda, this region of disorder and discontentment is the perfect place for them to train, recruit, strategize and accumulate weapons and money, to prevent depletion, and continue to plan and carry out terrorist attacks around the world.

For the Taliban, this is the War on a Fragmented Opposition. The Taliban wish to control this region unopposed, and expand beyond this region to capture and control as much of Afghanistan and Pakistan as possible. The expansion is in all directions, and the opposition therefore comprises a variety of actors, fragmented across the region, including NATO, the Pakistani and Afghani governments, and local tribal rivals, among others. I challenge the wisdom that today’s Taliban is a loose term for different Islamic extremist militia of largely Pashtun origin looking to exert control over different parts of this region. As I see it, these are no small localized operations, but instead there is clear coordination and unity of purpose and even strategy, an issue that I will discuss subsequently in another blog entry.

For the Pakistani government and the Pakistani army, two separate entities, the force being fought against is far less clear. The civilian Pakistani government has made its secular leanings clear, and is committed to fighting the Taliban threat within Pakistan, a War on the Taliban as it were. However, it finds itself fighting a war opposed by its own people. At the same time this war pits it in many ways against it own army. The Pakistani army, is, on the surface, fighting the War on the Taliban as the lead ally of the United States, but is increasingly showing a greater interest in pursuing the War on India. Behind this gravitation from one front to the other is, what could well be a different war, being fought by the army against its own civilian government, as it hopes to keep control of the country. This is a struggle in which they see the Taliban as a vital asset. Hence the Pakistani army seems to be fighting three different wars on different levels, a subject I shall deal with in subsequent blog entries in this series.

Mr. Holbrooke is entering a situation where he cannot be clear who his friends and enemies are, and what his assets and liabilities are. The only truth he can be certain of is that the threat of Islamic militant extremism has grown much stronger in this region than it has been in a long time, and somehow, he needs to unravel this mess of characters in order to re-write a script for success and stability in this region. We wish him the best of luck.

The Perils of Bypass Surgery

Our honourable 76 year old Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underwent bypass surgery earlier today. I do hope the procedure went well and that he recovers soon. However, and please forgive me being an absolute prick for such a serious matter, I cannot wrap my head around the limitless attention its received in the media. All day long today, the indigenous news channels have only carried dramatic pictures of our glorious Prime Minister giving thumbs up signs, marching to and fro with purpose all the while playing a heartbeat (very strong I might add) for a soundtrack and with sine waves moving across the screen. When the segment finally does get under way a lot of random people on the streets are interviewed as they presumably take time out on their Saturdays to build coloured sand sculptures of Manmohan (as above) or go pray for him in multiple temples, mosques and gurudwaras. (If the non-believers are praying somewhere too for him, do forgive me for leaving you out)

Apart from my obvious amusement, I'm really struck by where so many multitudes of well wishers have come from. Although I am being assured (by 27-28 different news monkeys) that they are spread across our vast nation and come from all socioeconomic backgrounds, most seem to come from the Punjab. Sadly, even in such a grave matter our over-arching communalism comes shining through. His title of 'Pradhan-Mantriji' is often swapped for 'Sardar Manmohan Singh' no doubt to inspire religious divides. Sensing my obvious unease at having such little information, the always excellent NewsOnline24 produced the sextobox! Six boxes on one screen so that I could see his extended family, a token surgeon pundit, an external view of the hospital, a seemingly random gurudwara, images of Manmohan when his arteries were slightly less clogged and most importantly his stand-in for the day Pranab Mukherjee. Spontaneous applause followed from my hands and I can only hope other appreciated this marvel as much as I did.

Of course, having such an able deputy as Pranab fills the heart and arteries with warmth. At 73 he's really quite young and has a bright career ahead of him. As our acting Prime Minister, I have a lot of faith in his ability to learn the art of prime ministering on the job. He might decide this is a good time to get one over the old man in policy and declare a war or two in the six weeks allotted to him. The fire of youth runs too strong in him but its probably better than having an 81 year old fogey like L.K. Advani in office, though to his credit he is the next Obama with his blog and jazzy website. I think though I'll settle for the 76 year old with the perfect mix of energy and wisdom. And so I hope he recovers soon, lest my painfully small brain gets overloaded by the excitement that his condition has caused.

We Won't Get Fooled Again

It's not entirely certain when exactly all of humanity began to wait for 20th January, 2009. The reasons for this hardly need enumerating. They are plentiful and obvious. The horrors of the Bush presidency are well documented and by all accounts are a time to be forgotten, both for America and the rest of the world. Barack Obama enters office with higher expectations than possibly anyone in history.

The witching hour is nigh and the last thing I want to do is bring everyone back to earth with some good old fashioned cynicism. The past eight years though, unfortunately, caution all of us against too much hope or expectation. While the world's wishes are with them, let Obama and his team know we will not again be let down in the manner we were. However unreasonable the expectations, we will not stand for failure and futility. The world cannot afford it. The world needs change, it can't have more of the same. The lyrics of a very powerful song say all I want to say. We won't get fooled again.

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgment of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold, that's all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they were all flown in the last war

There's nothing in the streets
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

As Jim Morrison once said, "We want the world and we want it now". Unreasonable, I know, but nothing short of this will do.

Let us not be saying in a few months time :

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

A Great Eight Years

On Tuesday, January 20th the much awaited Age of Obama will finally begin. I wonder what is more eagerly awaited though, Obama's entrance to the Oval Office or Bush's exit. The past 8 years have been eventful to say the least. The fiasco in Florida and Fox calling the election for Bush seems like it happened a decade ago. And it did. Since then we've seen a President holidaying on his ranch, 9/11, Enron & WorldCom, Taliban and Al Qaeda, Mullah Mohammad Omar and Osama Bin Laden, an Axis of Evil, non-existent weapons of mass destruction, a President clearing brush on his ranch, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, a Vice President shooting friends in the face, drilling in Alaska, a financial boom that made billions, Katrina, water-boarding, a financial meltdown that lost trillions and a President driving a pick-up trick on his ranch. I have missed plenty I'm sure but it still gives a flavour of what my generation has grown up with.

I don't believe we would look forward to Obama if the last eight years hadn't been such a great roller-coaster ride. Maybe Bush garnered so many votes in 2000 because the Clinton years had been relatively boring what with the Cold War over and no real global competition. Bush took the world out of the staid 90s and led us stumbling through the defining 00s. Perhaps, history needs us to shake up once in a while and go through some life altering period of time just to make things interesting again. It gives us something to talk about and lets the youth be cynical with a vengeance. It created a strong divide between those who agreed with Bush's policies both economic and foreign and those who consider them foolish.

Sadly, the debate is ending with most people lined up against Bush now. But as the man finally recedes into the shadows with the lowest approval ratings since the beginning of time, let us pay him some well won tributes. His facial expressions were always classic and his faux pas are legendary. He has spawned at least 2 films (that I know of) during his time in the White House. The Daily Show and Colbert Report thrived off his work. Spare a thought for the likes of Chester A. Arthur or James Garfield, such boring men that we barely know who they are. They are not judged by history at all. Bush once said that history will judge him and it seems it will do so cruelly (though justly). There are enough indictments against him and many more that will be made but let us not forget Bush gave us eight years of entertainment with at least a few more to follow thanks to his hard work. For that, I tip my hat to President Bush and look forward to the next American President that frustrates us and makes us laugh in equal measures, and one who drives us to search and discover hope again.

Satyameva Jayate

Truth alone triumphs. So goes India's national motto.

With Ramalinga Raju now in penitentiary (and refusing his meals we are told!), the brutal irony of that motto, in the present circumstance, seems to be lost on a number of people. It is almost as if that line from the Upanishads was a forewarning of Raju's delusional mind and his horrendous actions that have left a once proud company in ruins. Maybe we should not have translated the Sanskrit. Satyam the company was meant to triumph. So believed Raju and so it was.

India had enough problems on its hands. It could have done without the horror show we've witnessed over the last 5 days. An icon of industry, a pioneer in the BPO field, a great firm built over more than two decades now lies in tatters. 53000 (even this is possibly inflated)lives have been directly affected. What are Satyam's employees to do? What of their families? Millions of shareholders have seen their stock worth plummet, both through direct ownership of Satyam stock as well as through the fall in the stock exchanges; inevitable given Satyam's effect on the exchanges. Who is answerable to them? Satyam's board had long vanished before the government decided to supersede what was left of it. Are the new board members expected to feign remorse? How shall they be held accountable for what is none of their doing? They shall be judged solely for their management of affairs from here on. But what of the grave crimes that have been committed already?

Warren Buffet called derivatives financial WMDs. As we are increasingly seeing, any financial instrument is a WMD in itself. Ramalinga Raju has proved this beyond doubt. One man's Satyam has destroyed thousands of lives. What he deemed to be Satyam was what it became. He chose cash balances for the company, operating revenues, debts outstanding, accrued interest and by proxy, the stock price. Satyam was in Raju's mind alone, it did not exist as such anywhere else. The satyam (truth) about Satyam was something completely different. It was a bunch of lies cooked up by a delusional man who has lost all sense of reality and has been, by his own admission, for some years now, living in his own fantasy land.

He is answerable for what he has done.

Let us hope for once we mete out suitable punishment to Messrs. Raju and family and whoever else our justice system finds to be involved. Let our national motto be affirmed in the way it was meant to be. Let satyam, as in truth, triumph. Let not Satyam, as in Ramalinga Raju, triumph.

Baba to PM: A Perilous Journey

"Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister when he was 40 and his son Rahul Gandhi will follow his footsteps."

"This is the course of history and it is irreversible."

India's Minister of External Affairs, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, speaking at the 2009 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (a summit honoring Non-Resident Indians and People of Indian Origin), sealed the future of the country's top job. As an 'indispensable' member of the current Cabinet of Ministers and a known confidante of the Gandhi family, Mr. Mukherjee's words serve as a genuine precursor of what is to be the country's fate. India's news networks and newspapers also picked up Mr. Mukherjee's byte and the comparison to a newly elected, young leader of another democracy and Mr. Gandhi have begun to flow freely. Clearly, they seem to believe youthfulness alone implies change.

Mr. Mukherjee's words also serve as inspiration to the young majority of India's population. Finally, a genuine reason to not bother contemplating a possible foray in to public life in the future. If it is the irreversible course of history that at the end of the day, 10 Janpath shall rule India, then any effort to become a politician and aspire to reach the top will be counterattacked. To those who wish to argue by saying becoming a politician does not imply one must solely aspire for the Prime Minister's seat, then you're missing the point entirely.

Kathmandu I'll soon be seeing you, And your strange bewildering time

New Year's Eve in Kathmandu is dark. "Load-shedding ka system hai, sir" exclaimed our cab driver as we rode down the city's main street to get some dinner. Sixteen hours long - the average power cut. After a good meal in a fancy French restaurant affordable to expats, diplomats and tourists, if you navigate your way through the dark streets once again to find a bar in the city's hip district, be prepared to see a sea of leather-jacket and denim wearing sea of men.

Expecting too much in a city recently going through major political change? I was not unaware. "Now that we have democracy, governance is declining and corruption increasing" quipped another cynical resident. So was the monarchy better? Laughter, and a sigh.

People want to get on with their lives. Democracy is great everyone echoed, and it seemed a big enough change for the residents to handle. They do not want government interference in other aspects of life. A case in point is religion. Visiting the Pashupati (Shiva) Temple Complex amidst a tussle between the Communist government that wishes to replace the shrine's South Indian priests for the last 300 years, with newly appointed Nepali ones (the intention is not to be anti-Indian as it may seem the government clarifies), I expected heavy security, slogans, chaos. The visit went smoothly. In fact more so in my opinion amidst the absence of touts pestering believers to pay for special offerings being made to God by the priests. Since there were no priests at the temple that day, there was no room for brokers. Local volunteers and a handful of security guards managed the crowds. The evening hymns echoed through the complex, sung as is the routine by a local devotee and no high positioned priest. No one seemed to care about the political game that was at play with the temple as its centerpiece. Yes, to many the Shiva idol needed the care it received at the hand of the priests each day. Besides that little bit of remorse, there was no sign of any desire for a change in life within the complex. In the prostrations of the believers there was a sense of relief to be there, whether priests or not, despite politics or not.

Identity politics as exemplified in the case of the Pashupati Temple controversy, corrupt politics as seen in the complaints of the people, interest no one. And both threaten the peace and security of not just Nepal, but states in South Asia. In Kathmandu one can witness a crumbling of daily life as it is continuously infringed by the enforcement of identity other than that of being a citizen of a new democracy and by an establishment of a corrupt public system.

By my troth, I care not

It has been 10 days since Israel began its campaign against Hamas and by proxy the Gaza Strip. Palestinian estimates say at least 400 people are dead, many, perhaps most of them civilians. I've read blame apportioned to both parties for instigating it. Both sides have apparently broken the terms of the truce and what better way to counter the truce at this stage than by entering full fledged combat. I read that Israel has killed 452 Palestinian children since 2004 and have lost 11 children of their own in the same period. Astounding statistics no matter who you are. Yet the only emotion, indeed the only reaction I can draw out of myself, is one of apathy. Sympathetic apathy at best. I'm trying to understand why that is the case.

Every few years, months if we are so lucky, a conflict erupts with Israel and one of its eternal enemies. Everyone knows who started it... it was the other guy. It dates back millennia and at this rate may continue on for a few more. I think part of my apathy is derived from the fact that I can understand both points of view. The Holocaust was so destructive and evil that I will never begin to relate. Sixty years on, the memory of victimization is still heavily played but more often in Hollywood than anywhere else. The Palestinians have been disavowed of their own land by those damned Jews. Generations of them have grown up in refugee camps so we must sympathize with them. Fighting to regain your home or fighting to defend your home. Both noble ends which I most definitely wish India did more often. So my equal and opposite action and reactions cancel each other out.

Maybe the approach to the solution is all wrong. The very recently late Samuel Huntington put forth his famous Clash of Civilizations theory in 1993. Why don't they turn this theory into practice? Line up all available armed forces of both Israel and Palestine and duke it out to the end. Let us have all the labels fighting each other together. The aggressive, victimized Jewish bullies against the freedom fighting, victimized Palestinian terrorists. Heck, throw in everyone else who has a quibble with Israel. Maybe then this irritating distraction will cease to trouble the world. People won't crib about how the US is silent yet again on Israel's aggression or the Arabs remaining mum on bus bombings in Tel Aviv. There won't be anything for them to be silent or vocal about. The entire trite and oft repeated conflict will cease to trouble us. No more scrolling past pictures of crying families and plumes of smoke on the BBC or New York Times. Apathy can give way once again to genuine concern about the state of the American auto industry. 452 Palestinian children killed by the Israelis don't deserve to dominate the news over Chrysler's $4 BN loan, do they? Right? I thought not.