Satisfying a Politician

What a relief that Mr. AR Antulay is now satisfied on how Late Hemant Karkare became a martyr.

Yet another instance of a parliamentarian belittling our confidence. Another politician stooping low to indulge in vote bank politics. Its funny that these people dare pull a fast one on "we the people" and use a death of one of the most courageous and intelligent police officer.

Does he really have the privilege to speculate in public? Shouldn't these "esteemed" politicians especially a Union minister be far more cautious about what they indulge in public, unless the governement has failed to satisfy them? Truly, I think such instances should be causes for defamation, as these acts are nothing short of defaming the intelligence of voters and of the nation.

"All doubts in this respect have been clarified", says Mr. Antulay. Well, is he doubting that there was a terror attack in Mumbai? Or does he believe that it was one huge Bollywood set? Or he only sees through the vote lens and believes he will please some voters by speculating on a soldiers martyrdom?

Unfortunately, we the people get swayed by conspiracy theories. This might sway some as well. But such make believes especially when politicians indulge in it irresponsibly, should be delat with - swiftly.

He is satisifed.

But I am not. Hopefully, neither are "we the people". Especially the ones in his constituency.

Terror and Laws

Knowing that India has a strong anti terror law, where they can deny bail, use statements made in police presence as evidence and charge someone for terrorist activities, would Ajmal Amir Kasab, or any of his associates, have refrained from committing the act?

Even without such laws, Hyderabad police could wrongly detain 21 muslim youths for almost a year and torture them. Those people have since been released and compensated. Imagine if POTA were in place. Would a cop have the courage to say these are wrong detention or would they have rather continued detention under POTA or a TADA.

Less than 2%, I think, has been the conviction rate under POTA or TADA. Quite a few are still behind bars after several years. And imagine giving the powers to state and state police the power to arrest, interrogate, take statement and basis that statement, convict someone for offences as foul as terrorist acts. Can we as a nation even handle such power when even the simplest are abused by those in charge? Can we afford to have a police officer with such sweeping powers? Not even a metro can afford it where there is awareness and media presence. Rest of India can definitely not.

Its not about the law - it clearly does not act as a deterrant as most of those who commit these offfences are suicidal. Its about the enforcement agencies - low on education, and understanding (they arrested the Noida doctor for daughters murder claiming illegitimate relations because they used to exchange mails??), training (are they equipped to handle latest weapons, or even aim and fire, investigate?), motivation (over worked, under paid) and free of influence (political masters - Corporator, MLA or any other small time politician can influence their promotion or posting).

The need is to reform policing and make the police force answerable to people and not the politicians at least not the state level politicians. Train and compensate them better. Equip them with better technology. Separate policing and investigation. National Investigation Agency seems to answer two of these - an investigation agency and not answerable to state government.

Police reforms remain an issue still. The sooner they're taken up the better for the nation.

Knowledge and Educated guesses

Ignorance is bliss.

While I've been told knowledge is, but am sure that is not true. Unless, of course, knowledge is complete. Since there is no test for whether the knowledge is complete, thus I would rather state that ignorance is bliss.

I recall an incident from the Punjab terror days when I was travelling to Delhi and had this long debate with friends from other parts of the country of how the terrorism in Punjab was not Sikh terrorism. A friend quoted what used to be part of daily ardas of any Sikh as "Raj karega Khalsa, baki rahe na koe", and stated that this is what is being yelled almost as if it were a battlecry. Was it knowledge or an educated guess? Important to differentiate because this was helping him perceive. How many understand this or know what is the error? Those who do, may be surprised at this perception. In fact the actual quote is "Raj karega Khalsa, Aaki rahe na koe".

To translate -

Raj karega - means "will rule"

Khalsa - means "pure (at heart? or in soul?)" NOT "Sikh"

While Baki means "all others" and Aaki means "Impure or maybe Non believers"

Rahe na koe - means "Will not survive".

Suddenly the meaning changes from being a battlecry to being a guiding phrase.

Another recent incident which was a lot more surprising was Simi Garewal's TV debate in which she highlighted how some houses in Mumbai slums carried Pakistani flags. Shocking I'd say. Fortunately she corrected herself within 24 hours, but was it knowledge or just an educated guess?

Educated I'll say because she does recognise the Pakistan flag. Guess, because those have been Muslim religious flags long before Pakistan decided to adopt a similar coloured, designed flag as its national flag.

But thats how deep rooted perception and educated guesses can be. Imagine, this was Simi Garewal's perception. Someone who has lived in that city since long before some of us were born, has worked in an industry which has a fair share of muslims. No offence to her, but a case in point for sure.

Thus, important for us to discuss, debate and be open to recognise that what might be knowledge could just be another educated guess. Important to have a diverse circle of friends, across religions or demographies I think.

And to have the courage to question, for an educated guess is worse than ignorance.

Seeking better choices

An oft repeated phrase amongst the people I have spoken with and the urban educated lot who have been vociferous post the attacks has been that they are keen to vote but where is the choice. Its more like the devil and the deep blue sea.

For years since independence, there have been very few elections where the turnout has been over 60%. Whenever it has been over 60%, mostly there have been sweeps in favour of one or against another. Yes, these are two different things - to vote against and to vote for. This mostly has been when the turnouts have been higher in the urban areas. Needs no further proof that the educated, urban people have the power to influence polity.

But, there have been many when this class has not voted. And like I said before, by not voting you actually vote someone in. Maybe a someone you don't like. Thus, the Indian political platform is full of politicians one may have a strong dislike for. And the class of people to blame are those who can think long term. They have neither taken the discussions out of their comfort zones. Nor did they ever try to influence those who have limited understanding of implications.

Thus when we go public with the fact that there is no choice, it is one we have chosen, by deciding not to influence. So if we are committed to make a change, we will have to commit ourselves over a long term. Make it a habit to vote and inculcate the value of voting in all those we know.

What can we do?

Read, and as I said earlier, think. But also go a step ahead. Also debate and discuss. When you debate and discuss it helps undertsanding perceptions and issues and sometimes helps influence.

Choose. Even if the choice is between the devil and the deep blue sea, still choose. Choose the lesser devil everytime and thus weed out the worst everytime.

Speak out even when it is not election time. Its a democratic country and spoken word is heard. Speak so that the parties know that they will have to put forth a better candidate than their opposing party.

Most important is for us to believe we can, and thus we will be able to influence polity and policy for not just a safer India, but even a more vibrant India or shall I say South Asia.

Perception is Reality

"Mumbai attacks were staged by the Indian government to malign Pakistan. It was a joint operation of Israel, US and India in lines of 9/11. Whilst 9/11 was used to stage a war on Afghanistan, this is being used by India to do the same to Pakistan."

"A discredited retired Pakistani general took on an aggressive tone on public television against any claims made by the Indians of the involvement of militants operating within Pakistan. Without waiting for any evidence, he emphatically concluded that the attacks in Mumbai were solely carried out by indigenious Indian militants. No doubt, an attack of this nature cannot be carried out without local complicity, but to rule out any link to any of the militant groups operating within Pakistan is unrealistic.... (Governments) must have the courage to face the truth and have the determination to inform public accordingly."

Over the last couple of days most of us tech savvy people have been getting the youtube link which plays a news report elaborating on the former. That clearly is a version from Pakistan.

On the same event there has also been editorials which is the latter quote. Strange as it may sound to some of us, the latter too is a quote from the Pakistani media.

Surprising to see two substantially opposite views emanating from the same country over this one episode. One clearly is a radical approach, meant to fan fanaticism and hatred even further. It seemingly suits their ambitions. The other is a sober voice, educated, clearly with a better vision and seemingly unbiased without any hidden agenda. Which one would we wish to see grow in acceptance? Latter one I hope.

Does it change our perception a little? For perception is reality.

There is a similar element on the Indian side. Some of us may not like this, but quoting an sms which has been doing the rounds lately:

"Wah India
Afzal to maafi
Sadhvi ko Faansi
RSS par pratibandh
SIMI se anubandh
Amarnath Yatra par lagaan
Hajj ke liye anudaan
Wakai .. Mera Bharat Mahaan.
Jaago Hindu Jago varna ek din apna desh %&*%stan kehlayega aur tum atankwadi"

So what's the agenda here. What motive? Radical enough or not? Which do we wish to see growing on the Indian side of the fence? Hope we can see through.

Ironic that this post comes on December 6th. Did any of us imagine repercussions of what happened some 16 years ago? Often I receive mails from a friend (Rahul) who signs off with a Mahatma Gandhi quote - "Be the change you want to see in the world". Now you may be fond of the Mahatma or not, but there is something about this quote.

So what can I change? I replied to this sms (act), spoke to the sender gave him my point of view (explain, sometimes even educate), once I saw him appreciate what I was saying, insisted that he passes it on to his friend who sent it to him.

Else perception would have grown stronger, and perception as we all know is reality. Is it then that I can choose reality by choosing to percieve differently? I wonder..

A CM we do not deserve

I don't deserve this.

As a citizen can I seek defamation proceedings against a Chief Minister for behaving worse than an animal? A dog is far better than the standards this guy measures up to. Clearly Mr. Unnikrishnan does not even need to take cognizance of this.

The CM is right, Mr. Unnikrishanan shouldnt have behaved like this. He should have taken a military action and physically hauled him and his entourage not just out of his house but out of the country. How dare he? He is not even playing his age leave aside a CM. Someone needs to tell him that as a CM he is a public servant and Mr. Unnikrishnan not just public but also a martyr's father. He does not have the authority or even the maturity to tell anyone how one should behave or not. Mr. Unnikrishnan had every right to charge him under tresspass.

Trust me, action needs to begin at home. With these politicians. Neighbouring country or the external hand can be dealt with by our forces. We the people need to draw a line when it comes to a politician's behaviour.

Did someone say Left were educated lot?

Another CM - Intent Apparent

How our politicians are narrow-minded and petty is evident from a lot of repeated coverage of instances such as Mr. RR Patil downplaying the whole episode or Mr. Deshmukh with his son and RG Verma in toe at The Taj. Such instances need to be highlighted a lot more. This will help ensure that they start behaving and people start recognizing who they really are.

There is a similar instance which needs to be highlighted a lot more. This one relates to a live transmission from outside Oberoi when Mr. Narendra Modi had walked in. There are 2 very noticeable instances:

1. Mr Modi stating that he actually wanted to be driven in and out of Oberoi while the operation was still on. This is belittling a) the staff and guests taken hostage inside; b) the security agencies both on the inside and outside and c) the Press reporting live encounter. Is he the only patriot and a willing martyr? Are all the other citizens petty? What was his point? Shouldn’t he be there in Ahmedabad reviewing security which he himself says is under threat too?

2. And this one is pathetic. While he is facing a direction which is neither the hotel, nor the cameras directly, seemingly taking inputs from the police and in a tense environment, he actually notices and waves away 2 of his supporters (or security people, or someone) from the line of view of the press, such that no one is obstructing him from the line of the cameras. TV teams captures this wave of his hand live.

I think both need to be played a couple of times over.. And as many who can know need to know this.I repeat - Soft underbelly or not will depend on how we the people deal with such politicians.

Do we the people have the capacity to see through their ploys?

Politicians and doling out money

I have a question to ask Mr. Modi and his ilk. When they go out doling compensations on public platforms is it their personal monies or that of us taxpayers and citizens of India? He / They have every right to go public if it is from their own pocket, which I am sure are deep enough. But if it is taxpayer money, it need not be declared with chest thumping.
Not that I am against compensation. A one crore compensation is pittance to what the martyrs have sacrificed. In fact some are being paid much less than a tenth of this amount. This sets in another debate. Do they deserve more than Abhinav Bindra? No, if you think they are going by doing their job. But in a country where its leaders, bureaucrats and judiciary has been surviving with below par effort and below par performance, clearly anybody giving up their life in line of duty deserves a lot more. Their families deserve a lot more. They deserve justice. Justice will come only if we can correct and reform the system, a system which often is influenced by quite a few nincompoop politicians.
On hearing that Mr. Karkare's wife refused Mr. Modi's grant, it is evident where Mr. Karkare used to draw his strength from. I salute the families of our martyrs who lay their lives to keep our nation alive. In them burns the hope which is often shattered by petty politicians.
Such public declarations especially where it is apparent that the motive is to win votes should be banned forthwith.

Before we forget, lets keep pushing the envelope

If anything, Mr.Naqvi's statement about "few men in suit boot and few women pasted with lipstick and powder" clearly shows that a politician is scared that the people protesting this time are the educated ones who up until now had been happy indulging in drawing room politics.
This is the fear that the politicains need to be living with. This is something that will ensure that they toe the line when it comes to behaving in.
This is a constituency which hardly goes out and vote. If they start voting, politicians do not know how to go about their business with the same as callousness. A victory of sorts this. Should egg us on to push the envelope further.

Safer India - Influencing Policy and Polity

The greatest need today is to influence both the polity and policy. Influencing it in a fashion that when the politicians go scoring brownie points, which they always will, they go and make statements or perform acts, they are always the same when it comes to issues which relate to domestic security.

It is not so much about the external hand or a neighbouring country. That our security agencies can manage. They have a proven track record. Remember Kargil? It is about the legislative and the bureaucracy - the speed at which it works and their intent. They too have a track record which is completely lax. I recall Mr. Manmohan Singh giving a 100 days for states to sort out policing. Dont misinterpret me, I admire him, but this seemingly is not what he is best at. Did he say a 100 days. Well Mr. Singh, look what they can do to a nation in less than 100 hours. For alacrity's sake, it is time we empower our forces.

One thing that fortunately has happened is that as a nation we have moved to a stage where we state confidently that "We will not negotiate". That is because we have security agencies that we are proud of.

It is horrifying to see that we are still so short on political maturity. It was despicable to see Mr. Narendra Modi posing for the cameras in front of the Oberoi, Mr. Naqvi lampooning protestors and press, Mr. Achuthananadan ridiculing a martyr's family, Mr. RR Patil downplaying the massacre or Mr. Deshmukh parading around with bollywood. How they change character to suit the occassion is evident when a CM offers money to the family of an officer whom he and his party members were abusing not so long ago and that too even at a time when the massacre was on.

It is sad when we have a politician pointing finger at security agencies just because they are questioning someone who wears saffron, or another questions another martyr because those who died represented green. Well our flag carries both the colours and we cannot afford to have any politicians choosing just one of them.

Need of the hour is manifold.

First, "we the people" need to be the most accountable.

Follow rules. Even if it is as small as sticking to your lane while driving, or waiting at a red light, even at a green light when you know the road ahead is jammed and just following a green signal will end up choking the crossing. Sounds stupid but be the change.

Set examples. In case stopped for challan, dont think of bribing but get the challan processed at the court on the due date.

Vote. This is a democratic country and I hope it continues to remain the same. Autocracy, always has led to genocides be it Nazi Germany of Vietnam war. Communism has seen its downfall across USSR and Eastern Europe and all that came out of that showed its pitfall. So politicians are a necessary element (I wont say evil). Onus is on us to ensure they dont turn out to be evil. Stay involved.

Read. Read between the lines. Think responsibly. Think how it has been historically and what can be future repercussions. Then believe in your interpretation and act. Vote. Vote to become relevant to them. Unfortunately most of the educated middle and upper middle class or even the upper class, who're not so small in size and have the capacities to interpret, understand do not vote and are thus not relevant.

This is a long haul will not happen over night, so be patient. Smile and remind each other.

Secondly, as for the ruling parties - Act.

Invest in health and education.

Reform police force. There is a need to segregate investigation, prevention and policing. Terror is not a state issue, nor is crime. A crime as simple as car theft today is somewhere linked to terrorism so is money laundering.

This needs a federal agency. There is a need to create a federal force, answerable only to the cabinet at centre. A need to isolate police and security agencies from the influence of politicians at local level. Today an SHO can be influenced even by a small time corporator. (Do we need corporations?)

Build a policy to ensure politicians behave. When they create scenes in assemblies and parliaments they should be chargeable under defamation as their acts defame a whole nation.

There is also a need ensure that no politician is allowed to make a mockery of a martyr by going public with rewards.

Thirdly, opposition has a responsibility too.

Attend, do not walkout. If we had minimum attendance rules while in college, parliamentarians too need to have such a rule. 70% of each parties MP to attend everyday when parliament is in session (Applies to small parties and independent MPS). Each MP to attend minimum 70% of days when parliament is in session.

Opposition does not mean to oppose alone. So lets stop playing to the gallery especially when it is to do with internal security. When it comes to questioning the agencies performance on issues related to internal security the oppositions needs to be a little more responsible and non public. How important is it for the leader of opposition to speculat in public if a sadhvi is rightfully arrested or not, unless the leader of opposition has convinced himself otherwise.

Fourthly, the bureaucracy needs to get its act together.

They should be accountable for allowing purchase of life jackets which cannot withstand a bullet. Or for sitting on decisions which would have saved lives, enabled and equipped forces.

Fifthly, the intelligence and security agencies need to complement each other.

Its been them who have saved the day for the country by making supreme sacrifices time and again. Hope to see them working together and smarter. They just need to stand up to the bureaucracy to ensure their teams are equipped as well.

Sixthly, judicial reforms and accountability.

We cannot afford to have judges who are above the law themselves. Corruption needs to go from there as well. And the sword needs to swing faster when it is the most powerful acting irresponsibly.

Am sure there are a million other things that can be corrected, which only means there is so much we can do.