India chose to have a diplomatic offensive over military action against Pakistan in response to the Mumbai attacks in November. Did it do so out of choice or having no choice?
Manmohan Singh rightly said that military action would achieve nothing constructive. If India wanted, it could have attacked the terrorist training camps in Pakistan territory. But any such action would surely result in retaliation by Pakistan's military, may be resulting in all-out war, Kargil style, and in the longer term, more terrorist attacks.
Yet if an equivalent number of people had died in a terrorist attack in the US, UK or Israel, military action would be inevitable. The mess created by that is visible in Paletine, Iraq and Afghanistan. What India has done shows restraint, wisdom, and regard to the long term.
So all of you who say India is weak, shut up.
Showing posts with label mumbai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mumbai. Show all posts
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Sunday, 7 December 2008
Root Cause
The recent horrific attacks in Mumbai has 'awakened' the Indian public, government, as well as caused some fear and negative sentiment among Pakistan's public and media. Accusations have been made that the terrorists were 'home-grown', i.e. Indian based, whereas India finds evidence and backing by the US to say that they were in fact Pakistan based.
However, terrorism is a long term problem, and even if these attacks were not by home grown terrorists, there is a no doubt that there are Muslim communities in India, particularly so in Kashmir, which are hostile towards India. (This is NOT to say that all Muslims in India are like this). Why so?
In theory Muslims across India can command equal treatment like any other Indian, and Kashmiris especially have some privileges since its inception. But that theory has not been put into practice effectively. The real success of these would be achieved when every Muslim in India feels proud to be an Indian. This would be an enormous blow to all the terrorists who try to expand in India.
Sure it may be too idealistic, but so are all real goals. So people of India - yes we shall condemn terror, yes we shall make our government be more responsible, but lets make sure that responsibility spans across internal affairs as well as external ones.
However, terrorism is a long term problem, and even if these attacks were not by home grown terrorists, there is a no doubt that there are Muslim communities in India, particularly so in Kashmir, which are hostile towards India. (This is NOT to say that all Muslims in India are like this). Why so?
In theory Muslims across India can command equal treatment like any other Indian, and Kashmiris especially have some privileges since its inception. But that theory has not been put into practice effectively. The real success of these would be achieved when every Muslim in India feels proud to be an Indian. This would be an enormous blow to all the terrorists who try to expand in India.
Sure it may be too idealistic, but so are all real goals. So people of India - yes we shall condemn terror, yes we shall make our government be more responsible, but lets make sure that responsibility spans across internal affairs as well as external ones.
Friday, 9 May 2008
Lingo kid and latent India
India never stops surprising me. Recently came across 'lingo kid', a child on the streets of Mumbai, who doesn't go to school and sells peacock feathers outside Hanging Gardens in more than 6 international languages. Watch him here:
Incidentally the same kid has now grown up, but is still doing the same thing day in day out (see below), and he still doesn't go to school. Although he is an incredible spectacle, is it really worth admiring his skills or the 'wonder of India' if he, and millions other like him, perpetually do the same business for the same rates for years? It's a fact visible in hundreds of teeming towns across India which never seem to have changed every time I visit them. I fear that the continuing disparaties between the progressing India and those left behind may have disastrous consequences.
'Inclusive growth' is the buzzword of the time. Many mega-schemes of the government aimed at this - most recent one being the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme - are a failure. It is fundamentally incorrect to forcefully create jobs where there is no work, rather the rural economy should be stimulated to grow organically which would create jobs by itself. Examples of success in that regard are microfinance schemes. Capitalism wins again.
Incidentally the same kid has now grown up, but is still doing the same thing day in day out (see below), and he still doesn't go to school. Although he is an incredible spectacle, is it really worth admiring his skills or the 'wonder of India' if he, and millions other like him, perpetually do the same business for the same rates for years? It's a fact visible in hundreds of teeming towns across India which never seem to have changed every time I visit them. I fear that the continuing disparaties between the progressing India and those left behind may have disastrous consequences.
'Inclusive growth' is the buzzword of the time. Many mega-schemes of the government aimed at this - most recent one being the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme - are a failure. It is fundamentally incorrect to forcefully create jobs where there is no work, rather the rural economy should be stimulated to grow organically which would create jobs by itself. Examples of success in that regard are microfinance schemes. Capitalism wins again.
Friday, 18 April 2008
Of Streets and Soul
Continuing from the last post, it must be mentioned how riding a moped or any other two-wheeled vehicle, even riding in a auto-rickshaw for that matter, is almost a 'near death experience' in Indian traffic, making it even more thrilling. To those unacquainted with the streets of India, here is how traffic would flow at a typical junction, and if you're on your feet, here's how to keep them while crossing the road (forget zebra crossings for they are seldom seen outside the capital city.)
The funny part is not how order exists among chaos or how Indian drivers manage to turn three lanes into six, but the fact that the very culprits who drive recklessly (trucks and auto-rickshaws) try to educate other drivers into 'driving with care'.
Almost every single truck / lorry in India has the slogan 'Horn OK Please' painted decoratively at the rear of the lorry as part of the entire truck's decoration. It is so ubiquitous that it is now used in popart reflecting the soul of India, rightly so. The origins of the slogan are unknown, but my guess is that phrase is 'Horn Please, OK!' (since the OK is always in another font), instructing the driver behind to sound the horn as he / she overtakes the lorry, with an encouraging 'OK'. This way the lorry driver knows to give way. On a 2-lane road I have usually seen them riding with the lane divider right in the middle of the vehicle, though this may finally be changing slowly.
The slogan may also accompanied by another one in smaller size and italics, 'Use dipper at night'. Yet everyone uses their headlamps on straight beams at night, and the flashing of lights during daytime usually means 'get out of my way' rather than the 'thanks' or 'you go ahead' it communicates in the UK. To top it off, they may also have one of many classic Hindi phrases, the most common of them being: बुरी नज़र वाले , तेरा मुंह काला (translation would't do it justice, but roughly it is: 'You of the evil eye, may your face be blackened!').
Auto-rickshaws may have similar rears, but not so commonly. An instruction to downright 'STOP' is more likely to be seen at the corner, as opposed to the central aligned messages on trucks.
Generally these vehicles combine to make traffic from hell, especially in Delhi. Drivers in Mumbai seems to have a better traffic sense. To finish off this post, I urge you to watch a short animation jointly created by Irish and Indian animators, accurately depicting many aspects of the life of a Mumbai taxi driver.
The funny part is not how order exists among chaos or how Indian drivers manage to turn three lanes into six, but the fact that the very culprits who drive recklessly (trucks and auto-rickshaws) try to educate other drivers into 'driving with care'.
Almost every single truck / lorry in India has the slogan 'Horn OK Please' painted decoratively at the rear of the lorry as part of the entire truck's decoration. It is so ubiquitous that it is now used in popart reflecting the soul of India, rightly so. The origins of the slogan are unknown, but my guess is that phrase is 'Horn Please, OK!' (since the OK is always in another font), instructing the driver behind to sound the horn as he / she overtakes the lorry, with an encouraging 'OK'. This way the lorry driver knows to give way. On a 2-lane road I have usually seen them riding with the lane divider right in the middle of the vehicle, though this may finally be changing slowly.
The slogan may also accompanied by another one in smaller size and italics, 'Use dipper at night'. Yet everyone uses their headlamps on straight beams at night, and the flashing of lights during daytime usually means 'get out of my way' rather than the 'thanks' or 'you go ahead' it communicates in the UK. To top it off, they may also have one of many classic Hindi phrases, the most common of them being: बुरी नज़र वाले , तेरा मुंह काला (translation would't do it justice, but roughly it is: 'You of the evil eye, may your face be blackened!').
Auto-rickshaws may have similar rears, but not so commonly. An instruction to downright 'STOP' is more likely to be seen at the corner, as opposed to the central aligned messages on trucks.
Generally these vehicles combine to make traffic from hell, especially in Delhi. Drivers in Mumbai seems to have a better traffic sense. To finish off this post, I urge you to watch a short animation jointly created by Irish and Indian animators, accurately depicting many aspects of the life of a Mumbai taxi driver.
Saturday, 1 March 2008
Indian Achievement
Being a typical die hard Indian, I shall in this post, start a series of posts on Indian achievement, at risk of contributing to the bombardment of such material you may already face. If its any consolation, I shall aim to expose the lesser known aspects.
My starting point is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. Born in Mumbai, he has been the longest holder of the post of Music Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. I am talking of course about Zubin Mehta. He had originally started studying medicine (surprise surprise) but dropped after two semesters to move to the Academy of Music in Vienna (unofficial capital of classical music). Apart from conducting in Europe and North America, formidable achievements of his include peace-making and improving diplomatic between the likes of the US and the Soviet Union; India and Israel.
Some more trivia: his first wife divorced him and married his brother Zarin Mehta, who has held the post of Executive Director of the New York Philharmonic. Yep, you guessed it, their father Mehli Mehta was also a keen conductor, founder of the Bombay Symphony Orchestra in 1935.
My starting point is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. Born in Mumbai, he has been the longest holder of the post of Music Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. I am talking of course about Zubin Mehta. He had originally started studying medicine (surprise surprise) but dropped after two semesters to move to the Academy of Music in Vienna (unofficial capital of classical music). Apart from conducting in Europe and North America, formidable achievements of his include peace-making and improving diplomatic between the likes of the US and the Soviet Union; India and Israel.
Some more trivia: his first wife divorced him and married his brother Zarin Mehta, who has held the post of Executive Director of the New York Philharmonic. Yep, you guessed it, their father Mehli Mehta was also a keen conductor, founder of the Bombay Symphony Orchestra in 1935.
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Cultural journeys
So I'm in another seven hour coach journey through English countryside happy to have bypassed hefty British train fares and gain a few hours of the only sort of time when I'm able to read a novel. I find a window seat too whose real comfort lies in what's below the window: the heating vent. Along comes my neighbour who is hesitantly settling down on his seat. His girlfriend is sitting just behind him. Being polite in a quintessentially British sense, they will never ask me to move, not even in a polite way. So I give up my seat and settle down on the aisle seat behind me, where the girl was. The girl says thanks many times and so does the guy.
Soon after I settle down on my new seat, I realise I haven't actually settled down. I can't. A mass of round flesh is occupying the crucial space required by my right shoulder and arm. The flesh is young and being pumped with louder-than-headphones-can-handle music, cola and Nintendo DS visuals before a mobile phone rings. "At 11". Damn, he'll be there until the end. "Can you bring some cigarettes? ... No, they ran out... Are you listening to what I'm saying? No, you're not! They last a week! A week has seven days! This is the eighth day!... Love you, ma."
I forget about the discomfort I'm feeling and ponder - Amen to Indian family values and practical politeness! Family values - everyone knows of. Practical politeness can be best described using an example. Readers' Digest found Mumbai to be the rudest city on earth because people don't hold doors open for people behind them and don't help someone who's dropped papers on the floor. What RD fail to realise is that its a city where the rat race results in endlessly overflowing trains in which people hunt to find the infinitesimal space, yet the same people offer their hands to help up the guy running alongside the platform, because they know his boss will fire him if he doesn't get on that train. In the words of Suketu Mehta, "That's opening doors."
Soon after I settle down on my new seat, I realise I haven't actually settled down. I can't. A mass of round flesh is occupying the crucial space required by my right shoulder and arm. The flesh is young and being pumped with louder-than-headphones-can-handle music, cola and Nintendo DS visuals before a mobile phone rings. "At 11". Damn, he'll be there until the end. "Can you bring some cigarettes? ... No, they ran out... Are you listening to what I'm saying? No, you're not! They last a week! A week has seven days! This is the eighth day!... Love you, ma."
I forget about the discomfort I'm feeling and ponder - Amen to Indian family values and practical politeness! Family values - everyone knows of. Practical politeness can be best described using an example. Readers' Digest found Mumbai to be the rudest city on earth because people don't hold doors open for people behind them and don't help someone who's dropped papers on the floor. What RD fail to realise is that its a city where the rat race results in endlessly overflowing trains in which people hunt to find the infinitesimal space, yet the same people offer their hands to help up the guy running alongside the platform, because they know his boss will fire him if he doesn't get on that train. In the words of Suketu Mehta, "That's opening doors."
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