An open letter to the BJP Leadership - What ails the BJP Today?

Dear Mr.Punj, Mr.Advani, Mr.Jaitly (and the Thought Leadership of BJP at large)

Greetings.

I believe this is a very busy period for all the office bearers ad the leadership at BJP and perhaps therefore, an inconvenient occasion for them to address or discuss fundamental issues.

By tradition I (and my family) have been BJP/Jana Sangh supporters, but our enthusiasm for the party is waning.

The party hold no appeal for people like me, with a lacklustre and rudderless management of the party and its affairs and its handling of issues of national import.

While we haven’t lost belief in the inherent decency of it leaders we believe they have lost touch with the evolving contours of the country and disappoint us with their inability to break out of the strait jacket of the pseudo-secular and non-secular debate.

The political culture and consciousness of this country was willy-nilly cast by the Congress in pre independence years and then continued in the same vein. There was, leadership and greatness, thrust upon individuals, who were sometimes willing, sometimes more than willing and on the rare occasion the less than willing too.

This was pretty much and continues to be, reflected in the quality and direction of discourse which was benchmarked to congress-ism and the management of political parties and systems too.

The BJP today has failed to break free from this mimicry and think outside the box.

This is a significant failing and a cause for deep disappointment to young and ardent supporters of the BJP. It is also a great success for the Congress and the rest of the non-BJP milieu which has succeeded in keeping public discourse benchmarked to this stupid feudal paradigm created by the congress.

The leadership of the BJP has failed to think outside the box and apply itself to creating a healthier model of political thought in the country.

The debates and rebuttals that form the decibels of discussion lack substance and connect with the country and its issues and continue to ring hollow.

This creates a disaffection amongst the people with the politician who they rightly see as coming from one mould.

This is further compounded by the hunger for power that seems to dominate all thoughts and actions of each political organization in this country. Nation building just seems like mandatory lip service when you respond in kind to the congress and its paradigm of politics.

There is always the option of pouring more scorn on the other, but does it reflect you in any better light at all?
I do not see the BJP being able to differentiate itself from this generic version of politics practised in this country.

Take for example BJP’s abject failure as an opposition and reactive politics. This keeps the BJP forever in a reactive phase and the congress with its better structured media management has a ball. Gross incompetence this.

What prevented BJP from creating a shadow cabinet type of organization? Such an organization could research and monitor the government and its actions and create better informed and diligent debate on each aspect of governance.

It would communicate a substantial approach to the people of the nation and not mere gladiatorial politics that makes reactive discourse the only available option.

It also makes credible, the claim of leadership development and a viable team to run affairs of the nation when you do get to power.

A credible team that possesses insight and understanding, experience and ability to comment or manage affairs. It would also force the opponents to treat the BJP with respect and not dismiss its discourse as mere wordplay or rhetoric.

Such teams when extended to state , city or village levels would provide acuity and credibility to the information flow and build a bridge of dialogue with the people of the country.

The good governance that all parties scream about could actually be reality.

Getting to power with a clear majority would then be a distinct possibility and not just a rhetorical proposition.
This though would take reticence and patience that does not seem to be available to the second rung of leadership that the BJP has today. If I can call it leadership, that is.

The BJP (and not only the BJP) seem to be in defiance of evolution and its current disarray is entirely well earned.

Managing large organizations needs skills that do not come naturally to most people who are busy with the trees and lose sight of the woods i.e. the congress style of things.

This malaise seems to afflict the BJP too. Where is the difference in the party with a difference?

In the interests of brevity and focus I end this note here. I do hope you would find the time and the inclination to spend some time going through this and step back to take a look at the substance of what I am trying to communicate.

The other choice is of course being busy and mindless to the mediocrity that I have discussed above.

I would be happy to receive a response, should you like to discuss this.

With warm regards
Arun

The Humble Shoe Humbles - The power of Symbols

Amazing what a peaceful protest can acheive when it creates a simple yet powerful symbolism!!!!
Isn't that what Dhatura Awards aim for? (http://dhaturaawards.blogspot.com)
The 1984 riots were a serious act of genocide leaving 3000 defenceless Indians dead, more families rendered asunder and perhaps many young children orphaned or rudderless.
The real Culprits of the Carnage still roam scot free, barring those who managed to reach their grave before justice. They were lucky television hadn't struck then. There is encouraging progress in riots of recent origin where people closer to the epicenter have found justice knocking on their door.
And yet our leaders and opinion makers busy themselves trying to put partisan spin on something so horrific in the hopes that two wrongs could make theirs right!
This brings us to an important question - Can a leader really escape responsibility for the deeds he may have instigated wittingly or unwittingly and more importantly, should he?
Can we allow this? Is this how civilized we are?
Come 'throw-a-shoe' and make a difference.
Your participation can make Dhatura a potent symbol of consequence.
Cheers
Arun- Dhature Ka Beej

The politics of issues that unite us

There are many things that fragment and divide us. These are handy tools for politicians and parties to subvert the will of the people. It is ironical that even while democracy is about what people can agree upon - not what they can disagree upon. The politicians are successful in keeping us largely distracted by playing up these differences instead of building on what unites us as a nation. Let us root for a directly elected chief executive of government (you can call the position anything you like - prime minister isn't too bad). He can be checked and balanced by a parliament elected as it is currently. No prizes for guessing which constituency or special interest group such an elected CEO would have to serve! What are the chances of Dawood or any other criminal backed politico rigging the whole national vote? Only then the chosen leader would have the mandate to weed out the undesirable influences like criminals, fixers, touts and scamsters that are our elected representatives today

Line of Fire

Here is a real incident - without comment.
A must read.
Cheers
Vitchdokta

(Please read completely)

A real story ...An interesting Conversation between a Solider and a Software Engineer in Shatabdi Train .........An interesting and a must read! Must read !

Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi express could not cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air travel. It was not the prestige he sought; he had tried to reason with the admin person, it was the savings in time. As PM, he had so many things to do!! He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to some good use.

"Are you from the software industry sir," the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the laptop. Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive car.

"You people have brought so much advancement to the country, Sir. Today everything is getting computerized. "

"Thanks," smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a look. He always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young and well built like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep school. He probably was a railway sportsman making the most of his free traveling pass.

"You people always amaze me," the man continued, "You sit in an office and write something on a computer and it does so many big things outside."

Vivek smiled deprecatingly and replied "It is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it." For a moment, he was tempted to explain the entire Software Development Lifecycle but restrained himself to a single statement.

"It is complex, very complex."

"It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid!," came the reply.

This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence crept into his so far affable, persuasive tone.

"Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to put in. Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office, does not mean our brows do not sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less taxing."

He could see, he had the man where he wanted, and it was time to drive home the point. "Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centres across the country. Thousands of transactions accessing a single database, at a time concurrently; data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?"

The man was awestruck; quite like a child at a planetarium. This was something big and beyond his imagination. "You design and code such things."

"I used to," Vivek paused for effect, "but now I am the Project Manager."

"Oh!" sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, "so your life is easy now."

This was like the last straw for Vivek. He retorted, "Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder. Responsibility only brings more work. Design and coding! That is the easier part. Now I do not do it, but I am responsible for it and believe me, that is far more stressful!

My job is to get the work done in time and with the highest quality. To tell you about the pressures, there is the customer at one end, always changing his requirements, the user at the other, wanting something else, and your boss, always expecting you to have finished it yesterday." Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with self-realization. What he had said, was not merely the outburst of a wronged man, it was the truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth.

"My friend, you don't know what it is to be in the Line of Fire" Vivek concluded triumphantly.

The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization. When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that surprised Vivek. "I know sir,..... I know what it is to be in the Line of Fire......." He was staring blankly, as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time..............

"There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In the morning when we finally hoisted the Tricolour at the top only 4 of us were alive."

"You are a...?"

"I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a soft assignment. But, tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier.

.....On the dawn of that capture, one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding behind a bunker. It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety. But my Captain Batra Sahib refused me permission and went ahead himself. "He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded... ....his own personal safety came last, always and every time. "He was killed as he shielded and brought that injured soldier into the bunker. Every morning thereafter, as we stood guard, I could see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me .

I know sir....I know, what it is to be in the Line of Fire."

Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of how to respond. Abruptly, he switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a Word document in the presence of a man for whom valor and duty was a daily part of life; valor and sense of duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes.

The train slowed down as it pulled into the station, and Subedar Sushant picked up his bags to alight.

"It was nice meeting you sir." Vivek fumbled with the handshake.

This hand... had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger, and hoisted the Tricolour !.

Suddenly, as if by impulse, he stood up at attention and his right hand went up in an impromptu salute.

It was the least he felt he could do for the country.

PS: The incident he narrated during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true-life incident during the Kargil war. Capt. Batra sacrificed his life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight. For this and various other acts of bravery, he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the nation's highest military award.


- Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn!!!!

Now that the wheels are turning

Finally Pakistan has moved grudgingly or otherwise, in a direction that could be the first steps towards resolving the cross border terror issues long suffered by India.
It is however a fledgling start and would need to be cupped in our palms like a candle in high winds.
Too much negativity may take the wind out of the sails of Pakistan's civilian administration and make them retreat into their familiar pattern of ostrich like behavior.On the other hand leniency at this stage may tempt them into believing that they've done enough and can rest on their laurels as it were.
Indians dealing with the situation will need to exercise a lot of tact without letting up on the pressure as has been our wont in the past.
Sustained positive pressure and restrained engagement will be the key to making progress in the long haul.

On the other hand we have been too thin skinned in the past to even the mildest criticisms or counter points in the past and this has been destructive in our key relationships in the neighborhood and further afield.Reasonable requests for information to further the investigations in Pakistan must be considered and met, which after all is a sovereign nation too.

Let us show more sagacity in dealing with the issues now that the wheels have begun to spin.

Then there are issues at home where we should be making unhindered progress as no external influences are involved.
Breaking the Underworld support system that has been aiding terror unto now is perhaps what should take priority #1 if we are to prevent outrages like 26/11.
What needs to be done is pretty simple but mustering the will to do so seems to be the bigger challenge, considering the recent hat-trick of shameful assembly events by our Taliban like elected representatives. This is the real threat from within.
There has been also been no perceptible progress towards overhauling the security-intelligence networks which was the most objective need post 26/11.
Do we as a nation have any cognitive strengths at all?
Decibels never bring results, results come from Decisive action.

Is there hope with Pakistan's civil society?

Just watched "Head Start " on Lok Sabha Television where Paranjoy Guha Thakurta interviewed Asma Jahngir and Jugnu Mohsin from Pakistan.
Asma Jahangir needs no introduction as a huma rights champion of abiding spirit and Jugnu Moshin is a noted Published and Editor of News Publications from Pakistan.
They seemed to reflect the voice of Civil Society in Pakistan and communicated candidly the perceptions and resolve of the civil society in Pakistan which i thought so far only existed as a notion.
If that is so, there might be hope for sane and humane forces yet in the Sub-continent.
Power be to their tribe and may they have leadership thrust upon them.
Cheers
Arun

50 Days - ACT NOW!

50 Days.

50 days have passed since 26/11, a blatant violation of a sovereign India and the ideas she stands for.
Increasingly it is clear, that Pakistan has been equivocating all the time and terror is a key instrument of their state polity and policy. All we have been witnessing is stalling, fudging and denials using semantics, and Oscar Worthy performances of injured innocence from a pathetic cast of cardboard crew.

Pakistan shall do as is its wont.

The pertinent question before India and Indians is: What do we, as a nation do now ?

Let us admit that we have carried our vain Nehruvian follies too far, and also acknowledge the fact that Pakistan is a hostile neighbour that is at war with us even if by unconventional means.

The state policies in Pakistan are unlikely to change towards any known benchmarks of civilization any time soon. It is a long way off from economic or socio-political stability and needs an external threat to string together its notion of nationhood and if that can weave in Islam too, so much the better since they then have a connect with Jinnah and his rationale for their nationhood. Kashmir or any issue handy would do very well, thank you.

What would a country do when at war with another?

Cease all exchanges, diplomatic, trade, cultural and raise its defences.

The defences that we need to build up in this kind of conflict would need to be built around predicting, preventing and also remedying terror. This means a completely different level of sensing, equipping, training of forces and military and political leadership.

Let us also recognize that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda stand just 450 Kilometres from Srinagar (NOT the border or LOC ) and that is a very small distance from an unconventional and toxic enemy that has the ability to recruit, arm, support and propel fighting units into our territory in any guise.
The talk of any let up in Kashmir is plain stupidity on our part.

This malignant force is fully capable of displacing civil administration in Pakistan with active collusion of state forces in any part of Pakistan and is not bound by any conventional limitations.

Let us also not discount their willing accessories in Pakistan and India in the form of the underworld and the other anti national forces operating on the principle of enemy's enemy being a friend.

Let us also recognize another key force multiplier readily available to this enemy.

The Indian underworld with is epicentre in Mumbai is an ardent facilitator of no ordinary means, that makes things possible for them. It enjoys a very high level of political patronage in India, which is obvious from the fact that we have been utterly unsuccessful in extraditing or taking out Dawood and his henchmen who remain safely ensconced in the same neighbourhood as Mr.Zardari and his gang in Karachi.

Not only that, they still manage to control a crew in Mumbai, what should essentially be hostile territory for them. It is plain common sense that these desperadoes are able to do so only because they are secure in the knowledge that they have an umbrella over them.

Isn't it ludicrous that Indian intelligence and security forces are unable to drive mortal fear into these operatives when they can easily do so for other citizens of this country? The identities of these key operatives are well known to the law enforcers who in other cases can be a law unto themselves.

Contrast this with the retrieval of Nazi war criminals by Israel from all corners in the world when it counted and subjecting them to trials in Israel.

The focus of common citizens of this country needs to be decriminalizing the politics of our country and getting rid of these hyenas who protect these desperadoes, through the ballot. This is going to be the acid test for us as ordinary Indians this coming poll.

The media needs to play a very important role in asking the right questions without fear or favour to help the public identify these treacherous individuals in the guise of politicians and public servants, who for their vested interest have been nurturing these criminals.

This is the clear and present danger.

No longer can we abdicate our responsibility and expect the rest of the system to deliver what they have been encouraging either by omission or commission for all these years.

As for dealing with Pakistan, let us not allow it to occupy undeserved mind space and
Just deal with it as we would with an enemy until it shows any serious intent of following a policy of mutual respect and accepts internationally accepted norms for responsible nations as the benchmark for its conduct.

Supporting civil movements in uncivil countries in no ones obligation and cannot be demanded as a divine right. Let them do the right things before acting righteous.

Let us also deliver a brief but mighty reminder that we shall support our intentions with actions and deliver justice to them at their doorstep if forces inimical to peace choose to engage us or our anywhere in the world through violence.
Justice too needs a calling card when the other party is deaf and delinquent.

Sacrce Sanity

Here is a letter to the editor of DAWN from a reader in Pakistan.
I hope there are more such voices in Pakistan.

Quote
Thinking outside the box


By Shandana Khan Mohmand

IF there is anything that the Mumbai terror attacks have made clear, it is that it’s time to think outside the box.

The manner in which we in Pakistan have thought, spoken and acted so far has led us here. If we want to move away from this spot, the same conventional thought process and attitude is no longer going to work. A dramatic shift is now required in the way we perceive our region and conceive our identity.

First: we need to be less defensive. There are many reasons for this, not least of which is the fact that it simply makes us look stupid. It is one thing to insist that you need more evidence in order to initiate action. It is quite another to question each piece of mounting evidence, especially in the face of a general popular acceptance of the fact that there are organisations here in Pakistan that openly purport the ideology that they are being accused of, about which we choose to do little.

Imagine this: a Pakistani organisation is so implicated in such activities that the United Nations actually sees fit to declare it a terrorist organisation, but we sit around and let it operate freely and openly until we get news of this declaration, at which point we spring into action.

What were we thinking until now? The banners hanging from most lamp-posts in Lahore for the last few weeks, asking people to contribute their “qurbani hides” to the organisation should demonstrate well the unfettered operations that this group enjoyed.

Being defensive, however, may be a hard behavioural trait to alter because it is firmly embedded even in our everyday social interactions. Mohammad Hanif , the brilliant author of A Case of Exploding Mangoes made a fantastic reference in a BBC article to “that uncle that you get stranded with at a family gathering when everybody else has gone to sleep but there is still some whisky left in the bottle” in describing Musharraf’s behaviour when he announced his coup against himself last year.

Taking this analogy further, this quintessentially Pakistani uncle has two other very familiar traits. One, he is extremely defensive about every one of his own identities — nationality, religion, sect, class, career — and has a deep distrust of all those who inhabit the realm of the “other”. And two, he resolutely believes that the only verification any fact needs is for it to be emitting from his mouth. Musharraf suffered heavily from this delusion, but so do so many of our other uncles, those in our homes, those at our parties, and those currently issuing statements on TV.

Second, we need to stop acting in a merely reactionary manner. The “if they were in our place they would have behaved in the same way” attitude isn’t going to get us very far. Many of us tried to point that out to the Pakistani government all the way back in May 1998 when India first tested its nuclear bomb.

Our government thought for about two weeks and then chose to act in exactly the same way, rather than to secure its position on the moral high horse by backing away from such childish tit-for-tat arguments and games.

Our ‘outside-the-box’ collective thinking now needs to demonstrate that though it may be true that if some other country had been in our position they may have acted with misguided nationalist bravado, we are capable of acting differently, not because it is demanded or expected of us, but because this is the right thing to do and because we take such terrorist attacks very seriously, both at home and abroad. The moral high horse may be the only thing that Pakistan can have going for it right now, and yet, even that is being squandered away by the defensiveness of those who claim to speak on its behalf.

Third, Pakistan needs to accept a very harsh reality — it is not the equal of India, and the belief that we can be compared has stunted our development no end. We cannot win a war against it, we cannot compare the instability of our political system to the stability of theirs, we cannot hope to compete economically with what is a booming economy well on its way to becoming a global economic power, and we certainly cannot compare the conservativeness of our society to the open pluralism of their everyday life.

Accepting these realities may allow Pakistan to give up its nationalistic bravado and posturing, and may actually allow it to accept its more realistic role in this region — one that requires that it live in peace with India, that it not unnecessarily provoke its wrath and that it understands that its most beneficial economic strategy would be to get in on the boom next door.

For that we need to think outside the box — outside the box of the two-nation theory, outside the box of the violence of 1947, and outside the box of the ill-conceived wars of the last six decades.

The writer is a doctoral candidate at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.

Unquote

Hitting Terror where it hurts

Here is an article from a professor at IIM-B outlining real measures that we as Indians can exercise for dealing with Pakistan's intransigence and the mere lip service that most of the economic powers of the world have delivered in response to 26/11. I reproduce this article as I am sure he would overlook the transgression.
Interesting food for thought.
Cheers
Indian Vitchdokta
A friend of mine had emailed me this brilliant email which is making the rounds in the online community. It is apparently written by a professor of IIM-Bangalore. Below is the full article:
=============================

I did not anticipate the huge response my inbox received for the article slamming Pakistan. Many of those who wrote in have sought concrete steps to tackle the Terror Central.
The terror attack on world citizens at Mumbai has created revulsion and outrage all over the world. It is imperative that India seize the opportunity provided to destabilise Pakistan.
A stable Pakistan is not in the interest of world peace, leave alone India. Army controls the country and owns its economy.
A significant portion of its GDP is due to army-controlled entities (See: Military Inc - Inside Pakistan's Military Economy, by Ayesha Siddiqa; OUP; 2007). One can easily say that Pakistan economy and its Army/ISI are synonymous.
Unless this elementary fact is internalised, we are not going anywhere. This implies we should stop talking of a stable Pakistan since a stable Pakistan means multiple attacks on many more cities of India by that rogue organisation ISI, which is the core of the Pakistan Army and the heart of Pakistan's economy.
Let us not even assume that Zardari is in control. Poor man -- he did not trust his own investigators to probe his wife's assassination -- he wanted Scotland Yard to do the job. Now he blabbers that if his investigators are satisfied, then he will initiate action against terrorists sitting inside Pakistan.
Periodically, the Pakistan Army likes to present some useful idiots (as Lenin would have called them) as elected representatives and we swoon over such events.

India should take the following steps to destabilise the economy of Pakistan:

1. Identify the major export items of Pakistan (like Basmati rice, carpets, etc) and provide zero export tax or even subsidise them for export from India. Hurt Pakistan on the export front.
2. Identify the major countries providing arms to Pakistan and arm twist them. Tell Brazil and Germany (currently planning to supply massive defense items to Pakistan) that it will impact their ability to invest in India. Tell Germany that retail license to Metro will be off and other existing projects will be in jeopardy.
3. Incidentally, after the arrival of Coke and Pepsi in China, the human rights violations of China are not talked about much by US government organs. Think it is a coincidence? Unless we use our markets to arm-twist arms exporters to Pakistan, we will not achieve our objectives.
4. Tell American companies that for every 5% increase in FDI limit for them, their government needs to reduce equipping Pakistan by $5 billion. That is real politics, not whining. Let us remember that funds are in desperate search of emerging markets and not the other way about. Let us also remember that international economics is politics by another name.
5. Create assets to print/distribute their currency widely inside their country. To some extent, Telgi types can be used to outsource this activity. Or just drop their notes in remote areas.
6. Pressurise IMF to add additional conditionality to the loans given to them or at least do not vote for their loans.
7. Create assets within Pakistan to destabilise Karachi stock market - it is already in a shambles.
8. Cricket and Bollywood are the opium of the Indian middle classes. Both have been adequately manipulated/ controlled by the D-company since the eighties. Chase the D-company money in cricket/ Bollywood and punish by burning D-assets in India instead of trying to have them auctioned by the IT department when nobody comes to bid for it.
9. Provide for capital punishment to those who fund terror and help in that. We have the division in the finance ministry to monitor money laundering, etc. It is important that terror financing is taken seriously and fully integrated into money laundering monitoring systems and this division is provided with much larger budget and human resources.. And it should coordinate with RAW.
10. Encourage and allow scientists/ academicians/ elites of Pakistan to opt for Indian passport and widely publicise that fact since it will hurt their self-respect and dignity. There will be a long queue to get Indian passports -- many will jump to get our passport -- since they will not be stopped at international airports. It is rumoured that Adnan Sami wants one. Do not give passports to all -- make it a prized possession. Let it hurt the army- and ISI-controlled country. This one step will destroy their identity and self-confidence.
11. Discourage companies from India from investing in Pakistan, particularly IT companies, till Pakistan stops exporting its own IT (international terrorism).
12. In all these, it is important that we do not bring in the domestic religious issues. The target is the terror central, namely Pakistan, and if there are elements helping them here then they also should be punished -- irrespective of religious labels. If Pakistan is dismantled and the idea of Pakistan is gone, many of our domestic issues will also be sorted out.
Will the Indian elite go for the jugular or just light more candles and scream at the formless/ nameless political class before TV cameras?
It is going to be a long haul and may be in a decade or so, we can find a solution to our existential crisis of being attacked by barbarians from the West. We need to combine strategy and patience and completely throw to the dustbin the 'Gujral Doctrine' by that mumbling prime minister about treating younger brothers with equanimity. The doctrine essentially suggests that if we are slapped on both the cheeks we should feel bad that we do not have a third cheek to show.
He, according to security experts, seems to have dismantled our human intelligent assets inside Pakistan, which has resulted in the gory death of thousands of Indian citizens in the last few years.
Such is our strategic thinking in this complex world since our political class is not adequately briefed and the elite don't think through issues. Better to be simple in our talks and vicious in our actions rather than the other way.
Hopefully, this November attack will create a new vibrant India capable of taking care of its own interests.
The author is professor of finance and control, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, and can be contacted at vaidya@iimb.ernet.in. The views are personal and do not reflect those of his organisation.

================================
But today, every corporate captain is angry, and so are the celebrities who people Page 3 of newspapers, due largely because the attacks on the three top hotels were directly aimed at those who frequent these places, for business or pleasure (contrast this with the scant coverage of the carnage at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, for example, where commoners were involved).

All the same, the bleeding-heart liberals would be back to their routine ways after a few days. They will lament that the captured terrorist has not been given his favourite food and not allowed to watch TV or use his cell phone; they will say his human rights are violated. Just wait for the chorus.

Of course, this time it will be between Page 3 and the jholawalas (activists) and that should be an interesting match to watch, but that's another story.

In the last ten years, not a single session of any seminar sponsored by the CII or Ficci or business/general journals has focussed on terrorism. When this writer once broached the importance of talking about it, a senior business captain said it is for the government to deal with.

Many of those seminars gave importance to Musharraf and now Zardari, as if they are going to provide any solution when they are a part of the problem.

Now, at least, terrorism is being realised as a problem facing the country.

Let us summarise what the real situation is and what the corporate sector should do if we are serious in fighting terrorism on our soil.

1. Recognise and treat Pakistan as a terrorist state. The state policy of Pakistan is terrorism and their single-point programme is to destroy India. This needs to be internalised by every business baron including the owners of media.

2. Now, the elite of Pakistan are more angry, since India is growing at 7% and they are given CCC rating and stiff conditions for borrowing from the IMF.

Many an academic from that country, who I have met in global conferences, has openly lamented that nobody talks about Indo-Pak relations anymore, but only Indo-China or Indo-American, etc. They want to be equal but they are in deep abyss.

3.. Pakistan is the only territory in the world where an army has a whole country under its control. This is an important issue since studies have found that a large number of corporates in Pakistan are ultimately owned by the Fauji Foundation (FF), Army Welfare Trust (AWT) Bahria Foundation (BF), Shaheen Foundation (SF) all owned by different wings of armed forces (See paper presented by Dr Ayesha Siddiqa-Agha on 'Power, Perks, Prestige And Privileges: Military's Economic Activities In Pakistan' in The International Conference on Soldiers in Business -- Military as an Economic Actor; Jakarta, October 17-19, 2000).

Hence, do not try to think of Pakistan without its army, irrespective of who rules that country temporarily and nominally. At least 70% of the market capitalisation of the Karachi stock exchange is owned by the army and related groups.

4. There are three groups in India, who are obsessed with friendship with Pakistan. One is the oldies born in that part before partition and who are nostalgic about the Lahore havelis, halwas and mujras. The second is the Bollywood and other assorted groups, who look at it as a big market. The Dawood gang has financed enough of these useful idiots. The third is the candle light holding bleeding heart liberals (BHLs) who cannot imagine India doing well without its younger brother taken care of.

All three have been proved wrong hundreds of times, but they are also opinion makers. Shun them, avoid them and ridicule them.

5. We should categorically, unambiguously, unequivocally boycott Pakistan in all aspects for a decade or more. Be it art, music, economy, commerce, or other hand-holding activities. That army-controlled state has to realise that it has done enough damage to global civilisation.

More than 100 acts/attempts of terror recorded in the world since 9/11 have had their roots in Pakistan. More than 40% of the prisoners in Guantanamo are Pakistanis.

6. We should recognise that it is our war and nobody in the world is going to wage it on our behalf. What the Americans are thinking, or what the Britishers are going to do, will not help. A determined country should have a sense of dignity and independence to fight its war.

We should stop interviewing leaders from that country who mouth the same inanities that "you have not produced any proof." The Government of India should perhaps create a museum of proof between India Gate and North Block.

I am amazed that a country of a billion is required even to furnish proof. If one-sixth of humanity says that the terrorist state of Pakistan is the root cause of global terrorism -- it is factual. Let us not fall into the trap of providing proof to the culprits.

7. We should realise that a united Pakistan is a grave threat to the existence of India. Hence, we should do everything possible to break up Pakistan into several units. This is required to be done not only for our interest, but for world peace.

8. We have made a grave blunder by suggesting in the international fora that "Pakistan is also a victim of terror." That is a grave error and it will haunt us for decades. They are perpetrators and our government is in deep illusion if it tries to distinguish between organs of power in that country thinking it is like India.

There is only one organ, namely its army (with ISI as a sub-organ) in that country, which owns and controls at least 70% of the GDP in that country.

If we want the world to treat Pakistan for what it is, then we should start practising it. Always call it the 'terrorist state of Pakistan' and never have any illusion that it is going to be any different.

If corporate India, including electronic/ print media, starts practising this, we should see results in a few years. Are the elites listening?


The author is professor of finance and control, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, and can be contacted at vaidya@iimb.ernet.in. The views are personal and do not reflect those of his organisation.

Under license from www.3dsyndication.com

In Continuation - Of Political Correctness

Here is a piece of advice from Bill Gates that connects with my piece of Nov.29,2008 "Terror and its Tenuous Explanations" and the following one on parenting.
It is time we got rid of this monkey on our back that is political correctness which seems to be the opiate of the season.
Enjoy
Arun

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school

He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and
listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try
delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll
give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that
on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Terror and 2009

Our neighbors on each border espouse varying degree of hostility to us a s a nation.
The change in dispensation augurs well for a resolution on the east.
While we may talk about this being aided and abetted by forces that have a rabid anti India posture we need to examine and calibrate our approach to relationships with each of these nations with whom we were in step not so long ago and understand why they should now be indifferent if not insidious to our security concerns
Is there something about us that threatens them or are there other reasons for us to take a good long look in the mirror?
Is there something that makes them see us unlike we perceive ourselves, a liberal, peaceful, fun loving, compassionate and accommodating people whose leadership is often willing to do foolhardy acts of charity in the hope of being seen as statesmen.
It does sound a bit cowardly to raise such issues at a time when we should have been pounding targets in Pakistan that are the cradle to a vicious lunatics who are threatened by peoples' ability to make their own choices.
Nevertheless we would also have to examine these aspects of the problem simultaneously and if we in our rise to a greater global impact and sidestep the kind of moronic mistakes that the US seems to have a penchant for.
Most of what we are fighting today is the fruit of these two naieve approaches.
What are the principles that must govern our foreign policy and indeed our domestic choices in the way we govern ourselves?
The results of mistaking tactic and strategy for principles are there for all of us to see.
The certainity that is obvious is that change is urgently needed.
Let us ask ourselves these questions singularly and collectively.
The answers are too important to put off for tomorrow.