Wake up and smell the coffee!

A letter outlining a roadmap sent out by a business assciate and a friend and above all a concerned Indian: Manish Dhanuka

Dear All,

If Indian government really cares for the Indians and if it has any pride left, then this is the time to react. If USA can react and bomb Afghanistan and Pak borders in retaliation to the terror strikes in their country, India should immediately send a sortie of 50 Jet fighters and bomb all training camps of LeT and Jaish e Mohd, in PoK. I am confident that International community will understand the situation right now.

This will clearly give a message to the terror organisations also. We are willing to sacrifice more lives and we are willing to take more terror strikes but not without retaliation. This is a war like situation and the government must act. I suggest the following immediate measures to be taken by the government.

1. Air strikes on all the training camps, destroy them completely.

2. Use the technology, keep a close surveillance on the suspect locations in Pakistan through satellite surveillance.

3. Immediately incorporate an (Anti terror Security Organisation controlled by the Central Govt.) to be headed by the chosen officers from the Army, Navy and Air force. This organisation to have few hundred commandos ready at all times in all 25 major cities of India. This group to have power to order any state police officer including the commissioner of police. All CISF personnel guarding the security of Air Ports to be under the control of this organisation. The officers of this organization to be deployed in plain clothes at all key locations in major cities.

4. All Police stations in the country to have computerized central data storage mechanism, just like the ports. All intelligence data on the FIRs and reports to be easily accessible to the security forces.

Regards,

Manish Dhanuka

Mumbai,Mayhem,

कनक कनक ते मादकता अधिकाय....
जो अब भी तुमहरा खून नहीं खौलता तो वो पानी है
थक नहीं जाते तुम औरों के उत्सर्ग की फसल काटके अपने वंश का खलिहान भरते भरते ?
कैसे हो तुम रहनुमा कि मां तुम्हारी लजा गयी
जब वोह रंग गया उसकी छाती
अतिथिओं और बंधुओं के खून से
कन्दाहर से मुंबई की राह वो तै कर गए
और तुम बस शब्दों के जाल उधेड़ते बुनते रहे
शरणागत की रक्षा में प्राणों का सहर्ष तज जाते थे तुम्हारे ही अपने
पर बीज तुम्हारे स्वार्थ के अक्षय पात्र में रख छोडे हैं तुमने
भूल गए तुम कि राम भी यहीं जन्मा था और राजधर्म की भेंट सर्वस्व कर गया
तुम वहीँ हर ऋतू में नए मित्र ढूँढ लेते हो
धर्म और भद्रता का यह कैसा पाखंड है कि
अंतहीन है तुम्हारे मूल्यों की करवटें
और तुम अपने सपूतों के बलिदान को रुपयों में तोल देते हो हर बार
मुआयनों में जीवन का मुआवजा बाँट जाते हो
यह कैसी है तुम्हारी आत्मा
बोझ नहीं जिस पर भाई के रक्त की नदी में स्नान से भी होता
शर्म आती है मुझे की हमारी जननी एक है
भूख तुम्हारी अबूझ है मुझे ,कि संतान की चिता पर भी सेक लेते हो तुम अपनी रोटियां
कैसा है भोला मेरा भाई जो तुम्हे सौंप देता है अपना मुस्तकबिल हर बार
कैसें हैं वोह सपूत जो रामायण पढ़े हैं
और फ़र्ज़ जान कर तुम्हारी शिखंडियों को अपना अतिथि स्वीकार लेते हैं
याचक नहीं समझ लेना जो उसने
श्रद्धा के फूल रख दिए तुम्हारे दामन में
यह बस एक मौका है
जान अपनी तुम्हारे ईमान के हवाले कर के वो जो तुम्हे दे गये
अब न माँगना अपने भाई से उसके सब्र का इम्तिहान
या उसकी सादा दिली का सबूत
अब कुछ है नहीं खो देने या पा जाने को उसके पास
स्वाभिमान और सम्मान ही का है मूल उसका
आजादियों और सरहदों का छलावा अब नहीं निगलेंगे यह लोग
और उतना नहीं है ओज तुझमे
सत्व कि परीक्षा जो इस मासूम की ले सके
आँख मिलाएगा, तो जल जाएगा तू
मां के दूध का क़र्ज़ अब अदा कर
बहुत हो गया चूहे बिल्ली का खेल अब
अब और जब्त की उम्मीद न कर
क्योंकि तेरी न सही निर्लज्ज,
यह मेरी मां का दामन है जो आज भीग गया

Cricket-What after winning in Australia?

Now that we have won a watershed victory in Australia and unequivocally announced our arrival as a Cricket Playing Nation and also a Cricket Paying Nation, it is time to ask some important questions off ourselves.

Australia in Cricket, and the US in other areas of endeavor have sufficiently demonstrated what rampaging, irresponsible victors can do to their professions and themselves.

No question that India is on the ascendant in Cricket and its administration and so shall we tread the same path or shall we strive make things better?

Humility in victory and in power could do a world of good to the sport and to each one of us who either play or enjoy cricket.

That Cricket is funded by India for the most part globally, could either be wielded as a sword or an opportunity to serve.

Those who live by the sword die by the sword, or shall I say sledge.

Leadership of the cricket playing fraternity is now ours, and so let us exercise it with great care and self discipline.

We therefore need to discern what we covet more, the sport or the power of running or ruining it.

Let us not therefore grind old axes lying in the shed of history but go beyond and look at enhancing the game and restore sportsmanship to it. Leading by example is the only way to lead in the true sense and servant leadership its highest form.

That said, we must also realize that we have as a tendency to be too thin skinned and react emotionally to issues and often lose out on issues when encountered with the least bit of frustration. We could begin by accepting that principles, Strategy and tactics are three individual concepts and don’t always appear to work coherently in the short run. Eventually principled approaches win. It is important to be right, but seldom wise to be righteous when dealing with others. Let us not be preachy and yet let us strive to reach principled goals by carrying others with us whatever strategy and tactics may need us to do to achieve these ends.

Clearly it would need acuity and pragmatism and not just crusading zeal to persevere over the vested interests of the current power centers in the sport. So strategy, tactics and timing would play an important role. And yes we can’t stop sledging and start losing matches to uncivil teams in the short run, not until we have created a climate where sledging is looked down upon. Much like what happened with smoking, going from being perceived as Macho to just plain silly. Not smoking is now a viable option. Just the same as we cant start sledging teams that usually don’t sledge just because we have learnt a new art and need to perfect it.

Where do we begin? It might be a great start to involve more cricketers in the administration. Let us realize that professionalism and sporting abilities are not mutually exclusive and familiarity with the trade only enhances professionalism. We today have a spectacle in our cricketing administration that completely ignores walking-the-talk and it suffices to just talk-the-talk. Should the current crop of administrators really love the game as much as they beat their breasts about it they would not hesitate to co-opt cricketers with wise heads into the management of the sport.

Do steer clear of the inane, weathercock, news channel experts that we are faced with night after night.

To sum up, discretion is the better part of valor. Always has been and always will be.