Rashad Hussain, President Obama’s new special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, was an avid high school debater in Plano, Tex., where he grew up.

But many of these countries don’t share the American values of democracy, human rights, women’s rights, etc. Isn’t that a problem?

No. If you look at their charter, the OIC is very interested in moving forward in those areas. Many of these countries share those values with us and we realize that we do not always have to agree with what the OIC is doing but our goal is to maximize the areas of agreement, improve our relations and come to peaceful resolution when there are dispute.

That’s a matter for the OIC and India to decide. In 1969, India almost joined the OIC but the idea was shot down by Pakistan. Pakistan is a close ally of yours — can you influence Islamabad to accept India in the OIC?

It was primarily through family. But we were in touch with what was going on in the cricket world and Bollywood.

Read more: ‘I am an American as much as an Indian and Muslim’ - All That Matters - Sunday TOI - Home - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/all-that-matters/I-am-an-American-as-much-as-an-Indian-and-Muslim/articleshow/6272545.cms#ixzz0vz7AxE1t
 

Rings A Bell?  ACTIVIST TEESTA SETALVAD HAS USED PHONE RECORDS TO NAIL SEVERAL OF MODI’S HENCHMEN IN THE COMMITTEE PROBING THE GUJARAT MASSACRES, REPORTS AJIT SAHI http://www.tehelka.com/story_main45.asp?filename=Ne120610rings_a.asp LONE CRUSADER Setalvad’s activism is bearing fruit - the ball is now in Nanavati Commission’s court. LAST WEEK, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested one of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s key police officers in the state for alleged complicity in a fake encounter of 2006. Now, Modi’s bête noire, Mumbai-based activist Teesta Setalvad, has fired a fresh salvo invoking telephone records to show how his government and police connived to allow rampaging Hindu zealots to kill about 2,000 Muslims in Gujarat in 2002. THE WHERE AND WHEN, ON RIOT DAY Call records from February 28, 2002 5.10 AM Ashok Bhatt at Narol, Naroda 3.56 PM Tanmay Mehta (from CM’S office) to Narol, Naroda 3.56 PM IK Jadeja, Meghaninagar 5.10 PM, 5.14 PM, 5.57 PM Ashok Bhatt, Narol, Naroda 5.40 PM AP Patel (from CM’S office) Meghaninagar 7.24 PM Harsh Brahmbutt (from CM’S office) Narol, Naroda 7.26 PM Harsh Bahmbutt (from CM’S office) Meghaninagar According to documents that Setalvad submitted last month to a commission of two retired high court judges, Modi’s office and various police officers of the state networked with each other through the massacre on February 28 and March 1 that year. She has sought to establish this through phone calls made by and received by 44 people, including the police officers, and demanded that these be examined. The officers that Setalvad has fingered include Gujarat’s then Director-General of Police (DGP), K Chakravarti, and PC Pande, then Ahmedabad Police Commissioner who Modi later promoted as DGP. Pande had held the post of Police Commissioner in Ahmedabad at the time of the massacre, and is widely accused of willfully allowing the killings to go unchecked. Setalvad has now demanded that the commission summon officers of the Central and Gujarat IB as also of the Indian Army who had been deputed to quell the killings. She has also asked the commission to summon top police officers of the time, including Pande, to depose. The list includes many of Modi’s favourite police officers, such as then Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP) MK Tandon, Additional Commissioner of Police Shivanand Jha and three deputy commissioners of police. By targeting these police officers, Setalvad is indeed attacking the core of Modi’s government apparatus, widely accused of complicity in the massacre. As TEHELKA’s exposé of October 2007 clearly established, there was a direct nexus between Gujarat Police and killer mobs of the Hindu right-wing Bajrang Dal, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the BJP. Indeed, Setalvad once again lays the blame at Modi’s door, citing the case of three officials who worked with Modi’s Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) then. All three — Sanjay Bhavsar, OP Singh and Tanmay Mehta — filed “hurried” affidavits before the Commission this year but have evaded appearing before it. In addition, Setalvad wants the commission to force BJP and VHP leaders to depose before it too. Pande received 15 calls from Modi’s office on the morning of February 28, the day the massacre of Muslims began. Setalvad says that the fact that Pande did not leave his officer after 11 am indicates that these calls were made by the “top echelons” to instruct him that the police must not interfere with the rampaging mobs. Indeed, at the same time, Bhavsar and Mehta in Modi’s office were talking on the phone to VHP’s Gujarat General Secretary Jaideep Patel, an accused in the massacres at Naroda Patiya and Naroda Gaam. For the CM’S office to be in touch with Patel is indeed intriguing. It may be recalled that Patel was in charge from the VHP to escort dead bodies of 56 people, many of them Hindu activists, who had been charred to death in a fire in a train that was bringing them to Ahmedabad from Uttar Pradesh. The train had caught fire outside Godhra town’s railway station, and it is the contention of Modi’s government and the BJP-VHP that the local Muslims deliberately started the fire. It was primarily the VHP’s shutdown to protest the train deaths which stoked the violence against the Muslims and spiralled it out of control. “For the chief minister’s office to be directly in touch with the man accused of leading and inciting the massacres and rapes… suggests collusion in the violence at the highest level,” says Setalvad. Even then Health Minister Ashok Bhatt was also talking on the phone with Patel that day. Gujarat’s then Minister of State for Home, Gordhan Zadaphia — who Modi has since forced out of the BJP — had been in communication with both Patel and Dinesh, a VHP activist and brother of VHP leader, Praveen Togadia. Another person who was in touch with then JCP Shivanand Jha is Amit Shah. Shah is today Modi’s embattled home minister who, as TEHELKA reported last week, has been running to evade arrest by the CBI in the fake encounter case. Indeed, Modi’s woes on the 2002 massacres have worsened since the CBI arrested his former Minister for Women and Child Welfare Maya Kodnani over a year ago. Then an MLA, Kodnani and another minister, Kaushik Jamnadas Patel, too, had been in touch with JCP Jha as also several other police officers, right down to police inspector KG Erda, who is accused of facilitating the massacres of Muslims in the locality of Meghaninagar. Another police inspector KK Mysorewala, and BJP State President, Rajendrasinh Rana too were in touch with Kodnani and Patel, among others. Two questions arise. One, why would so many police officers, from JCP down to inspectors, be talking to so many leaders of the VHP and the ministers? And two, why would the police still fail to bring an end to the violence, especially if it was in constant touch with these bigwigs in the government and the partisan outfit that had called the shutdown? Why were so many senior policemen present in areas where massacres took place? The connection appears self-evident. Modi has always said that Hindu mobs attacked the Muslims as a spontaneous reaction to the train fire in which Hindus were killed. But so many members of the VHP-Bajrang Dal-BJP stand accused of leading the mobs that killed the Muslims that records of their numerous telephonic conversations on that day suggests collusion among them, as Setalvad suggests. Indeed, phone calls records also show that VHP men such as Babu Bajrangi, who is accused of the violence in the two massacres at Naroda Patiya and Naroda Gaam, and Atul Vaidya, who is accused of complicity in the massacre at Gulberg Society where former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was killed, were in touch with each other, too. Bajrangi, who confessed before TEHELKA’s hidden cameras of his involvement in the massacre, was also in touch with Patel and two others of the VHP. ANOTHER QUESTION that Setalvad has raised is about the presence of six persons from Modi’s office in the Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad on February 27. According to the telephone call records, they were in the area during 2-5 pm that day, while Modi was visiting Godhra. Then Health Minister Bhatt and Mehta from Modi’s office were at Narol Naroda between 9 am and 5 pm. “It was at these locations that violence spilt over in broad daylight the next day as policemen watched,” Setalvad says. In fact, on the day of the massacres at Gulberg Society, Naroda Patiya and Naroda Gaam, phone records show that the officials from Modi’s office, and ministers Bhatt and IK Jadeja, and even DGP Chakravarti were located in these areas. The question arises: what were these bigwigs doing in those areas, and why could they not stop the killings? There are also graphs showing the locations of officers from Modi’s office and senior policemen in and around his residence in Gandhinagar, Gujarat’s capital, “corroborating the fact that secret/illegal meetings did take place, where instructions to allow free reign to the organised mobs led by men of the VHP/Bajrang Dal are alleged to have been given,” says Setalvad in her statement to the commission. Now the ball is in the Nanavati Commission’s court. Given that the Commission gave a near-clean chit to Modi in an interim report in September 2009, Setalvad may be staring at an uphill trudge. WRITER’S EMAIL ajit@tehelka.com

From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 7, Issue 23, Dated June 12, 2010

India’s who’s who speaks about recent rent a riot expose by tehelka.

Please send your commets alongwith with your picture to edit@bismillahnews.in

D RAJA National Secretary, Communist Party of India (CPI) It’s a great exposé and there is enough evidence now to proceed against Pramod Muthalik and the Sene. But, since the BJP heads the Karnataka government, it is doubtful if they will take action. If the state government does not do any thing after this exposé, the union home ministry should step in and advise the state government to act. The real face of the so-called representatives of Hindu culture is out. Who has given these people the authority to decide on what is culture? Are they the sole representatives of Indian culture, or even Hindu culture? Who are they? Who has given them this authority? They cannot appropriate the law. This kind of religious fundamentalism should be dealt with very firmly.

KTS TULSI Senior Advocate, Supreme Court Merely planning to vandalise is not enough evidence. It should be followed by an overt act of vandalism. Nevertheless, it will be an important input in the investigation of past riots. If this modus operandi was adopted in the past, involvement can be established by this exposé. Statements caught on camera about past deeds would be admissible as extra-judicial confession. Action can be taken against them and they can be made an accused in those cases. Whoever is investigating the cases against Muthalik and his gang should take cognisance of the statement made by these persons in your exposé, and should use the statements against them.

Prasad Bidappa Designer Muthalik and his cronies should be jailed. They should get 50 lashes each from the elastic of the pink chaddis! On a serious note, they deserve the most severe punishment possible for the crimes they have committed.

Sanjay Nirupam Congress MP I would like to congratulate Tehelka for a brilliant exposé on the ugly face of fundamentalism in India. People like Pramod Muthalik and organisations like the Sri Ram Sene are a threat to India and strict legal action should be taken against them based on what they have said in the tapes. Everyone has a right to follow one’s religion, but no one has the right to instigate the public and create communal tension in the name of religion. This is precisely what the Sene and the other parties like the RSS are doing. Also, the onus should not be on the Sri Ram Sene as much as it should be on the BJP and the VHP. Muthalik is just an off-shoot of the fundamentalist agenda of the VHP and the RSS, which receive patronage from the BJP. The exposé has brought into public conscience what these parties can do to spread communal tension in the country.

Nilotpal Basu CPI(M) Central Committee Member This exposé has vindicated the stand of the CPI(M), which has been for the longest time waging a war on fundamentalism in India. My congratulations to Tehelka on the exposé. These people are a blot on civil society and the BJP which is in power in Karnataka, need not look for more evidence. The evidence that Tehelka has provided is enough to indict organisations like the Sri Ram Sene and their leaders, which are the core of fascism. The BJP cannot dissociate itself from the Sene as it was because of the free hand given by the BJP to the Sene, even after the Mangalore pub attack, that the Sene continued to grow. I think it is high time that cognisance is taken.

Ramachandra Guha Writer Tehelka’s extraordinary exposé of the Sri Ram Sene demonstrates how ‘popular and religious sentiment’ is cynically manufactured — for a price. It should lead to serious introspection among all our political parties, who — as the cases of Salman Rushdie, MF Husain, Taslima Nasreen and James Laine all show — have so often stifled or suppressed artistic freedom in the name of protecting this alleged sentiment. The Tehelka exposé should provoke not self-satisfaction but shame, for there are Sri Ram Sene-like elements within the Congress, the CPM, and the BJP as well.

Prakash Javadekar BJP Spokesperson and MP The Sri Ram Sene is an anti-BJP party. It has contested against the BJP at 80 places. So, we are not related to them in any which way. Our government has already taken them to court and the process of law is on. They have been jailed and there are more than 30 cases registered against them. We have taken effective action against the Sene. We have already jailed them on that count. The impression that they are with BJP is completely wrong. They are an anti-BJP force.

Abhishek Chaubey Director There were 41 cases against Omkara because of the language used in the film, so I know how this moral policing works. I think the public and the media should be aware and be smart, and know that giving these people undue importance is wrong. They only want to be relevant in politics and these are the only ways they know how to get ahead. They should be ignored, and if they go overboard, then we the public should rally around and make sure we get justice.

Joginder Singh Former CBI Director Tehelka has kept its reputation . I think a case can be registered against the Sri Ram Sene for plotting to incite a communal riot under the IPC. It’s a pretty serious offence. Somebody should file a complaint against the Sene with the police and if the police don’t take action, then they can approach the High Court. I am sure the government has no option but to book him.

Khushboo Actor What has come out is quite shameful and shocking about the people who have been creating so much ruckus over the last few years — slapping women, hitting people on street, and portraying themselves as a moral brigade and protectors of culture. They should be given severe punishment. Whatever Muthalik says to defend himself, it has clearly been proved that these people are after money. The law should definitely take its own course and severe punishment must be handed over to them.

Prof Alok Rai Delhi University A sting may not be enough to convict, but is evidence for a trial. It can’t amount to instigation — you couldn’t entrap me for renting riots! You get trapped because you are guilty. Moral policing is hypocritical. I hope those who supported Muthalik and his cronies, realise this. They should be tried in public and their entire radioactive rhetoric of Hinduism should be openly examined.

Gul Panag Gul Panag I commend Tehelka for not being financially motivated. Paying mobs for rioting has been employed by many people. Even the 1984 riots were paid for. But I don’t think much can be done against the Sene. Karnataka has a right-wing party in power. These outfits are supported by Hindutva parties, and that’s their strength. As a nation we must never subscribe to, or believe in, these moral police outfits.

Nirmala Sitaraman BJP Spokesperson The BJP unequivocally condemns the action of the Sri Ram Sene and believes that strict action should be taken against those who were involved. Taking money for conducting riots is shameful and dangerous, it should be stopped at all costs. If there is enough evidence, we urge the state to take action against the accused. The BJP has never had anything to do with such organisations and doesn’t support them.

Shakeel Ahmed AICC spokesperson The Karnataka government as well as other states where the Sene has units must ban the outfit. Action should be taken against those who spread hatred in the name of religion. Those who offered the Sene moral support, are trying to distance themselves. But the country knows who they are.

Shiv Viswanathan Anthropologist and human rights activist The sting is not about Muthalik, it’s about hundreds of people who build themselves on an ecology of idiotic scandals. They create a minor scandal with major violence that limit people’s freedoms. This is a sting for freedom. Lots of politics is built on the agony of false complaints. By publicising this, we understand the nature of politics. There should be litigation against these devious groups — not just income tax scrutiny. Outfits like the Sene should be investigated to know what’s going on with them. There should be a RTI, not a sting, to know about them.

Manisha Sethi Human Rights Activist Moral policing is an act of sheer criminality. The fact that our judiciary lets these people get away time and again, inspite of the fact that they spew venom and initiate violence on innocent people, is a blight on democracy.

Ruchir Joshi Writer I think Tehelka has been extremely courageous in stripping away from Pramod Muthalik and his Sri Ram Sene, any fig leaf of legitimate moral outrage. It’s clear from this investigation that Muthalik and gang are ‘event-organisers’ , and what they organise is public murder and grievous bodily harm, for money and political gain. What is also quite startling is that none of these goondas smell a rat when an ‘artist’ asks them to organise a rather violent ‘PR’ event — as if artists, like politicians and businessmen, were completely at ease with bloodshed and destruction. I wonder what this tells us about how art and artists are seen in many parts of our country.

Naseeruddin Shah Actor "Depending on how important he is to the plans of mice and men, Mr. Muthalik will probably buy his way out of deeper trouble. But it is heartening to see such public enemies feel the heat at last. Bravo again Tehelka."

Raghu Rai Photographer Even though such people finally escape unscathed, it’s still important to gradually get something done against them. The government needs to move against these people. If we don’t take actions against them, how can we expect Pakistan to dismantle its terrorist infrastructure? How can we expect Kashmir to get into shape?

Feroze Khan Theatre and Film director TEHELKA has confirmed with incontrovertible evidence, what we have known this all along. Every riot has a commercial component. Sri Ram Sene is merely a franchisee of the larger ‘Cash for Violence’ brand. These seminaries of hatred must be acted upon with the full might of the State, under the harshest provisions of the Law.

Mahesh Dattani Playwright I think Pramod Muthalik should be arrested. His intent is very clearly established in the sting. As a writer it comforts me immensely — this sting I mean. Next time something similiar happens, a cultural event is rioted, people will laugh. People will know how it happened.

BRP Bhaskar Human Rights Activist A major weakness of modern journalism is its preoccupation with events to the exclusion of processes which lead to them. TEHELKA’s sting operation which has exposed the readiness of Sri Ram Sene to engineer communal riots for financial gain is a good example of how the media can highlight the deadly processes that go unnoticed.

P K Kunjalikkutty Former minister and Kerala State Unit Gen Secratary, IUML It is now exposed that people like Muthalik are exploiting the religious sentiments of common people and dragging them into violence for personal materiel greed. It is also clear that Sangh Parivar does not have any principles. They are simply exploiting cast and religion for their own political and financial gains.

Prashant Bhushan Public Interest Lawyer, Supreme Court The Sri Ram Sene must be banned immediately. Their offences as per the sting fall under charges of conspiracy and willingness to riot for money. These are bailable offences no doubt, but the organisation can and must be banned on these grounds. TEHELKA cannot be charged under these sections or held guilty of criminal activity at all.

Prakash Sharma Bajrang Dal Convenor This story is false and fake. There is an abhiyaan (conspiracy) going on to hurt Hindu groups. This is a conspiracy between the secular parties and so called secular media. What conclusion did you show? You could have shown Pramod Muthalik’s men taking the money and coming to attack.

M T Vasudevan Nair Writer,Jnanpith award winner This is really shocking.The Government should go for a comprehensive probe into the matter.

Tarun Vijay BJP spokesperson Muthalik is a blot on Hindus. TEHELKA has opened our eyes.

Rajeev Pratap Rudy BJP spokesperson This is completely unacceptable and cannot be condoned. We have nothing to do with Sri Ram Sene. Whatever action law dictates should be taken against them.

Mohan Singh General Secretary, Samajwadi Party The Tehelka exposé has brought out the real face of organisations like the Sri Ram Sene and Pramod Muthalik. They have links with the mafia and they indulge in extortion. It is extremely unfortunate that parties like the BJP provide patronage to elements like the Sri Ram Sene. All this will stop if parties maintain distance from organisations like the Ram Sene and start ostracising them. But, political patronage makes such bodies flourish. Fringe elements like the Sene have no credibility and, after your exposé, they should be tried under the law of the land.

Brinda Karat Politburo Member, CPI(M) Clearly, the Sri Ram Sene has added one more dimension to their criminal activity, which is that of acting like a mercenary group. Earlier, they used religion to spread communal hatred. They had also used the cloak of the so-called Indian culture to attack young women. So, clearly this is a group that is acting outside the Constitution of India. Therefore, the government must take appropriate action. And since the sting done by Tehelka shows there is prima facie evidence against them, the government has to take action under the law. I believe a campaign is needed against organisations like the RSS and the BJP, which promote a communal brand of politics and provide an enabling environment for groups such as the Ram Sene to exist. We have asked the government of India to order a probe into the activities of Hindutva groups because the recent revelation about the Ajmer mosque blast shows that it is threat to national security and national unity. The BJP government in Karnataka, if they have to retain whatever is left of their credibility, has to act against Muthalik and his organisation. There in enough prima-facie evidence in the exposé. Earlier, the BJP government had a very soft approach towards the Sene and even tried to defend them in the name of defending Indian culture. Later, under public pressure, they arrested Muthalik and put him in jail.

Shyam Benegal Filmmaker I have one word to describe the Tehelka exposé of the Ram Sene - excellent!

Vinay Katiyar Vice-president, BJP If the exposé is true, then fundamentalism and violence have no place in civil society. The BJP does not endorse or associate itself with such people and such action.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Vice-president, BJP I have seen the sting on TV and it is horrific. The BJP condemns such action in the strongest possible way and I have urged the state leadership to take strong action against Pramod Muthalik. These people are terrorists and they should be dealt with in the same way as one would act against a terrorist. The BJP has nothing to do with the Sri Ram Sene and the Sene too does not have links with the BJP or the Sangh Parivar. I would like to congratulate Tehelka for their work. We always talk of banning such organisations, but banning by itself is not enough. Now is the time for action.

HD Deve Gowda Former Prime Minister The Sri Ram Sene should be banned. I would really like to appreciate Tehelka for raising this issue of national importance. I don’t expect the Karnataka government to take any step. It is shameless government, which doesn’t take any steps. There is a systemic collapse in the state.

Julio Ribeiro Former CRPF Director-General Tehelka has once again proved what quality journalism is all about. This is great news for all those who have been fighting against communal forces in the country. In the video, Pramod Muthalik talks of rioting and in sensitive areas. This is an offence and he can be booked under various offences pertaining to communal disharmony and rioting. It calls for the strictest possible action. Even if no action is taken against the powers that may be, for instance the Karnataka government might hesitate in taking action against Muthalik as he is their ally, the common public has now seen their true face. The common man has seen on television the acts of these people and this by itself is enough.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Filmmaker Why has it taken Tehelka to expose this muck? All our politicians and our entire law and order machinery should hang their heads in shame and be charged for colluding with such anti-national elements because they lack balls and are completely spineless in their political will. My heartiest congratulations to Tehelka.

Dibakar Banerjee Director The sting is fantastic. The best thing is that it’s not about the Ram Sene members cavorting around with some women, but about issues that matter to common people. It gives sting operations the importance they deserve. I didn’t get much flak for my movie LSD, as the people marketing it knew that it was too small a movie to garner too much money for such goons. These moral police only go where the money is. I am not surprised at this exposé, because we all knew the reality of these so-called moral police outfits, and now we have proof. What this sting also sheds light on is that there are people who are using groups like the Sri Ram Sene to get what they want. The goverement should hold an inquiry to find out who those people are. Follow the money, and everything will come tumbling out.

Quasar Thakore Padamsee Theatre Personality I am not surprised. In India everything works for money. Your sting exposes moral policing as gangster politics, but then, that’s the way most parties work in India. Let there be an investigation, and such outfits served what they deserve. What’s worse — it’s done for money, not any ‘just cause’. The government should ban the threat of violence in any protest

Bharat Kumar Raut Shiv Sena leader and MP What has come out is quite shameful and shocking about the people who have been creating so much ruckus over the last few years — slapping women, hitting people on street, and portraying themselves as a moral brigade and protectors of culture.T hey should be given severe punishment. Whatever Muthalik says to defend himself, it has clearly been proved that these people are after money. The law should definetely take its own course and severe punishment must be handed over to them.

Mahtab Alam Delhi-based Civil Rights activist I am not in favour of banning organisations, but I feel tthe Sene must be prosecuted and held answerable to the serious charges against them. Sting journalism may be a contentious area of debate in itself - but Muthalik and his allies are certainly in no position to involve themselves in any such debates right now, given their own moral lapses.

Digvijay Singh AICC general secretary The chief minister should take strict action. Muthalik should be arrested immediately. What other proof is required, when he has been caught on camera demanding cash. Mr Yeddyurappa does not have the courage to rein the Sene chief in

Aditya Nigam Joint Director, CSDS At one level I’m uncomfortable with the idea of stings, there’s still a level of continuing ambivalence towards them. But in this instance, it’s difficult to give an unmodulated reaction. I’m very happy at the exposure of Muthalik – it’s very important. People like Muthalik should be booked anyway, we don’t need a sting for it. For example, right wing elements were able to stop Anand Patwardhan’s film screening in Goa some time ago. There’s enough reason for them to be booked, for disturbing the common peace. I’m all for prosecuting them.

Shabnam Hashmi Secretary, SAHMAT You know certain things happen but you have no evidence. Such as Tehelka showing the role of Babu Bajrangi before the Gujarat elections. The most important thing about this is to have an expose´ about it. Tehelka needs to be lauded and congratulated for it. There should be suo moto action by the government and the judiciary against the likes of Bajrangi and Muthalik. Without political will, however, nothing can happen. But to have this so blatantly in the public domain now – them openly asking for money – shows that religion is a big industry in India.

Gurcharan Das Author I’ve always been in favour of your stings – all of them have been good. I’m opposed to all kinds of censorship – moral policing is wrong. We can’t take the law in our own hands [but] need to tell the public about the wrongs, and create public opinion that doesn’t tolerate it. In democracy, there will always be demagogues and rabble-rousers. They are there in the oldest democracy – the USA has people like Sarah Palin. All you can do is convert people’s hearts and minds. At every opportunity we have to remind ourselves we’re a civilized country, and Tehelka does that for us.

Ashish Rajadhyaksha Art historian I don’t think we needed the sting to arrest Pramod Muthalik. He is a monster, but it is curious to watch other monsters attack him now. I am against banning the Sene. Banning is an instrument of the state that can be used against pretty much anybody. Muthalik should be arrested. But one should also examine the violence with which the middle class is reacting to events — hang Kasab, kill Muthalik… I suspect political formations in India, bigger than the Sene, also organise rent-a-riots. It is not unheard of in the US either. I doubt if the BJP in Karnataka will have the guts to arrest Muthalik

Rahul Bose Actor The TEHELKA sting proves something that has been whispered about for years in Indian polity. It is a disturbing piece of investigative journalism and shows that religious fundamentalism is invariably a money-making enterprise. It is now for our law enforcers to book and bring those indicted by the tapes to a court of law.

Sudhir Mishra Film director I’m glad that this expose by TEHELKA has happened. I hope the Shri Ram Sene are tried under the relevant sections of the IPC – because they have violated the law. This garb of representing people’s culture and moral values is now exposed for what it is – cheap publicity, notoriety and greed.

Sooni Taraporevala Filmmaker and scriptwriter The revelations of the sting are totally horrifying. These groups are so blatant. How are they getting away with what they do? And all in the name of religion. One always suspected that these groups do not have a single spiritual bone in their bodies and here is absolute proof.

Teesta Setalvad Activist In an age when the systems of democracy are crumbling, TEHELKA is doing a public service of a high order. The fact that money and liquor is distributed before any incident of communal riots to get mobs ready has been known to many of us for a long time. Tehelka has now got proof.

Ramesh Chennithala President, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. It is now exposed that there is always conspiracy behind any attempt to hamper the secular fabric of the country. The TEHELKA expose gives a very significant indication that communal riots in the recent past, might have been designed and executed in the same fashion. KPCC demands a comprehensive probe into the matter.

Prahlad Kakkar Ad Filmmaker I think more important that the legal results it may yield - is that TEHELKA’s sting has created a massive loss of credibility for the Sri Ram Sene. Even their political and police contacts will begin to distance themselves from them now. Their true motivations are out there for all to see - money, not god.

Ram Madhav RSS Spokesperson The Shri Ram Sene is a very small outfit. It doesn’t affect us. We never subscribe to or protect such people. Fringe groups who survive on violence exist in all religions and societies. If they are indulging in such activities, we are in favour of action against them.

Soli Sorabjee Jurist and former Attorney General If this is a genuine expose, then this organisation should be banned. Pramod Muthalik should be arrested immediately and dealt with severely. This is very serious. This is crime against the nation. These kind of extremist perverted groups should be done away with immediately. The virus should be nipped in the bud.

Jaideep Sahni Scriptwriter I wonder what the ordinary people who supported this man are feeling now, and what conspiracy theories they will be offered to make them forget this betrayal. The only reason why such groups are back each year with swords in their hands is that big state and national parties let them. TEHELKA has once again followed its dharma, now let’s see if our public representatives follow theirs.

Ved Marwah Former Commissioner of Police, Delhi This is a warning that law enforcement agencies should heed. Such groups should not be allowed to get away. Banning the group doesn’t solve the problem, because they can always come up under a different name. If there is a violation of law, the police can take sou moto action against them.

Ajmer Dargah Bomb Blast Case – Rajesh Mishra from MP Arrested 

Malegaon, Ajmer, Hyderabad blasts… Joining the dots

Muslims dig graves for blast victims near a mosque in Malegaon, 260km (162 miles) northeast of Mumbai, September 9, 2006.

Mon, May 10 05:42 AM

During the initial days of the probe into the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast, investigators had found that while the perpetrators had used a stolen numberplate on the motorcycle on which the bomb was planted, they had also used a ‘hand grinder’ to try and erase its alphanumeric chassis number. Long hours and days were spent combing through the layers of the metal body to finally figure out the actual number.

When the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) team reached the office of LML, which had manufactured the two-wheeler, they were told that the company had stopped manufacturing the model in 2006 and that there were about 3.5 lakh units at the time across the country. The search for the owner of the bike eventually took them to Surat, to the house of Chandrapal Singh Thakur.

Thakur said that the motorcycle actually belonged to his daughter. Even as they sat in his house, they were curious about the identity of the woman. As the team struggled with the idea that they might be on the verge of discovering a rare woman terror conspirator, they found that this woman was also a Sadhvi, something the team found a "little too much to handle".

Phone calls were made — the officers to their seniors and Thakur to his daughter who was told to reach home immediately. But Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, now one of the main conspirators of the 2008 Malegaon blast, went straight to Indore, Madhya Pradesh — the same city where all the new investigation trails are now leading in connection with the 2007 Ajmer dargah blast.

This April, when the Rajasthan ATS made its first arrests in the Ajmer blast case — a similar nexus emerged. Another investigation down south in Hyderabad, in the May 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case, is also indicating links to Indore and the Hindu extremists it seems to have spawned.

For one, at least two accused in the newly emerging network behind the two 2007 blasts, Devendra Gupta and Chandrashekar, have affiliations with Abhinav Bharat, which was founded in 2006 by Lt Col Prasad Purohit — another accused in the Malegaon blast — as an educational trust but was in reality a step to "set up a parallel Hindu state and an armed government".

Investigators said the three cases also seem to have other technical links, such as the common identity proof used to obtain SIM cards for the two 2007 blasts by Indore-based Jharkhand native Gupta. In the Malegaon blast too, the SIM card operations were allegedly taken care of by Indore-based Ramnarayan Kalsangra alias Ramji, who is also accused of having made the bomb in Nashik.

The Maharashtra ATS has always maintained that while the conspirators come from diverse backgrounds, the foot-soldiers were essentially from two base camps, operating under Hindutva-preaching NGOs based out of Pune and Indore. While the connections between the Mecca Masjid blast and the Ajmer blast still remains to be completely established, investigators say that a further possible link with Malegaon needs more work and corroboration.

In the Malegaon probe, it did not go unnoticed that every time a suspect’s name emerged, the suspect would flee to the safety of the Dangs, Gujarat’s tribal region, where the Maharashtra ATS had camped to track another suspect, Swami Asimanand in October 2008. Last week, the teams probing the Ajmer blast landed in the Dangs. And Asimanand is once again believed to have given them the slip.

When the CBI team investigating the Mecca Masjid blast visited Nashik jail to question Purohit and Pragya last week, it was not the first time that an agency investigating another blast in the country had come to talk to them. A Rajasthan Police team had come to question them much earlier, in 2009, to find out if the Ajmer blast, the Mecca Masjid blast and even possibly the Samjhauta Express blast had anything in common.

While the motive for the radical Hindus to allegedly launch attacks is suspected to involve the country’s communal history, the targets in all three cases were Muslim places of worship or an Islamic religious event such as the fasting month of Ramadan when Malegaon was targeted.

Seeking their custody, investigating agencies had informed the Nashik Chief Judicial Magistrate court that "a series of meetings" had taken place between Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, also an accused in the Malegaon blast, which needs to be further probed. The remand also speaks of meetings between the Sadhvi, Sameer Kulkarni and Upadhyay, in Indore, along with an important meeting that took place on April 16, 2008, at Bhonsale Military School in Nashik. The Maharashtra Police are now hopeful that a lot of "blanks’ will be filled — the key question of "who let the RDX out" to the whereabouts of Ramji, and the suspected conspiracy network of the blasts in 2007 and 2008.

The Ajmer Dargah Blast

On October 11, 2007, a blast in the Ajmer Dargah killed three persons and and injured several others. The low-intensity blast was reported to have been triggered by a cellphone.

After no real breakthrough for more than two years, the Rajasthan ATS arrested Devendra Gupta from Bihariganj in Ajmer on April 30 this year. Gupta, who is suspected to have links with right wing Hindu extremist groups, is reported to have procured the SIM cards used in the Ajmer attack. The SIM cards were procured from Jharkhand, where Gupta has been based since 2006.

A day later, Rajasthan ATS arrested another person, Chandrashekhar, and detained Vishnu Patidar — both from Madhya Pradesh. Patidar was let off after verification. ATS sources said he may turn witness for the prosecution.

Police sources said Gupta and Chandrashekhar are suspected to be linked to the Malegaon and Mecca Masjid blasts. Gupta was also reportedly in touch with deceased RSS leader Sunil Joshi in Jharkhand.

Rajasthan Home Minister Shanti Dhariwal said police were on the lookout for Swami Asminanand of the Dangs, suspected to have masterminded the Ajmer blast.

Police suspect Ramji Kalsangra, wanted in the Malegaon blast, was responsible for making the bomb used in the Ajmer attack.

— Apurva

Mecca Masjid Blast

On May 18, 2007, an explosion rocked the historic Mecca Masjid. Nine persons were killed and 58 injured. Another five persons died in police firing on a protesting mob that had gathered at the site following the blast.

Initially, a special investigation team of Hyderabad Police investigated the blast as well as the police firing incident. Both cases were transferred to the CBI on June 9, 2007.

Suspecting that Islamic terrorist groups were behind the blast, fingers were pointed at HuJI and SIMI. The Hyderabad Police detained several Muslim youths.

After the CBI took over the investigation, it examined the detained youths and asked police to release all of them as there was no evidence of their involvement.

The CBI followed several leads based on one live bomb that was found in the mosque premises. After working on the case for 20 months, the CBI said the trail had gone cold.

Following the arrest of members of Abhinav Bharat after the Malegaon blast, the CBI investigated the involvement of the group in the Mecca Masjid case, but without much success.

A SIM card found at the site of the Ajmer blast was found to be from the same series that was used in the mobile phone to trigger the Mecca Masjid blast. The CBI released a sketch of the man who allegedly purchased those SIM cards but it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity as the sketch was that of a yoga teacher from Noida. The CBI withdrew the sketch.

-Sreenivas Janyala

[ http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20100510/804/tnl-malegaon-ajmer-hyderabad-blasts-join.html ]

Rss admits its role in Ajmer blast ?

My friend Ghulam has once again put before the world with concrete evidence the discriminatory policies of the GOI vis a vis Indian muslims. Sohail Siddiqui,Chief Editor bismillahnews

Azim Premji university in talks for global partnerships

Bibhu Ranjan Mishra / Bangalore March 29, 2010, 0:47 IST

The Azim Premji University, a self-financed private one being established in Karnataka by the Azim Premji Foundation, is exploring partnerships with world-class global universities.

The university, the first of its kind to be established in the state, is in talks with at least four universities in North America to secure their help in several areas.

“We are in talks with some foreign universities for collaboration in areas of curriculum development, faculty and teachers’ development. They can bring some world-class knowledge repository of teaching and learning processes. We may also look at them as partners for research exchange. We are primarily looking at some of the top-class Indians teaching or into research in foreign countries,” Dileep Ranjekar, CEO of Azim Premji Foundation, told Business Standard. The university is a not-for-profit organisation chaired by Wipro chairman Azim Premji.

Joint faculty development, said Ranjekar, was needed since the concept of education management was nascent in India, which made it difficult to get the right talent. The Foundation has also entered into a research agreement with Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, in Toronto (Canada). “Our partnership with them will be in the area of education research,” said Ranjekar.

The Foundation had approached the state government last year to set up the university to provide training, research and development in various disciplines, including elementary and secondary education and education management. Recently, both Houses of the Karnataka legislature approved the Azim Premji Foundation Bill, despite protests from opposition parties. The Bill has gone to the Governor for his approval.

Expecting legal hassles to be over soon, the Foundation has started the process to identify the preference. “The success of the university will almost entirely depend on the quality of faculty that we are able to appoint and develop. It will also depend on the unique culture we are able to create in the university. Special efforts will be made to reach rural Karnataka. There is a lot of talent out there. All they require is opportunity and support in language and communication. It ought to be understood that the university is meant to contribute to the larger system of education in India. The process is also on to identify the department heads and faculty members,” added Ranjekar.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/azim-premji-university-in-talks-for-global-partnerships/390037/

Subverting Democratic Ethos

RSS believes only Hindus are Indians!

Ram Puniyani -http://www.tehelka.com/story_main44.asp?filename=Ws200310RamPuniyani.asp

RSS is one of the major organizations in the country which influences and controls different political and semi political organizations, calling themselves as Sangh Parivar. It does claim to be a cultural organization, but it is implementing its political agenda of achieving Hindu Nation by creating organizations, which implement its ideology and political agenda at different layers, by different means. While its progenies claim that they are autonomous, their autonomy is a ‘controlled autonomy’, the boundaries of their autonomy are decided by RSS, which directly or indirectly controls them. It is due to these facts that the statement of the Sarsanghchalak (Chief) of RSS cannot be taken lightly, they tell us about the political ideology of this combine and give the indication of the dynamics of politics which this organization is going to implement in times to come.

It is in this light that what Mohan Bhagawat said on 28th February (2010) in Bhopal at Hindu Samagam needs to be understood and taken as a warning signal. While speaking on the occasion, Bhagwat said that those who were Indians are Hindus and one who was not a Hindu he cannot be Indian. He reiterated that Hinduism is not a religion, it is a way of life and that if Hindus become stronger, Nation will become stronger.

At one level there is nothing new in this formulation. There is a change in presentation format and intensity of their definition of Hinduism and Hindus. The starting point of RSS ideology is Savarkar’s definition of Hindu being one who regards this land from Sindhu (Indus) to sea as holy land and father land. Here there is a clear indication that followers of those religions which did not originate in India are not Hindus, i.e. Muslims, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians are out of the ambit of this definition.

After this first round of elimination comes the statement that the one who is not a Hindu cannot be an Indian. Here the story becomes complete, to deny citizenship status to all the followers of these religions. Another of the favorite line of RSS is dropped in here; that Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life. This formulation at a time was upheld by court judgment, but can this be ideologically true? Is it theologically valid? How does one define religion, and how does one define way of life. Way of life is a much broader concept than religion. Way of life includes; regional nuances, culture, food habits, social associations, the struggle for livelihood and much more come under this umbrella. Many a times, people of different religions have a way of life which has a big overlap, and mostly people of same religion may have a way of life which is very different from each other.

The way of life of Kerala Muslim was much closer to the Kerala Christian and Hindu, the way of life of a Punjabi Hindu may be very different from the way of life of a Bengali Hindu or a Hindu settled in Mauritius or UK and USA. People do adjust and adapt to each other cutting across their religious faith. That’s how the syncretic traditions and culture developed and flourished in India. That’s how we have Ramdeo Baba Pir in Rajasthan with following amongst Hindus and Muslims and we have Satya Pir in Orissa revered by people of all communities. Who can forget saints like Kabir who united the society along the moral values coming from different religions, and who can ignore the fact that the Sufi saint shrines are frequented by people of all religions. In Mumbai the Mount Mary Church of Mahim is a place where people from all religions light the candles and pay obeisance to Mother Mary.

The formulation ‘way of life’ has been deliberately propped up to confuse the scope of religion. While religion is itself a very broad category, including moral values, rituals, holy books, way of worship, presence of clergy and specific festivals, that does not exhaust the term way of life, which is much broader to begin with and is ever expanding, ever changing, ever trying to attain newer paths due to the process of social transformation, which is the key to social progress and community life.

Coming to the formulation, ‘Hinduism is not a religion’, it is a mere eye wash to get legitimacy to put forward Hinduism’s claim to be the sole religion here in India. It is a clever ploy to impose Hindu religion on minorities. RSS knows like most others that Hinduism is a religion. Surely it is not a prophet based religion but it does have most features which qualify for it being called a religion. Mere absence of a prophet does not make it non-religion. As there is no prophet in Hinduism many ideologies, philosophies and faiths can survive within its pantheon. These range from the Atheist Charvak tradition to the belief in multiple Gods and Goddesses, to monotheism, to the concept of formless God, to the concept of God which is primarily based around virtuosity. But still Hinduism does qualify as a specific religion all the same. Hinduism has holy books, holy deities, rituals, specific philosophy, holy symbols like cow etc. Even RSS literature makes it clear that Hinduism is a religion. The oath admininistered at the time of joining RSS does mention Hinduism as a religion. Its books taught in various Sarswati Shishu mandirs etc. do refer to Cow as the Holy mother for Hindus, its biggest ever political campaign was in the name of Lord Ram’s temple in Ayodhya.

It is a deceptive and clever move by RSS to talk in many languages and dish out various formulations about Hinduism and Hindus. The idea is either to impose it on those who are not Hindus or to co-opt others into Hindus pantheon under the ploy that all are Hindus. Surely at one time the word Hindu began as a geographical category, for all those living on east of river Sindhu (Indus). After that the various locally prevalent religious traditions got clubbed as Hinduism and these traditions on one side were those based on Purush Sukta of Vedas (Brahmanism, caste hierarchy) and on the other, traditions which refuted Brahmanism (Shamanic traditions of Nath, Tantra, Bhakti Siddha etc,)  Like most religions Hinduism is also diverse one, but it is religion all the same.

So formulation that those who are not Hindus are not Indians is a big insult to Indian Constitution. India became a nation through it struggle to get independence. The national movement, which led the people against British colonial powers also acted, played the role of uniting people of all regions, religions, castes and gender into a single identity of Indian ness. Interestingly RSS which is talking of India, patriotism etc. was not a part of national movement. Its patriotism was sleeping when the whole nation was struggling against British rule. On the contrary one of its trained pracharak of RSS went on to kill the spirit of Indian-ness, father of the Indian nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Contrary to what RSS says people of India rejected the ideology of RSS, its politics all through. Not only Hindu nationalism of RSS but also the Muslim Nationalism of Muslim League was also dumped by the people of India. It is only due to British Policy of ‘divide and rule’ that communalists like Muslim league and RSS survived, and the latter has hit back from the decade of 1980 due to multiple factors.

Indian Constitution is the embodiment of the values of national movement, the movement for getting freedom of the country. It is based on the values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Equality is mentioned to indicate that irrespective of religion, caste and gender, we are equal citizens. The ideas being propagated by RSS and its progeny are against the grain of Indian nationalism, against Indian Constitution, so there is an urgent need that we counter the communal ideology of RSS.

To say that nation will become strong if Hindus become strong, is again in total violation of the soul and spirit of Indian nationalism. The people of all religious communities have contributed to the making of this nation. People of all religious communities constitute Indian nation. The myth of Hindu unity or for that matter the unity of any people along religious lines had no place in History neither it has any relevance in today’s society. The states are formed on geographical lines and only those ideologies which are inclusive of all have a place in History. The exclusive, divisive notions like the ones’ of RSS, Muslim League of yesteryears and Muslim Communalism of today and Christian Fundamentalism prevalent in parts of West,  deserve to be put in the dustbin, deserve to be rejected lock stock and barrel.

What does Hindu becoming strong mean. Today majority of Hindus are living below poverty line, problem of unemployment, displacement, regionalism and communalism are breaking the back of poor of the society. The whole notion of strength is misplaced. Strength of a community lies in its economic status, social security and human rights. And to talk of Hindu strength in the language of RSS is quite intimidtory to the non Hindus living in the country. We have to cater for all the religious communities and in addition to implement affirmative action for weaker sections of society.

We need to understand that the whole ideology and propaganda of RSS is against the values of Indian nationalism and should be treated with the contempt which such anti national ideas deserve.

Noura University, a landmark dedicated to a beloved aunt

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah views a replica of the new campus of Princess Noura bint Abdul Rahman University. (AN photo)

Muslims Are Their Own Worst Enemy
3/11/2010 - Opinion Social Political - Article Ref: CP1003-4113
Number of comments:
Opinion Summary: Agree:  Disagree:  Neutral:
By: Paul Craig Roberts
Counter Punch* -

Muslims are numerous but powerless. Divisions among Muslims, especially between Sunni and Shi’ites, have consigned the Muslim Middle East to almost a century of Western control. Muslims cannot even play together. The Islamic Solidarity Games, a regional version of the Olympics, which were to be held in April in Iran, have been cancelled, because the Iranians and the Arabs cannot agree on whether to call the body of water that separates Iran from the Arabian Peninsula the Persian Gulf or the Arabian Gulf. 

Muslim disunity has made it possible for Israel to dispossess the Palestinians, for the U.S. to invade Iraq, and for the U.S. to rule much of the region through puppets. For example, in exchange for faithful service, Egypt receives $1.5 billion a year from Washington, which enables President Mubarak to buy off opposition. The opposition had rather have the money than support the Palestinians. Therefore, Egypt cooperates with Israel and the U.S. in the blockade of Gaza.

Another factor is the willingness of some Muslims to betray their own kind for U.S. dollars. Don’t take my word for it. Listen to neoconservative Kenneth Timmerman, head of the Foundation for Democracy, which describes itself as "a private, non-profit organization established in 1995 with grants from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to promote democracy and internationally-recognized standards of human rights in Iran."

By now we all know what that means. It means that the U.S. finances a "velvet" or some "color revolution" in order to install a U.S. puppet. Just prior to the sudden appearance of a "green revolution" in Tehran primed to protest an election, Timmerman wrote that "the National Endowment for Democracy has spent millions of dollars during the past decade promoting ‘color’ revolutions in places such as Ukraine and Serbia, training political workers in modern communications and organizational techniques. Some of that money appears to have made it into the hands of pro-Mousavi groups, who have ties to non-governmental organizations outside Iran that the National Endowment for Democracy funds." So, according to the neocon Timmerman, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy, it was U.S. money that funded Mousavi’s claims that Armadinejad stole the last Iranian election.

During President George W. Bush’s regime it became public knowledge that American money is used to purchase Iranians to work against their own country. The Washington Post, a newspaper sympathetic to the neocon’s goal of American hegemony and war with Iran, reported in 2007 that Bush authorized spending more than $400 million for activities that included "supporting rebel groups opposed to the country’s ruling clerics." 

This makes the U.S. government a "state sponsor of terrorism." For confirmation, one of the U.S. paid operatives, who conducted terror operations in Iran, has ratted on his terrorist supporters in Washington. Abdulmalek Rigi, leader of the Baloch separatist group responsible for several attacks, was recently arrested by the Iranians. Rigi admitted that the Americans in Washington assured him of unlimited military aid and funding for waging an insurgency against the Islamic Republic of Iran. (Read his confession here.)

Possibly he was tortured into confession. It is the American way. If the "light of the world," the "indispensable people," and the "shining city on the hill" tortures people, perhaps the Iranians do as well. Rigi’s younger brother, himself on death row in Iran, has said that the U.S. provided direct funding to the separatist group and even ordered specific terrorist attacks inside Iran 

The U.S. and its NATO puppets have been killing Afghan women, children, and village elders since October 7, 2001, when the U.S. military invasion "Operation Enduring Freedom," a proper Orwellian title for a self-serving war of aggression, was launched. The U.S. installed puppet president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, is bought and paid for with U.S. dollars. 

The money that Washington gives Karzai finances the corruption that supports him. Karzai’s corruption and his treason against the Afghan people encourage the Taliban to keep fighting in order to achieve a government that serves Afghans instead of Washington, D.C. 

Without the puppet Karzai selling out Afghans to Washington, the U.S. would have already been driven out of the country. With Karzai paying Afghans with American money to fight Afghans for the Americans, the war drones on into its ninth year. 

Feminists, liberals, and naive American flag-wavers will say that what is written here is utter rot, that Americans are in Afghanistan to bring women’s rights and birth control to Afghan women and to bring freedom, democracy and progress to Afghanistan, even if it means leveling every village, town, and house in the country. We, "the indispensable people," are only there to do good, because we care so much for the Afghan people who live in a country that most Americans can’t find on a map.

While this collection of naifs rants on about America "saving" Afghans from whatever, the White House and the Congress are conspiring against the American people to cut $500 billion dollars out of Medicare in order to give the money to private insurance companies. Jobless benefits are about to run out for millions of Americans, whose jobs have been moved offshore in order to make the rich richer. The U.S. Senate failed on Friday, Feb. 26, to extend jobless benefits. A single Republican Senator, Jim Bunning of Kentucky, was able to block the bill because it would cost a measly $10 billion and "would add to the budget deficit."  

The "fiscally responsible" Bunning supports blank checks for wars of aggression (war crimes under the Nuremberg standard) and payoffs to investment banks for wrecking the retirement plans of most Americans. Bunning sends the bills to the unorganized and unrepresented Americans, whose jobs have been stolen by corporate offshoring of jobs and whose retirements have been stolen by the endless greed of the Wall Street investment banks.

What fool believes that the U.S. government, which is totally indifferent to the fate of its own citizens, cares so much about Afghanistan that it will spend blood and treasure to bring "progress" and "women’s rights" to a country half a world away, while it drives its own citizens into the ground?

At Washington’s behest, the government of Pakistan is conducting war against its own people, killing many and forcing others to flee their homes and lands. The Pakistani government’s war against its own citizens has caused military expenses to soar, putting Pakistan’s budget deep in the red. Deputy US Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin ordered the Pakistani government to raise taxes to pay for the war against its own people. 

The puppet ruler, Asif Ali Zardari, complied with his American master’s orders. Zardari declared a broad-based value added tax on virtually all goods and most services in Pakistan. Thus, Pakistanis are forced to finance a war against themselves.

The "cakewalk war" in Iraq has lasted 7 years instead of the promised 6 weeks, and the violence is still ongoing with Iraqis killed and maimed nearly every day. The reason Americans are still in Iraq is because the Iraqis hate each other more than they hate the American invader. The vast majority of the violence in "the Iraq war" was committed between Iraqi Sunnis and Iraqi Shi’ites as they cleansed one another from neighborhoods. 

The majority Shi’ites regarded the American invasion of Iraq as an opportunity to gain power over the minority Sunnis, who ruled under Saddam Hussein. Therefore, the Shi’ites never engaged the American invading forces. The minority Sunnis (20 percent of the population) gave most of their effort to fighting the Shi’ite majority, but in their spare time a few thousand Sunnis were able to inflict serious losses on the American superpower.

Finally realizing the power of lucre in the Arab world, the Americans put 80,000 Sunnis on the U.S. military payroll and paid them to stop killing Americans. 

This is how the U.S. won the war in Iraq. Iraqis sold out their independence for American dollars.

Considering that a few thousand Sunnis were able to prevent superpower America from successfully occupying Baghdad or much of Iraq, had the Shi’ites joined with the Sunnis against the invaders, the U.S. would have been defeated and driven out. This outcome was not possible, because the Shi’ites wanted to settle the score with the Sunnis, who had ruled them under Saddam Hussein. 

This is the reason that Iraq today is in ruins, with one million dead, four million displaced or homeless, and the professional class having fled the country. Iraq, under the American puppet Maliki, is an American protectorate. 

As long as Muslims hate and fear one another more than they hate their conquerers, they will remain a vanquished people.

*****

Paul Craig Roberts was an editor of the Wall Street Journal and an Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury. His latest book, HOW THE ECONOMY WAS LOST, has just been published by CounterPunch/AK Press. He can be reached at: PaulCraigRoberts [AT] yahoo.com 

*** 

This same $3 billion earmark for Israel could be used instead to provide more than 364,000 low-income households with affordable housing vouchers, or to retrain 498,000 workers for green jobs, or to provide early reading programs to 887,000 at-risk students, or to provide access to primary health care services for more than 24 million uninsured Americans.

U.S. Can’t Afford Military Aid to Israel
3/1/2010 - Political Opinion - Article Ref: HP1002-4105
Number of comments: 2
Opinion Summary: Agree:1  Disagree:1  Neutral:0
By: Josh Ruebner
Huffington Post* - 

In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama pledged to "go through the budget line by line to eliminate programs that we can’t afford and don’t work." One week later, he sent his FY2011 budget request to Congress, which included a record-breaking $3 billion in military aid to Israel.

This requested increase in U.S. weapons to Israel — part of a ten-year $30 billion agreement signed between the two countries in 2007 — qualifies on both counts as a program that the United States can’t afford and that doesn’t work in establishing a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Data published recently by the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation shows that U.S. military aid to Israel comes at a financial and moral price that this country cannot afford to pay. Its website reveals that this same $3 billion earmark for Israel could be used instead to provide more than 364,000 low-income households with affordable housing vouchers, or to retrain 498,000 workers for green jobs, or to provide early reading programs to 887,000 at-risk students, or to provide access to primary health care services for more than 24 million uninsured Americans.

If U.S. weapons were going to Israel for a good purpose, then perhaps a coherent guns versus butter debate would be appropriate. However, Israel repeatedly misuses U.S. weapons to commit grave human rights abuses against Palestinians who are forced to live under its illegal 42-year military occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip.

During the Bush Administration, Israel killed at least 3,107 innocent Palestinian civilians, according to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. Israel also injured thousands more innocent Palestinians and destroyed billions of dollars of Palestinian civilian infrastructure including homes, schools, factories, government buildings, and even Palestine’s only airport. The severity and scale of this killing and destruction were made possible by hi-tech U.S. weapons provided to Israel at taxpayer expense.

And during Obama’s first year in office, Israel continued to misuse its stock of U.S. weapons to entrench its apartheid policies toward Palestinians by maintaining its illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip — collectively punishing its 1.5 million Palestinian residents by severely restricting the flow of humanitarian relief — and building illegal Israeli-only colonies on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

It was exactly to prevent this kind of misuse of U.S. weapons that Congress passed the Arms Export Control Act, which strictly limits foreign countries from employing U.S. weapons for any purpose other than "internal security" or "legitimate self-defense." Building apartheid walls and colonies to maintain a foreign military occupation, enforcing a medieval blockade, and killing and injuring innocent civilians by the thousands certainly cannot be considered legitimate and is self-evidently not for domestic security.

Yet despite this clear misuse of U.S. weapons by Israel — most evident recently during its December 2008-January 2009 attack on the Gaza Strip which killed more than 1,300 Palestinians in just three weeks — both Congress and the Obama Administration have failed miserably to hold Israel accountable for its violations of the Arms Export Control Act and cut off weapons flows to it as required by the law.

A few lonely voices on Capitol Hill — such as Rep. Brian Baird, Rep. Keith Ellison, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich — have spoken up bravely and truthfully about the consequences of U.S. weapons transferred to Israel, which a 2009 Amnesty International report cited as literally "fuelling" the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Unfortunately, President Obama has paid no heed to these Members of Congress. When questioned at a recent town hall meeting in Tampa about the impact of U.S. military aid to Israel on Palestinian civilians, the normally articulate Obama appeared visibly flummoxed before sputtering, "Look, look, look, the Middle East is obviously an issue that has plagued the region for centuries." He then proceeded to duck the question with platitudes about peace.

The President’s non-response to the question demonstrates that politicians prefer to turn a blind eye to the obvious incompatibility of trying to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace while giving Israel the weapons it needs to maintain its illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.

Before Congress gets to work on the President’s budget request and considers transferring an additional $3 billion in weapons to Israel, it is long past overdue for the United States to reconsider whether we can afford this policy any longer.

 ***

Rashad Hussain, a Muslim and new U.S. envoy, is bridge between two worlds

"A lot is made about American misperceptions about Muslim communities, but there’s a lot of misperceptions that Muslim communities have about the United States," says Rashad Hussain. (Marvin Joseph/the Washington Post)

Buy Photo

By Scott Wilson

Monday, March 1, 2010

 

Communal Violence Bill - Asghar Ali Engineer

The Government has got clearance from the Cabinet for introducing the Communal Violence Bill in the current session of parliament. The Bill was drafted originally in 2005 after 2004 elections in view of the Gujarat carnage of 2002 under the BJP Government headed by Narendra Modi. It was because of Gujarat carnage that Muslims voted for the Congress massively as a result of which NDA was defeated.

The Congress party had promised in its manifesto that it would bring the bill to prevent Gujarat like carnage against minorities. It did draft the Bill in 2005 which we, along with several other NGOs, human rights activists and legal experts, studied and found it wanting in many respects. We organized number of consultations and suggested number of amendments to make it really serve the purpose for which the Bill was drafted.

Mr. Shivraj Patil, the then Home Minister also held number of consultations in few cities and promised to consider various suggestions given by various NGOs and individuals but he did not incorporate these suggestions when final draft was presented. The present draft after going through standing committee and Cabinet too, is hardly better than the original draft. One wonders what Government wants. I would say this cure suggested is worse than the disease.

The present Bill already cleared by the Cabinet, seeks to give more power to the police. In fact police has always been the part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. Had police been fair and impartial, no communal riot can last for more than 24 hours. Those governments which have intended to control communal violence do nothing but ask the police to control violence within 24 hours else office in charge would be suspended. And communal violence stops before 24 hours.

All those who have investigated communal riots know what role police plays in communal riots from remaining spectators to actively helping the rioters instead of controlling it. In Gujarat and Kandhamal, to give two latest examples, but for the role of police, communal violence would have been controlled in no time. In all major riots police have played openly partisan role. In some cases they have even led rioting mobs.

And if you empower police more in such circumstances, as the present Bill seeks to do, one can very well imagine what havoc it is going to cause. It is victims who need to be empowered, not the police. In a consultation held in Delhi on 12-13 February by ANHAD, Institute of Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Mumbai (part of CSSS) and several other organizations. They all unanimously rejected the present draft.

Also, another provision of the present draft Bill is to declare an area as disturbed area, if communal riots are not controlled. This is even worse than giving the police more power. It means to give police absolute power. Even when curfew is declared, it is enforced only in minority areas and police hardly enforces its provision in majority areas. Vibhuti Narain’s writings and his novel Shahar Mein Curfew brings this in sharp focus. Vibhuti Narain was a top police officer in the U.P. cadre.

If an area is declared disturbed area police will have powers to shoot anyone at its will. In Kashmir and in North Eastern states people have demanded repeal of disturbed areas act. The victims, instead of getting relief, would feel totally helpless. Any law which gives police more powers without making it accountable cannot be acceptable to those who care for human rights of victims.

Like any other official Bill, there is not a single clause to make administration, police or politicians accountable for their failure to control communal violence. If so, you don’t need any fresh law at all. Human rights activists have always maintained that present laws, if enforced sincerely, can very well take care of any situation. After all the Left Front Government in West Bengal and the RJD in Bihar successfully prevented and controlled communal riots for more than three decades in WB and one and half decade in case of Bihar.

If only state governments enforces section 153-A of Indian Criminal Code in right earnest and arrests all those who make hate speeches and vitiate communal amity, there will be no communal disturbances. No politician would like to go to jail for three years. My experience shows that right from Jabalpur riot in 1961 to Gujarat riots in 2002 to anti-Christian riots in Kandhamal, Orissa, not a single politician was arrested for openly and blatantly provoking communal violence.

Also, no standard and objective method has been laid down for working out reparations and relief measures. It all depends on the whims of chief minister today. Narendra Mody Government offered ridiculous amounts of Rs.500/- and Rs.300/- for houses completely damaged and defying public opinion closed down relief camps much before any concrete measures to rehabilitate the victims were made. Thanks to the private agencies that these camps could be run for a longer period.

Also, there is not much in the present Bill for investigations and successful trial of cases and launching of FIRs. It is well known that police is extremely reluctant to register FIRs and even when it does, it refuses to enter the names of the accused. And less said about the subsequent investigations, the better. The investigation is so shoddy that courts often dismiss the cases against the accused.

In most of the cases the police close them down saying not much evidence is available. In the case of Gujarat the police closed down hundreds of cases which could be reopened only under the Supreme Court orders. Despite all this the present Bill supposedly drafted to help the victims, make no provisions for all this.

It is, therefore, highly necessary to make drastic changes in the present Bill before it is discussed in the Parliament and if the Government is unwilling to introduce necessary changes, the M.P.s should study the Bill carefully and force the Government to bring about necessary amendments in the Bill. All the eminent participants of consultation in Delhi felt that the 59 amendments proposed by the government are nothing but mere tinkering.

The participants felt that neither do the proposed amendments make any structural changes to the Bill nor has the government factored in any of suggestions made by the civil society. The national consultation in Delhi on 12-13 February found fault even with the definition of the communal violence in the Bill. The consultation suggested the definition as "any targeted attack committed on the persons and property of individual or a group of persons on the basis of their religious identity, which can be inferred directly or from the nature or circumstances of the attack.

The consultation also felt that the government’s proposal to declare certain areas as "communally disturbed" was rejected. In fact it demanded that the Chapter II of the Bill be dropped completely arguing that the State already has sufficient powers vested in it by law and further empowering the State and Central governments would, therefore not remedy the situation. The Consultation felt that co-relation between crimes and disturbed area is false, dangerous and untenable, and must not find place in a law on communal violence.

The consultation also felt that instead of doubling the punishment which courts would be reluctant to apply anyway, it noted that other forms of punishment - disqualification from public office, debarring from professional associations or running from public office - should be included in the case of culpability of public officials.

The good example of such disqualification form contesting elections etc. is from Mumbai High Court Judgment delivered by Justice Suresh in late nineties when Bal Thackeray of Shiv Sena made provocative speech in Vile Parle and won the seat for his candidate. Justice Suresh disqualified him for 6 years from voting in any election or contesting any election or even campaigning for his party.

It had restraining effect on him. But this was one instance which was exceptional. If politicians are made to meet such punishment, it would indeed have great effect on them and would desist from temptation to provoke communal violence to win elections in an easy way. The reason why some political leaders are tempted to provoke communal violence, more than ideological reasons, is to win elections by polarizing the voters.

It takes us to yet in another field i.e. that of electoral reforms. In highly diverse country like India with so much religious, linguistic and cultural diversity, the first past the post method which we have blindly copied from England which was then a mono-religious and mono-linguistic society, is highly problematic. We need to either introduce 51% votes for winning or proportional voting or combination of both to remedy the situation. Such electoral method would lead to inclusive rather than exclusive as it is today. Candidates win elections by excluding certain class of people rather than including everyone.

Well until then this Bill needs to be drastically amended to give relief from communal violence.

By Asghar Ali Engineer
csss-isla.com

http://www.counterc urrents.org/ engineer200210. htm

[2]

 Electoral reforms in India

The hectic moves by the BJP President Nitin Gadkari to organize an all-party meet to introduce reforms in India’s election rules and regulations is a blatant attempt to bypass the people and mold the whole process of electoral reform to suit the upper-caste political groupings now ruling the country. The people should challenge the “reforms” this “all-party” gathering may impose on India, for these will not be the ones they need. A general debate must precede any attempt to refashion the electoral system to ensure that it reflects the aspirations of the majority of the Indian people. The reluctance of Congress to form the government in Jharkhand by tacitly vacating the space for BJP is a clear sign that both the main national parties are hand in glove to perpetuate the upper-caste hegemony in Indian politics.

Unless other castes and minority groups are brought in to reflect the true democratic will of the people, the country will be resting on a very fragile foundation.

That will not be good for the integrity, security and sovereignty of the republic. India can face the grave challenges ahead only if it puts its own house in order.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=17&section=21&d=31&m=12&y=2009&mode=dynamic&sectionlist=no&pix=interact.jpg&category=Interact

( Athar Naseem Alig, Jeddah, published 31 December 2009, Arab News ) 

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 ‘All spiritual texts will have to be re-edited’

 

 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/All-spiritual-texts-will-have-to-be-re-edited/articleshow/5296921.cms

 

Kancha Ilaiah, professor of political science at Osmania University, is known for his outspoken views on the caste system in India. In his first

and most famous book, Why I Am Not A Hindu, he dissected the Hindu social system in an earthy style, though often taking liberties with historical validity. In Delhi recently for the release of his latest work, Post-Hindu India, he spoke to Subodh Varma:

What do you mean by post-Hindu India?

Hinduism is in a state of crisis, facing a kind of civil war within. The primary reason for this is the stranglehold of the varnashram system which keeps 750 million Hindus subjugated and humiliated. These are the Dalits, tribals and the backward classes. Hinduism has failed to convince them that they are part of it, despite the fact that they were the carriers of all science and technology for centuries. Hinduism is the only religion that has failed to negotiate and engage with reason and science. No social reformer, except Phule and Ambedkar, challenged the caste system. Other religions are now competing to win over these people hence there is an imminent explosive crisis.

How did Hinduism suppress science and reason?

The technologies for human survival from agriculture to leather tanning to metal-work were all developed by the labouring sections, that is, the Dalits, tribals and backward classes. The upper castes simply took away the fruits of their labour and invention. The tanners developed the art of leather tanning. The best technology of washing through use of soaps found in soils was discovered in India. The barbers, who wielded the razor, developed the science of surgical treatment of ulcers and boils, and so on. But they were all treated as outcastes. Instead of according them honour and upgrading their sciences they were humiliated. Marriage out of one’s caste was prohibited, thus obstructing the free interchange of knowledge, as happened in other religions. It was said that God doesn’t approve of working with hands; it is impure. In this way science and technology stagnated and its practitioners got subdued.

You claim there is a war in progress.

You may not see it on the surface now, but in the hearts of the oppressed castes there is anger and hatred. Today it is a war of nerves. Tomorrow it may erupt as a war of positions. There are only two options: either complete equality is granted to the Dalit-bahujan communities or they embrace other religions like Buddhism, Christianity or Islam. Granting equality would mean embracing Dalits and all lower castes and tribals, eating with them, treating them as equals, and an end to the allegation that they are merit-deficient. All spiritual texts will have to be re-edited. It is difficult to see this happening. The other competing religions offer spiritual democracy, as opposed to the spiritual fascism of Hinduism. This competition is the war. 

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?264646

Post-Hindu India: A Discourse On Dalit-Bahujan, Socio-Spiritual And Scientific Revolution By Kancha Ilaiah Sage | 340 pages | Rs 295

Kancha Ilaiah’s Post-Hindu India should be essential reading for all who get panicky about Mayawati’s brand of Dalit politics. Unlike the bsp supremo’s bid to empower marginalised groups through the levers of electoral democracy by wooing a wider ‘sarvajan samaj’, Ilaiah wants to launch an all-out civil war between Dalit Bahujans and Hindu society. This is an angry, provocative book written by a leading Dalit thinker, who is convinced that Hinduism is the root of all evil in the country. Indeed, virtually every sentence here drips with venom against Hindu society, underlining why we need Mayawati’s social engineering skills to succeed.

Despite the outrageous nature of Ilaiah’s onslaught on Hinduism, it would be unfair and inaccurate to describe him as just a poseur. He is no armchair scholar but a self-made ‘organic’ intellectual who grew up in an impoverished shepherd Kuruma Golla (not Dalit, but poor backward caste) family in the forests of Andhra Pradesh. His mother, who cast a seminal influence on his thinking, was a fierce fighter for his community and was actually killed while battling forest guards. So there is a ring of genuine commitment and passion in whatever Ilaiah says, however confrontational it may be.

There is also much to learn from the author, a political science professor at  Osmania University, Hyderabad, as he painstakingly unravels the scientific talent and social skills of various tribal, Dalit and backward caste communities, albeit mainly from Andhra. Ilaiah is right that much of these customs and practices have remained little known, because established social anthropology and history have sought to highlight only the life and times of dominant caste groups. The other refreshing, rather curious dimension of the book—considering the author is a man—is its vigorous espousal of women’s rights even as Hinduism is criticised for keeping down the feminine gender along with other underclasses.

Unfortunately, despite these thought-provoking insights, the book loses much of its credibility because of the author’s obsessive zeal to deprecate Hinduism. This lack of balance is evident from Ilaiah’s attempt to tarnish the Hindu faith as “spiritual Fascism” as opposed to “spiritual democracies” like Islam, Christianity and Buddhism. Even if one was to concede that unlike Hinduism, the others are unburdened by a codified caste hierarchy, to glorify them as all-embracing democratic religions is way over the top, particularly in the case of Islam and Christianity. He seems to conveniently forget the many iniquities of the two faiths as they have been practised over the centuries, and that even if they did not have an internalised caste system, they were no less guilty than Hinduism in ill-treating or ostracising others, both within and outside the community.

Ilaiah describes Hinduism as “spiritual fascism”, as opposed to the “spiritual democracies” of Islam, Christianity and Buddhism.

Nor does Ilaiah’s utopian dream of a spiritual democracy propelled by any united push from Dalits, backward castes and tribals have any basis in the real world. We have seen how, in the only state where Dalits have managed to achieve political empowerment, their main opponent has not been the Brahmins or other upper castes but the Yadavs, a community which the author places firmly in the bahujan social segment. Indeed, this fierce hostility between the Dalits and one of Ilaiah’s chosen bahujan communities is the result of the standoff between the former, who are landless, and the latter, who are their landlord oppressors, which renders fallacious the author’s logic. Similarly, Muslims, another social segment in Ilaiah’s proposed coalition, are not unanimous in their approach to Dalits or tribals. In fact, there are many Muslims, particularly in the upper crust, who would much rather have a Brahmin-Hindu leadership. Even tribals and Dalits are not always on the same side, as seen tragically in the Kandhamal carnage when tribals massacred Dalit Christians.

Clearly, Ilaiah’s prediction about the demise of Hinduism based on the future formation of a giant anti-Hindu congregation is far-fetched. Interestingly, the author, otherwise publicly supportive of Mayawati and her politics, is silent in the book on her social engineering experiments in Uttar Pradesh and the remarkable success she has had in manoeuvring Brahmin-dominated political parties and communities to empower Dalits.

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Urdu arcticle on VandeMataram Facts

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Pakistan Is Fully Prepared For World War III
http://pakalert. wordpress. com/2009/ 12/12/pakistan- is-fully- prepared- for-world- war-iii/

Technology to cover range of 7,000 Kms, Pakistan, to increase its defensive capabilities, has started preparing intercontinental missile with a range of 7000 kilometres.

According to sources, the intercontinental missile has a range of 7000 kilometres and is capable of hitting its target falling within its range. The missile can contain nuclear as well as traditional warheads. The missile has been termed a significant milestone for the defence of the country and is believed to strengthen the defence. According to sources, the missile would soon be test fired.

PAF to get airborne refullers next year: Pakistan Air Force plans to induct four Chinese airborne refullers next year, in a move to counter the Indian Air Forces’ enhanced capabilities after New Delhi acquired six similar aircraft, an Indian news agency quoted the PAF chief as saying.

Air Chief Marshal Qamar Suleman underlined that the airborne refullers were necessary to match the IAF capabilities.

"This is an absolutely new capability which we are inducting. We never had this capability in the PAF," Suleman added, maintaining, in order to match the IAF’s acquisition of the first of three Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS), the PAF would receive four Chinese systems between 2011 and 2012.

He also termed as "alarming" the IAF’s intention of purchasing 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft, saying Pakistan needed "to have something matching.

===[6]

Alert: India Preparing for Nuclear War?
By Zaheerul Hassan

Reliable sources stated that Pakistani authorities have decided to move her forces from Western to Eastern border. The move of forces would start soon. The decision has been taken after receiving the threat from Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor to strike Pakistan on November 22, 2009. Indian Chief warned that a limited war under a nuclear overhang is still very much a reality at least in the Indian sub-continent. On November 23, 2009 Pakistan Foreign Office Spokes man Abdul Basit asked the world community to take notice of remarks passed by the Indian Army Chief. He also said that India has set the stage and trying to impose a limited war on Pakistan. There are reports that Indian intelligence agencies have made a plan to hit some Indian nuke installation, alleging and then striking Pakistan. It is also added here that India has started purchasing lethal weapons. According to the careful survey a poor Asian country (India) has spent trillions on purchasing of Naval, Air force and nuke equipments.

Thus, Indian preparation simply dictates that she is preparing for nuke war. The Kashmir conflicts, water issue, borer dispute between China and India, American presence in Afghanistan, Maoist movements, Indian state terrorism, cold war between India and regional countries would be contributing factors towards Next third world war.

Indian Chief’s statement by design came a day earlier to Manmohan Singh visit to USA. The purpose of threatening Pakistan could also be justifying future Indian attack on Pakistan. Therefore, Islamabad concern is serious in nature since any Indian misadventure will put the regional peace into stake and would lead both the country towards nuclear conflict. Islamabad probably conveyed her ally (USA) regarding danger of limited war against Pakistan; she has to cease her efforts on western border for repulsing Indian aggression on eastern border. In fact, Indian government and her army chief made a deliberate try to sabotage global war against terror. In this connection Pakistan Army Spokesman Major General Athar Abbas time and again said that India is involved in militancy against Pakistan and her consulates located in Afghanistan are being used as launching pad.

It is worth mentioning here that Pakistan has deployed more than 100,000 troops on the border with Afghanistan and is fighting a bloody war against terrorism. Her security forces are busy in elimination of foreign sponsored militancy. Thousand of soldiers have scarified their lives not only for the motherland but to bring safety to the world in general. Pakistan is a key ally in the war on terror and the threat of withdrawal would alarm the USA as it could seriously hamper NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan. Pakistan is a nuclear power too and is able to handle any type of Indian belligerence.

In this context, earlier Pakistan Army Chief of Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has categorically expressed at number of occasions that Indian attack would be responded in full strength while using all types of resources. On November 25, 2009 General Kayani stated that the nation would emerge as victorious in the on-going war against extremism. While addressing a ceremony at Police Lines he paid rich tributes to the Frontier police for their valuable sacrifices in the war against terrorism. At this occasion General Kayani revealed that Pakistan was founded in the name of Islam by our forefathers and each one of us should work for strengthening the country and should made commitment towards achieving the goal of turning the country into a true Islamic state. He also announced Rs.20 million for the Frontier Police Shuhada Fund.

In response to Indian Army Chief’ statement he also put across the message that the protection and solidarity of the country are our main objectives as our coming generation owes this debt to us and resolved that any threat to the sovereignty and integrity of the country would not be tolerated. The General made it clear that Pak Army has the capability and the capacity to fight the war against terrorists and adversary too. He praised the sacrifices rendered by the security forces and high morale of the troops. Lt General Masood Aslam, Commander 11 Corps, IGFC Major General Tariq and IGP NWFP Malik Neveed Khan were also present at this historic moment.

Pakistan Army Chief visits of western border reflect his commitment to root out the foreign sponsored militancy from the area. This rooting out is directly helping global war on terror, whereas on the other hand his counter part (Indian Chief) keep on yelling and dreaming of striking Pakistan. He probably has forgotten that Pakistan is a responsible nuke power and capable to defend and strike. In 2001 and 2008 at the occasions of attacks on parliament and Mumbai, both the nations close to a nuke war, this was averted by interference from the world community India and USA. At that time too security officials have also told NATO and USA that they will not leave a single troop on the western border incase of Indian threat.

===[7]

East meets West Pakistan’s fighter Aircraft
defpro.com

Not many modern armed forces unite in their inventory, and particularly among their key assets, technology from two – in political terms – entirely opposite origins. It is more common in the countries of the former Soviet bloc where, since the fall of the iron curtain, Western technology slowly but ever increasingly found its way into countries primarily equipped with Russian weapon systems. In the past two decades the Middle East and southern countries of the Asian continent have become areas in which Western state-of-the- art weapon systems competed next to weapon systems from Russia or other former antagonists to lead these countries’ armed forces into a new age – globalisation in the political and industrial defence world.

These countries – not only geographically in between history’s current major players – slowly revolve the old political and economic structures in a natural process and, with their growing political self-confidence, create a new link between the cumbersome super powers which, mostly from behind the scenes, will shape the next decades.

Pakistan is one of these interesting examples, however, with a very unique character. Just as its neighbour and long-lasting political antagonist, India, it develops an increasingly emancipated character in its choice of new weapon systems as well as in its desire to further develop its domestic R&D as well as production capabilities. India currently is in the process of extensive trials for its future fighter aircraft programme (MMRCA) in which aircraft from the US compete against European as well as Russian solutions of the latest generations (see http://www.defpro. com/daily/ details/380/). The final choice in this particular race will be a forward-looking one for the face of the Indian Air Force.

On the other side of the Thar Desert, the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) brings together an interesting mix of aircraft from all over the world and, in particular, from the US and China. Due to its historical development, the first aircraft to be used by the Pakistani Air Force were US- and UK-built aircraft. However, in 1965 Pakistan received its first fighter aircraft of Chinese origin: the Shenyang J-6. Since, fighter aircraft of the US as well as from France (the PAF still strongly relies on its French Dassault Mirage IIIs and Mirage Vs) have been operating next to Chinese fighter aircraft. A clear political development can be deduced from the history of fighter aircraft of the PAF: from the post-colonial influences to a regional power at the mercy of the political gravities to a growing national identity and self-determination.

Today, Pakistan is expecting to take delivery of its first of 18 ordered Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 52+ very soon (older versions of the F-16 have already been operating in Pakistan since 1982), bringing the total number of Pakistani F-16s to 54 when the last aircraft will be delivered as scheduled in December 2010. Furthermore, as various press sources have reported mid-November 2009, Pakistan has signed an agreement with China for the procurement of 36 Chengdu FC-20 (J-10 export version) to be delivered by 2015. Finally, Pakistan is also in the process of introducing a growing number of FC-1/JF-17 fighter aircraft, jointly developed by China’s Chengdu and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra. With the first two small batch production aircraft having been delivered in 2007, Pakistan has since received a good dozen of these aircraft and, as reports Flight International, is expecting to introduce at least 150 domestically produced fighters into service (the number has increased to an estimated 200-250 aircraft).

This development would not only provide Pakistan with a significant number of state-of-the- art air combat assets but also brings together technology from the Far East and the West in an interesting unity. Many eyes of these two political and industrial camps will be glued to the PAF to gather information on this process and the other’s craftsmanship.
F-16 … FC-20 … JF-17

As outlined above the PAF has been combining Western and Chinese aircraft since the 1960s, including bombers and trainer aircraft and is, furthermore, expecting to receive four Chinese Shaanxi Y-8W airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) aircraft equipped with AESA radar by 2011 that will be operating next to Pakistan’s brand-new Saab 2000 Erieye AEW&C aircraft. But let’s take a look at the three state-of-the- art fighter aircraft that will be racing Pakistan’s skies in the near future.

Pakistan’s newest member of the F-16 family, a two seat F-16D Block 52, has been unveiled on October 2009 at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, facility. The ceremony was attended by the PAF Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Rao Quamar Suleman. The current order, dubbed "Peace Drive I", is for 12 F-16Cs and six F-16Ds, powered by the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engine, with an option for another 18 aircraft.

"The Pakistani and U.S. leadership has worked very hard to develop a strategic partnership between the two countries in order to achieve our common strategic interests," said Rao Qamar. "If this relationship is to succeed, it has to be built on a solid foundation of trust between the two allies. This F-16 is not just an aircraft, but a capability for Pakistan. It is a symbol of trust and the relationship between Pakistan and the U.S."

As the PAF explains on its homepage, "the PAF had originally planned its force structure to include than a hundred F-16s by the end of the century, but these plans could not be implemented because of the US embargo [of the 1990s due to Pakistan's testing of a nuclear bomb]. The service is, thus, currently in the process of evaluating other high-tech fighter aircraft for procurement. "

The outcome of this process is quite clear: a stronger co-operation with China which obviously offers Pakistan not only to possibility to acquire new combat aircraft but also of jointly improving its domestic industrial capabilities. The Chengdu FC-20s to enter service in 2015 will replace the aging fleet of combat aircraft such as the Chinese F-7s (a version of the MiG-21 which has been recently upgraded) as well as the extensive fleet of Mirage IIIs and Vs. As the PAF explains, "Chinese systems such as the F-7s provide the staying power to absorb losses and to take punishment in the face of a much bigger adversary. Planned upgrades to equip these less capable fighters with modern radars, better missiles and ECM equipment will help enhance the PAF’s combat capability."

The FC-20 is not among these less capable fighters. It is the export version, modified to Pakistan’s requirements, of one of China’s most capable multi-role fighter aircraft with a delta-wing and canard design. It was introduced into the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) in 2005 and in April 2006 the Pakistani cabinet approved the procurement of 36 of these aircraft which can be compared to the aircraft generation of the F-16, the Gripen or the Rafale.

Although a greater challenge for the Pakistani Air Force than the mere purchase of new assets, the development and introduction of the JF-17 (Pakistani designation for "Joint Fighter") has continuously and obviously successfully proceeded. The first aircraft of this type took to the skies in 2003. The first small batch of pre-production aircraft was delivered to Pakistan for operational evaluation purposes in March 2007. The first Pakistani-manufactu red JF-17 was rolled out and handed over to the PAF on 23 November 2009. On the occasion of the hand-over ceremony Rao Qamar said that 40 JF-17 would be produced by PAC Kamra within next three years and would be inducted in PAF replacing the existing aircraft. Furthermore, he confirmed that the first JF 17 Squadron would be established shortly. The JF-17 is a lightweight and low-cost multi-role fighter aircraft with a high manoeuvrability and beyond visual range (BVR) capability. It has advanced aerodynamics configuration and high thrust.

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How not to catch a terrorist