I am confused. I am totally clueless. I cannot understand what is our government's policy. When has this government given any policy of national importance you name, any direction of any sort? There are numerous examples to prove that the government is working aimlessly, without any direction, without the end in mind. I sometimes wonder where the decisiveness of Prime Minister Manmohan (following the 26/11) has vanished. What does he seek to achieve by talking to Pakistan? And talks for what purpose? Why do we need to talk to state sponsors of terror, to murderers? How can we ever achieve peace by talking to those who have perfected terror as an instrument of state policy? And the worst spectacle is that of ministers and bureaucrats bickering in public. The spat between Digvijay Singh and Chidambaram on the Naxalite issue is shameful. Is Digvijay living in a fanciful world that he thinks the gun of terror cannot be silenced by silence and inaction and not the gun of peace? S. M. Krishna's public castigation of the Home Secretary, G.K. Pillai, that his comments on Pakistan's official involvement in 26/11 derailed the talks was nothing but downright appalling. Isn't what Mr. Pillai said a fact? Indian Railways is going to the dogs while Madam Minister is preparing to give all her Mamta to West Bengal. How can the Prime Minister be quiet on this and tolerate her? The Congress seems to have lost its act and is aimlessly trying to govern the country. Is this a government we deserve?
I heard of the terrible massacre at Dantewada. 75 CRPF personnel have been butchered by the Maoists. It's sad the way things have happened. I am pretty sure, we'll soon have endless debates on televisions. Root-cause theorists would be shouting hoarse and pleading for the Maoists to be heard. Yes, indeed, the root cause has to be looked into. Why do the forces fail? Are the forces equipped? Why does our intelligence collapse everytime? What makes the government administration and infrastructure collapse? These are the root causes of these fiascoes. Come to think of it - all this happens in the richest parts of India. There is so much mineral wealth in those regions. So much agricultural potential. But the potential has been barely exploited. Why? I know of several critical infrastructure projects going slow there just because the Maoists want money.
Doesn't that explain why these areas are the most impoverished?
And they claim to stand for development, right? The Maoists are challenging our democracy, the Indian way of life, the Indian freedom of expression and enterprise. But Mr. ShivrajPatil of UPA-I was caught napping. The government now needs to crackdown on them with a heavy hand, whatever be the cost. The opposition should co-operate with Mr. Chidambaram in tackling this menace. If don't act now, we'll end up like one of those Latin American Banana republics.
Isn't there too much of a coincidence that China's aggressiveness in its relations with India post the nuclear deal have been quickly followed by an upsurge in the Maoist-Naxal violence in the country?
This is too much of a coincidence.
I may be speculative in this, but the possibility of a China angle in aiding Maoists-Naxals has to be considered, examined and evaluated.
A few questions need to be answered, more importantly investigated - where do the Naxals get their funding from? Who supplies them their arms? Who has given them expertise in guerrilla warfare?
All fingers could point to China.
Why?
The Maoist ideology is one.
The second is grand idea of pulverising India into smaller geographical entities that would never challenge China's dominance in Asia, which was mentioned in my blog, The Great Game ...
It is certainly a great strategy that not only would Chinese actively encourage anti-India sentiment in our neighbourhood, but would also stoke embers within India.
Obviously, India would be too busy to take on the challenge.
Mr. Chidambaram recently alluded towards foreign support coming in for the Maoists-Naxals. Was he referring the Chinese?
Without doubt, Maoist-Naxal violence needs to be crushed with an iron fist, else we'll end up making a horrible example of our country....
With the UPA firmly in a position to form a new government, I would hope they decisively push forward an agenda for a radical change in the way this nation is governed.
The choice of Cabinet ministers will be key to this. My dream cabinet would be as follows:
External Affairs - Mr. ShashiTharoor - well recognised in circles of diplomacy the world over. Articulate and suave face of India. Ex-UN insider - could push for India's bid for permanent membership of the Security Council
Defence Ministry - General V.P. Malik - yes, he can be made the minister despite not being a politician. Afterall, when in 1991, Dr. Manmohan Singh was made the Finance Minister, he was nowhere close to politics and wasn't even a Congress Party member. General Malik is fine military strategist, led the Indian Army to success despite odds in the Kargil war. He knows what conflict is - General Malik is the only Army chief with artificial limbs after getting injured in combat, during the Tangail Airdrop, in the 1971 war. A fine soldier like him is required to overhaul and modernise our forces
Finance Ministry - Montek Singh Ahluwalia - he has the required experience and is clued in. Knows what is required today and has a rapport with the Prime Minister
Home Ministry - P. Chidambaram - he should stay on for the sake of continuity, in the course adopted post 26/11. The agenda now is building our second line of defence and internal security. A crackdown on the Naxalites should top his agenda.
Education and Infrastructure - PranabMukherjee - a senior statesman would be required to push for education reforms. Also having handled the finance portfolio, he would appreciate the importance of infrastructure (a new ministry I propose) in building our economy.
Communications and Technology - Rahul Gandhi / JyotiradityaScindia / Sachin Pilot or someone else from the young brigade - we need to build an e-nation and only the young can do it.
The Congress lost the opportunity the decisive mandate of 1985 elections gave them. I hope this time they make it possible to move full steam ahead. I feel this dream cabinet can make it happen.
Sometime back when Bush was hit by shoe during a press conference in Iraq, we thought it was a one off incident.
But this week, we had two shoe-throwing incidents at home, which shows that this is as viral a phenomena as globalisation.
So when Mr. Chidambaram had a shoe hurled at him, people couldn't wonder thinking which brand it was? A Reebok? An Addidas? Anti-globalisation activists must surely be happy - it was very own, home-grown, desi, Action shoe.
And the size, I wonder what that was. Bush was quick to observe that was a No. 10 shoe. But poor Chidambaram , unlike Bush, he barely showed any wit!!! Guess its because it has been ages since he's worn a shoe. He after all prefers chappals, with his lungis! He seems to be woefully out of touch with shoe sizes and brands.
Certainly, with elections just around the corner, there will be many shoe-hurling opportunities coming our way. Which means that this is boomtime for the shoe-making industry with a good domestic potential. And the export market is also huge - global hotspots like Iraq, Gaza, West Bank, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, etc. should be on the shoe-makers' radar screens for exports.
And with such a huge global market for low-cost shoe-makers in India, Mr. Chidambaram and his cabinet colleagues better announce an incentive package for shoe-makers and exporters. There will be many "anti" voices, many would petition the Election Commission that is violation of the election code of conduct.
But in this recession, which other industry has such a great potential?
That's why I say, shoes are back in fashion, as the new WMDs (I meant Weapons of Mass Defiance!!!). Thank Jarnail Singh for that!
In a couple of weeks the Great Indian Tamasha will begin.... It's not a circus I am talking about. It's the dance of democracy - the general elections is what I am talking about.
A few days back we were at the center of the world stage at the G-20 summit in London. The whole world is today looking at us, alongwith China, in the hope that we, perhaps the only growing economies, would pull back the world from the brink of financial Armageddon. As a resurgent nation, we went about telling the world that we would (yes, it's true) contribute to IMF, rather than borrow from it. Who could have imagined this in 1991, when Dr. Manmohan Singh pledged India's gold reserves for valuable foreign exchange?
Tomorrow, the elections will be on us. The question we are faced with is whether the resurgent momentum would be sustained after the elections or not?
Who would be voted in, is the big question today. With limited choices, I am looking at selecting the party to vote for by elimination.
Among the choices we have are the behenji, the comrades, the so called "knicker-walas" and the topiwalaCongressmen.
We certainly cannot afford to have behenjiat the helm of affairs - the whole law and order system would then be turned in an organised system of collecting loot for her birthday.
The comrades would close all of India's frontiers, except one - the Northern one. The Chinese would in all probability annex India as they did with Tibet, with the comrades playing ball. We cannot let them be a part of the of the government.
The choice boils down to essentially two options - the BJP or the Congress.
While I agree with some of the issues that the BJP has long advocated, e.g., stronger foreign and security policy, modernisation of defence forces, evolving strategic partnerships with both Israel and the United States, abrogation of Article 370 and adoption of a Uniform Civil Code, I feel, today, after Mr. Vajpayee ceded control of the party to Mr. Advani, they have not only lost allies but more importantly, also lost focus.
BJP may not be a dynastic organisation but it doesn't have a credible leadership today. Mr. Advani seems like an old man in a hurry who appears to be too eager to become the Prime Minister at least once, before he is forced to retire from politics. He is projecting himself as a muscular candidate with lots of promises on security and likes of it all, but we musn't forget he could not prevent the release of militants in exchange for the release of militants at Kandahar, one of India's saddest moments in history after the 1962 debacle.
He is trying to project himself as India's Obama, reaching out to Indian netizens. But the important question that I ask is whether he has the means to bring the vision to reality. He certainly does not have a A-team to realise this vision.
Two, BJP's idealistic principles of the early 2000s seem have to given way to rag-tag policies, without a concrete vision that a budding superpower should have. I don't see any vision for the next 50-years emanating out of the BJP.
Today, their view is lopsided - take the nuclear deal for instance - an issue based support to the UPA would have finished off the Left and could have reduced support for the so called 3rd front, paving the way for a two-party system, which would have brought a lot of stability to the political system. BJP's stand on the nuclear deal left a lot to be desired, baffled many BJP insiders (Mr. BrijeshMishra being one such BJP member, who actually said that the deal was good for India and the BJP would have signed the deal had they been in power) and personally left me disappointed and saddened.
Let us admit it, gone are the days of Mr. Vajpayee. His immense goodwill has been squandered by Mr. Advani and his team, by their constant in-fighting and intra-party bickering. If things stay the way they are, the BJP may fade away into political oblivion, unless of course, Mr. NarendraModi is able to shift to the Centre.
I must further admit that I am no fan of the Congress either. Like many others, I somehow detest the thought of a pasta-eating foreigner leading India's oldest political party. With all the sycophancy, dynastic leadership style and rampant corruption within the Congress, there is a lot to be desired. No one can forget how the man-slaughter of Sikhs in 1984, had de-facto sanction of the Congress. And to top it all, when the perpetrators of the crime get an acquittal, the party's commitment to justice is questioned.
However, with Dr. Manmohan Singh at helm, the Congress has indeed shown some signs of a commitment to moving forward, consistently and decisively. The nuclear deal and reactions to 26/11 do show that Dr. Singh's A-team, comprising of Mr. Chidambaram and Mr. PranabMukherjee, does mean business.
A netizen once had argued with me saying that the Congress is lacking leaders. There is nobody to replace Mr. Chidambaram as Finance Minister, at a time when the world is facing the worst economic crisis in our living memories. He went on to say that our Prime Minister, who is fighting with his health, is playing multiple roles. He went to question how Sonia could lead the party.
My counter argument is that despite not having a full time Finance Minister, we have fared well on the economic front. And Dr. ManmohanSingh's A-team did hold the fort very well while he was away. Let's not forget, as opposed to the BJP, the Congress, today does have quite a few youth leaders who can step in if required.
It is obvious, that today, we as a nation are at cross-roads. The choices we make today will define how the India of tomorrow shapes the future of the world. The Congress, with Dr. Manmohan Singh seems to be our best bet.
At this point, I am reminded of Rahul Gandhi's powerful speech in the Parliament during the debate on the confidence vote on the nuclear issue on July 22, 2008, where he said that a powerful country thinks of how it can impact the world, whereas the not-so-powerful country of how the world would impact it.
Dr. ManmohanSingh's has in the last one year just done that - thinking of how India can impact the world, in imparting financial stability and achieving a secure neighbourhood. He sure does deserve another chance to make a difference to the world.
And we as players in the Great Indian Tamasha, i.e. as voters in the upcoming general elections, can help Dr. Manmohan Singh in that quest.
In a couple of weeks the Great Indian Tamasha will begin.... It's not a circus I am talking about. It's the dance of democracy - the general elections is what I am talking about.
A few days back we were at the center of the world stage at the G-20 summit in London. The whole world is today looking at us, alongwith China, in the hope that we, perhaps the only growing economies, would pull back the world from the brink of financial Armageddon. As a resurgent nation, we went about telling the world that we would (yes, it's true) contribute to IMF, rather than borrow from it. Who could have imagined this in 1991, when Dr. Manmohan Singh pledged India's gold reserves for valuable foreign exchange?
Tomorrow, the elections will be on us. The question we are faced with is whether the resurgent momentum would be sustained after the elections or not?
Who would be voted in, is the big question today. With limited choices, I am looking at selecting the party to vote for by elimination.
Among the choices we have are the behenji, the comrades, the so called "knicker-walas" and the topiwalaCongressmen.
We certainly cannot afford to have behenjiat the helm of affairs - the whole law and order system would then be turned in an organised system of collecting loot for her birthday.
The comrades would close all of India's frontiers, except one - the Northern one. The Chinese would in all probability annex India as they did with Tibet, with the comrades playing ball. We cannot let them be a part of the of the government.
The choice boils down to essentially two options - the BJP or the Congress.
While I agree with some of the issues that the BJP has long advocated, e.g., stronger foreign and security policy, modernisation of defence forces, evolving strategic partnerships with both Israel and the United States, abrogation of Article 370 and adoption of a Uniform Civil Code, I feel, today, after Mr. Vajpayee ceded control of the party to Mr. Advani, they have not only lost allies but more importantly, also lost focus.
BJP may not be a dynastic organisation but it doesn't have a credible leadership today. Mr. Advani seems like an old man in a hurry who appears to be too eager to become the Prime Minister at least once, before he is forced to retire from politics. He is projecting himself as a muscular candidate with lots of promises on security and likes of it all, but we musn't forget he could not prevent the release of militants in exchange for the release of militants at Kandahar, one of India's saddest moments in history after the 1962 debacle.
He is trying to project himself as India's Obama, reaching out to Indian netizens. But the important question that I ask is whether he has the means to bring the vision to reality. He certainly does not have a A-team to realise this vision.
Two, BJP's idealistic principles of the early 2000s seem have to given way to rag-tag policies, without a concrete vision that a budding superpower should have. I don't see any vision for the next 50-years emanating out of the BJP.
Today, their view is lopsided - take the nuclear deal for instance - an issue based support to the UPA would have finished off the Left and could have reduced support for the so called 3rd front, paving the way for a two-party system, which would have brought a lot of stability to the political system. BJP's stand on the nuclear deal left a lot to be desired, baffled many BJP insiders (Mr. BrijeshMishra being one such BJP member, who actually said that the deal was good for India and the BJP would have signed the deal had they been in power) and personally left me disappointed and saddened.
Let us admit it, gone are the days of Mr. Vajpayee. His immense goodwill has been squandered by Mr. Advani and his team, by their constant in-fighting and intra-party bickering. If things stay the way they are, the BJP may fade away into political oblivion, unless of course, Mr. NarendraModi is able to shift to the Centre.
I must further admit that I am no fan of the Congress either. Like many others, I somehow detest the thought of a pasta-eating foreigner leading India's oldest political party. With all the sycophancy, dynastic leadership style and rampant corruption within the Congress, there is a lot to be desired. No one can forget how the man-slaughter of Sikhs in 1984, had de-facto sanction of the Congress. And to top it all, when the perpetrators of the crime get an acquittal, the party's commitment to justice is questioned.
However, with Dr. Manmohan Singh at helm, the Congress has indeed shown some signs of a commitment to moving forward, consistently and decisively. The nuclear deal and reactions to 26/11 do show that Dr. Singh's A-team, comprising of Mr. Chidambaram and Mr. PranabMukherjee, does mean business.
A netizen once had argued with me saying that the Congress is lacking leaders. There is nobody to replace Mr. Chidambaram as Finance Minister, at a time when the world is facing the worst economic crisis in our living memories. He went on to say that our Prime Minister, who is fighting with his health, is playing multiple roles. He went to question how Sonia could lead the party.
My counter argument is that despite not having a full time Finance Minister, we have fared well on the economic front. And Dr. ManmohanSingh's A-team did hold the fort very well while he was away. Let's not forget, as opposed to the BJP, the Congress, today does have quite a few youth leaders who can step in if required.
It is obvious, that today, we as a nation are at cross-roads. The choices we make today will define how the India of tomorrow shapes the future of the world. The Congress, with Dr. Manmohan Singh seems to be our best bet.
At this point, I am reminded of Rahul Gandhi's powerful speech in the Parliament during the debate on the confidence vote on the nuclear issue on July 22, 2008, where he said that a powerful country thinks of how it can impact the world, whereas the not-so-powerful country of how the world would impact it.
Dr. ManmohanSingh's has in the last one year just done that - thinking of how India can impact the world, in imparting financial stability and achieving a secure neighbourhood. He sure does deserve another chance to make a difference to the world.
And we as players in the Great Indian Tamasha, i.e. as voters in the upcoming general elections, can help Dr. Manmohan Singh in that quest.
In a couple of weeks the Great Indian Tamasha will begin.... It's not a circus I am talking about. It's the dance of democracy - the general elections is what I am talking about.
A few days back we were at the center of the world stage at the G-20 summit in London. The whole world is today looking at us, alongwith China, in the hope that we, perhaps the only growing economies, would pull back the world from the brink of financial Armageddon. As a resurgent nation, we went about telling the world that we would (yes, it's true) contribute to IMF, rather than borrow from it. Who could have imagined this in 1991, when Dr. Manmohan Singh pledged India's gold reserves for valuable foreign exchange?
Tomorrow, the elections will be on us. The question we are faced with is whether the resurgent momentum would be sustained after the elections or not?
Who would be voted in, is the big question today. With limited choices, I am looking at selecting the party to vote for by elimination.
Among the choices we have are the behenji, the comrades, the so called "knicker-walas" and the topiwalaCongressmen.
We certainly cannot afford to have behenjiat the helm of affairs - the whole law and order system would then be turned in an organised system of collecting loot for her birthday.
The comrades would close all of India's frontiers, except one - the Northern one. The Chinese would in all probability annex India as they did with Tibet, with the comrades playing ball. We cannot let them be a part of the of the government.
The choice boils down to essentially two options - the BJP or the Congress.
While I agree with some of the issues that the BJP has long advocated, e.g., stronger foreign and security policy, modernisation of defence forces, evolving strategic partnerships with both Israel and the United States, abrogation of Article 370 and adoption of a Uniform Civil Code, I feel, today, after Mr. Vajpayee ceded control of the party to Mr. Advani, they have not only lost allies but more importantly, also lost focus.
BJP may not be a dynastic organisation but it doesn't have a credible leadership today. Mr. Advani seems like an old man in a hurry who appears to be too eager to become the Prime Minister at least once, before he is forced to retire from politics. He is projecting himself as a muscular candidate with lots of promises on security and likes of it all, but we musn't forget he could not prevent the release of militants in exchange for the release of militants at Kandahar, one of India's saddest moments in history after the 1962 debacle.
He is trying to project himself as India's Obama, reaching out to Indian netizens. But the important question that I ask is whether he has the means to bring the vision to reality. He certainly does not have a A-team to realise this vision.
Two, BJP's idealistic principles of the early 2000s seem have to given way to rag-tag policies, without a concrete vision that a budding superpower should have. I don't see any vision for the next 50-years emanating out of the BJP.
Today, their view is lopsided - take the nuclear deal for instance - an issue based support to the UPA would have finished off the Left and could have reduced support for the so called 3rd front, paving the way for a two-party system, which would have brought a lot of stability to the political system. BJP's stand on the nuclear deal left a lot to be desired, baffled many BJP insiders (Mr. BrijeshMishra being one such BJP member, who actually said that the deal was good for India and the BJP would have signed the deal had they been in power) and personally left me disappointed and saddened.
Let us admit it, gone are the days of Mr. Vajpayee. His immense goodwill has been squandered by Mr. Advani and his team, by their constant in-fighting and intra-party bickering. If things stay the way they are, the BJP may fade away into political oblivion, unless of course, Mr. NarendraModi is able to shift to the Centre.
I must further admit that I am no fan of the Congress either. Like many others, I somehow detest the thought of a pasta-eating foreigner leading India's oldest political party. With all the sycophancy, dynastic leadership style and rampant corruption within the Congress, there is a lot to be desired. No one can forget how the man-slaughter of Sikhs in 1984, had de-facto sanction of the Congress. And to top it all, when the perpetrators of the crime get an acquittal, the party's commitment to justice is questioned.
However, with Dr. Manmohan Singh at helm, the Congress has indeed shown some signs of a commitment to moving forward, consistently and decisively. The nuclear deal and reactions to 26/11 do show that Dr. Singh's A-team, comprising of Mr. Chidambaram and Mr. PranabMukherjee, does mean business.
A netizen once had argued with me saying that the Congress is lacking leaders. There is nobody to replace Mr. Chidambaram as Finance Minister, at a time when the world is facing the worst economic crisis in our living memories. He went on to say that our Prime Minister, who is fighting with his health, is playing multiple roles. He went to question how Sonia could lead the party.
My counter argument is that despite not having a full time Finance Minister, we have fared well on the economic front. And Dr. ManmohanSingh's A-team did hold the fort very well while he was away. Let's not forget, as opposed to the BJP, the Congress, today does have quite a few youth leaders who can step in if required.
It is obvious, that today, we as a nation are at cross-roads. The choices we make today will define how the India of tomorrow shapes the future of the world. The Congress, with Dr. Manmohan Singh seems to be our best bet.
At this point, I am reminded of Rahul Gandhi's powerful speech in the Parliament during the debate on the confidence vote on the nuclear issue on July 22, 2008, where he said that a powerful country thinks of how it can impact the world, whereas the not-so-powerful country of how the world would impact it.
Dr. ManmohanSingh's has in the last one year just done that - thinking of how India can impact the world, in imparting financial stability and achieving a secure neighbourhood. He sure does deserve another chance to make a difference to the world.
And we as players in the Great Indian Tamasha, i.e. as voters in the upcoming general elections, can help Dr. Manmohan Singh in that quest.
There are moments in history which are points of inflection.... when the attitudes change for the positive to help the nation emerge stronger, confident and unified.
It's well known that most of us, common Indians, thought that the 26/11 attacks on Bombay was such an event that would define our destiny.
But it seems that we are back to square one.
Just today, there was this news of a likely fidayeen hijack threat at all airports. Heightened security is the highlight of the day with panic all over. Chidambaram quickly goes on air to say that it's a false alarm and before we realise. Is he required to say all that so soon? Couldn't that have been a red herring?
And our media trumpets this news on the headlines, as a cheap thrill! Can't the media be more mature and show a little more restraint? This is really too much.
And then, our cricked crazed population was up in the arms when the government did not permit LalitModi to proceed with the Indian Premier League (IPL). Mr. Modi who went cribbing about this decsion should realise that IPL isn't larger than the nation. Was that maturity?
I think that was a brilliant decision on the part of the government. Look at this - the Taliban are knocking on our doors and we need not only defend borders, provide internal security but also let the elections happen peacefully, to ensure that policy making - on the security and economic front doesn't come to a standstill. In such a volatile scenario, can we let the security apparatus get distracted by some IPLhappening around the country? Maybe India would lose some revenue from the IPL this year, but we would be better off by having a peaceful election in the months to come. It's a pity we, as a society, are not mature enough to realise that.
And then, to top it all, Chidambaram terms communalism as the root cause of all terrorism. And the old man in a hurry (to become Prime Minister), Mr. Advani, is quick to give a scathing reply back. we are being done in by these petty politicians. Isn't it high time for all these grand old men to act mature and send out a signal that we stand as one against terror rather than blame each other. Let's not forget that it was Chidambaram's gang that supported the LTTE and Bhindrawale. And everyone knows who unleashed terror on the streets of Delhi in 1984 after Mrs. Indira Gandhi was assassinated. And wasn't it Mr. Advani's party's duty to soften the cherub Varun's statements? Is this what we call political maturity?
I suspect our inflection point is yet to come.... that would force us to mature as a society...
As we thought we had enough shocks for 2009, another one strikes, though not quite out of the blue.
The Doomsday Scenario is playing out - today, Amritsar is geographically closer to the Taliban than Delhi. Yes, its true, the Taliban are inching closer to the Indian frontier, by taking control of Pakistani territory, inch by inch. And sooner than we expect, we would have to deal with the Taliban. And soon, we will have a new neighbour to deal with, to add to our list of painful neighbours - Talibanistan!
Our options are limited as a country. We are being pushed into a corner - the way Israel has existed for the last 60-odd years.
What do we do? Talk to the Pakistanis? Will it help? No, not at all. When Zardari said he expects Taliban to take control of the country any time soon, it is evident, he controls nothing but his presidential palace. There is no point in talking to him.
What about the Americans? Obama has spoken about eliminating Al-Qaeda, focusing on Af-Pak, etc. etc. But given the economic situation prevailing in the US, it might be tempting for Obama to cut spends by moving forces out of Af-Pak. We can't bank on the US to be on our side, given the poor economics of their presence in Af-Pak.
Our options are limited - we have to deal with this menace ourselves. After taking over Pakistan, the Taliban will turn their eyes on India for sure. And that's real bad. That really would the first real threat that India would face since its independence for the Taliban threatens the Indian way of life, our free speech, our economic independence. And we can't let it happen.
We need to boost our defences all along the Western borders - that is obvious. But more importantly, we have to break the enemy from within. For that, our intelligence has to break in to the Taliban to understand their plans better. Then we would need to deflect their attention from our borders. We should attempt to build resistance within Pakistan against the Taliban. The Baluchis and the Sindhis are certainly are not pleased with the Punjabi-Pashtun nexus and are likely to play ball against the Taliban.
All along I had my reservations on the way successive governments in Delhi had handled Pakistan. But ManmohanSingh's A-team of Chidambaram and Pranab has proven that they have the will not only to talk tough but also act. I hope they have the threat that Talibanistan poses to India in their minds and they act on it.
