15 Trends For 2015... तथास्तु Tathastu!

"Get your hopes up.

Raise your expectations.

Your best days are still in front of you"

-- Joel Osteen

A new year has dawned on us. 2015 is finally here, and I am attempting to play soothsayer. 

I am attempting to predict the trends that will define India and the world in 2015 and beyond...

1. India will start getting a lot more homogenised from now on. Regional differences will fade away as a relic of the past, as India will unite in a new dawn of economic prosperity. Other cultural aspects like Bollywood, television soaps (no matter how trashy they may be) and cuisines that will also be minor triggers that catalyse the process
2. The incumbent government will go on from strength to strength, acquiring legislative muscle in the Rajya Sabha by edging out the erstwhile "thekedaars" or landlords of power. This power will help them push through radical reforms that we have so desperately yearned for
3. Indian bureaucracy will be shaken out of its reverie and will be forced to think out of the box. A corporate-style decision making process in the government will be initiated which will make policy matters consistent, durable and lasting
4. A general feeling of well-being and a hope in the future will gradually be rekindled as Indians realise their true potential. Economic activity will pick up, the investment cycle will revive and job markets will open up. Entrepreneurial opportunities will also grow on an improved sentiment
5. Growth in India will not be sustained unless the government steps in to pump-prime the economy. I predict massive investments would be initiated by the government in infrastructure, urban renewal, agricultural, social sector and heath care which will create opportunities for the private sector to establish a foothold, grow and thrive in virgin areas
6. India will make strong moves to emerge as the factory of the world with the "Make In India" initiative. So far, India's impressive GDP growth in the last two decades has primarily been on the back of us being a consumption-led economy. But the emergence of India as a manufacturing hub will be the real multiplier in the GDP growth - not only will this diversify our economic base, but it will make us more resilient to global shocks
7. The world appreciates potential but to be honest, it respects power. A resurgent India will emerge like phoenix on the world stage. Respect for India will grow as our foreign policy will show the world that we mean business and we mind our business. And our enemies must realise that if they take an eye, we'll take two eyes, no questions asked
8. The world and India will particularly be at risk of a potentially unnerving crude price increase a year or two down the line when the Saudis and other OPEC nations are forced to curtail oil production in a desperate attempt to balance their budgets. But I suspect India would start building strategic energy reserves - domestic and international. The Indian government will have to consider establishing a sovereign wealth fund to build these strategic assets abroad
9. India will recognise the importance and potency of flexing its soft-power muscles abroad. One dimension of soft-power is developing Indian brands on a global scale, say, to to become the next McDonalds, or the next Coke, or the next Google, or the next Honda. (No one can doubt the role the likes of Hollywood, Coke and McDonalds played in building America's soft-power globally in the 1960s till the mid-1990s (and it may sound counterintuitive but Marlboro, McDonalds and Coke evolved much beyond merely being brands, into cultural icons that took America into hearts and minds around the world). Besides promoting Indian economic interests abroad, India will make a concerted effort in promoting arts, culture, yoga, cuisine, tourism and Bollywood abroad to build sustained soft-power that can win over hearts and minds abroad for India's benefit
10. The Indian government will have to do its bit to help Indian corporations to grow to such a scale internationally that they are in a position to build global brands. India's track record on economic diplomacy so far has not been stellar as was evidenced in a muted response to the troubles the GMR Group faced in the Maldives. India will make concerted efforts in stepping its economic diplomacy paving the way for Indian companies to expand globally
11. India will emerge as a net-provider of security in the Asia-Pacific region, not only in the Indian subcontinent. India today is seen as a responsible and non-aggressive state which will make it a logical and trusted partner in any military and political alliance to counter expansionist, hegemonic and fundamentalist forces in the Asia Pacific region
12. With the possibility of a future oil shock on the distant horizon, the West will have to open up to Iran. The restoration of US-Cuban relations is an important precedent for their rapprochement with Iran. Such a rapprochement will help ease the pressure on Indian diplomacy besides helping us contain Pakistan indirectly through more open economic relations with Iran and overt alignment of interests in Afghanistan. India will play a key role in a US-Iran rapprochement and yes, a Israel-Iran rapprochement - this may sound like a fairy tale, but yes, the interests of India, the United States, Iran and Israel do converge in ways that are way beyond the obvious and do not exactly meet the eye
13. But any US-Iranian rapprochement would be severely opposed by the Arab states and this will in all probability unleash the next wave of global terror which India will have to be prepared to fight overtly, but more importantly covertly. We will see a massive scaling up of Indian hum-int (human intelligence) and e-eavesdropping operations besides building up physical capacity to launch covert, pre-emptive strikes to neutralise potential threats to India's interests
14. India will make concerted efforts to shape impressionable minds of young citizens who will build India's tomorrow. Values of national pride and civic sense will be inculcated in them from a young age. They will grow up with a sense of pride in the nation's achievements and will respect the sacrifices our founding fathers and our armed forces made for our today and future. Kids will grow with a keen interest in seeing India achieve its true potential, they will grow as socially conscious individuals and not indifferent citizens. The government's swachh Bharat (clean India) campaign is one such stellar example. I hope there will be more
15. Last but not the least, India will ensure security for 50% of its population, the female gender. India will never progress if our womenfolk are killed in the womb, abandoned, raped or burnt alive. We will learn from Chairman Mao Zedong that "women hold up half the sky". China too was obsessed with all things masculine, but it made economic strides only after they realised the role women can potentially play. They created the right conditions and their women held up their sky. There is no reason why Indian women won't do that

I hope all these trends start in 2015 and if they do, India will contribute significantly to not only its own development but also the entire world's...

May our collective wishes as a nation come true,  तथास्तु tathastu and happy New Year!

I Don't Want Nirvana! I Want Great Food, Always! -- Part V -- Of Croissants and Crescents!

Last night, Neeti and I went out for an impromptu date to Starbucks, I ordered my timeless favourite - the Salmon Croissant. With its soft, flaky crust and a delectable cheddar-salmon filling, the croissant made for an incredibly enjoyable meal.

While I was enjoying my croissant here at Starbucks, I told Neeti about the best croissant I ever had. That was at the Novotel at Hyderabad Airport. It was Independence Day 2013 - my colleague and I had an early morning flight from Hyderabad. At the time of checking out, the front office staff suggested that try out some stuff from their boulangerie. Only croissants and muffins were on offer with a choice of tea and coffee accompanied with fruit. I had some fruit followed by croissants and Assam tea. The croissants were absolutely heavenly. And I would have lost count of the croissants we had if we were not to catch our flight...

I have been having croissants for the last 15-16 years but undoubtedly the ones at Novotel were the best croissants I had ever had... 

I was convinced that the French (Novotel is a part of Accor, a French hospitality chain) have a way with their art of baking (and I am told that's true for their charcuterie as well).

And today I was reminded of a story that a friend told me way back in 2005. He said that croissants dated back to the Crusades, when the Turks had occupied the Holy Land, or Israel as we know it today.
I did not believe him then, but last night, after the date, and after devouring the rather flaky and delectable croissant, I did a bit of Googling on the history of where croissants came from. 

What I discovered was incredible.... My friend was somewhat right.

It wasn't about the Crusades, but the croissant did have an Islamic connection in the two legends doing the rounds.
The first account dates back to 732 AD, when a pastry in the shape of the Islamic crescent was made by bakers to celebrate the defeat of the Umayyad forces at the Battle of Tours by the Franks.

The more popular legend, is also supported by the Larousse Gastronomique, the definitive encyclopaedia of anything even vaguely connected with French gastronomy (yes, my prized copy of the Larousse Gastronique occupies an enviable position in my bookshelf). The Larousse Gastronique suggests relatively recent origins of what we know as the croissant today.

In 1683, Austria was under siege by the marauding Ottomans, who were on an Islamic expansionist spree in Europe. In Vienna, the Ottomans lay siege, but as time was running out, the marauders came up with an ingenious plan of digging tunnels at night to make their way into Vienna. 

But the Ottoman marauders were outwitted by Viennese bakers. The bakers got into business at night, in their underground bakeries, preparing bread for consumption in Vienna the next day. As legend has it, the bakers heard the sounds of the Ottomans digging their way through and alerted their army. 

The siege ended and the Ottomans were decisively defeated and Europe was forever rid of this expansionist menace that threatened the European way of life. To commemorate their success, Viennese bakers came up with crescent shaped pastries (the crescent was then, and still is, a symbol of the Turks and was emblazoned on their flag). 

These pastries were popularly called Viennoiseries and over time, the Viennoiserie became a generic term to denote Viennese pastry. Viennoiseries included baguettes, brioche, pain au chocolat, pain au lait, pain aux raisins, chouquettes and chausson aux pommes.

Nearly a hundred years later, in 1770, Marie Antoinette (the Austrian archduchess who married Louis XVI), introduced the croissant to the French Aristocrats. She was homesick after her marriage and yearned for Viennoiseries. She got the chefs from the palace kitchen to learn the fine art and ended up introducing croissants to the French. And the rest is history! Today French breakfasts are nothing without croissants and café au lait.

Despite, her significant contribution to French culinary heritage, which isn't well known, Marie Antoinette is infamous for her statement “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”—“Let them eat cake.”, when she was told that her French subjects had no bread to eat. And that infuriated the common French folk, who led her to the guillotine.

The story of the croissant doesn't end there. More recently, Syrian militants got a fatwa issued banning croissants after these gunmen got know of the legends behind this flaky delight and the defeat of the Islamists in Europe....

But as I write this, from here in Mumbai, it's time to dig into another warm croissant, on a rainy evening. And it's time to relive over 1300 years of history, of war, of conquests and of culinary innovations spawned off by war and the timeless interplay of cultures....
I am pretty sure the Viennese bakers and Marie Antoinette would have agreed with my statement "I Don't Want Nirvana! I Want Great Food, Always!" 

Cyber-wars for Pizza: It's no laughing matter....

Just a few moments back, I came across a news report on the internet, sourced from the Haaretz, a leading Israeli newspaper, that seemed innocuous and laughable.
The report was about Turkish hackers stealing personal information of 100,000 Israeli citizens from Pizza Hut's Israeli website.
This incident sparked off a humour fest on Facebook, with quips. A guy called Stephen Phillips remarked "Because of the number of Turks owning fast food businesses the Turkish Government may want to deal with this, it's very harmful to their reputation and people will stop buying from any business that involves Turk management or food."
Another comment on Facebook, from Michael Pratt said "They are just jealous because the don't have any pizza there..."
J. Kriss White commented "Wondering what the Israeli hackers will target in retaliation..."
In all probability, this hacking would have been in retaliation for the Israeli attack on the Turkish flotilla headed for Gaza, but it exposed chinks in Israel's e-security armour. Haaretz assuaged fears and reported that their customers have little to fear as credit card details are not stored on the web server.
This incident reminded me of The Economist's recent cover story "Cyberwar: War in the fifth domain", which spoke of how the US planted a bug in a Canadian software controller for gas pipelines, which was stolen by the Soviets and installed for a gas pipeline in Siberia. The result was predictable - the pipeline blew off with an intensity matching that of an atomic explosion.
Cyber war is not a joke, It can cripple trade, finance and the monetary systems. Imagine what would happen if you woke up one morning to find that your bank account has a zero balance. Years of savings have been swindled, wiped off from the bank's system.
Worse, when you get to the bank to figure out what happened, you realise you are not alone, there are thousands who are affected by the e-breakin. All hell can be expected to break loose, undoubtedly rioting and social unrest will follow.
This scenario can play out going forward.
The Economist spoke of Iran claiming to have the largest "cyber army". We know China maintains it regiments, that have have routinely targeting Indian diplomatic, bureaucratic and economic interests.
But what is critical is for India to evolve an e-security policy, enact legislation to make e-security mandatory at economic installations and proactively target all those who could target us in the future.
Hacking of pizza data may be laughable, but it could be much more serious. Are we ready?

Hoping on the Fourth of July!!!!

Today is the Fourth of July, the day when America celebrates its independence day!
This was the day the hope for the modern world was born, way back in 1776 - hope that self-determination is achievable, hope that colonial hegemony cannot survive for long.
As the CNN talks about the Fourth of July weekend being celebrated in America today, I am reminded of the book on American history that inspired me a great deal - the struggle that culminated in the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the ideals of the founding fathers, the principles upheld during the American civil war, the territorial expansion of the fledgling country of 13 states to the acquisition of Louisiana from France and Alaska from Russia to expansion to California and Hawaii, which resulted in the 50 states that we know of today, the spirit of free enterprise and entrepreneurship, etc. etc.

All these were the very concepts and ideals that catapulted America to a leadership position on the world centerstage, taking over from imperialistic Europe.
America achieved a great deal within 250 years of its existence, something that took Britain over 600 years to achieve and lose it all. In fact such had been the decay of Britain's power that a few years back, Tony Blair was once called Clinton's poodle.
But in the last 2-3 years, America seems to have undermined its own cause to such an extent that it is quite probable that would end up as China's poodle in the next few years. Already America lives on Chinese debt and the Chinese dictate terms to the America.
Obama promised to be a breath of fresh air, but we can now smell is bad breath all around. This regime has been marked by failures of policies in Afghanistan and Iraq. The administration has developed a reputation for sucking up to oppressive regimes in the Middle East, Burma, Iran and North Korea, while ignoring strategic partnerships with Israel and India.
Columnists in various publications - the world over, in India, Israel and America as well - the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have often lamented the lack of vision.
So, on this Fourth of July, I can only hope that America gets its act together for a second run on the world stage, recognising its strengths and partnerships and by not canoodling with rogues of this world!!!

Gaza Flotilla Attack: Was Israel Wrong?

It's surprising to hear the outcry over Israel's attack on the six-ship flotilla headed for Gaza.

Israel is a sovereign state and it has a sovereign right to defend itself and its borders from potential attacks. Is it wrong to assume this?

It has been suspected that the ships, which were sponsored by a Turkish "humanitarian" outfit were actually carrying supplies for the Hamas, which leads a terror war against Israel from Gaza.

If that was not the case why did the flotilla not heed the Israeli warning to head to Ashdod port for inspection? And when confronted, why did those on the flotilla adopt an aggressive posture?

We all know very well that the supposedly "humanitarian" outfits may actually be fronts for terrorist organisations. That seems to be very much the case over here.

As for the international reaction, well, it again is a reflection of hollow and double standards.

The United Nations was as spineless as ever.

The United States (which under Obama has developed the knack of pissing off allies and courting rogue states) regretted the attack, but at the same time pursues operations operations half way down the globe that supposedly threaten its security, another classic case of double-speak.

The media was also critical of Israel's approach with the sole exception of the Wall Street Journal.

Israel's "no nonsense" and "I give a damn" attitude when it comes to national security is indeed admirable and worth appreciating.

Mossad's operation to eliminate senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, earlier this year, using faked British, French and German passports was one such incident that was characteristic of Israel's internal security policy.

Hats off to Israel for standing up for rights, against the might of global opinion.

Taking on the Dragon

A few days back, I had written about The Great Game being played. The Great Game is an advanced form of conflict, a new-age Cold War confrontation.
India, in order to face this kind of conflict, needs to evolve a new strategic doctrine covering our nation's long term security, foreign affairs and economic policy. We cannot, cannot, afford to look at any of these policies in isolation any longer, any more. We need to know what our interests are, very clearly - that's the first step to evolving a doctrine. As Henry Kissinger had said "There are no permanent friends or foes in diplomacy, only permanent interests."

India's security policy for long has been Pakistan-centric. But it has become very obvious in the recent past that the real danger lurks somewhere else. And that threat is spreading slowly but surely, like a malignant cancer, all around. That threat is China.

But sadly. our strategy has been to downplay all the moves that China makes. I was appalled by the statements from the army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor, the National Security Advisor, M.K. Narayanan and the Prime Minster that these were not major incidents.

We need to accept the situation, we should not downplay, but we should not create a hype - it is a delicate balance that our strategic minds need to maintain.

But we should, silently, prepare towards building a military strength and capability to counter the Chinese. Towards this, we could learn a bit from Sun Tzu, the Chinese philosopher and author of "The Art of War", who said "In peace prepare for war, in war prepare for peace."

To be in a absolute readiness for war or peace, as the case may be, we need a co-ordinated approach between the administration, diplomats, intelligence agencies and the armed forces. We need to evolve and institutionalise a think-tank of opinion-makers in these fields to strategise and deliberate on various war and peace scenarios. The government then needs to merely implement the capability measures that would be distilled by the think-tanks. This would also delink the strategic thought from petty party politics.

Sun Tzu also said "If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles... if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle"

To know our enemies, we need credible intelligence. Developing a capability for intelligence gathering is most critical. Intelligence experts still rue the gradual demobilisation of human intelligence (humint) networks that India had within Pakistan and other neighbours during Mr. I.K. Gujral's days as prime minister. Mr. Gujral's fascination for anything sarhad paar has cost dear and made us incapable of gathering even the basic intelligence. We need to build humint again, in Pakistan and also, more importantly, in China. Why can we use Tibetans for that?

Besides humint, India should also look at e-espionage in a big way. We are a country full of geeks and we can build on that knowledge. Quite a few Indian companies have entered the Chinese and other markets. Surely Indian spies can enter these countries undercover as employees of these countries to snoop on them. India needs to build intelligence gathering capabilities in China, extremely fast. We can learn a lot from Israel on humint, afterall Mossad has been very effective in gathering intelligence in a hostile environment.

Military capability building is the next step. It is well known that India has for long relied on Soviet and Russian military hardware. That served us well for all these decades. But the Admiral Gorshkov episode (India's acquisition of a mothballed Russian aircraft carrier) has proved that we cannot bank on the Russians alone to built our capability. We need to diversify our supply base, in order to avoid arm-twisting.

In a sense, the Indian establishment has recognised that. The pointers for this come from the Indian Air Force's order for the European Airbus A330 multi role tanker transport (MRTT), despite having the Russian Ilyushin IL78 in its fleet. Subsequent orders for the C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft and the Poseidon P-8I naval reconnaissance planes, both of which are American products, have driven the point home in Russia that India cannot be taken for granted. We need to realise that the Russian armament industry is in doldrums and we can surely get a good bargain. The Russians are watching us closely now. They are prepared to offer India a license for manufacturing Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters. They are also likely to bargain hard for Indian Air Force's tender for the supply of 126 multi role combat aircraft.

India's bid to diversify the military supply options could put it on a different plane in its relationship with Washington. It remains a fact that defence contractors are big lobbies on Capitol Hill. And we can leverage on these lobbies to our advantage to gain American support for other significant issues.

The Indian defence establishment needs to focus on building a military capability spanning the globe, this crucial for protecting Indian economic interests worldwide. Towards this end, India needs to develop an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capability fast. Thankfully now, America would be amenable to making dual-use technology available to India. India must also leverage on its relationship with Israel for availing technology and furthering joint development of advanced armaments.

There is a limit to which a superpower can rely on others for capability. We need to provide more funds to take defence research projects ahead. Ultimately, there is nothing like self-dependence.

Undoubtedly a successful military alliance complements internal capabilities. India should know that the days of the Non-Aligned Movement are over, finally, good riddance, I would say. Now India should take a lead in rallying an Asian alliance to counter China. The alliance was talked about about 5 years back, but died a premature death, with regime changes in Australia.

Across Asia, there are quite a few nations that have a deeply ingrained mistrust towards China. Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea and Singapore are among them. We need to forge a military alliance with them, with America providing back-stop guarantees as well as a nuclear umbrella.

We need to send a strong signal to China by taking up the Tibetan cause as well as supporting Taiwan's bid for the membership in international fora. India's handling of the Tibetan issue has been a classic case of hypocrisy and double-speak, so far, after the grand Nehruvian blunder in 1959. Our support for the Tibetan issue can unsettle the Chinese establishment, which we should leverage on. Tibet is a trump card India has against China.

A military alliance in Asia, closer ties with Taiwan and support for the Tibetan cause would be the tiger's roar in response to the string of pearls that the Dragon is making.

Last but not the least, we need to lobby hard to get into the United Nations Security Council at the earliest, in order to achieve diplomatic parity with China. We American help for this, it would be tall order to do it solely. To achieve unequivocal support from Washington on this, the defence lobbies in Washington would be a big help, for which doling out defence contracts to the likes of Boeing, Lockheed, Northrop, etc. at regular intervals would help.

We can take on the Dragon, surely and successfully. The only condition for this is careful planning and flawless execution.... Let's do it!

Iran and peace in Asia

These days, the National Geographic Channel is screening a series called "Don’t Tell My Mother I’m In…".

Don't Tell My Mother I’m In… shows what goes on in a war zone. The host Diego Buñuel goes on a behind-the-scenes journey through these countries with dubious reputations, including Pakistan, Iran and former Yugoslavia.

Iran was one of his fascinating journeys. Contrary to the notions most people have about Iran as being a backward looking fundamentalist state, Diego's show projected Iran as a progressive state. Unlike most Islamic states, women do seem to be empowered - where else in the Muslim world would you find women drivers?

How different is Iran from the rest of the Muslim world? If one were to draw a line across Asia, one would find only a handful of true democracies - Israel, Iran, India and Japan. The rest of them are regimes which are totalitarian, autocratic, propped up by the military or are benign dictatorships.

This is sharp contrast to the rest of the Muslim world - Pakistan or say, Saudi Arabia.

My measure of how liberal an Islamic state is, would be judged from the way the state treats its Jews. Jews in Iran, do seem to treated fairly well. Besides Diego's show, this was confirmed by Roger Cohen's column in The New York Times titled What Iran’s Jews Say.

Iranian Jews have representation in the Iranian parliament and freedom to follow their faith - Tehran has over 11 synagogues.

Wikipedia mentions Iranian Jews have their own newspaper (called "Ofogh-e-Bina"), Jewish scholars performing Judaic research at Tehran's "Central Library of Jewish Association". The "Dr. Sapir Jewish Hospital" is Iran's largest charity hospital of any religious minority community in the country.

Has Iran sponsored Islamic terror? No. Has Iran ever exported virulent Islam? No. Iran is very different from the rest of the Muslim world.

The relative liberalism of Iran is perhaps what is prompting the United States to extend them an olive branch.

In context of the present geopolitical situation in the region, the United States can have only three reliable partners in the region - Israel, India and Iran. It is perhaps the only functioning democracy in the Islamic world. A strategic partnership with Iran not only helps in moderating the virulent Islamic forces but also paves the way for energy security of the world.

India can play an important role in getting Iran and the United States to talk. India has an advantage of both geographical proximity as well as close bilateral relations with Iran. We can use this leverage to our benefit. Let's remember, getting the United States and Iran together makes the neighbourhood more secure for us - the United States can then focus solely on eliminating radical elements in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Getting Iran to the mainstream is the key to peace in our region.

India's new neighbour - Talibanistan

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 Manmohan Singh'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.

Terror in Bombay -- A few unanswered questions.....

Twenty - twenty five years back as a kid, I recall flipping through The Illustrated Weekly, which carried photo feature on the best hotels of the world. The Taj Mahal was there. Papa who saw me flipping through the photo feature described the grandeur of the place to me, as I listened in wonder....

Today the Taj is in shambles. God knows whats happening inside the Oberoi and the Trident. All this is a sad testimony to the lackadaisical attitude of our authorities.
Bombay, a city that has fascinated me for its speed, attitude and iconic structures, is bleeding for the last 45 odd hours....

Are we so ignorant that we didn't know that this could have happened? The incident has opened a Pandora's box of questions that must be answered for the benefit of Indian citizens.

1. 
   
   Why weren't the Taj and the Oberoi-Trident complexes not stormed on Wednesday night / Thursday morning? Why did we wait for 8-9 hours despite the army, navy and NSG being called in? Why are we so soft on terror?


2. 
   
   Quoting a comment on Facebook on these terror attacks, that no matter how much pesticide you use, you surely get a few cockroaches. The key is to brutally and swiftly eliminate these cockroaches. Why are we so slow and casual? We have constantly been attacked, almost an attack a month, for quite long now. Was the government sleeping, all this while?


3. 
   
   I came across an interesting insight on Facebook today which said that India is the only democracy where the top three posts - Prime Minister, Home Minister and President are nominated by a person who herself does not have any mandate from the people! And at least one of these three people are surely ignorant and insensitive to the terror we are seeing, let alone taking any action. Mr. Home Minister has said that we need to show compassion to those involved and these arms and RDX laden guys are brothers gone astray. How stupid and insensitive. How long can we let someone have power without any accountability of any kind? Is there something murky over there?


4. 
   
   Security analysts have for the last 5 years have been talking of a marine threat. What have we done to boost our marine defence and patrol systems?


5. 
   
   What a slap it was on the face of the state government that it took Narendra Modi's visit to the Trident and Oberoi this morning to get Mr. Deshmukh out of his slumber. Where was Mr. Vilas Rao Deshmukh all this while?


6. 
   
   What has India done to curb Islamic militancy in our hinterlands? How long can we ignore this real and genuine threat in the name of secularism?


7. 
   
   As evidenced from the nuclear deal, India now has a strong lobby (both with US megacorps and the administration) in the US. Why can't we leverage on our new found strong relationship with the US and the rest of the Western world to pressurise the Pakistanis to curb terror?


8. 
   
   Why do we want to trade with Pakistan when we know they will stab us? Why did we support the financially bankrupt state of Pakistan in getting support from the IMF?


9. 
   
   Why can't we coerce Pakistan into clamping down on terror by strangling Pakistan economically - disrupt the shipping lines into the Karachi and Gwadar ports?


10. 
    
    Why can't we learn from the Israeli swiftness and brutality in dealing with such matters? Why can't we join hands with them in dealing with Islamic fundamentalists? If not all that, can't we get Israelis to train our commandos and state police forces to deal with these situations? How long can we be so sensitive to a certain vote-bank that we don't co-operate with Israel on these matters?


11. 
    
    Why don't we have a disaster management plan? How can we allow three top cops to travel together, thereby multiplying the risk of losing them all - this is precisely what happened when we lost the top three ATS cops on Wednesday night. Losing three ATS cops on the same night is strange. Is there more than what meets the eye or is it a mere coincidence?


12. 
    
    Last but not the least, I got an interesting text message this morning which went as follows: "The Navy commandos are headed by a Sikh. The Army operatives are headed by a Haryana Jat. NSG has been called in from Delhi. Taj and Oberoi staffers who heroically tried to save guests are mainly Punjabis. Where are Raj's Marathi Manoos?" Relevant I think - if he loves the city so much, if he loves his people so much, where is he? Why haven't we heard from him so far? Why aren't party workers assisting in relief efforts? When I sent this message across to most people on my cell's address book, I got an angry response from one of my contacts saying "we should not talk of all this and we should stand as one today". Surely we have been standing as one and that's why there has been a co-ordinated approach. But my question still remains - where are Raj and his Manoos gangs now? Why don't they help the authorities in hunting out the sleeper cells, instead of targeting North Indians?

Can the readers help me with some answers on these random questions on the terror of the last 45 odd hours?

As we wonder about these questions, we need to resolve to flush out and eliminate these cockroaches. We need to remember that our Motherland, India, is indeed incredible and we'ld better keep it that way. Jan Gana Mana....