Archive for July, 2008
Continued threat of terror inspired by Islam – 3 – the strange case of Bangladesh
In 1971, at the end of what is typically referred to in Bangladesh as “Muktijuddho” or in the English language media as the Liberation War continuing in its “direct actions” stage for approximately 9 months beginning in March and ending in the official surrender of the Pakistani Army’s eastern command in December, East Pakistan formally [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Continued threat of terror inspired by Islam – 2
Following the blasts killing innocent bystanders, relatives of blast victims attending hospitals, and simply people going about their daily business, 18 more bombs have been recovered from Surat. The “Indian Mujahideen” have claimed that these bombs were meant to show the ease with which they could penetrate Indian society and civilian life with their threats. [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )MP’s for sale, Blasts, Amar Singh’s N-jitters, Pakistani firing – What is the Indian thinking?
Amar Singh, the SP stalwart has expressed his concerns about the the potentially restrictive nature of the Hyde Act for India’s nuclear and other strategic interests. It is not so surprising given what we have been discussing as the strategic game being played by the parties in [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 3 so far )Continued threat of terror inspired by Islam
One of the primary mistakes, intentional or otherwise, in trying to understand the reasons behind terror under the banner of Islam is the failure to realize the ideological motivations provided by the theological structure of Islam itself.
Why do people make these mistakes :
(1) Deliberate mistakes both on the part of certain clerics and intellectuals from [...]
More blasts in India : a panic reaction by extremists to fear of increased Western support of India.
I had written in an earlier post about the possibility of increasing terrorist violence after the passage was cleared for the N-deal in the parliament. The foreign connection, becomes obvious as a foreign secret service cannot be very sure about the exact voting pattern within the parliament that will emerge on this particularly [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 3 so far )Bangalore blasts: outrage with a difference
In general there has always been the shadow of suspicion on the government of a country in allowing “public outrages” to happen at a convenient time, when it is politically difficult for it to pass a law or an act which it wants to pass – but that the outrage will help swing public opinion [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Kashmir to Kanyakumari – two symbolic problems in modernization
Kashmir is refusing to cool down. As discussed long ago in these posts, the Hindus in Jammu would have learnt their lessons in the manipulation of Indian “central” concerns to uphold perpetuation of the hold of a religious creed over territory and populations. Strangely, the Congress led government of Jammu and Kashmir ultimately supported the [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Post-Apocalypse in the Indian Parliament – where to?
After the destruction of the reputation of Parliamentary democracy in the trust vote session, and the expulsion of Somnath Chatterjee from the primary membership of the CPI(M), the only parties that seem to have managed to maintain their dignity is the BJP and their allies. BJP has promptly expelled those whom it considers as “betrayers”, [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Karadzic’s blunder – choosing the wrong targets – White, Muslim and non-Communists
Karadzic, the “infamous” butcher of the Balkan conflict has been captured. If it is actually established in a proper court of law, that he was directly responsible for the ethnic cleansing he deserves the penalty surely reserved for such crimes. Many Serbs may feel bad about this, and I can understand their inner turmoil. It [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Speaker of the Parliament : Somnath the destroyer, Somnath the expelled, Somnath the President?
In Indian mythology, Somnath is a name for Shiva, the destroyer of worlds. In some sectarian interpretations he is also the “original” (Adi) father of the world. Somnath Chatterjee as the speaker, presided competently and superbly over the trust vote, which ultimately led to the triumph of the UPA. He did not allow any controversy [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Trust Vote – finale : “Singh is King” – at what price my lord?
UPA survives by 19 votes and Dr. Manmohan Singh smiles widely at the camera. The outcomes and consequences of this voting have been discussed before in this blog. For the moment let us turn our attention to the man who symbolically took up Left’s challenge.
The Prime Minister of India’s debate speech has been put up [...]
Trust Vote 6 : cash, stings, and murder of trust
The closing hours of the trust vote has been disrupted by a scene on the floor of the parliament. Packets of cash allegedly offered in bribe to an opposition MP were thrown into the well of the parliament. What could have happened :
(1) it could be a genuine allegation, that money really did pass [...]
Trust Vote 5 – the old order changeth, yielding place to new
Why do I write this? If Congress wins, isn’t it so that the “old order remains”! If Congress fails today, BJP+Mayavati+Left wins, and all of them are now also part of the old “order”. The BJP now perhaps realizes that the initiative may very well be passing into the hands of Mayavati+Karat’s hands, and postponement [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Trust Vote 4: Of horses and foxes – the nuclear puny-game hunt in India
Blogger Ashwani Jain (jainashwani.blogspot.com ) has pointed out that “horse trading” in MP’s are probably fetching 30-50 crores in addition to renaming of airports and berths in hypothetical future governments. A while ago I heard a media commentator talking about the two “old foxes of Indian politics”. [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Trust vote 3 – dinners and lunches to feast on Muslims and Dalits.
The BSP, UNPA, and the Left have declared at least one issue they agree on – they want to “topple” the government. This is their “one pointed programme”. Ms. Mayavati officially made the statement that she is against the Nuclear Deal because “it casts a shadow on the [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Karat vs Somnath+Subhash
Prakash Karat has roared. He has declared that the “decision about the Speaker” will be taken by the Politbureau, and that Subhash Chakraborty – the “bad boy” and maverick of the West Bengal party, (an exceptionally bright student, debater and student leader of his time) is being “officially admonished” (an expression borrowed from [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Trust Vote -2 : It is no longer about the Deal but all about dealing.
The Left, UNPA, and BSP are meeting today to work out a possible coordinated motion to defeat the Congress on the floor of the Parliament. Already several leaders of essentially regional parties like the TDP and the TRS, are trying to put up Smt. Mayavati as a future PM. So, quite rapidly, Indian [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Have Muslims spoken against the Nuclear Deal? A very dark future for India.
Shahed Siddiqui, the erstwhile spokesperson of the SP, has left the SP. He is a Rajya Sabha MP, and hence his votes do not count for the trust vote. However what is more significant is his public statement – that his decision to take up a position against the Nuclear Deal comes from pressure by [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 2 so far )Nuclear Deal and Trust Vote – I
The trust vote on the nuclear issue is taking place on the 22nd. It will be an interesting day, with probably punters and bookies having a field day on the betting lines. What does astrology say about this? – the answers will of course depend to a great extent on the personal wishes of the [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )A split in the Left ? No way!
There is a huge amount of gossip making the rounds of Indian media – the speculation that Somnath Chatterjee, CPI(M) MP and the Honbl., Speaker of the Indian Parliament has sent an open letter to the party, and probably delivered primarily to the higher committees like the CC and the PB. The letter is [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Tension within the Left – fireworks for the future
The CPI(M) general secretary, Prakash Karat, appears to have softened his line about the Honbl. Speaker of the Indian Parliament, Somnath Chatterjee, an MP from the CPI(M), to resign as part of the withdrawal of support from the UPA government. This episode, is an interesting and revealing facet of how the politics of Soviet style [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )The nuclear game – inevitable end-game in India
Finally, the UPA government in India has taken the plunge. It has decided to go ahead with the deal, after ensuring (or thinks it has ensured) the required number of MP’s support for proving majority on the floor of the parliament. The Left has played its card, and is [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )India’s nuclear deal and Indian Muslims
NDTV, a leading news channel based in New Delhi, India, reported about two sources claiming that the majority of Indian Muslims were against the nuclear deal. One, from a survey apparently conducted by a newspaper owned by a top ranking leader (and also a Muslim) of the Samajwadi Party, whose leadership have officially indicated favouring [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )The nuclear option for India – the strategic game?
The Congress led UPA alliance at power in the centre is under intense pressure to go forward with the nuclear deal with USA on the one hand and risk losing majority in the Parliament under threat of withdrawal of support by the Left. Let us look at this as a two stage strategic game. [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Religious homeland : modernization of primal greed
Over the last one week, the valley of Kashmir under Indian control has been up in flames. Indian as well as foreign media covered street protests, and clashes between the state authority and security forces on one side, and youth parading in the streets on the other side. The videos are uncannily similar to footage [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )
