An Appeal To Pakistan’s Civil Society

My dear friends, brothers and sisters of Pakistan, I am an ordinary citizen of India. I just wanted to share some of my perceptions and feelings with you, and will consider myself to be genuinely honoured if I get your feedback.

Please tell me, with an open mind and honesty, do you people really believe that your government is behaving with due responsibility? Don’t you people feel that the government is constantly displaying flip flops that are making it so difficult for the Indian government to have any faith on its Pakistani counterpart?

Let us start from the very beginning. The Pakistani government readily accepted India’s request for sending the honourable chief of ISI to India to facilitate the Mumbai terror investigation. Ironically, within days it went back on its words, claiming that it never made any such promise in the first place.

Then came the infamous statement about putting Masood Azhar under house arrest. One day the Pakistani government informed the media about the house arrest put on the Indian fugitive. Within days the Pakistani foreign minister came up with a completely different statement saying that Masood Azhar is not under house arrest, rather, the Pakistani government is not even aware of his whereabouts. And again the Pakistani government denied this fact that it had previously claimed to have put Masood Azhar under house arrest.

The worst example of Pakistan government’s amateurish (and somewhat childish) behaviour is the denying of this fact that Ajmal Kasav is a Pakistani citizen. While two most respectable organizations (DAWN and GEO TV) of Pakistan’s own media have provided irrefutable evidence of Kasav’s Pakistani nationality, it is extremely disheartening to see how the Pakistani government is desperately trying to deny this established fact. In fact, it is actually creating suspicion about Pakistan government’s role in the Mumbai terror attack.

If the Pakistani government was innocent, it could have easily said “Yes, he belongs to our country. But how does that prove that our government itself is associated with the Mumbai terror?” After all, we all understand that the government of a country cannot necessarily be linked with a heinous act done by one of its citizens abroad. In that case it needs to be categorically proved that the person concerned was acting under instructions from his country’s government.


However, that the Pakistani government is constantly denying Kasav’s Pakistani nationality has generated suspicion. Because now this question is sure to strike our mind is that why the Pakistani government is even denying this fact. Does that mean that it has actually something to hide?

My dear Pakistani friends, tell us, is it now really possible for us to have faith on your government even after all these? Can you now really blame us if we show lack of confidence and faith on the Pakistani government?

Actually, you know something, friends? We understand that the Pakistani government itself is innocent. President Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Gillani are, for all their drawbacks, not war mongers. In fact they actually want to cooperate with our government. This explains Zardari’s initial acceptance of the Indian offer to send the ISI chief, and some other statements that he has made in the context of the Mumbai terror (like accepting responsibility for the acts conducted by even the non state actors).

Actually, it is the Pakistani army (and the ISI) which is the main culprit. It is simply unable to tolerate any environment of peace and harmony between these two great countries. Because an environment of peace means irrelevance of the Army. And that is completely unacceptable for those uniformed rogues, who have had the pleasure of enjoying ruling powers for so many years.

This explains the Pakistani Army’s effort to derail the peace process, eventually replacing the same with a war like situation, ultimately creating a war psychosis among the common Pakistanis. It knows that such a situation will bring it back to prominence, thus paving the way for its revival to power.

It is the Pakistani army officials (or at least some of them) who have orchestrated the Mumbai terror, and not the civilian government of Pakistan. And now it is they who are preventing the civilian government from trying to mend the damage by cooperating with the Indian government to bring the culprits to book. The flip flops of the Pakistani government clearly prove that it actually wants to help India, but is constantly going back on its words due to some pressure. And everybody knows who are there behind the pressure.

My dear friends, now it is you, the civil society of Pakistan, who is our only refuge. Please help your civilian government to come out of the influence of the Army, so that it can work independently. The Army is purposely spreading war hysteria among you people, so that the popular mood forces the Pakistan government to maintain a belligerent demeanor. And who is the ultimate gainer? Yes, it is the Pakistani Army.

So please do not let the Army take you for a ride. You people are really lucky to have a popularly elected government after a long time, which is the product of a long fight put up so bravely by the stalwarts of the Pakistani civil society. Please do not let these two nice gentlemen – Mr Zardari and Mr Raja Gillani – being dictated by some cunning officers of the Army, for whom their personal interest matters more than the national interest of Pakistan. This is certainly not the Pakistan that Quaid-e-Azam dreamt for.

We, the common people of India and Pakistan today share a wonderful relation. Let us not bring back the old days of acute hostility, hatred and mistrust.

N.B. - I welcome the feedback of any Pakistani friend who comes across this blog posting. There is just one condition. First he (or she) must accept my love, wishes and regards.

The Terrible Irresponsibility Of Mr A.R. Antulay

Displaying a not so unusual act of irresponsibility that some of our politicians are known for, the Union Minorities Affairs Minister Mr A R Antulay expressed doubt about the actual cause behind the death of the slain ATS chief Hemant Karkare. In an attempt clearly aimed at pampering the emotions of the minorities, Antulay said he was not sure whether Karkare was really a victim of the terrorists’ bullets, or was it something else that caused his death. Antulay highlighted Karkare’s association with the Malegaon blast probe – which had made the deceased draw fierce criticisms and anger from the various right wing Hindu groups – and hinted at the possibility of a larger conspiracy (read the hand of Hindu groups) behind the death of the brave officer.

Mr Antulay is the latest example of how low our politicians can stoop to show “loyalty” to their vote banks. While trying to appease his minorities vote bank, Mr Antulay clearly forgot what a serious damage his remark can inflict on India’s current diplomatic offensive against Pakistan. The Pakistani media is sure to give a huge coverage to this remark (highlighting it as a remark made by a senior minister), thereby giving the Pakistani government an effective tool to counter India’s charges and allegations at least to some extent. The Pakistani government is very much likely to use this remark to distort the facts behind the Mumbai terror attacks, even trying to give a completely false colouring to the entire issue.

What the irresponsible minister deserves is an immediate expulsion from the Ministry, so that it can send a strong message to the other members of the Ministry. However, in case he is expelled (which is least likely to happen), the Pakistani media will try to highlight it as the distress of a Muslim minister of India, who has been made to suffer for telling the “truth”. Therefore, Mr Antulay’s expulsion is not a good option. However, the government is well advised to ensure no other minister embarrasses the nation by making similar remarks.

A Bagful of Congratulations To You, Mr. Zardari

Dear Mr Asif Ali Zardari, you are not perceived as an ideal occupant of the Pakistan President’s position. There have been negative remarks about the way you carry yourself in public, sometimes showing very clear signs of lack of dignity and poise, something unbecoming of the Head of the State/Government of a country. In fact, very honestly speaking, some people have already started comparing you with the outgoing US President, for reasons not very pleasant for a national leader.

However, I am deeply touched by a recent remark made by you. You have said if some so called “non state actors” are carrying out any destructive activity against any other country from the soil of Pakistan, then Pakistan cannot wash its hands off merely by saying that those elements are non-state actors. Rather you have appreciated this fact that any destructive activity conducted against any country from the Pakistani soil should come under the purview of Pakistan government’s responsibility, no matter whether those activities have been conducted by “non state actors” or elements patronized by the Pakistan government (or a section of it).

Mr. President, it is really nice of you. Though I have never been a great fan of yours, I cannot help being highly impressed with your candor. You may have made this remark under some pressure, but that does not mean that we Indians should refrain from appreciating it.

It was, after all, a welcome change after constantly watching your foreign minister desperately denying even this basic fact that the actors of Mumbai carnage were from Pakistan, an unpleasant fact that has been established by the media of your own country (Dawn and Geo TV).

You know, for all your draw backs, you seemingly have at least one quality that is very rare among the politicians. You are not that shrewd and cunning.

Mumbai Terror Attack – The positive and negative awakenings

The devastating terror attack in Mumbai resulted in both positive and negative awakenings.


First, the positive awakenings –

This attack gave us an opportunity to know about the excellence and skills of our security personnel, especially the marine commandos and the commandos of the famed NSG (National Security Guards). The adeptness with which they have handled the situation has boosted our confidence and faith on them to no extent. We now know for sure that our commandos are among the best in the world.

This terror attack also gave us a chance to know that our country still has brave and courageous people like Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte, Vijay Salaskar, Major Unnikrishnan and Gajendra Singh, who can unhesitatingly lay down their lives for the sake of their motherland. Not that we ever had any doubt about the existence of such people in India. We have witnessed the selfless supreme sacrifices made by a host of young soldiers at the time of Kargil war. And even now, almost every other day we get the news of brave Indian soldiers laying down their lives in the border areas while fighting terrorist elements. However, the martyrdom of the security personnel handling Mumbai terror attack has inspired the Indian youth in a significant manner, encouraging them to play whatever roles they can play for the service of their great motherland.

Now, the negative awakenings –

The incident has highlighted serious lapses in the Indian intelligence network, apart from bringing into light flaws in the functioning of the Indian Coast Guard.

Hopefully the concerned agencies will undertake a thorough assessment of their infrastructure and functioning style, identify the loopholes and rooms for improvements, and address the same. Good luck to them.

The incident has also highlighted, for the umpteenth time, the extreme inefficiency of our honourable Home Minister, Mr Shivraj Patil. That nation is really cursed where the responsibility of internal security is in the hands of incompetent persons like Shivraj Patil and Prakash Jaiswal, who so perfectly exemplify the phrase “Good For Nothing”.

Photo Courtesy - media.ft.com

Congrats Team India

Hello Team India! Loads of hearty congratulations for convincingly winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Winning just a single test against a robust and spirited team like Australia is a notable achievement, and beating them 2-0 is a success that can leave one just at a loss for words. We are all so proud of you pals.

This match was the last test match of Ganguly, a cricketing titan of India. And I am so happy that his last test match turned out to be a match of such a glory for our country.

Keep up the good work. All our wishes are with you.

I am now eagerly awaiting the excuses that the Aussie media will come up with, to dilute the achievement of our boys.

Hi Obama

Hi Obama, you have created history. It is not that you are the first US President to create history. Several US Presidents before you have made achievements that will always be written in golden letters in the history of your powerful (but not always respected) country.

But what makes you stand apart is that all the other Presidents had to perform notably to get their names immortal in the US history, whereas you have made history merely by getting elected as the President, given the fact that you are the first Black person to grab that coveted position. Even if you just sit idle throughout your tenure, without doing anything meaningful, still your name will always remain prominent as the first Black President of your country.

Good luck to you and your companions. Hope you will have a nice time there in the throne. We are all thrilled to know that you have some new plans for various areas of the US administration, like the foreign affairs, economy, etc. I am sure that you will remain honest to your fame as a practical leader, and will take all your decisions with precise focus on long term results, without getting carried away by any urge to take populist measures only to retain your mass popularity. For example, I hope you will realize (if you have not realized it already) that though Outsourcing appears to be bad for the US economy, in reality it is not that bad, and in fact it has some positive impacts. And, I further hope, this realization will make you change the way you perceive Outsourcing.

I also feel that your enthusiasm for resisting proliferation of nuclear weapons will not make you play a spoilsport for the Indo-US nuclear deal, which precisely entails the civilian use of nuclear power.

Obama, it was not only the US, but the entire world that supported you during your fight for the throne. And today it is not only the US, but the entire world that is looking forward to you with the hope for a new USA, which means a new world order. Again, good luck to you.

Photo courtesy - http://www.sciencedebate2008.com/

Should Children’s Access To Cyber Café Be Restricted?

Nobody denies the fact that the Internet is very educative for children, as it is the window for a vast ocean of knowledge. However, we all know that children’s unrestrictive access to the Internet can backfire, as it may expose them to stuff that are harmful for them (for example Porn sites).

This explains why parents so closely monitor their children’s Internet surfing.

However, while we can monitor the use of our children’s Internet surfing at home, can we do the same when they do the same from the internet cafes? No, we cannot.

This exposes us to the question – should children’s access to cyber café be restricted?

Well, a couple of things may be done to address the issue. For example, every café can be strictly asked to block all sorts of porn sites, so that no kid can access them from a café. However, porn sites are not the be all and end all of web pornography. There are several other online stuff that technically do not come within the sphere of “porn sites” or “pornography”, but nevertheless remain to be adult stuff quite unsuitable for impressionable minds of children. How can the cafes ensure – even if they are honest in their endeavour – that the children will not have any access to such types of stuff?

However, my actual concern is not only the type of stuff that the kids view in the Web. Rather, I am more concerned about the time when they visit the café.

There are two cafes in my neighbourhood which I regularly visit. And every time I visit the café I find a lot of children, either busy in online chatting or playing various computer games.

Online chatting and computer games are certainly very enjoyable for kids, and they are certainly not harmful habits per se. I do not have anything against them. But what disturbs me is that I find kids doing such stuff in the café even in the afternoon, i.e. the time when they are supposed to play.

We must remember that the age old and universal culture of children playing in the afternoon is not just an ordinary custom. Rather, it is a crucial habit. Physical health is as important for a child as his studies are. Things like sports and exercise help him develop a healthy and sound mind, which helps me a lot in various matters including his studies. And it is a matter of great concern if little children spend their time in the cyber café in the afternoon, when they are supposed to play – whatever games they like – to develop their physical health.

We simply cannot entertain them spending that time by browsing the Internet, even if they are browsing educative sites that are good for their studies and/or G.K. Tell me, would you like your child to spend the afternoon in his study with a book, even if it is a good book? No. You will rather like him to go out and play, and read the book only after coming back home. Similarly, we should not entertain our kids browsing the Internet at the time when they should go out and play, even if they are browsing those sites which we know to be really good for them. There is an appropriate time for everything, and we must not forget it.

But while we can dissuade our children from Internet browsing in the afternoon when they are doing it at home, how can we be sure that they will not do the same from a cyber café after going out from home?

Therefore, can any such rule be made that will prevent the cyber cafes from allowing children at certain times of the day (for example -the afternoon)?