Manipur Government’s Remarkably Strong Handling Of Muivah’s Unacceptable Demand

With a rare display of ruthlessness (something that is so rare in “democratic India”), the Manipur government has firmly resisted NSCN (IM) leader Thuingaleng Muivah’s demand to visit his native village Somdal, located in the Ukhrul district of Manipur. The Okram Ibobi Singh government of Manipur had rightly concluded that there was a possibility of serious disturbances if Mr. Muivah could manage to set foot in that Naga dominated region, and quite understandably refused to allow him to visit Somdal.

And I am genuinely happy that the Manipur government has managed to stick to its decision instead of buckling under the huge pressure that it has faced. Rather, the government is countering all those pressure tooth-and-nail, with sound determination.

Just look at the way the government is dealing with the hooligans of All Naga Students Association (Ansam). As a mark of “protest” against government’s decision not to allow Muivah to visit his native village, the Ansam activists have blocked National Highways 39 and 53 since 12th April, 2010 (though originally Ansam started the blockade to protest government’s decision to hold Autonomous District Council elections in the tribal-dominated hill districts). Quite understandably the blockade has caused serious trouble for the common people of the state, as they are suffering from a scarcity of all essential commodities (such as medicine and fuel) that enter the state through those highways.

But instead of showing any “soft approach’, the Manipur government has come down heavily on the Ansam activists. A couple of them have been arrested, though two of them were released after they promised to stay away from participating in the blockade. The tough talking Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai has also strongly asked Ansam to lift the 100 per cent illegal blockade, which has resulted in an unbearable economic crisis in the state, with only the common people being at the receiving end. Ansam is well advised to accept the state government’s invitation for talks, instead of continuing with that blockade or any other nuisance that will eventually invite troubles for itself.

Hopefully the “NRI” Naga leader has got a taste of a new India, where tolerance for hooliganism in the name of democratic rights is coming down to the zero level.

Britain Declines To Return Artifacts That It “Stole” From India

Britain has rejected India’s appeal to return various invaluable artifacts (including the famous diamond Koh-i-Noor) that were carted away from the Indian soil during Britain’s colonial rule in this country. Notably, most of these artifacts were carted away illegally.

One of those artifacts that India was unfortunate to lose was the world famous “Koh-i-Noor” diamond, which today embellishes the crown of the British monarch.

Britain has said that the British Museum Act of 1963 prevents the national museums of that country from removing items from their collections, though there are exceptions for human remains and objects lost during the Nazi era.

OK, we respect the law of their land. But I have just a humble question for the cultured and erudite Britishers - Are they doing any justice to their national prestige and image by holding back the objects that their forefathers stole from India?

I leave it to the conscience of our British friends.

Solar Powered AC For Leh Airport – An Appreciable Step

It was really heartening to know that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to install solar powered AC in the Leh airport in Ladakh. AAI is going to install solar panels on the roof of the new terminal of the airport, which is one of the world’s highest airfields courtesy its location at an altitude of 10,682-feet above sea level. The commendable project, which is to cost Rs. 5 crores, is likely to be completed within 2 years.

There is simply no doubt that the initiative is really an appreciable one. It is high time that everybody – ranging from organizational entities (both government and private) to individuals – focused more on renewable energy. Over dependence on conventional energy is not only causing a gradual erosion of the same, but is also causing inconveniences for us on occasions when the sources of conventional energy become temporarily inadequate. For example, the Leh airport authority has so far depended on hydro electricity for running the airport AC. But quite understandably that source becomes inadequate during winter, when the waters in that region dry up. This problem can be effectively addressed after the installation of the solar powered AC takes place.

Let’s wish AAI all the best for its Leh airport project.

Congrats To The Times of India For The Dramatic World Environment Day Gesture

I really enjoyed the pleasant surprise that I got from The Times of India (TOI) of yesterday’s (5th June 2010) edition, i.e. the edition of World Environment Day. I had barely opened the paper and was quickly browsing through the news items (as I was in a hurry to leave for my office), when my attention was caught by the news (basically an announcement by the TOI authority) that the edition was completely made of recycled newsprint. In a nutshell, the paper was an excellent example of recycling and renewable energy, a highly talked about issue in today’s world.

I simply felt great. Such an innovative gesture, that too by my favourite newspaper, was something that I really loved to experience. It was undoubtedly a great way to send a strong and effective message highlighting the cruciality of renewable energy. And it was also an example of “walking the talk”, wherein my favourite newspaper itself did something that it has urged its readers to do.

And yes, I have decided to permanently keep the paper in my collection as a souvenir.

Good job, TOI. I love you.

Six Months Old Girl Married Off In Pakistan

A 6 months old (yes, 6 months, not even 6 years) girl has been married off to a 25 years old man in Pakistan. Terribly shocking, right? But it is true.

Well, the background of the story is this –

A married man named Alamzeb (a resident of the from the Reri Goth area in Karachi) abducted the daughter of his neighbour Naseer, and fled away. Reportedly, the abduction took place with the girl’s consent, as the two were in love with each other.

However, the girl’s family took the matter as a prestige issue, and started threatening the family of Alamzeb. Ultimately the matter reached such a level that the local community elders held a “Jirga” (sort of a council) to resolve the issue.

And then the “Jirga” came up with a “great” solution. What was the solution? Well, they said that the 6 months old daughter of Alamzeb should be married off to 25 years old Haq Nawaz, the brother of the girl whom Alamzeb abducted. The “Jirga” gave this ruling on the basis of “Swara”.

And what the hell is “Swara”? Well, it is a child marriage custom practiced in the tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. This custom is used to resolve blood feuds among families, tribes and clans, wherein young girls are forcibly married off to the members of various other clans.

It is incidents like these which remind us that in some parts of this world the time is still stuck in the 18th century.

Source: http://news.oneindia.in/2010/05/31/6month-baby-girl-married-to-25-yr-old-man-in-pakistan-tose.html

The Indian Civil Aviation Authority – A Reincarnation Of The “Bourbon Monarchy”?

Whether you are a History buff or not, you must have read about the Bourbon dynasty of France, right? Well, in case you cannot recall, then it was the dynasty that was dethroned after the French Revolution, managed to regain its lost throne after the fall of Napoleon, and again lost it later after another emergence of popular dissatisfaction.

It was once famously said about the Bourbon dynasty that “they have learned nothing, and have forgotten nothing”. The remark was made in reference to the Bourbon dynasty’s unresponsiveness to public mood, even after once paying the price for the same by losing their throne. When they came back to throne after Napoleon’s fall, it was expected that they had learnt from their past mistakes of showing defiance to popular feelings, and would now be more cautions in dealing with the common citizenry. But the Bourbon kings soon proved this expectation to be wrong. Their administration was found to be carrying the same characteristics of their pre-Revolution rule, reflecting the same lack of responsiveness to and respect for the public emotions and feelings. They proved that they had learned nothing from their past experience. No wonder, they did not take much time to lose their throne again, this time for ever.


While the analogy may sound to be a bit too far fetched, I nevertheless find a close resemblance between the Bourbon Dynasty and the Indian civil aviation authority.

After the tragic Mangalore air crash people had expected that the Indian civil aviation mandarins would try to identify and address the operational and technical gaps, and would display a better performance at least for few days. Oh God, how wrong we were! Barely few days have passed after the tragedy, and the Indian civil aviation authority has already started showing its callousness towards public safety.

Just yesterday three Indian planes (1 Kingfisher, 1 Jetlite and 1 Jet Airways) had a close shave, as they had been diverted from the Delhi airport (to Jaipur) thanks to the shutdown of the Delhi airport. And why was the Delhi airport shut down in the first place? Because the airport was to cater to two VIP movements - President Pratibha Patil’s flight to China and Turkmenistan president Gurbanguly Berdimunhamedov’s flight to Agra.

So what happened after the three above mentioned planes were diverted to Jaipur? The Jetlite flight landed on the Jaipur airport when it barely had the fuel to remain airborne for 3 minutes. The Kingfisher flight landed when it was left with the fuel to fly just for 10 minutes, while the Jet Airways flight was left with around 13 minutes of flying capacity at the time of landing. Just imagine what a disaster any of these flights would have faced if there were just a few minutes of delay in landing on the Jaipur airport.

And yes, apart from these three, eight other flights were diverted from the Delhi airport, while 20 other flights were forced to circle the Delhi airport for one hour. All for VIP safety.

Yes, I understand that there is an issue of protocol and basic security when it involves a VIP movement. There may have been some strong reason for temporarily shutting down the Delhi airport for “non VIP” planes. But what was the problem in informing the concerned flights beforehand, so that they could modify their route accordingly? Is there no element of co-ordination and management in the Indian civil aviation mechanism?

It is still understandable when a mishap takes place due to technical snag. But there is absolutely no mercy for operational snag, which is the result of nothing else but pure callousness.

Pseudo Intellectuals, Please Stop Sympathizing With The Maoists If You Have Any Shame

Dear pseudo intellectuals of India, it is high time you stopped sympathizing with the Maoist devils, provided you have at least an iota of shame. For long we have been listening to your “intellectual” interpretations of the “root causes” of Maoism – abject poverty, lack of development, discrimination, oppression, blah blah blah! In fact your so-called “conscientious” opposition to Government’s plans and programmes to counter Maoist menace (“revolution” in your language) is one of those factors that are preventing Mr. Chidambaram from going ahead with a genuinely strong step against the scoundrels who are unabashedly creating mayhem on a regular basis.

You pseudo intellectuals are so shameless that you people did not bother to utter any word of criticism even after your beloved Maoist bastards massacred 76 CRPF personnel in Dantewada. Your sympathy for the so-called oppressed people turned Maoists is endless. But your hypocrisy held you back from shedding a single drop of tears for the bereaved families of those hapless security personnel, who had joined CRPF to serve the common people of India, including you people.

However, you still had the excuse that the Maoists had after all killed security personnel, i.e. the agents of “state atrocities”.

You people again tried to defend those savages when they blew up a bus full of civilians (again in Dantewada), by saying that their actual target were the Special Police Officers (SPOs) who were traveling in that bus. (Causing the death of so many innocent people for killing just a few SPOs. Wow, what an idea!)

But what is your excuse now, after the brutal and devastating attack on the innocent civilians who were traveling in the ill-fated Jnaneswari Express? Is there any excuse, even an ultra-idiotic or ultra-illogical one, which you can come up with to justify this bastardly act? What cause are these Maoist scoundrels fighting for, which entails the tears and pain of so many common people? Is it at all a fight that worths any sympathy? NO!

The Maoists have proved themselves to be a cancer for India, a despicable burden for the civilized society of this country. And you, the pseudo intellectuals of India have proved yourselves to be as contemptible as your beloved Maoist devils are, by shamelessly supporting their so called cause even after so many acts of devastation and bedlam on their part.

Have you people ever wondered what a great crime you are committing by extending moral support to those scoundrels?