Friday, December 20, 2013

RAJIV GANDHI the best PM of Independent India

It was I think middle of 1960s when I saw two handsome guys who looked European, sitting in our Rajasthan Flying club Modas. Soon some one whispered that these two are Rajiv and Sanjay gandhi, sons of our PM Smt.Indira Gandhi.They have come for their night flying test for issue of Commercial pilots licence. Our Cessna 142 was the only aircraft with night flying capability in almost whole of India!Also we had the venerable Chief Flying Instructor Capt.Bhandarkar (C.P.L-1) who used to be revered by every IAC Viscount or Fokker captain who used to land at Jaipur.The guys were jovial and looked friendly but we kept our distance as is normal in India.Then came 1971, and then emergency and then Sanjay Gandhi running the administration etc.I donot want to get into the History of that time. But I have seen Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi coming to a Chinese restaurant in Vasant vihar of Delhi and Rajiv always greeting people with a big smile. There was no SPG those days.Then one day Indira Gandhi's was assassinated and Rajiv was elevated as Prime Minister of India by Giani Zail singh. Soon one can see a fresh wave of Change in almost every thing of Government.
2.His introduction of "JANVANI" programme which pitted the ordinary citizens in front of Camera where they quizzed the Babus of all Ministries. This was a night mare for the IAS and other Babus who were comfortable in the cocoons of their AC rooms. Ofcourse they were be planning to scuttle this programme if only Rajiv was defeated in next election. A watered down version which no one seesis being shown in Doordarshan.
3.Then came Asiad and Rajiv was vehemently for Colour TV while the I and B minister Vasant Sathe was against it as he considered it elitist. But Rajiv got his way inspite of opposition from the usual leftists who considered it elitist and it was a boon to sports lovers like me who purchased our first colour TV , a BPL set.in which we used to enjoy seeing Krishi darshan also in colour.
4. Then came his decision to introduce Computers into Indian life especially Government life. The usual chorus started from the left as well as all those who might not want India to progress.But I think here Rajiv showed exemplary leadership qualities and pushed through his IT vision. This singular act of his has changed the vision of India and also India's future that we have some semblance of confidence to compete with China and its hardware.For this alone I give my vote to Rajiv as the best Independent India's Prime Minister ahead of Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and also Vajpayee. In fact the enemies of our nation killed him for this very reason that he will ensure India's rise as an Independent power.It is the same powers outside and within India who are trying to stop Modi from becoming PM. It has nothing to do with BJP or its ideology but the man who may make India a strong power independent of western nations.
5.Rajiv's SMILE which is infectous is not seen in Rahuls face while one can see it in Priyanka.
6. I want to add a titbit about his view on a platform which was to be installed in a Boeing 707. The Airforce and Police top brass were happy that we are buying this platform.But Rajiv asked them one simple question. When you guys are spending almost twice the cost of a new Boeing 747-400 aircraft, why not buy a new Boeing 747 instead of the free 707 which will ensure steady spares, Pilots training and simulator lessons with Air India and also ensure support from Air India in case of any emergency.But our Myopic bosses who did not have his vision only talked about saving money as Boeing 707 is coming free with all spares and ground equipment etc.But today the Boeing 707 and the equipment are lying as junk and ofcourse none can blame our bosses or for that matter anyone and that is how Government functions.This also showed to me how he must be questioning the Babus of Government of India on various other issues.

7.Establishment of National transport safety board (NTSB) under a retirred Air India Pilot who was doing wonderful job of investigating accidents. But this raised alarm bells in our civil aviation babudom in DGCA and AAI who wanted to kill it.
8. Panchayat Raj. I just do not have the knowledge about this issue unlike Mani Shankar Iyer who was very much supportive of this plan.
Now I have not seen Rahul Gandhi except in TVs but he just do not have his father's spontaneous smile, so My vote for this Parliament election is going to be for Modi while I will vote any day for Congress of Siddaramaih in Karnataka who is doing a yeoman job as Chief minister.
But then the powers who killed Rajiv are still in action within and outside India and they may ensure some way Modi is stopped.AAP,Lalu Yadav,Advani are all part of the same group whose guide is from the west.
9.Defence deals.a) Bofors
b).HDW submarine deal
c) Airbus 320 deal
One can talk about Winchadda, Quotorochi, AE services etc etc but none will talk about HInduJa brothers who I felt were the real king pins in this deal as well as scuttling of it by exposing the role of Qotorochi and Ardbo etc.Did Rajiv get the commission? Some one pocketed the commission but I believed Rajiv when he said He was not involved. But all these deal have proved their worth when it was needed.
Now VP Singh who took over from Rajiv was a stickler for protocol that he did not believe any of the Industrialists and he was personally clean to a T but then he was so suspicious of Rajiv's decisions that he scrapped almost all the aircraft and defense deals of Rajiv, His Janvani programme, NTSB and I donot know what else.This cost our Indian nation.dear Indian Airlines just could not recover from grounding of Airbus 320 for nearly 2 years is still languishing.
Mr.Subramania swamy who was part of the one of the most corrupt regime of Chandrashekhar as PM is basically a man who loathes Sonia Gandhi and Rahul. He is great at spinning yarns which sound true to any cursory reader.But it may be interesting to many who are young that he covertly supported Rajiv Gandhi by trying to implicate spotless VP Singh and his NRI son in bogus St.Kitts scandal.The link is below.
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/19/world/foe-of-gandhi-stung-by-accusations-of-cia-role.html
Inspite of all the History gaffes, Mr.Modi is making, I feel India needs a man like him now and the people have made up their mind on this one. It will take a historical blunder from him or the BJP to be out voted in 2014.

Sunday, December 01, 2013

INDIAN COASTAL SECURITY ,Who is responsible ?

Indian coastal security is a sham and now the com-int Spying vessel MV Seaman Guard Ohio (IMO 8410691) has exposed all the chinks in our coastal security plan if at all if it exists.That this ship is loaded with ELINT and COM-INT gear which is not even recognizable to our coast guard personnel is known to these guys who were spinning a yarn of providing security to Mother ships against pirates!!!They were spying for nearly 50 days around our coast including a shore visit to Kochi on 23 rd august(when it got a weapon free certificate!) and illegal refueling is now known. But the coast guard were only thinking about arms in the ship which were on board when intercepted recently but not about COMINT and ELINT spying near our nuke plant at Koodankulam. Are they trained to detect this type of sophisticated spying or about cyber security or about Stuxnet Virus which disabled the Iranian nuke plants? Disabling Indian nuke plant or creating a mini accident is the aim of the Permanent Five of UN who do not want a new Nuke power.They will go to any length to sabotage our (unguarded by IAEA)Nuclear plants like at Kalpakkam should be known to our Coast guard. But then they do not even know how to identify these sophisticated equipment. But it suits all who are supposed to be responsible for our coastal security. The Deputy NSA even gave a statement that if the Pirate ship was out of 20 miles from our coast, then it is not committing any offence! Will Deputy NSA say the same thing if the ship has been Chinese or a Pakistani submarine!!! What is worrying is that this ship was doing spying work when operation Amla was on from Chennai to Kanya kumari under the leadership of Coast guard and Tamilnadu police. The Superintendent of Police entered the Port around 11.30 a.m. and inquired with the crew and armed guards on board the vessel Advent Ohio about the incident. After preliminary investigation by the Coast Guard, agencies including Tamil Nadu Coastal Security Group, Intelligence Bureau and the ‘Q’ branch police conducted investigations. Besides, National Investigation Agency was also involved in the probe into the detention of the vessel with the crew. Customs (Preventive) would take up further investigation. The vessel anchored at berth - II in the Port was being guarded by Central Industrial Security Force personnel. Officials refused to reveals details of the investigation. WOW, how many cooks in this broth without any accountability!!

.Advant fort Texas and Advant fort Ohio were intercepted by Eritrrea authorities for violating its maritime boundary in 2011 but they had no arms except sophisticated commo equipment. It also operated recently from port Galle of Sri Lanka. What it was doing in Sri Lanka is a mystery.

It is only in 2011 that MT Pavit a ship without lights drifted into Juhu Veersova beach without knowledge of coast guard or Mumbai coastal police.That the SAAB radar which is supposed to locate these type of ships did not even detect this ship. Then MV Freedom a 10,000 ton ship narrowly missed Juhu link to the mainland without any one knowing about this.The rescue of a distress vessel and their crew near Madras beach by fishermen with their catamaran when coast guard personnel could not even think of rescuing either the vessel or their personnel who were only 5 KM from the shore due their lack of capacity in swimming in rough sea.

The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony asked government agencies to take up the issue of Private Armed Security Guards on-board Commercial Ships, in International fora such as International Maritime Organisation. Chairing a meeting on Coastal Security on 12 November 2013 in New Delhi, Shri Antony said the issue has assumed significance in the backdrop of two recent incidents close to Indian Coast. He directed that the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Shipping should come out with a plan of action and regulations on the issue at the earliest. The effort would lead to better regulation on the issue of floating armouries carrying private armed guards and weapons in our maritime zones.But he did not talk aboutEllint or Commint.

India, with vast coastal border of 7516 kms. covering nine coastal States and four Union Territories, poses serious security issues and challenges is the usual refrain.After the Mumbai terror attacks of 26/11, the entire coastal security scenario of the country has been thoroughly reviewed by the Government at various levels. The National Committee on Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security (NCSMCS) against threats for the coastal security has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary. For securing the coastline, police of all coastal States/UTs, State administrations, Indian Navy, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and other Central Ministries are working in coordination. Nevertheless the task of securing India's vast coastline is immense.The proposal of the Coastal Security Scheme (Phase-II), formulated on the basis of vulnerability/gap analysis carried out by the coastal States and UTs in consultation with the Coast Guard was approved by the Government on 24 September 2010 for implementation from 1 April 2011 for a period of five years. The Scheme is expected to provide support to coastal States/Union Territories to upgrade their coastal security apparatus. The financial outlay of the scheme is Rs.115491.20 lakh ($230 mn) for non-recurring component and Rs.42500.00 lakh ($85 mn) for recurring expenditure. The salient features in the proposal include setting up of new 131 coastal police stations equipped with 180 boats, 60 jetties, 35 rigid inflatable boats(12 for Lakshadweep and 23 for A&N islands only), 10 large vessels (for A&N Islands only), 131 four wheelers and 242 motorcycles. A special provision of 60 jetties with up-gradation of the existing ones has been made in the new Coastal Security Scheme (Phase-II). There are 12 major ports and around 200 minor ports in the country. The 12 major ports are International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) compliant and are subject to security audit once in two years. However, there is no such mechanism of security audit for the non-major ports. Apart from 12 major ports, 53 minor/non-major ports and 5 shipyards in the country are ISPS compliant. But then as MV Pavit and MV Freedom has shown, even Mumbai port is not technically ISPS compliant in actual practice.

Key Projects

Key projects that have been initiated over the last one and half year include

• Fast patrol vessels (14 Nos.)

• Interceptor Boats (20 Nos.)

• Offshore Patrol Vessels (7 Nos.)

• Fast Interceptor Crafts (hiring) (2 Nos.)

• Coast Guard Maritime Patrol Aircraft (6 Nos.)

• Procurement of Coastal Surveillance Radars (120 Units)

• Creation of the National Maritime Domain Awareness Grid (MDA)

• Procurement of 6 light helicopters for Surveillance and reconnaissance.

• Sensors for Directorate of Lighthouses and Light ships order for coastal sensors (Awarded to SAAB – November 2010– $11 mn)

Who are all NOT responsible for our coastal security?

1. Indian Navy is meant for only for all the Blue sea like Malacca straits etc etc and conducting Naval exercises.

    2.Indian coast guard is responsible only for the brown sea though in 2012 security review Defense Minister Antony made it responsible for coastal security under overall supervision of Indian navy but this time in 2013 he is talking about Home Ministry and DG (Shipping) alone should share the responsibility for Indian coast while spending huge money on this coastal force.

    3.Port trust of India is responsible only for trade and shipping facilities at 13 Major ports

    4.Directorate of Light houses and Light ships which controls SAAB coastal radar sensors has responsibility but I am not able to understand how it uses the radars which seems to cover only2 NMs from coast!!!

    5.Indian Customs (preventive) for prevention of smuggling and now it has to share the smugglers and their corruption with may be coast guard.

    6.Sagar Prahari Bal with 80 Fast attack patrol boats with 1000 personnel which is supposed          to protect only the Indian navy’s assets in the shore.

      Then who is responsible for Coastal security? It is the ordinary police stations of the state who have established Coastal police stations. But when it comes to attending Seminars in foreign countries about Coastal security or any other related interesting aspect, then the Indian navy and coast guard will step in without of course the responsibility.The Intelligence Burreau, NIA, CISF, RAW will all come in whithout any responsibility and roughshod over the Coastal Police station whose lowly sub inspector has to be at the beck and call of his bosses in State and District HQtrs who alone will interact with the Media.

Another factor undermining the effectiveness of the coastal security mechanism is differing perceptions among various stakeholders about their roles in ensuring coastal security. Curiously, every agency that is engaged in coastal security feels that the task is an additional responsibility that has been thrust upon it. For instance, many in the Navy contend that its principal duty is to defend the country during wars and enhance its blue water capabilities rather than carry out law enforcement duties for which it has neither the training nor the assets. Some naval officials also feel that they have been assigned responsibility without power and demand the establishment of a single point authority vested in their service. In the case of the Coast Guard, officials argue that their principal mandate includes only search and rescue, aid to navigation and pollution control at sea, not coastal security duties. Likewise, the Marine Police and Customs assert that they do not have the wherewithal and, more importantly, the mindset to perform coastal security duties. Some of the coastal states have not yet accorded coastal security any priority as they do not perceive any threats from the sea. Most argue that coastal security should be the responsibility of the Centre since they do not have the resources to raise additional manpower, boats, fuel and other infrastructure required for securing the coasts. This indifferent attitude towards coastal security percolates down to the district and sub-division levels resulting in their poor participation in various coastal security coordination meetings and thereby adversely affecting information sharing and coordination at the ground level.

The National Automatic Identification System (NAIS) chain, inaugurated in August 2012, to track and monitor vessels by receiving feeds from AIS transponders installed in sailing vessels. The data generated by the static radar chain and the AIS sensors are being integrated with the data from the Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) installed in all major ports as well as in the Gulfs of Kutch and Khambhat and these are being shared with all agencies through the centralized National Command Communication Control and Intelligence Network (NC3I). But again MV Pavit and MV Freedom have exposed chink in this chain.

Then what is the solution? there must be atleast 50% reservation in Coast guard for youngsters from West Bengal,Orissa, Andhra Pradesh,Tamilnadu,Kerala,Maharashtra ,Goa and Gujerat and ofcourse Union territories along the coast Finally it is the fishermen Under Coast guard supervision who should ensure coastal security and it is they who should be trained .Nobody should be posted to coastal Police stations who cannot swim in Sea. All coast guard personnel should be taught about Nuclear security, COM-INT AND ELINT. The recent landing of a fibre boat in Tamilnadu coast close to kalpakkam and leaving a single person who surrendered t the local police shows how coastal radar is just a big hole.It just cannot detect fibre boats or rubber dinghies as used by 26/11 terrorists who used one to land in Mumbai coast.They were accosted by a fisher woman but then she did not know how to get any help or inform some one in authority and so kept quiet.

Hope in the next Coastal security conference some of these issues are discussed with prominence given to sub inspectors and constables who man the coastal police stations and also some fishermen from all the coastal states along with Naval top brass and other Home ministry officials, NIA, Intelligence burea,Custom officials, Light house officials, etc etc.

The following article in Maritime news on Fishermen is very informative and I hope Indian authorities also have a look at this issue. With Sri Lanka becoming aggressive towards Indian Fishermen due to its closeness with China and Pakistan Intelligence agencies as revealed in the recent episode, India must not be guided by this fear about these SAARC countries using china/Pakistan asa trump card against India. Let them become close to China which can bank roll them, It is Indian self reliance in Arms production which will determine its clout.
http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/Fisheries-Crime-Bridging-the-Gap-2014-07-30

Monday, October 07, 2013

Preparedness of Indian Army

The Indian Army chief said to the reporters """Asked whether terrorists, had occupied any Indian village, he said nothing like that had happened, and no Army post or bunker was occupied by the terrorists or their suspected Pakistan Army accomplices. “We are dominating them from all sides, and the terrorists are holed up. It is a broken ground. It is difficult, treacherous terrain. They are stuck in that, and we will take them on. It is a question of time.” When the reporters asked Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne agreed with Gen. Singh that it was a “localised” operation, which would be completed soon. “We all monitor such incidents. If the Army asks for any assistance, we are there. There is no need to become hyper.” Then again today 6th oct 15 corps commander said “We are in total control of the operation. The reports of our posts being captured by the infiltrators are absurd,” 7th Oct paper report says ""General Officer Commanding in Chief, Northern Command, Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra and General Officer Commanding of the 15 Corps Lt Gen Gurmit Singh have visited the area to review the situation on ground," Officiating Brigadier General Staff (BGS) Colonel Sanjay Mitra said. "
What is curious about the whole Keran operation is that a max of 40 terrorists have infiltrated which everybody seem to admit.Army Chief says they are holed up in a broken ground and Army is dominating them from ""ALL" sides. Then it should be a simple operation for the Brigade which is facing this situation but why then the Airchief is offering help? Army has its own attack helicopters and they could have easily used it to neutralize the enemies holed up in a open broken ground.But it is NOT using them may be due to fear it could be shot down as it happened in Kargil. Air chief's offer of help means only one thing aerial fighter bomber support. Does our company or battalion commanders are so in competent that Corps commander himself is staying put and seems to be overseeing the operation.
What the Indian Army is conveying to the world and especially to its enemies? Mere 40 guys however well trained they may be (one can call them anything from BAT to Jihadies) are able to hold on for the past 13 days a brigade of troops while staying in a open broken ground which is dominated by Indian Army in all sides. How are these Jihadies being supplied ammo and fed? How they are relieving themselves?Why the Army is showing in major news channels some footage wherein our soldiers are shown to crawl and move forward. Where? The news channels may give a good impression to the ordinary viewers but it does not fool our enemies as well as knowledgeable viewers. The recent claim by corps commander that 12-15 militants have been killed but no arms or ammunition or bodies recovered does not show us in good light to the enemies.How this number is arrived at?
It was some months back 5 of our Jawans were killed and beheaded. Then the Samba attack wherein 3 Jihadies killed 4 J&K constables at Hira nagar PS and commandeered a truck to take them to Army Public school. It took them more than two hours but as they could not find the Public school in their GPS, they just chose randomly an officer's mess inside Brigade HQtrs guarded by a single guard and killed the OC. This also raises disturbing questions about Army's preparedness as well as communication links between J&K police, Para Military forces and local Brigade HQtrs. Why nobody from Hira nagar PS informed the local Army Brigade about the attack through a mobile or state communication? Was the Samba attack a diversionary tactic to take children of Army public school as hostages for a later or ongoing Jihadi operation at Shala Batu village?
What was the purpose of Shala Batu operation by the Jihadies? They do not come to infiltrate and hole up in open broken ground wherein they can be surrounded on ALL sides by the Army? They must have ensured some supply route for for ammo and food and even replacement for the Jihadi fighters. As this area is within our area why this supply route is not being able to be choked by our massive and superior force? Was there a TUNNEL already dug by the Jihadies?
The Las dutt forests at LOC has stories which is yet to be told. But some lessons in preparedness can be learnt especially when it comes to change over of Army inits at LOC. It cannot be done in a routine manner as one does in peace station.The SOP has to be changed so that the posts are never left empty even in very peaceful atmosphere. Also some soft targets of Army like wives and Children could be taken hostages by Jihadi groups operating in India for which one must be prepared.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

TWO SPEECHES AND WHAT 66 YEARS OF HISTORY IS SHOWING TODAY?

When Indian and Pakistani independence days were celebrated, I became curious about the speeches made by the founding fathers of the two nations. As an Indian one is more interested in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehrus speech "Tryst with destiny" but I also got curiouser about the speech made by Quiad - e- Azam of Pakistan Mohamed Ali Jinnah.I have reproduced both the speeches in full below and a reader can form his own conclusions.
Panditji talks from heart and seems like a historian talking about the even creating history. But for him Gandhiji is the "architect of freedom", "father of nation" etc etc and people of India come second. For him partition is "ill fortune" and " and calls Pakistanis " who cannot share our freedom". showing how the leadership of India is not able to digest the truth of partition and creation of Pakistan.
Now coming to Mr.Jinnahs speech one can see he is planning for future like writing the constituion, creation of an Assembly, and he finds the very creation of Pakistan as an astounding event unparalleled in history. For him the first duty of the government is law and order, second is abolition of corruption and next comes abolition of black marketing.Then abolition of "nepotism" and "jobbery". Though he concedes that "partition' was not agreeable to many, it is a fact now. But to me the single important aspect of his workmanlike speech is the following lesson which is relevant even today and be also in future. I quote him "We should begin to work in that spirit and in course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community, because even as regards Muslims you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnis and so on, and among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas, Khatris, also Bengalis, Madrasis and so on, will vanish. Indeed if you ask me, this has been the biggest hindrance in the way of India to attain the freedom and independence and but for this we would have been free people long long ago. No power can hold another nation, and specially a nation of 400 million souls in subjection; nobody could have conquered you, and even if it had happened, nobody could have continued its hold on you for any length of time, but for this. Therefore, we must learn a lesson from this."
So as the routine celebrations are over, I only hope the people of India and Pakistan read the speeches of their leaders and see how far we have come to their historical vision.

Speech On the Granting of Indian Independence, August 14, 1947

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long supressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of Inida and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.

At the dawn of history India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and the grandeur of her success and her failures. Through good and ill fortune alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?

Freedom and power bring responsibility. The responsibility rests upon this Assembly, a sovereign body representing the sovereign people of India. Before the birth of freedom we have endured all the pains of labour and our hearts are heavy with the memory of this sorrow. Some of those pains continue even now. Nevertheless, the past is over and it is the future that beckons to us now.

That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over.

And so we have to labour and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any one of them to imagine that it can live apart Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this One World that can no longer be split into isolated fragments.

To the people of India, whose representatives we are, we make an appeal to join us with faith and confidence in this great adventure. This is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill-will or blaming others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell.

The appointed day has come-the day appointed by destiny-and India stands forth again, after long slumber and struggle, awake, vital, free and independent. The past clings on to us still in some measure and we have to do much before we redeem the pledges we have so often taken. Yet the turning-point is past, and history begins anew for us, the history which we shall live and act and others will write about.

It is a fateful moment for us in India, for all Asia and for the world. A new star rises, the star of freedom in the East, a new hope comes into being, a vision long cherished materializes. May the star never set and that hope never be betrayed!

We rejoice in that freedom, even though clouds surround us, and many of our people are sorrow stricken and difficult problems encompass us. But freedom brings responsibilities and burdens and we have to face them in the spirit of a free and disciplined people.

On this day our first thoughts go to the architect of this freedom, the Father of our Nation [Gandhi], who, embodying the old spirit of India, held aloft the torch of freedom and lighted up the darkness that surrounded us. We have often been unworthy followers of his and have strayed from his message, but not only we but succeeding generations will remember this message and bear the imprint in their hearts of this great son of India, magnificent in his faith and strength and courage and humility. We shall never allow that torch of freedom to be blown out, however high the wind or stormy the tempest.

Our next thoughts must be of the unknown volunteers and soldiers of freedom who, without praise or reward, have served India even unto death.

We think also of our brothers and sisters who have been cut off from us by political boundaries and who unhappily cannot share at present in the freedom

that has come. They are of us and will remain of us whatever may happen, and we shall be sharers in their good [or] ill fortune alike.

The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman.

We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be. We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action.

To the nations and peoples of the world we send greetings and pledge ourselves to cooperate with them in furthering peace, freedom and democracy.

And to India, our much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we pay our reverent homage and we bind ourselves afresh to her service.

JAI HIND.

Mr. Jinnah's presidential address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan

August 11, 1947

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen!

I cordially thank you, with the utmost sincerity, for the honour you have conferred upon me - the greatest honour that is possible to confer - by electing me as your first President. I also thank those leaders who have spoken in appreciation of my services and their personal references to me. I sincerely hope that with your support and your co-operation we shall make this Constituent Assembly an example to the world. The Constituent Assembly has got two main functions to perform. The first is the very onerous and responsible task of framing the future constitution of Pakistan and the second of functioning as a full and complete sovereign body as the Federal Legislature of Pakistan. We have to do the best we can in adopting a provisional constitution for the Federal Legislature of Pakistan. You know really that not only we ourselves are wondering but, I think, the whole world is wondering at this unprecedented cyclonic revolution which has brought about the clan of creating and establishing two independent sovereign Dominions in this sub-continent. As it is, it has been unprecedented; there is no parallel in the history of the world. This mighty sub-continent with all kinds of inhabitants has been brought under a plan which is titanic, unknown, unparalleled. And what is very important with regards to it is that we have achieved it peacefully and by means of an evolution of the greatest possible character.

Dealing with our first function in this Assembly, I cannot make any well-considered pronouncement at this moment, but I shall say a few things as they occur to me. The first and the foremost thing that I would like to emphasize is this: remember that you are now a sovereign legislative body and you have got all the powers. It, therefore, places on you the gravest responsibility as to how you should take your decisions. The first observation that I would like to make is this: You will no doubt agree with me that the first duty of a government is to maintain law and order, so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the State.

The second thing that occurs to me is this: One of the biggest curses from which India is suffering - I do not say that other countries are free from it, but, I think our condition is much worse - is bribery and corruption. That really is a poison. We must put that down with an iron hand and I hope that you will take adequate measures as soon as it is possible for this Assembly to do so.

Black-marketing is another curse. Well, I know that blackmarketeers are frequently caught and punished. Judicial sentences are passed or sometimes fines only are imposed. Now you have to tackle this monster, which today is a colossal crime against society, in our distressed conditions, when we constantly face shortage of food and other essential commodities of life. A citizen who does black-marketing commits, I think, a greater crime than the biggest and most grievous of crimes. These blackmarketeers are really knowing, intelligent and ordinarily responsible people, and when they indulge in black-marketing, I think they ought to be very severely punished, because the entire system of control and regulation of foodstuffs and essential commodities, and cause wholesale starvation and want and even death.

The next thing that strikes me is this: Here again it is a legacy which has been passed on to us. Along with many other things, good and bad, has arrived this great evil, the evil of nepotism and jobbery. I want to make it quite clear that I shall never tolerate any kind of jobbery, nepotism or any any influence directly of indirectly brought to bear upon me. Whenever I will find that such a practice is in vogue or is continuing anywhere, low or high, I shall certainly not countenance it.

I know there are people who do not quite agree with the division of India and the partition of the Punjab and Bengal. Much has been said against it, but now that it has been accepted, it is the duty of everyone of us to loyally abide by it and honourably act according to the agreement which is now final and binding on all. But you must remember, as I have said, that this mighty revolution that has taken place is unprecedented. One can quite understand the feeling that exists between the two communities wherever one community is in majority and the other is in minority. But the question is, whether it was possible or practicable to act otherwise than what has been done, A division had to take place. On both sides, in Hindustan and Pakistan, there are sections of people who may not agree with it, who may not like it, but in my judgement there was no other solution and I am sure future history will record is verdict in favour of it. And what is more, it will be proved by actual experience as we go on that was the only solution of India's constitutional problem. Any idea of a united India could never have worked and in my judgement it would have led us to terrific disaster. Maybe that view is correct; maybe it is not; that remains to be seen. All the same, in this division it was impossible to avoid the question of minorities being in one Dominion or the other. Now that was unavoidable. There is no other solution. Now what shall we do? Now, if we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous, we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor. If you will work in co-operation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a spirit that everyone of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges, and obligations, there will be on end to the progress you will make.

I cannot emphasize it too much. We should begin to work in that spirit and in course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community, because even as regards Muslims you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnis and so on, and among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas, Khatris, also Bengalis, Madrasis and so on, will vanish. Indeed if you ask me, this has been the biggest hindrance in the way of India to attain the freedom and independence and but for this we would have been free people long long ago. No power can hold another nation, and specially a nation of 400 million souls in subjection; nobody could have conquered you, and even if it had happened, nobody could have continued its hold on you for any length of time, but for this. Therefore, we must learn a lesson from this. You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State. As you know, history shows that in England, conditions, some time ago, were much worse than those prevailing in India today. The Roman Catholics and the Protestants persecuted each other. Even now there are some States in existence where there are discriminations made and bars imposed against a particular class. Thank God, we are not starting in those days. We are starting in the days where there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State. The people of England in course of time had to face the realities of the situation and had to discharge the responsibilities and burdens placed upon them by the government of their country and they went through that fire step by step. Today, you might say with justice that Roman Catholics and Protestants do not exist; what exists now is that every man is a citizen, an equal citizen of Great Britain and they are all members of the Nation.

Now I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.

Well, gentlemen, I do not wish to take up any more of your time and thank you again for the honour you have done to me. I shall always be guided by the principles of justice and fairplay without any, as is put in the political language, prejudice or ill-will, in other words, partiality or favouritism. My guiding principle will be justice and complete impartiality, and I am sure that with your support and co-operation, I can look forward to Pakistan becoming one of the greatest nations of the world.

I have received a message from the United States of America addressed to me. It reads:

I have the honour to communicate to you, in Your Excellency's capacity as President of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, the following message which I have just received from the Secretary of State of the United States:

On the occasion of of the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly for Pakistan, I extend to you and to the members of the Assembly, the best wishes of the Government and the people of the United States for the successful conclusion of the great work you are about to undertake.

Monday, August 12, 2013

A tribute to the new World champion INTANON

When India’s Sindhu entered the Semi final after her upset victory over world no 2, I was very eager to watch her semifinal match against Thai teenager Ratchanok Intanon who is also only 18 years old like her.But there was no mention about the time of the clash nor the channel in which it is being shown in any of our national media newspapers or in the visual media. So it was by sheer luck that when I was searching I could get the match in one of the channels as normally I donot sleep in the afternoon.Well as much as I wanted Sindhu to win, she was no match for the tiny Thai girl in tactics nor in court coverage. A better player won but I became curious how this tiny girl will take on the Olympic Champion from China in her home ground.

Fortunately I could see the final and what a treat it was.But what endeared this Thai girl to me is her Indian namasthe whenever she got her old shuttle changed from the umpire . She also

smiled whenever she lost a point, yes smiled!!!When she won a point there was no chest thumping nor clenching of fists as our cricketers and tennis champs do but a serene of calm.

In the final she was in arrears 12 to 19 against the Chinese Olympic champion Xuerui. The way she clawed back and when it became 16 points to 20 in favour of the Olympic champion, she was calm and determined and saved 6 game points and won that game.But the Olympic champion will not give in and she played a clever game by playing to the forehand of the Thai girl and won the second game.But the decider was a tactical game of superb thinking, clever drops and occasional shots to finish the rally. A real winner for the game of Badminton who has such impeccable court manners for us Asians to emulate. Kudos to her coach . I wish her reign continues.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Why I love CINEMA?

My earliest memories of “ Bioscope” is when I was offered some chocolates by African american soldiers when my father was watching some picture at Madras Beighton theatre. I donot remember the picture but I think I liked the atmosphere.My father was an avid picture goer and so when he was posted in villages as Panchayat officer, he was the one to give Licences to the Picture Tents . Due to some idiotic rule at that time, the tent used to be moved six months later to another place as required by Government law! But being son of Panchayat officer, I used to get a chair while the general public used to watch sitting on the ground. Also I used to get a glass of tea.! What I remember also is the times when picture used to be stopped due to some snake slithering amongst the crowd. MK Thiagraja Bhagwathar, Raja Kumari are some of the names which comes to my mind. I think from mythologicals which ruled the Tamil cinema at that time, the first sociological picture was “Samsaram” which created a wave in Madras and we were posted at Thiruvottiyur which was a suburb at that time.

Soon the Tamil cinema came to be dominated by NT Rama rao( Perennial Lord Vishnu/Krishna),A Nageswara rao and Nagendra rao.I used to love the signature music of Gemini and AVM studios and pictures like Chandralekha,Pathal Bhairavi left their imprint along with songs by Ghantasala.Soon we had “Velaikari” written by ANNA founder of DMK and Parasakhthi written by Shri Karunanidhi and Raththa Kanneer of MR Radha which revolutionised the social aspect of Tamilnadu.But a school boy like me used to love the Flash Gordon of Buster Grabe, Captain America which used to be screened in Gaity theatre near Mint of Madras.But I have to endure my fathers English movies like “Gone with the wind” which I never understood.But soon English pictures like One eyed jacks, Biblicals like Samson and Delilah of Heddy Lamar. Quo vadis etc were and other western movies were a pleasure watching them in Minerva theatre, the only AC theatre at that time in Madras.My father used to frequent Plaza theatre in Trichy and I used to like pictures like Trapeze of Gina Lollobrigida, Burt Lancaster, Picnic of Kim Novak and so many english pictures.

When we were posted in Ranipet, my friends suggested we see a Hindi picture “ Ek do theen” of Meena shorey in neighbouring Arcot and her big breasts were an added attraction to all of us who were adolescents. The awesome Tea from Inba theneer viduthi near Arcot bus stand was an added attraction.Soon I saw Awara, and AAN of Nimmi,Dilip Kumar and I was hooked to Hindi movies along with English and Tamil movies.”Tumsa Nahin Dekha and its Music was one of those which I still remember.I cannot forget Shakila of CID fame and also Nadia and John Gawas of Hunterwali. We in Tamilnadu at that time were not even allowed to look at the girls except slyly while the girls never even looked at us. so if a girl looked at you and you locked your eyes that used to be heaven for us the adolescents It is here i remember the film Pyassa in which Mala sinha looks at Guru dutt from under her bench and locks her eyes. WOW it was one of the sexiest scenes for me at that time

The person who made me cry copiously was A.Nageswara rao in Devdas and Gemini Ganesh,Revathi combine in “Sumaithangi” and so many other actors like Shivaji Ganeshan etc.

I think they have their own role in taking out tears and reduce depression in me!!

Pictures like Ben Hur or the chariot race or the westerns of Clint eastwood and its Music werre everlasting. .Music reminds me of Musicals like The sound of Music, South Pacific, Oklahoma, My fair lady etc.

I think it was by sheer luck I saw “Enter the Dragon” at Anand theatre in Madras as I was curious how it is still attracting crowds after more than a year. WOW what an entertainment and I was hooked to this genre and I never missed all those Shaolin pictures and the recent being “Crouching Tiger” and Jet Li pictures.

I Must also remember the picture halls which have vanished but gave immense pleasure in their own way. Palace de wales of Tinnevelly Junction and Briyani at Sultania restaurant.New Elphinstone,Midland,NewGlobe,Minerva of Madras city and Briyani at Bukharies .Later modern halls like Shanthi, Anand came and also Vecumsee’s Sapphire etc.How can one forget the Kempe Gowda road of Baangalore and the first theatre “Alankar” with lights for seats and screen opening. Trichy’s “Plaza” , Chanakya, Shiela and Priya of Delhi have all gone into history with modern PVR and INOX opening in every city and town of India. Pop corns and burgers have replaced the lowly tea and samosas and vadais etc.

The advent of VCR and renting movies for rupees 10/- of VHS cassettes and TV pictures might have played its own role in reduction of theatre going for Cinemas due to economics of picture viewing in a theatre.

Did Cinema play a role in my making me as a person. I think it definitely did play an important role especially in a repressive society like in Tamilnadu where just looking at a girl was considered a sin.The love between teens of different castes is a sign Cinema playing its part in breaking barriers like caste, religion, money etc etc. and may be evolution of Politicians in Tamilnadu my home state.Do I see cinema now? I do see occasionally in TV but not at one

full stretch. Theatre going may be distant dream for me a Cancer patient under palliative chemotherapy. I only hope it continues to play its part in Indian Psyche.

Monday, May 13, 2013

The Unknown LEGENDS OF LADAKH

Leh Palace 1964

Chushul village headman with our CP staff

The recent incursion of Chinese border guards and their subsequent withdrawal has created lot of Media frenzy about Ladakh and ITBP role and Army's interest in acquiring complete operation control over ITBP.This shows how the Army Staff have NOT read the Colombo proposals of 1962 which India has accepted. As per proposal 2(c) only civilian posts are to be allowed to be established in the western sector.
The following Officers of Indo Tibetan border force did yeoman service to the nation unsung, un noticed in very difficult terrain without any security protection against the Chinese. It is just their guts and inner strength as well the unbroken Intelligence Bureaus esperi-de-corps which sustained them. For us ITBF personnel Shri BN.Mullick's dictum that "" Intelligence officers have no borders""was holy Manthra.
Mr.Charan singh, DYSp of Punjab police on deputation to IB was the one who discovered first the Chinese Aksai chin road connecting Tibet with Sinkiang and brought some Chinese mile stones on his Pony's back. He became little more adventurous and was taken Prisoner along with some ITBF constables near Hot springs post and was tortured by the Chinese which left him partially paralyzed in one leg. This day is observed as Police Memorial day on 21st October.
Mr.N.S Bhatti who was instrumental in re establishing the Indian ITBF posts 7 main posts supported by another 10 or so subposts which were withdrawn during 1962. Some posts like Track junction, Murgo,DBO were established with just 4 or 5 personnel with signal officer carrying those bulky SAFI sets made by BHEL. But the posts were established by July 1963 with some casualties due to weather. Ladhaki sepoys of ITBF could easily face the weather but then others from plains have to face the weather.Track junction which was at 17,800 feet was the worst where one has to melt ice throughout the year to drink.
Mr.Parminder Singh who was in charge of Koyul post impressed Mr.BN Mullick so much with his adventurism like getting a Chinese pony to our side that he promoted the entire Koyul post by one rank. What was tricky was that the constable cook got promoted as Havildar and created funny situation amongst other constables.But this one single action by Mr. Mullick was talked about amongst every one of ITBF personnel and acted as a great incentive to show similar adventurism. May be this is what made us to see the inside of Khurnak fort or Rezang Lungpa posts of the Chinese which I donot think is possible now.
Samuel Santhanam who climbed most of the OPs and took snaps.Mr.Lakshmi narayanan,Sd Sehgal, guptha, GK Uphadyaya, Upendra. AKBakshi,CN parthasarathy, KS Rawat,Ponnuswamy,Chatterjee, are some of the names which come to my mind.There were constables like Abdul Razzak,Mathai who within two months of posting could speak Tibetan fluently though from Kerala on deputation to ITBF from CRPF. Grass cutter Norphel who kept the Ponies fit for recce. I recovered 8 bodies in sleeping bags from inside a bunker at Rezang La and also plenty of empty rounds fired from a LMG nest.The visit of Mrs.Narasimhan along with her husband was a great Morale booster for the entire checkposts she visited as well as the Army units which were posted alongside us.I have already posted in 2009 how the Chinese killed three of my constables in cold blood at Dumchele.The link is below. http://captainjohann.blogspot.in/2009/09/indiachina-war-1962lessons-for-2009.html.

There were many signal officers who have to carry the bulky SAFI sets which never worked properly but has to keep the communication going from check posts to HQTRS. Some like Mr.Dayalu who showed adventurism was selected to be communication officer for the Everest expedition led by Cdr.Kholi. The maintenance of the communication link in earlier days was done by police veterans who came on deputation to ITBF from Mysore police,Madras police etc.I want to mention Mr.PM.Nairof Mysore Police and Mr.Ramaswamy of ITBF who maintained all the check post's communication equipment by visitng most of the posts..Mr.Purushotham of Mysore Police who was one of those who reestablished the check posts after the Chinese aggression in 1962 got the Police medal.There were others like Mr.Rangan,Ramdas,Ramakrishnan, Venkatachalam,Gill who did yeomen service silently. ITBF also suffered from lack of proper road transport like the Army which had Shakthimans , Nissan one tonner trucks and Jonga jeeps with their 4 by 4 drive while ITBF had the Tata 3 tonner which will not start or didnot have the 4 by 4 drive.The Willeys jeep was another poor performer but they were the ones procured from CRPF.
One cannot forget the wild life of Ladakh especially the Ibex, Mountain goat, wild Horses, Rabbits, and I was fortunate to see the rare legendary Golden Fox in all its majesty only once.The modern digital cameras were not there at that time and I had the Russian Lubitel camera but not enough 120 films which could be processed.easily or purchased. The giant 5 ton Shakthiman trucks crossing over frozen Indus river is a sight to see. The Ink blue Pangong lake is another sight to behold.There were some innovation too with Chinese dollar serving as yeast for setting curd.Many a Hotspring like at chumathang, Hotsprings ,Demochok etc.were so invigorating to take bath.
The Indian media was crying hoarse about Chinese aggression which shows their complete ignorance or vested interest to provoke some skirmish between the two nations so that American Arms export lobby is benefited.Why the Chinese came inside 19 KMs and not 21 KMs? For Indian media there is no interest to study the Colombo proposals( given below in full), or the 1993 or 1996 pacts between the two nations and what they say. They even do not know the difference between Chinese army or its border guards who are the ones who pitched the tent. They do not even know the difference between ITBP, the role of Army in peace and war. They never interviewed any officer from the the Ministry of Home or ITBP while the retired Generals and colonels were mouthing their valour and patriotism.Why the Chinese came at this time and why did they withdraw?What is the significance of Chinese Prime Minister's coming visit?These require deep study.Chinese respect strength and Self reliance and that is what India should strive to achieve.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Indian_border_dispute