ERAWADI FIRE, Mental Health Awareness day on 6th august

   It was an eventful week with Erawady tragedy. One day two Indian express reporters Ms. Sreelatha Menon and Ms.Sanchitha sharma wanted to talk to me about PWDEA act 1995 and The National trust act 1998 as they are going to interview  Ms.Menaka Gandhi who was heading the Social justice Ministry which handles these two acts.They have already interviewed the Union Health Minister Shri CP Thakur who was sympathetic to the cause of mentally ill and also inclusion of disabled due to Mental illness in the National trust act. They not only talked to me at length but also saw the condition of my daughter and was convinced about the inclusion of psychosocial disabled in the National trust act 1998 when they found out that my daughter has been receiving treatment from AIIMS,NIMHANS, and CGHS Delhi and various other private Psychiatrists ,Psychologists,God men  for the last 15 years by the year  2001. Their interview of Ms.Menaka Gandhi should be an eyeopener for all as I find no change in the attitude of the Ministry of Social Justice even today. The link to that interview is below.
  Ms.Menaka Gandhi's Op ed in Indian express 2001
  The best coverage about that incident came in the Frontline magazine of that time with a good background material.The link is below
   Erawady/Frontline article
  I want to post the Supreme court order of Feb 2002 issued in a nutshell on that case(No W.P.(C) NO 334 OF 2001)in which it took suo moto action.
  1. District wise survey of all registered and unregistered bodies purporting to offer mental health care. Licence to be granted or refused depending on whether minimum prescribed standards are fulfilled or not. Process of survey and license must be completed within 2 months of the order and comprehensive compliance report within 3 months. Further the compliance report must state that no mentally challenged person is chained in any part of the state. 2.The Chief Secy. shall be the nodal agency to coordinate implementation of MHA, The Persons with Disabilities Act 1995, National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act 1999. 3.The Union of India shall file an affidavit within one month of the Policy of Central Govt. towards setting up at least one Central Govt. run mental hospital in each state and U.T. and State Govt. if not even one State run exists, to give a definite time schedule for establishment of the same. 4.Govt. shall undertake comprehensive awareness campaign with special rural focus to educate people as to provisions of law relating to mental health. 5. Every State shall file an affidavit stating whether State MHA exists and details thereof.
  It again issued another order on 12th April 2002.The contents in nut shell are
  1.Every State shall undertake a Comprehensive Need Assessment Survey of estimated availability of Mental Health Resource Personnel, Type of Mental Health Delivery System in both public and private sector, coupled with an estimate of Mental Health Services that would be required for the population of the state and incidence of mental illness.


2. The Chief Secy shall state whether any minimum standards have been prescribed for licensing of Mental Health Institutions, whether these institutions private or run by the state meet such minimum / prescribed standards as on date of passing the order and steps taken for compliance.

3. How many unregistered bodies offer mental health care exist in the state and whether any of them comply with minimum standards and steps to close down the same. Whether any mentally challenged person is found chained. The Need Assessment Survey shall be submitted by 1st. July to Health Secy and filed in court by 15th. July.

4. Union of India is directed to frame a policy and initiate steps for establishment of at least one Central Govt. run Mental Hospital. Also the UOI was asked to examine the feasibility of formulating uniform rules regarding standard of services in both public and private sector. It also asked UOI to constitute a committee to give recommendations on care of abandoned mentally challenged persons. It also asked UOI to frame norms for NGO's to ensure that the services run by them are supervised by qualified / trained persons.

5. State Govts. are also directed to frame policy and initiate steps for establishment of at least one State run Mental Health Hospital. Pertinently, it calls for establishment of an exclusive full fledged hospital and does not include a psychiatric ward in medical college or Govt. run hospital.

6.Legal Aid: S.C directed that two members of the Legal Aid Board of each state be appointed to make monthly visits to such institutions to enquire whether further treatment is required and assist in discharge.

7. Rights: Patients and their guardians shall be explained their rights by a team of 2 members of the Legal Aid and a Judicial officer. Also formation of a Board of Visitors (Sec 37 -inspection of hospital). Besides the stated membership of the board in Sec 37, additionally, The Additional District Judge/ CJM and or President of the Bar Association of that area AND State Disability Commissioner or his or her nominee.

8. A scheme for rehabilitation process like a quarter way home be envisaged.

  The UOI had been directed by the S.C. to file an affidavit on four issues viz. Frame policy and initiate steps to form one mental hospital in each state, examine feasibility of formulating uniform rules for private and public sector and frame norms for NGO's, constitute committee to look into issues of care of abandoned mentally ill and collate information of all states regarding Need Assessment Survey.


   UOI has filed affidavit stating 1. Establishing New Mental Health Hospitals : The S.C. may consider reviewing it's directions for establishing mental health hospitals in each state by the Central Govt as such a step will run counter to the current scientific thinking among mental health professionals the world over, including India (UNCRPD is a direct result of this thinking). 2. Uniform rules for public and private sector mental health institutions and norms for NGO's working in the field of mental health. The affidavit concedes that the Rules are equally applicable to the Govt. and non Govt. sectors. In order to formulate norms for NGO, govt is setting up an expert group to examine and submit it's report within a period of six months of it's constitution. 3. Care of mentally ill persons who have no immediate relatives: A committee has already been set up and the recommendations are being examined and will be placed before the S.C. in due course. 4. Conclusions on Need Assessment Survey reports Distribution of mental health services between and within states is uneven, there is major shortage of trained manpower in all categories, deficiencies in infrastructure clinical and rehabilitative services. It has suggested three corrective ways a) Reduce and minimize hospitalization to a max of 30 days, involve families in patient care b) Prolonged hospitalization is counter productive c) community based care is a cost effective option. It also suggests that in service health personnel be trained in short term training programs at reputed institutions.
  I asked Col Goel (rtd)who was Mental health Advisor in the Union Health Ministry at the time of Erawady about this affidavit and i quote him below.
   Date: Monday, 26 July, 2010, 5:18 AM


""Dear Capt Jahanan,



Thanks. The counter affidavit referred to by you had been filed on behalf of the Union of India and you may direct your queries/concerns to the nodal Ministry, the Ministry of Health & FW. I imagine the Hon'ble Supreme Court must have taken into considerations all affidavits and other material filed by the IPS, IAPP and other stake-holders while arriving at its decision, assuming that the final judgement of the Hon'ble Court in this matter has been handed down. I had relinquished my assignment in Nirman Bhawan in Oct 2005, and have been away from the country since. It will be, therefore, inappropriate on my part to comment on the points raised by you mainly, it appears, on the basis of Dr Nagpal's letter written almost 8 years ago, in Nov 2002. I would, however, like to point out that you appear to have equated the Hon'ble Supreme Court's interim direction regarding "...the Policy of Central Govt. towards setting up atleast one Central Govt. run mental hospital in each state and U.T. and State Govt. if not even one State run exists,..." with 'NIMHANS type institution in every state capital'.



Regards,
D S Goel

  ERAWADY HAPPENED IN 2001.SUPREME COURT OF INDIA WHICH NORMALLY FUNCTIONS AS THE DISABILITY MINISTRY FOR ORDINARY CITIZENS LIKE US  HAS PASSED ITS ORDERS DURING 2002.
   BUT STILL THE DISABLED DUE TO MENTAL ILLNESS ARE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE NATIONAL TRUST ACT 1998.NEITHER REHABILITATION COUNCIL TRAIN ANY REHABILITATION PROFESSIONALS TO LOOK AFTER DISABLED DUE TO MENTAL ILLNESS.
OF COURSE A HOSPITAL LIKE NIMHANS OR AIIMS IN EVERY STATE IS A DISTANT DREAM AS THE PRIVATE SECTOR HOSPITALS HAVE STIFLED UNION HEALTH MINISTRY IN SPITE OF INCREASE IN THE MENTAL HEALTH BUDGET WHICH IS NORMALLY SPENT ON SEMINARS FOR VISITING PROFESSIONALS OR FOR INDIAN PROFESSIONALS ATTENDING SEMINARS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.DISTRICT MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMME DOES NOT COVER ALL DISTRICTS and UNCRPD IS CITED FOR HOME BASED TREATMENT.UNCRPD IN FACT DOES NOT AFFECT THE WEALTHY WHO KEEP THEIR WARD IN POSH PRIVATE SECTOR HOSPITALS INDEFINITELY OR TAKE THEM TO SWITZERLAND
  MENTAL HEALTH BUDGET IS RUPEES 987 CRORES FOR A POPULATION OF 1OO CRORE PEOPLE WHILE THE SAME UNION OF INDIA SPENDS RUPEES 40,000 CRORES FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES AND OUR BILLIONARE MUKESH AMBANI SPENDS HIS OWN MONEY OF RUPEES 3000 CRORES FOR HIS PERSONAL HOME.ANOTHER BILLIONAIRE SPENDS 1000 CRORES IN HIS F1 SPORTS PURSUIT.
   Union of India has NOT even bothered to consult family or user representatives before filing its affidavit while it has consulted 3000 member Indian Psychiatric society.So as THE 10th anniversary of 6th august approaches i implore users and carers of India to ponder deeply ABOUT ERAWADI on National Mental health Awareness day.

Sinking of South Korean naval ship MYSTERY explained?

   The sinking of South Korean ship is turning into a mystery with North steadfastnessedly  refusing to accept the findings of US led experts. China is not convinced as the original report and statements of some of the survivors was pointing to a leaky warship and some sort of huge explosion. See the original MSNBC report of 27th march below
MSNBC report on the sinking of the ship
   Then came the investigation by a team led by some US experts and they have blamed it on North Korean torpedo fired by a submarine. They have also shown some parts of the recovered torpedo from the seabed..
This report is not accepted by China and Russia and the Russian team has reached South Korea for investigation. The following MSNBC link shows the politics involved in the investigation.
China is still NOT convinced.
    Now as I was seeing some SOG videos of Pakistani special operations group the following YOU tube video    of 2009 interested me. Is there an answer to the sinking  of South Korean warship in this video? I donot think the explosion shown is NUCLEAR. But then is it a new type of conventional weapon developed by whom? Why Pakistan is being shown as the exploder of this device? Did Pakistan get this device from North Korea? Or is it a propaganda film by some arms manufacturer? Only an expert can tell?
    Is it a NUKE or a NEW EXPLOSIVE DEVICE?

  Will some naval officers enlighten on this?
  The comments by Shri .Vishnu mathur are very knowledgable and should be read along with the post.

Pakistan Air Force and KARGIL,SIACHEN?

The recent effort by General Musharff to come back to Pakistan as PM brought back the following article on the role of PAF in Kargil ops planning and later in its execution. Musharaff's  comfortable stay in London with Scotland yard security coverage and his lavish spending at London restaurants showed that he was all along working for western powers with UK may be handling him. What is of interest to our planners now in 2010 should be his main interest in getting Siachen vacated. militarily and convincing his corps commanders for Kargil ops.That he tried to sell it to late Benazir and finally sold to Nawaz should make us think not only about General Musharaff but also his masters in UK and their plans.The recent comment by Canada about BSF is not as innocent as it looks.It has always played a role as advance spring board for USA.Canada's Ambassador recently visited Telengana separatist conclave .The Canadian RCMP's role in Sikh seperatism should be of concern.     The recent killing of SqnLdr. Khwaja by TTP and his contact with General Musharaff during Lal Masjid operation should be of interest to us as Khwaja was working for CIA and that he wanted desperately to revive the old line of LET ( that is to abuse America/Israel  verbally while killing Indians) and sell it to TTP leadership on behalf of whom?     Trust to be restored by pulling back from Siachen is what American CIA allied businessman Manzoor Ijaz sold to Indian leadership during 2000 which actually eliminated some of our assets like Majid Dar. The new Obama administration seem to follow a similar line to vacate Siachen to get Pakistani trust so that he gets reelected in 2012 by showing figleaf withdrawal in Afghanistan.India is asked to pay the price.    SIACHEN SHOULD BE PART OF OVERALL KASHMIR SETTLEMENT WITH PAKISTAN ALONG WITH ALL OTHER ISSUES ,The following article should serve as a reminder to our babus in foreign policy establishment about western plans. Wednesday, January 28, 2009 Kargil Conflict and Pakistan Air Force [Pakistani writings on Kargil conflict have been few; those that did come out were largely irrelevant and in a few cases, were clearly sponsored. The role of the PAF has been discussed off and on, but mostly disparagingly, particularly in some uninformed quarters. Here is an airman's perspective, focusing on the IAF's air operations and the PAF's position.] Operational Planning in the PAF Since an important portion of this write-up pertains to the PAF's appreciation of the situation and the decision-making loop during the Kargil conflict, we will start with a brief primer on PAF's hierarchy and how operational matters are handled at the Air Headquarters. The policy-making elements at Air Headquarters consist of four-tiers of staff officers. The top-most tier is made up of the Deputy Chiefs of Air Staff (DCAS) who are the Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) of their respective branches and are nominally headed by the Vice Chief of Air Staff (VCAS). They (along with Air Officers Commanding, the senior representatives from field formations) are members of the Air Board, PAF's 'corporate' decision-making body which is chaired by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). The next tier is made up of Assistant Chiefs of Air Staff (ACAS) who head various sub-branches and, along with the third-tier Directors, assist the PSOs in policy-making; they are not on the Air Board, but can be called for hearings and presentations in the Board meetings, as required. A fourth tier of Deputy Directors does most of the sundry staff work in this policy-making hierarchy. The Operations & Plans branch is the key player in any war, conflict or contingency and is responsible for threat assessment and formulation of a suitable response. During peace-time, war plans are drawn up by the Plans sub-branch and are then war-gamed in operational exercises run by the sister Operations sub-branch. Operational training is accordingly restructured and administered by the latter, based on the lessons of various exercises. This essentially is the gist of PAF's operational preparedness methodology, the efficiency of which is amply reflected in its readiness and telling response in various wars and skirmishes in the past. In early 1999, Air Chief Marshal Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi was at the helm of the PAF. An officer with an imposing personality, he had won the Sword of Honour at the Academy. During the 1971 Indo-Pak War, as a young Flight Lieutenant, he was on a close support mission in erstwhile East Pakistan when his Sabre was shot down and he was taken POW. He determinedly resumed his fighter pilot's career after repatriation and rose to command PAF's premier Sargodha Base. He was later appointed as the AOC, Southern Air Command, an appointment that affords considerable interaction amongst the three services, especially in operational exercises. He also held the vitally important post of DCAS (Ops) as well as the VCAS before taking over as CAS. The post of DCAS (Ops) was held by the late Air Marshal Zahid Anis. A well-qualified fighter pilot, he had a distinguished career in the PAF, having held some of the most sought-after appointments. These included command of No 38 Tactical Wing (F-16s), the elite Combat Commanders' School and PAF Base, Sargodha. He was the AOC, Southern Air Command before his appointment as the head of the Operations branch at the Air Headquarters. He had done his Air War Course at the PAF's Air War College, another War Course at the French War College as well as the prestigious course at the Royal College of Defence Studies in UK. The ACAS (Ops) was Air Cdre Abid Rao, who had recently completed command of PAF Base, Mianwali. He had earlier done his War Course from the French War College. The ACAS (Plans) was the late Air Cdre Saleem Nawaz, a brilliant officer who had made his mark at the Staff College at Bracknell, UK and during the War Course at the National Defence College, Islamabad. There is no gainsaying the fact that PAF's hierarchy was highly qualified and that each one of the players in the Operations branch had the requisite command and staff experience. The two top men had also fought in the 1971 Indo-Pak War, albeit as junior officers. First Rumblings As Director of Operations (in the rank of Gp Capt), my first opportunity to interact with the Army's Director of Military Operations (DMO) was over a phone call, some time in March 1999. Brig Nadeem Ahmed called with great courtesy and requested some information that he needed for a paper exercise, as he told me. He wanted to know when had the PAF last carried out a deployment at Skardu, how many aircraft were deployed, etc. Rather impressed with the Army's interest in PAF matters, I passed on the requisite details. The next day, Brig Nadeem called again, but this time his questions were more probing and he wanted some classified information including fuel storage capacity at Skardu, fighter sortie-generation capacity, radar coverage, etc. He insisted that he was preparing a briefing and wanted to get his facts and figures right, in front of his bosses. We got on a secure line and I passed on the required information. Although he made it sound like routine contingency planning, I sensed that something unusual was brewing. In the event, I thought it prudent to inform the DCAS (Ops). Just to be sure, he checked up with his counterpart, the Director General Military Operations (DGMO), Maj Gen Tauqir Zia, who said the same thing as his DMO and, assured that it was just part of routine contingency planning Not withstanding the DGMO's assurance, a cautious Air Marshal Zahid decided to check things for himself and despatched Gp Capt Tariq Ashraf, Officer Commanding of No 33 Wing at PAF Base, Kamra, to look things over at Skardu and make a report. Within a few days, Gp Capt Tariq (who was also the designated war-time commander of Skardu Base) had completed his visit, which included his own periodic war-readiness inspection. While he made a detailed report to the DCAS (Ops), he let me in on the Army's mobilisation and other preparations that he had seen in Skardu. His analysis was that 'something big is imminent.' Helicopter flying activity was feverishly high as Army Aviation's Mi-17s were busy moving artillery guns and ammunition to the posts that had been vacated by the Indians during winter season. Troops in battle gear were to be seen all over the city. Interestingly, Messes were abuzz with war chatter amongst young officers. In retrospect, one wonders how Indian intelligence agencies failed to read any such signs, many weeks before the operation unfolded. After hearing Gp Capt Tariq's report, Air Marshal Zahid again got in touch with Maj Gen Tauqir and, in a roundabout way, told him that if the Army's ongoing 'review of contingency plans' required the PAF to be factored in, an Operations & Plans team would be available for discussion. Nothing was heard from the GHQ till 12 May, when Air Marshal Zahid was told to send a team for a briefing at HQ 10 Corps with regard to the 'Kashmir Contingency' . Air Cdre Abid Rao, Air Cdre Saleem Nawaz and myself were directed by the DCAS (Ops) to attend a briefing on the 'latest situation in Kashmir' at HQ 10 Corps. We were welcomed by the Chief of Staff (COS) of the Corps, who led us to the briefing room. Shortly thereafter, the Corps Commander, Lt Gen Mehmud Ahmad entered, cutting an impressive figure clad in a bush-coat and his trademark camouflage scarf. After exchanging pleasantries, the COS started with the map orientation briefing. Thereafter, Lt Gen Mehmud took over and broke the news that a limited operation had started two days earlier. It was nothing more than a 'protective manoeuvre', he explained, and was meant to foreclose any further mischief by the enemy, who had been a nuisance in the Neelum Valley, specially on the road on our side of the Line of Control (LOC). He then elaborated that a few vacant Indian posts had been occupied on peaks across the LOC, overlooking the Dras-Kargil Road. These would, in effect, serve the purpose of Airborne Observation Posts (AOP) meant for directing artillery fire with accuracy. Artillery firepower would be provided by a couple of field guns that had been heli-lifted to the heights, piecemeal, and re-assembled over the previous few months when the Indians had been off-guard during the winter extremes. The target was a vulnerable section of Dras-Kargil Road, whose blocking would virtually cut off the crucial life-line which carried the bulk of supplies needed for daily consumption as well as annual winter-stocking in Leh-Siachen Sector. He was very hopeful that this stratagem could choke off the Indians in the vital sector for up to a month, after which the monsoons would prevent vehicular movement (due to landslides) and, also suspend all airlift by the IAF. "Come October, we shall walk in to Siachen – to mop up the dead bodies of hundreds of Indians left hungry, out in the cold," he succinctly summed up what appeared to be a new dimension to the Siachen dispute. It also seemed to serve, at least for the time being, the secondary aim of alleviating Indian military pressure on Pakistani lines of communications in the Neelum Valley that the Corps Commander had alluded to in his opening remarks. (The oft-heard strategic aim of 'providing a fillip to the insurgency in Kashmir' was never mentioned.) When Lt Gen Mehmud asked for questions at the end of the rather crisp and to-the-point briefing, Air Cdre Saleem Nawaz opened up by inquiring about the type of air support that might be needed for the operation. Lt Gen Mehmud assured us that air support was not envisaged and that his forces could take care of enemy aircraft, if they intervened. "I have Stingers on every peak," he announced. Air Cdre Saleem tried to point out the limited envelope of these types of missiles and said that nothing stopped the IAF from attacking the posts and artillery pieces from high altitude. To this, Lt Gen Mehmud's reply was that his troops were well camouflaged and concealed and, that IAF pilots would not be able to pick out the posts from the air. As the discussion became more animated, I asked the Corps Commander if he was sure the Indians would not use their artillery to vacate our incursion, given the criticality of the situation from their standpoint. He replied that the Dras-Kargil stretch did not allow for positioning of the hundreds of guns that would be required, due to lack of depth; in any case, it would be suicidal for the Indians to denude artillery firepower from any other sector as defensive balance had to be maintained. He gave the example of the Kathua-Jammu Sector where the Indians had a compulsion to keep the bulk of their modern Bofors guns due to the vital road link's vulnerability to our offensive elements. It seemed from the Corps Commander's smug appreciation of the situation that the Indians had been tightly straitjacketed in Dras-Kargil Sector and had no option but to submit to our operational design. More significantly, an alternate action like a strategic riposte by the Indians in another sector had been rendered out of question, given the nuclear environment. Whether resort to an exterior manoeuvre (diplomatic offensive) by the beleaguered Indians had crossed the planners' minds, it was not discernable in the Corps Commander's elucidation. Perhaps it was the incredulousness of the whole thing that led Air Cdre Abid Rao to famously quip, "After this operation, it's going to be either a Court Martial or Martial Law!" as we walked out of the briefing room. Back at the Air Headquarters, we briefed the DCAS(Ops) about what had transpired at the 10 Corps briefing. His surprise at the developments, as well as his concern about the possibility of events spiralling out of control, could not remain concealed behind his otherwise unflappable demeanour. We all were also piqued at being left out of the Army's planning, though we were given to believe that it was a 'limited tactical action' in which the PAF would not be required – an issue that none of us agreed with. Presented with a fait accompli, we decided not to lose any more time and, while the DCAS (Ops) went to brief the CAS about the situation, we set about gearing up for a hectic routine. The operations room was quickly updated with the latest large-scale maps and air recce photos of the area; communications links with concerned agencies were also revamped in a short time. Deployment orders were issued and, within the next 48 hours, the bulk of combat elements were in-situ at their war locations. IAF – By Fits & Starts The IAF deployments in Kashmir, for what came to be known as 'Operation Safedsagar', commenced on 15 May with the bulk of operational assets positioned by 18 May. 150 combat aircraft were deployed as follows: > Srinagar - 34 (MiG-21, MiG23, MiG-27) > Awantipur - 28 (MiG-21, MiG29, Jaguar) > Udhampur - 12 (MiG-21) > Pathankot - 30 (MiG-21, MiG-23) > Adampur - 46 (Mir-2000, MiG-29, Jaguar) One-third of the aircraft were modern, 'high-threat' fighters equipped with Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missiles. During the preparatory stage, air defence alert status (5 minutes to scramble from ground) was maintained while Mirage-2000s and Jaguars carried out photo-reconnaissanc e along the Line of Control (LOC) and aging Canberras carried out electronic intelligence (ELINT) to ferret out locations of PAF air defence sensors. Last minute honing of strafing and rocketing skills was carried out by pilots at an air-to-ground firing range near Leh. Operations by IAF started in earnest on 26 May, a full 16 days after commencement of Pakistani infiltration across the LOC. The salient feature of this initial phase was strafing and rocketing of the intruders' positions by MiG-21, MiG-23BN and MiG-27. All operations (except air defence) came to a sudden standstill on 28 May, after two IAF fighters and a helicopter were lost – a MiG-21 and a Mi-17 to Pak Army surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), while a MiG-27 went down due to engine trouble caused by gun gas ingestion during high altitude strafing. (Incidentally, the pilot of the MiG-27 Flt Lt Nachiketa, who ejected and was apprehended, had a tête-à-tête with this author during an interesting 'interrogation' session.) The results achieved by the IAF in the first two days were dismal. Serious restraints seem to have been imposed on the freedom of action of IAF fighters in what was basically a search-and-destroy mission. Lt Gen Mehmud's rant about a 'Stinger on every peak' seemed true. It was obvious that the IAF had under-estimated the SAM threat. The mood in Pak Army circles was that of undiluted elation, and the PAF was expected to sit it out while sharing the khakis' glee. The IAF immediately went into a reappraisal mode and came out with GPS-assisted high altitude bombing by MiG-21, MiG-23BN and MiG-27 as a makeshift solution. In the meantime, quick modification on the Mirage-2000 for day/night laser bombing kits (Litening pods) was initiated with the help of Israelis. Conventional bombing that started incessantly after a two-day operational hiatus, was aimed at harassment and denial of respite to the infiltrators, with consequent adverse effects on morale. The results of this part of the campaign were largely insignificant, mainly because the target coordinates were not known accurately; the nature of the terrain too, precluded precision. A few cases of fratricide by IAF led it to be even more cautious. By 16 June, IAF was able to open up the laser-guided bombing campaign with the help of Jaguars and Mirage-2000. Daily photo-recce along the LOC by Jaguars escorted by Mirage-2000s, which had continued from the beginning of operations, proved crucial to both the aerial bombing campaign as well as the Indian artillery, helping the latter in accurately shelling Pakistani positions in the Dras-Kargil and Gultari Sectors. While the photo-recce missions typically did not involve deliberate border violations, there were a total of 37 'technical violations' (which emanate as a consequence of kinks and bends in the geographical boundaries). Typically, these averaged to a depth of five nautical miles, except on one occasion when the IAF fighters apparently cocked-a-snoot at the PAF and came in 13 miles deep. The Mirage-2000s scored at least five successful laser-guided bomb hits on forward dumping sites and posts. During the last days of operations which ended on 12 July, it was clear that delivery accuracy had improved considerably. Even though night bombing accuracy was suspect, round-the-clock attacks had made retention of posts untenable for Pakistani infiltrators. Photo-recce of Pakistani artillery gun positions also made them vulnerable to Indian artillery. The IAF flew a total of 550 strike missions against infiltrator positions including bunkers and supply depots. The coordinates of these locations were mostly picked up from about 150 reconnaissance and communications intelligence missions. In addition, 500 missions were flown for air defence and for escorting strike and recce missions. While the Indians had been surprised by the infiltration in Kargil, the IAF mobilised and reacted rapidly as the Indian Army took time to position itself. Later, when the Indian Army had entrenched itself, the IAF supplemented and filled in where the artillery could not be positioned in force. Clearly, Army-Air joint operations had a synergistic effect in evicting the intruders. PAF in a Bind From the very beginning of Kargil operations, PAF was entrapped by a circumstantial absurdity: it was faced with the ludicrous predicament of having to provide air support to infiltrators already disowned by the Pakistan Army leadership! In any case, it took some effort to impress on the latter that crossing the LOC by fighters laden with bombs was not, by any stretch of imagination, akin to lobbing a few artillery shells to settle scores. There was no doubt in the minds of PAF Air Staff that the first cross-border attack (whether across LOC or the international border) would invite an immediate response from the IAF, possibly in the shape of a retaliatory strike against the home base of the intruding fighters, thus starting the first round. PAF's intervention meant all-out war: this unmistakable conclusion was conveyed to the Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif, by the Air Chief in no equivocal terms. Short of starting an all-out war, PAF looked at some saner options that could put some wind in the sails after doldrums had been hit. Air Marshal Najib Akhtar, the Air Officer Commanding of Air Defence Command was co-opted by the Air Staff to sift the possibilities. Audacious and innovative in equal parts, Air Marshal Najib had an excellent knowledge about our own and the enemy's Air Defence Ground Environment (ADGE). He had conceived and overseen the unprecedented heli-lift of a low-looking radar to a 14,000-ft mountain top on the forbidding Deosai Plateau. The highly risky operation became possible with the help of some courageous flying by Army Aviation pilots. With good low level radar cover now available up to the LOC, Air Marshal Najib along with the Air Staff focused on fighter sweep (a mission flown to destroy patrolling enemy fighters) as a possible option. To prevent the mission from being seen as an escalatory step in the already charged atmosphere, PAF had to lure Indian fighters into its own territory, ie Azad Kashmir or the Northern Areas. That done, a number of issues had to be tackled. What if the enemy aircraft were hit in our territory but fell across, providing a pretext to India as a doubly aggrieved party? What if one of our own aircraft fell, no matter if the exchange was one-to-one (or better)? Finally, even if we were able to pull off a surprise, would it not be a one-off incident, with the IAF wisening up in quick time? The over-arching consideration was the BVR missile capability of IAF fighters which impinged unfavourably on the mission success probability. The conclusion was that a replication of the famous four-Vampire rout of 1st September 1965 by two Sabres might not be possible. The idea of a fighter sweep thus fizzled out as quickly as it came up for discussion. While the PAF looked at some offensive options, it had a more pressing defensive issue at hand. The IAF's minor border violations during recce missions were not of grave consequence in so far as no bombing had taken place in our territory; however, the fact that these missions helped the enemy refine its air and artillery targeting, was, to say the least, disconcerting. There were constant reports of our troops on the LOC disturbed to see (or hear) IAF fighters operating with apparent impunity. The GHQ took the matter up with the AHQ and it was resolved that Combat Air Patrols (CAPs) would be flown by the F-16s operating out of Minhas (Kamra) and Sargodha. This arrangement resulted in less on-station time but was safer than operating out of vulnerable Skardu, which had inadequate early warning in the mountainous terrain; its status as a turn-around facility was, however, considered acceptable for its location. A flight of F-7s was, nonetheless, deployed primarily for point defence of the important garrison town of Skardu as well as the air base. F-16 CAPs could not have been flown all day long as spares support was limited under the prevailing US sanctions. Random CAPs were resorted to, with a noticeable drop in border violations only as long as the F-16s were on station. There were a few cases of F-16s and Mirage-2000s locking their adversaries with the on-board radars but caution usually prevailed and no close encounters took place. After one week of CAPs, the F-16 maintenance personnel indicated that war reserve spares were being eaten into and that the activity had to be 'rationalised' , a euphemism for discontinuing it altogether. That an impending war occupied the Air Staff's minds was evident in the decision by the DCAS (Ops) for F-16 CAPs to be discontinued, unless IAF activity became unbearably provocative or threatening. Those not aware of the gravity of the F-16 operability problem under sanctions have complained of the PAF's lack of cooperation. Suffice it to say that if the PAF had been included in the initial planning, this anomaly (along with many others) would have emerged as a mitigating factor against the Kargil adventure. It is another matter that the Army high command did not envisage operations ever coming to such a pass. Now, it was almost as if the PAF was to blame for the Kargil venture spiralling out of control. It also must be noted too that other than F-16s, the PAF did not have a capable enough fighter for patrolling, as the minimum requirement in this scenario was an on-board airborne intercept radar, exceptional agility and sufficient staying power. F-7s had reasonably good manoeuvrability but lacked an intercept radar as well as endurance, while the ground attack Mirage-III/5s and A-5s were sitting ducks for the air combat mission. In sum, the PAF found it expedient not to worry too much about minor border violations and instead, conserve resources for the larger conflagration that was looming. All the same, it gave the enemy no pretext for for retaliation in the face of any provocation, though this latter stance irked some quarters in the Army that were desperate to 'equal the match'. Might it strike to some that PAF's restraint in warding off a major conflagration may have been its paramount contribution to the Kargil conflict? Aftermath It has emerged that the principal protagonists of the Kargil adventure were the Chief of Army Staff (COAS): General Pervez Musharraf, Commander 10 Corps: Lt Gen Mehmud Ahmed and Commander Force Command Northern Areas (FCNA): Maj Gen Javed Hasan. The trio, in previous ranks and appointments, had been associated with planning during paper exercises on how to wrest control of lost territory in Siachen. The plans were not acceptable to the then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, to whom the options had been put up for review more than once. She was well-versed in international affairs and, all too intelligent to be taken in by the chicanery. It fell to the wisdom of her successor, Mr Nawaz Sharif, to approve the Army trio's self-serving presentation. In an effort to keep the plan secret, which was thought to be the key to its successful initiation, the Army trio took no one into confidence, neither its operational commanders nor the heads of the other services. This, regrettably, resulted in a closed-loop thought process which engendered a string of oversights and failures: ·                         Failure to grasp the wider military and diplomatic ramifications of a limited tactical operation that had the potential of creating strategic effects. ·                         Failure to correctly visualise the response of a powerful enemy to what was, in effect, a major blow in a disputed sector. ·                         Failure to spell out the specific aim to field commanders, who acted on their own to needlessly 'capture' territory and expand the scope of the operation to unmanageable levels. ·                         Failure to appreciate the inability of the Army officers to evaluate the capabilities and limitations of an Air Force. ·                         Failure to coordinate contingency plans at the tri-services level. The flaws in the Kargil Plan that led to these failures were almost palpable and, could not have escaped even a layman's attention during a cursory examination. The question arises as to why all the planners got blinded to the obvious? Could it be that some of the sub-ordinates had the sight but not the nerve in the face of a powerful superior? In hierarchical organisations, there is precious little room for dissent, but in autocratic ones like the military, it takes more than a spine to disagree, for there are very few commanders who are large enough to allow such liberties. It is out of fear of annoying the superior – which also carries with it manifold penalties and loss of promotion and perks – that the majority decide to go along with the wind. In a country where democratic traditions have never been deep-rooted, it is no big exposé to point out that the military is steeped in an authoritarian, rather than a consensual approach. To my mind, there is an urgent need to inculcate a more liberal culture that accommodates different points of view – a more lateral approach, so to speak. Disagreement during planning should be systemically tolerated and, not taken as a personal affront. Unfortunately, many in higher ranks seem to think that rank alone confers wisdom and, anyone displaying signs of intelligence at an earlier stage is, somehow, an alien in their 'star-spangled' universe. Kargil, I suspect, like the '65 and '71 Wars, was a case of not having enough dissenters ('devil's advocates', if you will) during planning, because everyone wanted to agree with the boss. That single reason, I think, was the root cause of most of the failures that were apparent right from the beginning. If this point is understood well, remedial measures towards tolerance and liberalism can follow as a matter of course. Such an organisational milieu, based on honest appraisal and fearless appeal, would be conducive to sound and sensible planning. It would also go a long way in precluding Kargil-like disasters. Tailpiece Come change-over time of the Chief of Air Staff in 2001, President Musharraf struck at PAF's top leadership in what can only be described as implacable action: he passed over all five Air Marshals and appointed the sixth-in-line who was practically an Air Vice Marshal till a few weeks before. While disregarding of seniority in the appointment of service chiefs has historically been endemic in the country, the practice has been seen as breeding nepotism and partiality, besides leaving a trail of conjecture and gossip in the ranks. Given Air Chief Marshal Mehdi's rather straight-faced and forthright dealings with a somewhat junior General Musharraf particularly during Kargil conflict, there is good reason to believe that the latter decided to appoint a not-very-senior Air Chief whom he could order around like one of his Corps Commanders. (As it turned out, Air Chief Marshal Mus'haf was as solid as his predecessor and gave no quarter when it came to PAF's interests.) Whatever the reason of bypassing seniority, it was unfortunate that PAF's precious corporate experience was thrown out so crassly and several careers destroyed. Lives and honour lost in Kargil is another matter.

THOPUKARANAM or Super Brain Yoga

Thopukaranam

When my friend sent me this youtube attachment, I was awestruck but it also brought back very fond memories of my child hood schooling  in rural Tamil Nadu schools.

Our teacher  will punish us with Thopukaranams depending upon the severity of mischief.

Talking in the class      10 thopukaranamas

Late arrival                 20 thopukaranams

Not doing home work    30 thopukaranams

winking at a girl          100 thopukaranams

    I still remember how after my friends prodding I decided to wink at Jayalakshmi, a brahmin girl who always stood first in our class and a small angel in looks according to me.

But it is realy difficult to catch her eye which was always downcast though those  girls of our times used to know what anyone is doing with their side vision.Lo behold

I could catch her eye one day and winked hard but to my utter disappointment she did not report to the class teacher. I just could not do that 100 thopukaranams. It is only

later I used to wonder why she did not report my winking !!!!!

    But to call our village school punishment Thopukarnam as Super brain yoga by Yale researcher? I know left and right brain function and also read

somewhere that ear lobes has that something which can even stop a brain stroke. Did our ancient teachers punished us with thopukarnams so that

we can learn better by doing SUPER BRAIN YOGA? Hope our youngsters  punish their children with superbrain yoga or THOPUKARANAMS (Tamil) in future.

This also brought to my mind the THOPUKARANAMs which most of Tamil devotees do in front of Pillaiyyar(Lord Vinayaka,Ganesha) as we Tamils call may 

be a sort of confession before the Lord. Our Tamil Deity Pillaiyar is also fond of KOLUKATTAI, a type of sweet which is normally offered on Vinayaka Chathurthi.

Anyhow look at Super brain yoga  below in YouTube.

                                       

                                      Super Brain Yoga or Thopukarnam

                                      Right or Left brain? 

                                      Brain cascade

Inspiring TRUE story

A Guy who got into Google I am proud of this boy as he is in Bangalore and also an inspiration to many of us.I got this story from a friend and i thought it should become a blog post so that more people read this true life story. Naga Naresh Karutura has just passed out of IIT Madras in Computer Science and has joined Google in Bangalore. You may ask, what's so special about this 21-year-old when there are hundreds of students passing out from various IITs and joining big companies like Google? Naresh is special. His parents are illiterate. He has no legs and moves around in his powered wheel chair. (In fact, when I could not locate his lab, he told me over the mobile phone, 'I will come and pick you up'. And in no time, he was there to guide me) Ever smiling, optimistic and full of spirit; that is Naresh. He says, "God has always been planning things for me. That is why I feel I am lucky." Read why Naresh feels he is lucky.in his own words. Childhood in a village I spent the first seven years of my life in Teeparru, a small village in Andhra Pradesh, on the banks of the river Godavari. My father Prasad was a lorry driver and my mother Kumari, a house wife. Though they were illiterate, my parents instilled in me and my elder sister (Sirisha) the importance of studying. Looking back, one thing that surprises me now is the way my father taught me when I was in the 1st and 2nd standards. My father would ask me questions from the text book, and I would answer them. At that time, I didn't know he could not read or write but to make me happy, he helped me in my studies! Another memory that doesn't go away is the floods in the village and how I was carried on top of a buffalo by my uncle. I also remember plucking fruits from a tree that was full of thorns. I used to be very naughty, running around and playing all the time with my friends.. I used to get a lot of scolding for disturbing the elders who slept in the afternoon. The moment they started scolding, I would run away to the fields! I also remember finishing my school work fast in class and sleeping on the teacher's lap! January 11, 1993, the fateful day On the January 11, 1993 when we had the sankranti holidays, my mother took my sister and me to a nearby village for a family function. From there we were to go with our grandmother to our native place. But my grandmother did not come there. As there were no buses that day, my mother took a lift in my father's friend's lorry. As there were many people in the lorry, he made me sit next to him, close to the door. It was my fault; I fiddled with the door latch and it opened wide throwing me out. As I fell, my legs got cut by the iron rods protruding from the lorry. Nothing happened to me except scratches on my legs. The accident had happened just in front of a big private hospital but they refused to treat me saying it was an accident case. Then a police constable who was passing by took us to a government hospital. First I underwent an operation as my small intestine got twisted. The doctors also bandaged my legs. I was there for a week. When the doctors found that gangrene had developed and it had reached up to my knees, they asked my father to take me to a district hospital. There, the doctors scolded my parents a lot for neglecting the wounds and allowing the gangrene to develop. But what could my ignorant parents do? In no time, both my legs were amputated up to the hips. I remember waking up and asking my mother, where are my legs? I also remember that my mother cried when I asked the question. I was in the hospital for three months. Life without legs I don't think my life changed dramatically after I lost both my legs. Because all at home were doting on me, I was enjoying all the attention rather than pitying myself. I was happy that I got a lot of fruits and biscuits. 'I never wallowed in self-pity' July 28, 2008 The day I reached my village, my house was flooded with curious people; all of them wanted to know how a boy without legs looked. But I was not bothered; I was happy to see so many of them coming to see me, especially my friends! All my friends saw to it that I was part of all the games they played; they carried me everywhere. God's hand I believe in God. I believe in destiny. I feel he plans everything for you. If not for the accident, we would not have moved from the village to Tanuku, a town. There I joined a missionary school, and my father built a house next to the school. Till the tenth standard, I studied in that school. If I had continued in Teeparu, I may not have studied after the 10th. I may have started working as a farmer or someone like that after my studies. I am sure God had other plans for me. My sister, my friend When the school was about to reopen, my parents moved from Teeparu to Tanuku, a town, and admitted both of us in a Missionary school. They decided to put my sister also in the same class though she is two years older. They thought she could take care of me if both of us were in the same class. My sister never complained. She would be there for everything. Many of my friends used to tell me, you are so lucky to have such a loving sister. There are many who do not care for their siblings. She carried me in the school for a few years and after a while, my friends took over the task. When I got the tricycle, my sister used to push me around in the school. My life, I would say, was normal, as everyone treated me like a normal kid. I never wallowed in self-pity. I was a happy boy and competed with others to be on top and the others also looked at me as a competitor. Inspiration I was inspired by two people when in school; my Maths teacher Pramod Lal who encouraged me to participate in various local talent tests, and a brilliant boy called Chowdhary, who was my senior. When I came to know that he had joined Gowtham Junior College to prepare for IIT-JEE, it became my dream too. I was school first in 10th scoring 542/600. Because I topped in the state exams, Gowtham Junior College waived the fee for me. Pramod Sir's recommendation also helped. The fee was around Rs 50,000 per year, which my parents could never afford. Moving to a residential school Living in a residential school was a big change for me because till then my life centred around home and school and I had my parents and sister to take care of all my needs. It was the first time that I was interacting with society. It took one year for me to adjust to the new life. There, my inspiration was a boy called K K S Bhaskar who was in the top 10 in IIT-JEE exams. He used to come to our school to encourage us. Though my parents didn't know anything about Gowtham Junior School or IIT, they always saw to it that I was encouraged in whatever I wanted to do.. If the results were good, they would praise me to the skies and if bad, they would try to see something good in that. They did not want me to feel bad. They are such wonderful supportive parents. Life at IIT- Madras Though my overall rank in the IIT-JEE was not that great (992), I was 4th in the physically handicapped category. So, I joined IIT, Madras to study Computer Science. Here, my role model was Karthik who was also my senior in school. I looked up to him during my years at IIT- Madras. He had asked for attached bathrooms for those with special needs before I came here itself. So, when I came here, the room had attached bath. He used to help me and guide me a lot when I was here. I evolved as a person in these four years, both academically and personally. It has been a great experience studying here. The people I was interacting with were so brilliant that I felt privileged to sit along with them in the class. Just by speaking to my lab mates, I gained a lot.. 'There are more good people in society than bad ones' July 28, 2008 Words are inadequate to express my gratitude to Prof Pandurangan and all my lab mates; all were simply great. I was sent to Boston along with four others for our internship by Prof Pandurangan. It was a great experience. Joining Google R&D I did not want to pursue PhD as I wanted my parents to take rest now. Morgan Stanley selected me first but I preferred Google because I wanted to work in pure computer science, algorithms and game theory. I am lucky Do you know why I say I am lucky? I get help from total strangers without me asking for it. Once after my second year at IIT, I with some of my friends was travelling in a train for a conference. We met a kind gentleman called Sundar in the train, and he has been taking care of my hostel fees from then on. I have to mention about Jaipur foot. I had Jaipur foot when I was in 3rd standard. After two years, I stopped using them. As I had almost no stems on my legs, it was very tough to tie them to the body. I found walking with Jaipur foot very, very slow. Sitting also was a problem. I found my tricycle faster because I am one guy who wants to do things faster. One great thing about the hospital is, they don't think their role ends by just fixing the Jaipur foot; they arrange for livelihood for all. They asked me what help I needed from them. I told them at that time, if I got into an IIT, I needed financial help from them. So, from the day I joined IIT, Madras, my fees were taken care of by them. So, my education at the IIT was never a burden on my parents and they could take care of my sister's Nursing studies. Surprise awaited me at IIT After my first year, when I went home, two things happened here at the Institute without my knowledge. I got a letter from my department that they had arranged a lift and ramps at the department for me. It also said that if I came a bit early and checked whether it met with my requirements, it would be good. Second surprise was, the Dean, Prof Idichandy and the Students General Secretary, Prasad had located a place that sold powered wheel chairs. The cost was Rs 55,000. What they did was, they did not buy the wheel chair; they gave me the money so that the wheel chair belonged to me and not the institute. My life changed after that. I felt free and independent. That's why I say I am lucky. God has planned things for me and takes care of me at every step. The world is full of good people I also feel if you are motivated and show some initiative, people around you will always help you. I also feel there are more good people in society than bad ones. I want all those who read this to feel that if Naresh can achieve something in life, you can too. Good work by Prof. Idichandy and the Students General Secretary, Prasad

Schizophrenia ,Suicide Myths

The following post is courtesy Ms.Suzane Smith who wanted to increase her blog's viewer ship

through my blog. The link is below

http://www.x-raytechnicianschools.org/10-myths-about-schizophrenia/

I do not agree with all her myths especially with regard to VIOLENCE. But still the link is useful for people who are interested.

I got another mail from Ms.Carolyn Freidman with similar link and an article on suicide asking to be posted in my blog for increasing viewer ship. The link is below

http://www.x-raytechnicianschools.org/10-common-myths-about-suicide/ I donot agree with some of the myths she talks about but generally the article is interesting to those who are interested.

I got another mail from one Ms.Susan White who also wants to increase viewer ship of her blog through my blog.The articles she has given are interesting and only ladies can comment on that.The links are below

http://becomingaradiologist.org/bioethics-and-a-woman-right-to-choose/

http://becomingaradiologist.org/back-away-from-back-aches/

http://becomingaradiologist.org/a-few-good-stress-busters/

AFPAK of Obama and MUSLIM UMMA

President Obama has delivered the most important war speech of his presidency. But the surge of 30,000 of American troops along with 5000 of other allies; will it make any difference to the AFPAK theatre of operations? If numbers alone are the matter, then Obama would have provided another 100 thousand or even more whether General Machrystal wanted it or not. Then what is the war aim? The war is not going to be fought in the battle fields of Helmand, Kandahar,Kunduz or even on the mountains of Tora bora.

The battle field is the hearts and minds of AMERICAN STREET in mainland USA. Yes this is the battlefield.

That is why the deadline is July 2011 to cater for spillover upto 2012 American election. His speech very clearly put the onus of winning this war in America on Pakistan Army. The less body bags, and you get your crowns which may even include Mullah Omar in Kabul in place of Karzai! Zardari and Karzai have already been expended.

The take is on General Kiyani and GHQ of Pakistan Army. But the General himself made one very significant statement as Obama was talking in front of West point cadets.He told the Frontier constabulary that "Pakistan was achieved in the name of Islam and MUSLIM UMMA and the religion can Never be expelled from the country" . Why he made this significant statement when Pakistan and Afghanistan are both Islamic republics? Therein lies the concept of MUSLIM UMMA. Americans rarely understand this or care to understand .It is Muslim Umma which is protecting Osama in spite of nearly $ 1 billion price tag on his head or Sheikh Omar , the killer of Daniel Pearl or Dr.AQ.Khan from being extradited to USA or which allowed Ilyas Kashmiri of Brigade 313 or Rauf to escape. This is what made General Musharaff , Zardari and MQM's Altaf Hussein to flee Pakistan while General Hamid Gul(rtd) of ISI , AQ Khan has no fear about their life in Pakistan. It is this Muslim Umma which killed Benazir and also ordered the killing of both Begums in Bangladesh and continue to order selective killing of ANP leadership inside Pakistan along with some Brigadier Generals who might take over as Army chiefs in due course. Islamic bomb could never be in the hands of any Pakistani Army man who is even relatively close to USA.

Obama promised " a partnership with Pakistan that is built on mutual interest,mutual respect, and mutual trust". He also highlighted the fact that USA is the largest donor for those IDPs who are displaced in SWAT and South Wazirstan. Nobody in the world including Pakistani Army now believe in Obama's take on Democracy after he ditched Nobel Laurette's Aung sung chee of Myanmar and Dalai Lama of Tibet . They know that they have the remote to control the American 2012 election. Already the American body bags in November is less than October though the whole year count is the biggest of 8 year war. During second Bush election the Obama tape manufactured by ISI was a big help to him in his reelction and now also the Haqqani group,Gulbudin Heketmayers Hizb-e-Islami and Quetta shura are all watching how General Kiyani will play out the demand for betrayal of MUSLIM UMMA. General Musharaff didnot betray them and i donot think General Kiyani will either.

Coming to Afghanistan war theater, Karzai is made to keep CIA/ISI asset Mohammad Gulab Mangal as Governor of Helmand whom Karzai brothers do not trust.The cosmetic deployment of extra troops will take

atleast one year with logistics being a nightmare. NATO convoys will be targeted by Tehreek Taliban while the Quetta Shura will take its orders from Pakistan Army. General Gul is already gloating and telling

his Afghan Taliban followers to keep patience so that when Americans head home with a fig leaf provided by ISI, they can take over. General Gul is already promoting Imran Khan as the acceptable civilian face for Pakistan Army and Maleeha Lodhi in place of Haqqani at Pakistan Washington embassy.

Central to Muhamed Ibn al Wahab's message was the essential oneness of TAWHID(GOD). They follow the cause which is known as AHL AT TAWHID or MUWAHHIDUN( Unitarians). Wahab's instructions in the matter of extending Islamic teachings by force were strict. All unbelievers ( Christians,Hindus,Jews as well as those who did not accept Wahab's interpretation of Islam and Holy Quoran is more supportive of him) were to be put to death. He viewed votive offerings, praying at saints tombs and at graves, any prayer ritual in which suppliant appeals to a third party for intercession with TAWHID as objectionable.Even celebration of prophet's birthday,Shia mourning ceremonies, Sufi Mysticism of Indian Muslims are particularly abhorring for his followers.

Whether Pakistani Army supported Taliban and fighting US forces in Afghanistan or Tehreek Taliban of Pakistan which is fighting the Pakistani army inside Pakistan as well as NATO convoys to Afghanistan will inherit MUSLIM UMMA is the question which policy makers of the world should watch with interest.

10th World Congress of WAPR/ a carers perspective

10th World Congress of World association of Psycho social rehabilitation(WAPR)

The 10th World congress of World Association for Psycho social rehabilitation was held in Bangalore from 12-15th November 2009. There were nearly 52 countries represented in the congress from all over globe. The theme of the congress was One world/ quest for integration. Even from developed countries the representation of Carers and consumers were almost nil. I found only one carer from Israel and one consumer each from Netherlands and USA apart from our own Anil Vartak from Pune. But WAPR is the only worldwide organisation which has members from carers, consumers apart from Psychiatrists,Psychologists,Psychiatric social workers and Psychiatric nurses. NGOs from India dominated the scene with their work and i found that mental health professionals from third world countries and even USA, Chinese experts appreciating the quality of India's work with meager resources and almost nil help from Indian Central/state governments. The African and Sri lankan delegates told me that this is something which can be replicated in their countries with meager resources. What impressed them most was the effort of Santosh of Maraiasadanam (http://www.mariyasadanam.org)without any mental health professional training has raised an orchestra and theatre group from abandoned wandering mentally ill. Meet the expert, Invited Symposia, Proposed Symposia, workshops,scientific and poster presentations dominated the conference. Sometimes one has to chose between two similar symposia on a topic on which I am interested and has to give the miss to one.While sometimes i found topics which are heavy are also held simultaneously and found to be boring by ordinary carer like me and so i spend time at the coffee stall.I always wondered why is it that human rights/ethical issues in administering ECT, modified ECT etc ( Biological Psychiatry) are discussed in these types of conferences in third world countries while ignoring human rights issues of Deep Brain simulation just because it may be administered by using anesthesia and is carried out in rich countries. ECT has helped many patients especially suffering from severe depression in India.There was this topic about changing the name of Schizophrenia as the name is stigmatizing. This name is NOT known to many in India except those 3000 odd psychiatrists and another 1000 other mental health professionals and also some carers who are educated in English.People in India call everyone affected by Mental illness who show abnormal behavior as PAGAL. In fact this term is used in derogatory term for anyone who doesn't show some basic common sense.Are we in India have to change this name? Britishers in India used to call all thosewho required Disability benefits in three broad terms. Lepers, Lunatics,Idiots and totally blind.No DSM IV, ICD 10 for them .They put the lunatics behind bar in prisons and gave them food and shelter and didn't allow them to wander the streets. Now due to a lobby of human rights lawyers these Lunatics ( now called Mentally ill) were released into streets of India without shelter and food. They had their so called Freedom and human rights lawyers got their medals but the lunatics roamed the streets with FREEDOM to beg and to be abused. WAPR must look at these issues with carers and consumers perspective instead of Human rights lawyers views.Russel D souza and Carlyle Perera, renowned disaster recovery experts of Australia gave their views and i found that RESILIENCE creation amongst the population who are prone to disaster prone areas in Bengal ,Orissa which frequently face cyclones and Assam which faces floods. Dr.Mushtaq A Marghoob from Srinagar University took the circuitous route of Earthquake in Kashmir and trauma to talk about conflict area trauma where innocent civilians are facing cross fire and suffer. India should be open about Trauma being faced by people living in areas like Kashmir,Manipur, Tripura where security forces and insurgents cause trauma to civil population. Soon we may have naxal affected areas facing Trauma.There was this debate for a proposition ""More mental hospitals not de-institutionalization is the need of LAMIC countries"". The debate was by eminent mental health professionalswho did not understand the need of the Families and consumers. We in India have not established a single new institution comparable to AIIMS of Delhi or NIMHANS OF Bangalore after 1950 and those mental health institutions which function have no adequate staff ,equipment, buildings etc. These were highlighted by NHRC study and NIMHANS study on various hospitals in India. Indian Psychiatric society or Indian Private psychiatric society could NOT succeed in convincing Government for more funds till the ERAWADY TRAGEDY in which 28 chained mentally ill persons perished in a fire. From 19 crores budget at the time of Erawady tragedy , today it has increased to nearly 1000 crores. But patients from northeast and Assam continue to pour into Bangalore for mental health care due to presence of NIMHANS braving enormous cost and distance. In spite of SUPREME COURT RULING in that case (W.P.(C) NO 334 OF 2001 and interim order dated 5th feb 2002, most of the provisions of that order remain unimplemented especially inclusion of MENTAL ILLNESS in the NATIONAL TRUST ACT 1998, establishment of more institutions like NIMHANS. Except the Home Minister of Karnataka who inaugurated the conference nobody in the Proposed symposia on legislation and human rights spoke about the changes being framed in India in the Acts involving Psycho social disability 1.The national trust act 1998 2. The Persons with disabilities act 1995 3.The Rehabilitation council act 1992.All the above acts and the ministry which is supposed to implement it SOCIAL JUSTICE MINISTRY of Central government and DISABILITY COMMISSIONER of state government were NOT REPRESENTED IN THIS CONFERENCE BY EVEN A SINGLE PERSON.

CLOZAPINE , a drug which evokes strong feelings from the Psychiatric community makes carers wonder about the so called study being conducted in various settings. Dr.Angelo Barbato presented a study in which he contrasted the benefits of various new age atypical medications like Quetiapine,Respiradone,Olanzapine with typical old age Haloperidol and concluded that there is no major benefit in prescribing the new age medications. What i found rather intriguing is that CLOZAPINE was not part of HIS study!! His reason for the exclusion is that it involves blood tests involved in the study though he admitted it is more effective. The doctor from NICE , UK who presided over the session even used the word "poison" to Clozapine!! But Prof Mansfield Mela and his team of 7 researchers from Canada presented a paper in which they opined Clozapine promotes employability,reduces offending among mentally disordered offenders.They also opined the effect of Clozapine is long lasting. For those who are interested in medicines and their prescription , please go to the following link for further information provided by NIMH. The study was conducted without involving patients who are suffering from Tardive dyskinesia while Clozapine was found to be very effective in treating TD which is major side effect of all anti/psychotics. My personal opinion after talking to some patients who take this drug is that it is very effective.Also the need for taking blood test to find total blood count decrease (which according to some scientists is common to ALL ANTI/PSYCHOTICS) is the major reason for its cost. Whether the decrease in blood count is common to ALL anti/psychotics and whether it is significantly more in clozapine or NOT should be studied in India so that this MYTH is cleared for the benefit of all consumers of the world. Prof Wolfgang Krahl from Germany is the only Psychiatrist who advocated for Inclusion of Clozapine in the W.H.O essential drugs list.

http://www.catie.unc.edu/

5 key findings from CATIE phases 1 and 2

Olanzapine was more effective than the four other antipsychotics (risperidone, quetiapine, ziprasidone, and perphenazine) in phase 1.2 Perphenazine—a first-generation antipsychotic—was as effective as risperidone, quetiapine and ziprasidone in phase 1.2 Neurocognitive function was no different whether patients were treated with perphenazine or SGAs, but adjunctive anticholinergic treatment worsened cognitive function.8 In phase 2, clozapine was more effective than other SGAs in patients who discontinued phase 1 because of inadequate efficacy.9 Antipsychotics differed in their adverse effect profiles, but no significant differences were observed between perphenazine and the SGAs in EPS rates or use of anticholinergic agents.2

This congress is being held in India is due to the singular effort of Dr.T.MURALI and his team consisting of Prof Mathew Verghese, Dr.Ravi Shankar Rao and Dr. Ajit Bhide. So personally I was disappointed to see that the next President is from Philippines while the honour should have gone to India's Dr.Murali. One cannot cover all articles by 300 odd Professionals.

Some of the snaps taken at the conference are below.I didnot know how to handle the Sony cyber shot which i purchased recently. Hope i take better snaps next time

1.Audience at my seminar including Susan Keter of Kenya

2. With delegates from SriLanka

3.A Delegate from Nepal, Prof Gayathri Ramaprasad from USA, Dr.Mrs.Mufti, a Dentist from Karachi Prof Khalid A Mufti of Pakistan PPS,captJohann

4.A volunteer and a Sanyasin from Divya Jyothi Jagrati Sansthan with Mrs.Joyce Shiromani of

Paripurnatha, Calcutta,Lifetime achievement awardee for Psycho scoial rehab, johann

5.Prof Michael G.Madianos of Greece,Mr. Eliahu ShAmir, of OZMA Israel,captainjohann

Suicide Terrorism and MUSLIM UMMA

The following link gives the story of the shooting in American military base

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33678801/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

The American nation is in such a trauma, they are censoring the news, a sign of fear.They are not telling that the killer prepared carefully for the attack.He also distributed the Holy Quoran to some of the neighbors before the attack. He also donated his furniture for free to whomever wanted it. He shouted "Allaho Akbar" before firing.The first spin was that he might be suffering from PTSD which is not true as he was not posted outside USA ever.In fact his posting to Afghanistan is his first overseas posting. Now some experts are saying that he might be suffering from "Secondary syndrome', due to his interviews with returning war veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan .Another baloney! America has to face up to suicide terrorism.

The following you tube videos will educate the Americans to the threat their nation is facing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD-Nny3EP98

I am pasting from a blog post in which a Pakistani Brigadier has given guidelines to his country's police personnel to recognize a suicide bombers. But these guidelines will apply only to those poor boys who are recruited for the cause for money or due to family circumstances and ready to die.

"""Security forces have released some guidelines as how to identify a suicide bomber. They are normally young boys of age bracket 18 to 25. They generally wear new shalwar qameez with new shoes. They normally have fresh haircut and freshly trimmed beard. They look heavy in their appearance due to the suicide jacket underneath their shirt and they have red eyes due to sleepless night. They normally are observing fast and reading under their lips. They go straight to their target and don’t listen to anybody. Before the attack, they are accompanied by their handler who points out the target just before 10 to 15 minutes of attack.""

Only Muslims can be called innocents and all non-Muslims are legitimate targets according to this cleric.See the following BBC clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maHSOB2RFm4

The following chat of Fox news in which the brother of the Killer gives his views is very illuminating.

"""NADER HASAN: And I want to make sure everybody understands, he is a good American, and we are shocked. We just found out on the news that he was being deployed. He never even told us, because we’ve known for the last five years that was probably his worst nightmare. He deals with stories. He would tell us how he would hear things, horrific things.


But even before things from the war that was probably affecting him psychologically, he was dealing with some harassment in some of his—with some of his military colleagues and, you know, to the extent where he was—he hired a military attorney to try to have the issue resolved, pay back the government to get out of the military, if that was it. But he was at the end of—you know, trying everything to try to make everybody fair and reasonable and him get out of the situation. So I’m really—you know, I’m shocked, and I’m baffled. And if anybody wants to try to suggest it has something else to do with being afraid of wanting to go to war, that’s—that’s it.


SHEPARD SMITH: And when was it that he became disenchanted with the idea of being in the military?


NADER HASAN: You know, I don’t think he was ever disenchanted with being in the military. I think he loved, and he was the one, like I said, who insisted on going into the military, even against his parents’ wishes. It was the harassment that I think was getting—was what got to him, was him being referenced from his Middle Eastern ethnicity, even though he was born and raised here and went to high school here in northern Virginia in Roanoke, Virginia, and went to Virginia Tech and, you know, never been in trouble. You know, just normal, played sports and, you know, never got in any trouble."""

It seems the Army major killer was even defending suicide bombers to his colleagues by equating them to a soldier who saves his fellow soldier by embracing a live grenade. Basically he is getting brainwashed into MUSLIM UMMA slowly.

This DISAFFECTION is created very subtly by making America look like a monster because it supports Israel.Being an American soldier he has to obey his nations constitution

which may require him to bomb even Saudi Arabia,Iran etc due to American security or economic interests. But he is slowly brain washed to believe that loyalty to

any nation is evil.Democracy is evil and western society is evil. His loyalty should be to Allah only which slowly turns into loyalty to all Muslim nations at the expense of his own nation. So killing his brother soldiers becomes easy.

In India also this DISAFFECTION is created by political parties with vested interests. Everyone knows about 1984 Anti/Sikh riots.But a Sikh youngster of today does not know how Bhindranwale was created, what was the mayhem he was creating, how even a killer was made Jadhedar of Akhal takht. How some Sikhs celebrated the killing of Indira Gandhi by lighting Diyas

which provoked the Hindus.Some congress leaders might have also played their part in the riots but the killing of Sikhs in Delhi, and surrounding areas was spontaneous outburst of

anger of Hindus.Same is the case of Godhra riots. the burning of 55 Hindu pilgrims by some Muslim tea vendors and the TV footage created a Hindu backlash and the riots.Whether

Gujerat Government played a part in the riots is now before apex court.They must have played a part by turning blind eye to the breakdown of law and killing of Muslims.But continously harping on these old wounds creats only DISAFFECTION.We in India have many fault lines and creating DISAFFECTION is easy.But the BJP pointing out 1984 riots whenever it is cornered by Congress about Godhra riots is only creating DISAFFECTION amongst the affected and it is a handy tool for the enemies of our nation.