…so am I.

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Images courtesy: The Hindu, ET, ToI, IE
Related Post: Explaining AfPak to a 14-year old

As many of you would know, “Immigration” is currently a hot issue in Europe – including of course the UK.  The issue was recently covred in Stratfor, the widely read commentary on strategic affairs and TIME Magazine had a cover story on this a few days back.
But that is not the point of this post. About 3 weeks ago, I came across an article in The Daily Mail, that suggested an extraordinary attempt at social re-engineering by Labour party in UK. In other words, a cynical effort at exploiting immigration …

Almost exactly two years ago, I wrote a post titled, As the Government sleeps, dark clouds gather on the horizon… In that post, I had carried excerpts from an article by Tarun Vijay that was prompted by continued trespassing and stealth incursions by Chinese into the Ladakh area.
Two years on…and a general election later, nothing seems to have changed.
Inch by inch, the Chinese are encroaching into Indian territory…while the government acts “ignorant” or “supremely confident” depending on the mood of the moment. Sometimes, it simply brushes things under the carpet. …

On the occassion of India’s 61st Republic Day, please read and share the extraordinary story of Major Hoshiar Singh – a “Param Vir” who displayed exemplary valour and risked his life so that we may live in peace.  Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!
For those who may be reading this series for the first time, the

Param Vir Chakra is awarded for most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self sacrifice, in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea, or in the air. The decoration …

I have only been to Maldives once (more than a decade ago) and from what I remember of that time, it is truly a beautiful place with very friendly people, mild-mannered, polite and welcoming to visitors.
I was therefore dismayed to read a string of articles over the last few months that signalled the increasing radicalisation of the local population, influenced by the Wahhabis, supported by oil money and bolstered by “Adhaalath” – a party that is a member of the current ruling coalition & controls the Ministry of Islamic …

From the Indian Army website:

The Param Vir Chakra is awarded for most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self sacrifice, in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea, or in the air. The decoration may be awarded posthumously.

*** Saluting our Heores – Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, PVC ***

A tribute to Fg Off Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, PVC
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Early December 1971: The Indian Air Force has launched massive retaliatory strikes against Pakistan’s pre-emptive attacks on eleven cities in India on 3rd December. …

From the Indian Army website:
The Param Vir Chakra is awarded for most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self sacrifice, in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea, or in the air. The decoration may be awarded posthumously.
*** Saluting our Heores – 2nd Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, PVC ***

A tribute to 2nd Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal who sacrificed his life on this date,  38 years ago.
Early December 1971, Shakargarh Sector: The war that began with outbreak of hostilities in Dacca between Paksitani armed forces …

Thanks to Sanjay for alerting me to this…
Pl. see below two versions of Google map of India: one as seen in India and the other as seen in China

Note in particular that Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin are both shown as “disputed” in the Indian version while the boundary is fully settled and neatly demarcated in the Chinese version.
Error, misunderstanding or double standards?

Related Post: Arunachal: Sleepwalking into a disaster

Try and guess the time and the place of this account:
OVER the rivers and down the highways and along countless jungle paths…an endless unorganized flow of refugees with a few tin kettles, cardboard boxes and ragged clothes piled on their heads, carrying their sick children and their old. They pad along barefooted, with the mud sucking at their heels in the wet parts. They are silent, except for a child whimpering now and then, but their faces tell the story. Many are sick and covered with sores. Others have cholera, …

Here is something to think about during the weekend: A stunning video from Dr HansRosling that looks at how the last 200 years changed the world.
Have a look…(it is about 5 mins long)

[ link ]
The interactive animations and corresponding documentation are freely available at GapMinder.
Two interesting (and important, I think) points:
1] Almost all of India’s growth has happened post independence (post 1940 – as you will notice from this chart – that also offers a fascinating perspective to compare different countries).
2] Although there is anecdotal evidence to suggest …

Last evening as I was trying to explain to my 14-year old why a possible US withdrawal from Afghanistan could be bad for India, I realised how hopeless the US case for continued involvement in Afghanistan looked.
In a statement that sounded pretty unconvincing, David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to President Obama said:
We have a different situation in Afghanistan. It is actually the place…where the folks who attacked us on 9/11 are holed up and plotting against us still…
It’s a threat that still exists. We have to deal with it and so …

While everyone from Shekhar Gupta to the PM (”Media blowing things out of proportion“) and most recently the Army chief, caution us not to get worried about China or get into the 1962 mindset (whatever that means) or not read too much into the incursions (because they are after all only a matter of perception), here comes this bit of news (Hat Tip: Sanjay) which appears to have received little media attention.
From “China strikes back on Arunachal“:
…Last month, in a development New Delhi has been quiet about, China won a …

Courtesy VigilOnline, these fascinating excerpts from a letter penned by Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel to PM Jawaharlal Nehru (emphasis mine). I wonder the India that might have been had the Sardar lived longer.
*** Excerpts from Sardar Patel’s Letter to Nehru on China dt. 07 Nov, 1950 ***
My Dear Jawaharlal,
Ever since my return from Ahmedabad and after the Cabinet meeting the same day which I had to attend at practically 15 minutes notice and for which I regret I was not able to read all the papers,I thought I should share with you …

Excerpts from Pakistan’s fifth column by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, National Post (emphasis mine)
…As the campaign (against Taliban in Swat) winds down, and local residents begin to return, significant questions remain about future counterinsurgency operations. For example, while Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has asked Washington for his own armed Predator drones for use against the Taliban, regional newspaper Dawn reports that U. S. intelligence officers oppose this move — in part because several years ago “American officials gave Pakistan advance word of planned Predator attacks, but stopped the practice after …

Stumbled on this last week…
Excerpts from Why this silence on organised anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh? by Dr. Richard Benkin (July 23, ‘09):
Reports began trickling out of Bangladesh this spring about an anti-Hindu violence in the heart of its capital carried out in three stages: March 30, April 17, and April 29. A community of approximately 400 Hindus was reportedly going about its business when “hundreds of Muslims” suddenly descended on them and demanded they quit the homes where they and their families had lived for the past 150 years. Witnesses …

How many of you missed this? I did (emphasis added).
Prior to the 13th round of India-China boundary talks, Indian defence and security agencies reported an increased spurt in “intrusions” and “incursions” by the Chinese, particularly in the western sector.
Not suprising.
But this is worrying:
…on June 1, a combined Indian Army-ITBP patrol was intercepted by the PLA in Depsang Bulge and forced to turn back after the PLA planted vehicles in front and behind the Indian patrol vehicle and escorted it back across the Chinese “perception of the LAC”. Later in the …

Courtesy Atanu , I stumbled on this 1962 TIME Magazine story on the Indo-Chinese War of 1962. Excerpts below.
*** “Never Again the Same” ***
…After a series of smashing victories in the border war with India, Chinese troops swept down from the towering Himalayas and were poised at the edge of the fertile plains of Assam, whose jute and tea plantations account for one-fourth of India’s export trade. Then, with Assam lying defenseless before her conquering army, Red China suddenly called a halt to the fighting.
Radio Peking announced that, “on its …

Stumbled on this very interesting post by Abbas Zaidi yesterday: Taliban’s hypocrisy is in fact Pakistan’s national trait. Brief excerpts follow. Please note that emphasis (bold) has been added by me.
*** Excerpts from Taliban’s hypocrisy is in fact Pakistan’s national trait ***
Muslim Khan, the spokesman of Pakistani Taliban…has justified the bombing of schools on many pretexts, but one stands out: Muslims must not get “English” education. By which Muslim Khan means that any school which has anything to do with the English language must be demolished.

I was alerted to this via Nitin’s blog. Last weekend, a line was crossed in Tamil Nadu.
According to a report in The Hindu:
A convoy of Army trucks was attacked near the Neelambur bypass road here (Coimbatore) on Saturday (2nd May) by Tamil chauvinists belonging to the Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (PDK) who claimed that the vehicles were transporting weapons for the Sri Lankan Army for use in the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Over 100 activists, armed with stones and logs, blocked the convoy…The windscreens of some vehicles were smashed, …

*** CAUTION: Long Post ***
Over the last few days, as news continued to pour in about Taliban’s seemingly unstoppable march across north-west Pakistan, the question that would not go away in my mind was: Why is this not on the national agenda?
Is the Indian media really clueless? is it really so naive that it does not realise the gravity of the situation? or was this simply something that could be dismissed with a “Yeh to hota hi rahta hai” (and/or its variant: “Kuch nayee baat batao yaar“) ?
And yet, the happenings in Pakistan are not only much …