Ransom

After 10 harrowing months and living constantly staring at the barrel of a gun, 11 Indian sailors were finally released. The ransom paid $ 2.1 million.

Of late Somali pirates have practically held the high seas hostage as one ship after another is hijacked. One such incident, which involved an American citizen, a few months back ended in the American forces mounting a quick operation, rescuing the hostage and shooting dead the pirates. But that is expected of the Superpower.

Living abroad has made me into a proud Indian. However, when incidents like this happens, I cannot but help wonder why the diplomats churn out media savvy quotes like "India is a rising superpower."

Well a superpower, rising or not, does not conduct itself in a manner which acts like a dormant volcano waiting for the plates to shift for it to erupt. In the case of our politicians the "political will" is just not there.

Joint exercises are routinely organized by Indian Naval and US forces in different parts of the world. India's Navy has the expertise and the technology to mount an operation in the high seas to rescue its citizens, yet politicians cringe and the very thought of mounting such an operation.

Sources in the diplomatic community have confirmed to me that the US government had given the go ahead to India and also assured that the US Navy would be glad to assist.

Yet the Indian government chose in their own "wisdom" not to act. India's policy is not to negotiate with terrorists, yet it fails to to use the necessary force to counter such incidents.

Yet, ransom was paid by a Pakistani human rights activist Ansar Burney, to secure the release of our sailors.

In my opinion, though Burney meant well and succeeded in saving the lives of our sailors, a dangerous precedence has been set.

The Somali pirates will strike and strike again. The Indian sailors who have been released must be debriefed by Indian authorities and then intelligence must be gathered to strike deep into the hideouts of the pirates

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M F Hussain- RIP

I had an opportunity to meet this Picasso of India at a friends home in Maryland, a couple of years back. I found him to be very humble and sharp. During the course of our conversation he expressed regret that his own countrymen were treating him like a pariah. "I love my country, but people here do not understand that an artist has certain liberties and means no disrespect to any individual or religion."

Hussain Saab...Rest in Peace.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo4s38nC4q0
 

Spiritual Guru or "Oppotunistic Politics"

Creepers! Jeepers! What a Sunday to be in India. Television channels played, replayed, played and then yet again replayed footage of "Baba" Ramdev's unceremonious eviction from the Ramlila Grounds in Delhi. Police swooped in the wee hours of the morning with a clear "order from the top" to clear the entire grounds of Ramdev's supporters.

I knew that this was coming. I remember interviewing the Baba at the National Harbor near Washington DC where he was invited to a convention organized by  The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin,

AAPI.

I began by asking him that he was  a regular visitor to the US and what was it that he had to say, this time around. He looked  at the crowd around us as if to hint that what he was going to state on record should be greeted with  thunderous applause. 

Devasish ji, he began "Mera yahi sangursh rahega ki main Bharat ka jo kala dhan hai bidesho main, main uske ke liye aandolan shuru karoonga" (I will start a movement to ensure that all the money stashed away abroad should be brought back to India.)

I paused for a moment and then blurted out. "Baba , you are sounding more like a politician than a spiritual Guru." I sensed a brief spurt of anger, quickly replaced by a wry smile as he said, "if politicians fail then I will have to step in." The chairman of my television station who is an avid Baba follower looked away reminding me of Richard Burton who looked away, grimacing with a cup and saucer on his head when Audrey Hepburn shouts "Move your bloomin arse" at the races. For the record my Chairman never interfered in editorial matters and the interview was broadcast without edits.

So when the Baba announced his fast unto death, I was not surprised, only amused. Like a news junkie, I was glued to the television set occasionally flipping channels to watch the unprecedented Satygraha unfold live.

I must admit that I am no fan of the Baba. He has his own private jet, an island in Scotland, a helicopter, a fleet of cars, owns a television channel and tickets his Yoga classes. The Baba has a following in lakhs and according to him all these goodies have been donated by them.

The early morning crackdown on Sunday was unjustified and unwarranted. Before resorting to firing tear gas shells and lathi charging the sleeping devotees, an announcement should have been over the PA system that Sec 144 had been enforced and that all present would have to leave within 30 minutes. Instead, the Delhi police chose confrontation. Not acceptable in a democratic country.

But again, the government's claim is that they had "credible intelligence" that there was a threat to Ramdev's life, hence the action.

This is being taken with a pinch of salt by the opposition which asserts that Ramdev's movement was a threat to a government which is going soft on corruption.

So now, we have the likes of Shusma Swaraj, Advani , Joshi and all BJP bigwigs going on a token one day fast at Raajghat and the fallout of the government action is that now India has an united opposition.

In another bizarre development Ramdev's right hand man Acharya Balkrishna who had earlier signed a deal with the government on the Baba's behalf has suddenly gone missing. Reports say that he is a criminal from Nepal and had obtained an Indian passport by dubious means.

Now the political bickering starts in a country seeped in corruption..but with a growing economy. India, now can ill afford to get distracted by a Baba and the government should pull up it socks and govern...and govern well.

Diplomatic Immunity be Damned

She pleaded her innocence. She begged them and finally tried to assert herself by demanding Diplomatic immunity.

The New York police brushed aside her pleas, assertions and promptly handcuffed her, paraded her to the waiting police cruiser and whisked her away to jail.

The accused Kritika Biswas
He alleged crime: Cyber Bullying
The devils in disguise: NYPD

This incident took place in February, 2011 and the media got whiff of it only in May. This innocent 18 year old girl, daughter of the Indian Vice Consul at the New York Consulate  had in inadvertently committed an innocent crime. She was a girl of color.
Reports suggest that she was allegedly targeted by  teachers and principal as she was not white.

 It was yet another case of racism compounded with the misery Kritika had to go through. She was shoved into a jail with prostitutes, forced to urinate in front of fellow prisoners and asked to drink water from a fountain full of vomit.

Her very articulate and passionate lawyer, Ravi Batra demanded that Mayor Bloomberg present this 18 year old girl the key to the city of New York. What the lawyer should have first demanded was an unconditional apology from the NYPD and Bloomberg. Suing the city for a paltry  $ 1.5 million is like feeding a shrimp to a killer whale.

My good friend Prabhu Dayal, the head of the consulate in New York is an outstanding diplomat, but he should not be arm twisted by his senior colleague in Washington DC to step softly, lest it creates a diplomatic row between India and the US.

Now I hear Ravi Batra has approached Hillary Clinton to intervene. Please Mr. Batra, the Americans won't budge...so concentrate on winning...  only winning her the $ 1.5 million in damages and ..er..just so that you care..please don't take a cut.








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