Rejoinders, opinions & letters to the editor

Source: The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2010, Email: letters@milligazette.com

The Milli Gazette

Contents of this page:

Praiseworthy effort by Yugal Kishore Sharma in Ayodhya (Mohammad Azam)

Terrorism

Indian Muslims are suspect (Dr. Mustafa Kamal)

In the Red corridor, dialogue is the answer (Dr Mookhi Amir Ali)

Indian society still biased against Dalits (Mohd Ziyaullah Khan)

Reason behind deteriorating condition of Muslim (S. Haque)

Justice to All (Shafaque Alam) 31

Sunanda Pushkar and IPL controversy (Farzana Z Khan) 31

Blame game in Indo- Pak relations (Ghulam Muhammed) 31

Sareshwala's remarks unwarranted (Farooq Abdul Gaffar Bawani)

Operation Green Hunt a flawed strategy (Mohd Ziyaullah Khan) Gujarat and Gadkari (Dr Mookhi Amir Ali)

Custodian deaths (SAU Patel)

Merchant of death (AH Lakhani)

Comments on the futile furore over IPL scam (Amjad K Maruf)

Watching TV most of the time is damaging (Farzana Z Khan)

Vocational education (Mohammed Sadullah Khan)

Role of CBI in Ketan Desai arrest (Obaidur Rahman Nadwi)

Need to analyse foreign policies (Shafaque Aam)

Afghanistan is victim of western terrorism (G. Hasnain Kaif)

It was really a nice experience to have MG Subscription. Indeed, it

provides an overall picture of Muslims' related issues in India. Allah

will reward you for this noble endeavor.

Md. Aftab Alam, Chandrabhaga Hostel, JNU, New Delhi

This is with reference to the report published in MG (1-15 May 2010). Kudos to Sri Yugal Kishore Sharma Shastri for his excellent contribution for humanity, where he had organised a religious harmony program at Suryakund Mandir at Ayodhya involving all religious people particularly Muslims on one platform for unity and oneness is really praiseworthy. Such activities should be conducted all over India in order to gain universal brotherhood with love for peace which is essential at this juncture. I thank the editor for publishing such wonderful reports.

Mohammad Azam, Telangana

1. Why all three recent accused — Daivd Headly of 26/11, Abdul Muttalib of underwear bomb and Faisal Shahzad — all had prior contacts with US agencies. Does that not point to some involvement of US agencies in all these incidents.

2. The two latest cases – Abdul Muttalib and Faisal Shahzad attempts were aimed at US mainland. Both used crude and unprofessional devices. None died in the attacks. In both cases, US agencies were forewarned or as some will surmise were instrumental in planning the whole controlled operation to get media mileage, so that crucial budgetary cuts in terror security allotments may be restored. Other world-wide agenda cannot be ruled out.

3. Both Abdul Muttalib and Faisal Shahzad were promptly taken out of the usual court procedure under the pretext that they are cooperating with authorities. Some could say that this cooperation was not only post incidents, but even ongoing from a period earlier to the time of denouement.

4. How Faisal Shahzad got his US citizenship in such short time. Was that the carrot dangled before him to cooperate with US agencies?

5. Why conflicting scenarios came out from different agencies about the exact circumstances of Faisal Shahzad’s arrest from the departing Emirate flight. Why US Attorney General said that Shahzad was under surveillance and still he was allowed to assemble his crude bombing arsenal and park the car in the midst of crowded Times Square. What was the nature of US attorney general’s role in the whole episode?

6. Why the two NY Democratic Representatives were calling again and again for restoring the cuts in New York City’s budget allotments in their CNN interview. It was apparent that they were least affected by the ‘enormity’ of the attempt to kill Americans, and cared more for the restoring the cut by Federal Government.

7. Has the recent drying up of the world wide supposedly ‘Al Qaida’s possibly planned attacks on US mainland, forced US agency to organize its own proxy operations, to continue to hoodwink the world and keep alive its various terror related activities around the US and around the world.

8. Did this conspiracy to organize terror go all the way to US President Obama, as his comments lacked any passionate conviction over the whole charade?

9. How long US media keep fooling the world?

The way India handled the trial of 26/11 terrorist attack (in which Pakistani citizen Kasab has been sentenced to death by Mumbai Court) is not enough because it is important that the 20 accused Pakistanis who masterminded and handled the 26/11 attack from Pakistan should also be brought to justice. To achieve this goal the prosecuting agency of 26/11 (through Government of India) should immediately move Supreme Court of India (SCI) to approach Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) and handover Kasab to SCP on returnable basis (for facing death sentence, after return to India) so that judiciary of Pakistan can assist India (and also Pakistan) in bringing the 20 Pakistani accused to justice. India also has to understand that it is not necessary that the 20 accused get punishment only through Indian judiciary. India should be prepared to accept that these 20 accused Pakistanis get punishment for 26/11 through even Pakistani judiciary. India should also realize that the accused have committed crimes not only against Indian State but also against the State of Pakistan. It does not require a genius of criminal jurisprudence to understand that in this entire process, the cooperation from Kasab is essential which is possible only when India makes Kasab an approver and assures him (may not be openly) of extremely probable rather practically sure chances of clemency to him by President of India where his death sentence can be reduced to life imprisonment on the ground of Kasab’s said cooperation with the judiciary of Pakistan and India for bringing these Pakistani 20 accused to justice. This should satisfy the victims (and their families) of 26/11 too because in many countries there is only life sentence but the important things is that it will help in bringing the Pakistani 20 accused to justice which will make Mumbai and India comparatively safer against cross border terrorism. It is needless to mention that the handing over of Kasab by SCI to PCB on returnable basis may also help in improving the relations between India and Pakistan. Last but not the least; India should not underestimate the judiciary of Pakistan. After all it is only the judicial community of Pakistan which has an enviable record of humbling two Pakistani Presidents (martial as well as civilian), in the interest of justice.

No doubt science has given some newer techniques and made easier for the investigative agencies to look into the matter closely and bring the guilty to book. But the loopholes of Narco analysis, brain-mapping and other techniques cannot be ruled out. There is always a fear that the person who undergoes such tests can lose his mental equilibrium. The Supreme Court has rightly analysed that such tests are unconstitutional as it amounts to unwarranted intrusion into personal liberty.

See the open challenge of one Pramod Muthalik who claims to be the leader of Sri Ram Sena. He has threatened and declared that Melegaon blast is just a test dose and it will spread all over the country in different forms. Women, youths as well as elders are being recruited and trained to handle weapons, attacks, arson, killing, raping etc. against the Muslims. The Government Departments are acting upon the will and pleasure of Hindutva leaders and agencies by arresting and torturing Muslims on the pretext of being member of SIMI, or Lashkar Toeyba. America and Israel are donating hundreds of crores of rupees to Hindutva extremists to create panic and torture the Muslims in India. They are also giving training to extremists on how to demolish the mosques, creating panic and chaotic situation in the country. Blasts in Ajmer, Bombay, Melegaon, Nanded, and Bangalore etc. are the works of the Hindutva terrorists with the full support of Narendra Modi, Lal Krishna Advani, Muthalik and Pravin Togadia. All these affairs are known to the state and central government yet they are fooling the public and eye washing the media with false information of terrorism by Muslims. Don’t punish the innocent Muslims, but find out the real culprits and punish them instead. More than half of the police forces in the country are the stooges of Hindutva. They are in Khaki uniform in day light and by night they are saffronists. Acquitting criminals like Lal Krishna Advani, Narendra Modi, Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharathi, Pravin Thagodia, Murali Manohar Joshi, Bal Thakkarey, Varun Gandhi, Pramod Muthalik etc. from all their anti-national communal activities like the demolition of worshipping structures and promoting hatred with their Hindutva Ideologies, the rulers of the country are simply targeting the innocent Muslim youth by arresting them on false charges and torturing them for years with false cases or having them killed in fake police encounters.

I am not a defence or guerrilla warfare expert. Nor am I a human rights activist, or academician. I am a common man, a sincere citizen who is concerned with the menace of “naxalism”. There is no doubt that a movement which in 1970s used to be limited within Bihar has now spilled over to more than 220 of India's about 600 districts. In the beginning, the movement appeared to have taken its root for lack of development in remote areas of the country where most of the deprived lived with no roads, schools, hospitals and other basic amenities around. So, the poorest quarters of the state became the breeding hubs for Naxals. As authorities did not pay any attention to the issue, the naxalites grew in numbers and have turned a force to be reckoned with. All ruling federal and state political parties as well as those in opposition agree that remote tribal-dominated villages had lain neglected for decades. Now to tackle the whole crisis the government is left with two Himalayan tasks of developing those backward tribal areas and finishing off the naxalites. And if 26/11 was a wake-up call for the country's anti terrorism mechanism, the Dantewada incident, in which 76 security personnel were slaughtered by naxalites, serves as an eye opener of governments' deficiencies in tackling the Maoist challenge. Because of lethargic political leaderships and inattentive successive governments that were all busy boasting their political achievements with hollow misleading slogans like India Shinning, Bharat Nirman campaign, naxalites have succeeded to consolidate their position. And by baiting in and wiping out almost an entire company of CRPF personnel in Dantewada, the naxalites have proved that they are well-trained cadres, manoeuvring with deadliest precisions and are capable to destroy even our mine protected vehicles which further consolidates my fear that it's a transition in strategy of Naxals from guerrilla to mobile warfare. Naxals are no modern day Robin Hood, but extortionists with well oiled economy of extortion, kidnapping, theft and terrorists and circumstances of poverty cannot be an alibi for violence nor be a justification for terror acts. Apart from that, the naxalites took advantage of government's lack of single-minded operations against them. Lack of coordination among states and centre too posed a hurdle on way to anti-naxalite operations. It can only be resolved with focused determination.

Throughout the day on May 3, all the TV channels in India were showing and reporting the judgment in 26/11 terrorist attack case in Mumbai in which Pakistani national Kasab was judged guilty of multiple murders, criminal conspiracy, waging war on Indian State etc. and his two Indian accomplices were acquitted. On TV any number of legal experts appeared and said that it is a forgone conclusion that Kasab as per law in India is likely get death sentence. These legal experts and other political commentators were also unanimous in saying that Kasab will not get respite like the Kashmiri native, Afzal Guru (who is sentenced to death but not hanged for the last 4 years despite Supreme Court upholding his death sentence) because unlike Parliament attack for which Afzal is sentenced, 26/11 has claimed Central Home Minister, Chief Minister and Home Minister of Maharashtra and has generated unprecedented public outrage not only in India but also world over due to foreigners having killed in 26/11.Therefore in view of the above, the Supreme Court / Mumbai High Court should immediately take the cognizance of this matter otherwise the practices and system of entire criminal jurisprudence in India and its sovereignty will come in ridicule and disrepute and under adverse comments in view of the given below:-(1)- Other accused in 26/11 case (non-State and State actors of Pakistan as named by Kasab and Headley who is in USA) were legally expected to be tried with Kasab in view of Section 319 (1) (2) of Cr.P.C. (Criminal Procedure Code). (2)- Though Cr.P.C. grants discretionary powers to the Court under Section 319 (1) Cr.P.C. to either try these new accused with Kasab etc or to try them separately but Section 319 (4) (a) Cr.P.C. mandates that the proceedings in respect of such persons (new accused) shall be commenced afresh and witness re-heard.(3)- Obviously if these new accused are brought to Court from Pakistan then it will be Kasab on whose statement (giving detailed account of the activities of new accused in relation to 26/11 including identification of places where training & other activities were carried out regarding 26/11 by these accused in Pakistan) these Pakistanis would be made accused. Hence these Pakistani new accused will have every legal right to demand from the Court of not only India but also of Pakistan (without which extradition is simply impossible) to cross examine Kasab.(4)- But if by then Kasab is already hanged then no trial of these Pakistani new accused is possible in the Indian or Pakistani Courts.

Rajasthan Home Minister Shanti Dhariwal has alleged that the BJP 16 months ago suppressed the evidence in possession of Rajasthan Police namely the SIM cards and the details of the mobile phones which could have helped crack the Ajmer blast case at that time. According to him the BJP scuttled the blast probe in order to protect certain groups involved in it. If this charge is true Shanti Dhariwal should not be satisfied with merely casting accusation. He should charge and prosecute the persons involved for the crime against the state. And if the charge is false as alleged by BJP state President Arun Chaturvedi, the BJP should haul Dhariwal over the coals.

Keeping a proper surveillance and vigil over each of the persons is the prerogative of all the governments, and whithout it, the effective administration cannot be ensured. However, when only one group or community is targetted for this purpose, it definitely depicts some presuppositions and prejudices against it.

The same is exactly true about Indian Muslims. On 3rd this month after sunset two L.I.U.( Local Intelligence Unit) persons came to me, saying that they want to collect my personal details and political activities. When I asked them the reason, they simply said that they have instructions to gather information about all the prominent Muslims of the city who are involved in Muslim politics.Anyhow, they evaded the reply when I asked them ‘ Is it about non-Muslims also’?. From my residence they proceeded to Mr. Manzoor Ahmed, a Retired IPS officer and former Vice Chancellor of Agra University who stays a little distant away from me for the same purpose.

The Operation Green Hunt in its sixth or seventh month is farther away from achieving Home ministry’s goal of eliminating Maoists in 2/3 years. KN Rammohan who formed the one man committee inquiring into the Dantewada massacre hardly has anything complimentary to say about the operation and the course the Home ministry has been pursuing. He says that the issue is socioeconomic and an operation should be conducted to set right the wrongs of 1000 years. The military solution is unacceptable. Among other things he wants the government to enforce land ceiling, enact laws which ensure tribals get maximum benefit from forest produce and mining, cut out intermediaries and stamp out corruption. Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh has said that there has been systemic failure in giving the tribals a stake in the modern economic processes that inexorably intrude into their living spaces. Their alienation, he says, has taken a dangerous turn. The suspension of hostilities and opening a dialogue for which the civil society, intellectuals and the NGOs working with tribals should be on government’s agenda. Noted economist and Rajya Sabha member Arjun Sengupta says naxalism is a cry which should be heard. Mahasweta Devi the much revered Bengali writer in her eighties says whatever the issues if Maoists want she is willing to mediate. The Home Ministry has refused to come to table for talks because of Maoists’ conditions that the state too suspend hostilities and that intellectuals and human rights activists also sit at the table are not acceptable to the government. Instead of giving excuses for avoiding a dialogue, the Ministry should always look out for opportunities for talks. After the Dantewala massacre P. Chidambaram’s attitude has become more inflexible. He says the talks will mock the supreme sacrifice of the 76 jawans. Any interaction the Human Rights groups or intellectuals maintain with the Maoists will be seen as advancing the ideology of a banned outfit and the Home ministry has threatened the intellectuals with 10 years’ imprisonment. The latest news it that the Bengali writer Mahasweta Devi has dared Home Minister to incarcerate her for ten years.

Indian society is riddled with many evil practices, some of which are tantamount to atrocity on one or other section of the Dalit/deprived sections of society. One such atrocity is the manual scavenging; the removal of human excreta by humans, with the minimum aid of brooms, metal scarpers and buckets. This practice was officially supposed to have been banned in 1993 by the Government of India. Official lapses and apathy apart, the surveys by the activists working against this practice show that even now over 14 lakhs of scavengers are still suffering ignominy and nearly 95% of these workers are women. These scavengers are the untouchable section of Dalits, who have been trapped in this occupation as a birth based work. During past decades the pressure of the social movements is forcing the State authorities to abolish this practice and rehabilitate the scavengers. As usual the State response has been half baked and there is a lack of affectivity in the same. The steps of the social movements to advocate, campaign and exert pressure, to ensure that this practice is put to rest is very significant. One knows that the popular opinion and efforts of all sensitive people to end this are needed at this point of time to remove this blot on Indian society, irrespective of its sanction by the Religious Scriptures and traditional practices. Enough is enough, this atrocity on a section of our society has to be stopped forthwith; they need to be rehabilitated to the life of dignity, come what may.

Muslims conditions are deteriorating at a rate which are worst than Dalits, observed ex-Justice of Supreme Court Ranganath Mishra. For this, the Government, political parties and Muslim themselves are also responsible. A news item from Virginia (USA) attracts great attention that a grand Mushaira 2010 ‘Arbab-e-Adab’ is to be held on May 1, at Comfort Inn, Dumfries Road, V.A. – 22025 with a Tel No. for enquiries. But on the other hand, news about a coaching institute, Super-30, Patna, giving coaching to 30 poor but intelligent students with fooding and lodging facilities for IIT competition since past 5 years with 99% success results go without much notice. Super-30 mentor Anand Kumar visited Chennai and gave lecture to poor and intelligent students and guided the teachers. It is ironic that while other communities realize the value & importance of time and use it to achieve their goals in life, many Muslims like to spend their time for Mushairas.

There should be no regret if Kasab is faced severe punishment for what he had committed – as Islam prohibits killing of even a single living being without any reason. But the acquittal of Indian duo Fahim Ansari and Sababuddin Ahmed raises serious questions on the accountability of police personnel, who handled the case. The Honourable Judges found the map, accessed from their possession, confusing rather than helping someone to reach from one place to another in the metro. The testimony of a witness, Jeevan Kulabkar, was also rejected because he was a made-up witness, etc. Now it is a high time the courts deliver justice to all.

Amidst all the immense noise of the IPL controversy, away from public view, a woman has been confronted with a deeply personal crisis. She can no longer recognize herself. A massive juggernaut has rolled over her, crushed her out of shape, and moved on without a backward glance. She has been left to cope with the painful out-of-body experience of watching the mangled remains of who she used to be. Left to muse, in private bewilderment, why her image and the person she knew herself to be no longer matched. Sunanda Pushkar, was not hit by some unheeding truck. She was hit by the media. This is not the first time it’s happened. As Talwars in Arushi’s case too were the victims of the same gamble. In its feeding frenzy for 24 /7 excitement, the media has developed a curious way of turning fathers into murderers; women into vamps. Facts, evidence, the line between public and private, all the good, old-fashioned gears of journalism no longer have any place. Rash allegations are enough. The rear-view mirrors are gone. You can now recklessly ride over people and not look back. That’s how the Media industry has embarked.

A TOI news report on Pak sources blaming a vested interests group within Congress can not be brushed aside as an attempt to sow division in our ranks, as Pak exploitation of division within Congress rank is too obvious and clear to blame Pak for the divisions within Congress ranks. There is clear indication that while one group tries its very best to come to terms with the stark fact that the sub-continent cannot always remain divided and at dagger drawn on each other without our people being sucked into negative social and economic vortex that is increasingly sapping our positive energies; another group is dead set to use all its dirty tricks to sabotage every rapprochement opportunity whenever the two neighbouring nations find ways to project common interests of peace and economic cooperation. There is no doubt that Indian National Congress is populated by diverse groups with independent views and agenda that they try to inject in the general policy and this has been its historical strength as well as its monumental weakness. With some quarks of event now, a degree of distance seems to be placing Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi at extreme ends of the common space in the party. Every initiative that is proffered in the name of government is immediately thrown into a tug of war situation. Sonia’s balancing act is increasingly viewed as a desperate attempt to hold the party together. While Congress announces that ‘national sentiment is against talks’, it is actually hiding behind a fig leaf, to project the devious agenda of those in its own rank that thrive on stoking communal fires all over the country. Those elements are not for peace. They are for perpetual war. It is time for both PM and Sonia Gandhi to put their heads together and expose and eject such warmongering elements from their midst, so that the nation can open up to peace moves. Valuable time was lost by arbitrarily prolonging the 26/11 carnage as the linch-pin of our relations with Pak, even though it is widely believed that US agencies had a hand in infiltrating terror groups and ordering terror attacks on demand. People cannot be fooled to believe that Headley was working alone and did not have US agencies behind him. The sad fact is emerging that US lobby in India in general and in Congress in particular, is shielding the US over such a ghastly event that has shattered India’s complacency over its own defense. The motive was to impose further defense collaborations in India by first destabilizing it. We kept asking for Hafiz Saeed’s head without realising that in Pakistan, he has the same clout as Bal Thackeray has in India. Even though there is no comparison between the Indian government and Pak government, as far as their hold on their respective nation’s governance, can India haul up Bal Thackeray for alleged crimes committed by him in Bombay riots? Indian government is fully aware of the futility of focusing on Hafiz Saeed and still it is forced to justify its boycott of talks with Pak on enormous internal pressures which it is routinely and falsely projecting as national sentiments. In fact time and again the most vocal anti-Pak politicians and intellectuals have gone on record, vehemently rooting for an opening with Pak. This proves that Congress will have to clean up its own stables for the common good of the people, not only of India, but the entire SAARC nations. India should lead in ushering peace and normalization in the subcontinent and Congress has sole responsibility to lead, if national sentiment has any real meaning for its divided leadership.

Congrates to Dr JS Bandukwala for expressing sorrow on behalf of the Muslims of Gujarat so far as remarks of Mr. Sareshwala are concerned. It seems after reading the remarks of Mr. Sareshwala that he must have been compelled by higher ups to issue such statements. (Vide Indian Express Ahmedabad Edition dated 25 and 26 April 2010). I condemn Mr. Sareshwala and his ulema friends in the strongest possible terms for strengthening the anti-Muslim forces and demoralising the Muslims. Such stooges are weakening the case of sufferers of 2002. I am also sending a memorandum to the German Ambassador in New Delhi that paper organisations like The United Force for Peace and Harmony do not represent the Muslims of Gujarat at all and that weightless persons like Sareshwala and co. should not be taken seriously. These paper tigers represent none but themselves, which may please be noted by all concerned.

For weeks we saw the deployment of security forces in Maoist-affected areas -- trucks, fatigues, AK-47 and Choppers. Operation Green Hunt unfolded like a badly-made action film. Then 75 soldiers were gunned down in Dantewada. The public response was shrill. Union Home Minister P Chidamabaram was right when he observed that something had gone wrong. Except that happened long ago and it was with us at large. When India's tribal people and hill dwellers cite alienation, they speak the truth. In the first few decades of independence our struggle was finding resources to integrate remote locations. In the years after that, while economic growth produced the required resources, our struggle has been to find people for the job. The teachers, doctors and other representatives of the mainstream, who ought to be at their posts in wilderness, are often absent. A posting to the wilderness has no social standing unless it is a civil servant or army officer. This is a story familiar to anyone who has lived away from cities and the fewer who explored the wilderness. Decades ago, there would have been some revered political figure taking the initiative to end the bloodbath, park oneself at the trouble spot and encourage talks. It hasn't happened. Perhaps the era of such leaders has ended or the approach is way too fringe for mainstream interest. Today we have the market and its proxy warriors. So the government takes the Maoists head on, hopefully targeting ideologue and not tribal, in a fight for governance of the land. This is a valid fight for Maoism advocates subversion of India's democracy. It also justifies violence as means. Should such war be the case, then one hope that the government's approach, strategy and commitment would be different from the homesick huddles currently going into battle?

"Gujarat riots were unfortunate. But when riots take place in other states, why aren't governments and chief ministers blamed for that?" so said the BJP president Nitin Gadkari. Sounds strange. Nobody should know better than him that the Gujarat riots have been acknowledged as extraordinary by the whole world. The anti-Muslim violence of 2002 and Delhi’s 1984 anti-Sikh violence will always be remembered together. Gujarat Chief Minister has avoided many questions pertaining to the events of February/March 2002. The BJP should admit that in the horrendous things which happened in Gujarat in 2002 the role of the Chief Minister was nothing like Raj Dharma.

Can the gruesome graph of custodial deaths not come down if crime detection measures of investigation are made at least visible, if not audible for observation by justice-loving concerned citizens?!

The arrest of Gujarat's Super cop Abhay Chudasama in connection with Sohrabuddin encounter speaks the volumes of dirty and filthy intention of just to please Modi.Nerendra Modi talks of development and showcases his ,SwarnimGujarat' to the world. Well, point taken Mr Modi but development at what cost? Bumping off people in the name of religion and polarising society on religious lines has been your forte. There is something called inclusive growth but alas, that is not in his lexicon. Well, what can be said about a CM who is so shameless that he claims everything is fine and refers to the refugee camps spread throughout his state as entertainment camps. Narendra Modi threatens democracy. Instead of restoring confidence and maintaining the dignity of all citizens - regardless of their religion, Modi presided over a pogrom and ethnic cleansing of Muslims. And yes, Modi's 'Vibrant Gujarat' doesn't believe in providing relief and rehabilitation to those who suffered because of him. Not sacking Narendra Modi and kicking him out has been former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee's biggest regret. History will remember Vajpayee with this blot on an otherwise glorious political career. Forget about taking concrete actions, Narendra Modi is not even apologetic. He shows no remorse. History will remember Narendra Modi as a man who connived to kill minorities in Gujarat and did nothing while they were burnt alive? And mind you, history spares none. We are equally culpable for our failure in ousting this 'Merchant of Death'.

So now its the IPL drama that is currently being played out in the media. The next big one occurs and the IPL drama will fizzle out. Public memory is too short and everyone including the media, the govt, the judiciary, etc will forget about. This is just what the corrupt people in India expect and take advantage of. If some ignoramuses think that any one will actually get punished in this IPL scam and jailed then they are still ignorant about India or they are hoping against hope that the culprits will be brought to book. Lalit Modi is rich and well connected. Both, Lalit Modi and Shashi Tharoor will be back after sometime. Lalu Prasad, Jayalalitha, Mayawati, and many other big politicians have many corruption cases against them but they are still active in politics. Sanjay Dutt, in spite of being convicted under arms act still continues to roam freely and earn millions of rupees. The culprits in riot cases are enjoying their freedom. The Indian judiciary does nothing about this nor will do anything in future. What happened to the previous match fixing scam? Azharuddin is an MP now and Ajay Jadeja is enjoying his stint as expert commentator on TV channels. Some would point out that the Telgi, Harshad Mehta, Ketan Parikh, etc were put behind bars. But what these people forget is that they were just pawns in the hands of the politicians, who are never punished. Scam of such a big magnitude cannot happen without support of politicians. The joint parliamentary committee would not yield any result as everything will be swept under the carpet. Those politicians who are objecting to IPL are the ones who could not lay their hands on this golden goose called IPL. How does one explain that the agricultural minister Sharad Pawar gets intimately involved with cricket when thousands of farmers commit suicide every year and it is the backbone of our very existence as a nation? We have no sympathy for Modi. But the manner in which he was hounded out by BCCI, who pretend to be innocent, raises suspicion. There seems to be concerted effort to fix all blame on Modi so that some bigger crooks escape. The whole process of ousting Modi without a proper hearing, show that BCCI has a lot more to hide than reveal. If Modi is guilty, then how can BCCI & IPL Gov Council be innocent? Sack them all - lock stock & barrel.

Today, Television defines teen culture. It’s tough to escape peer pressure when your friends keep talking about the clothes, the music and the stars. With its barrage of alluring advertisements and captivating shows, it tells you what is cool and what is ‘in’ and ‘out’. Let our moral values, not the media, decide our dress code. One can try doing the following to get rid from the menace of TV and transcend with a quality life. 1. Stick to “clean” and useful TV programs. 2. Remove TV from your room because having a TV set in your own room encourages you to watch it more. Keep the TV in the main room, where it won’t distract you. 3. Limit your viewing time. Plan the number of hours per week and stick to your time limit. 4. To resist the urge to watch TV, step outside and do something to keep you occupied. 5. Keep the TV set off when you are eating dinner, doing your homework, or reading a magazine etc. Use a PVR to screen programs. Fast-forward dubious content, blitz through commercials, and stick with what’s good and useful program. 6. Have a TV free get-together with friends. Make a rule in the family that no one will watch TV or movies in the living room. If you want to go further, make it a point that the topic of conversation in the family will not revolve around TV serials. Instead play basketball, go for a walk, and do not be a couch potato.

The TVTC (The General Organization for Technical and Vocational Training) in Saudi Arabia is doing an excellent job in training the Saudis by running 200 institutes, but it has to increase its visibility. Many employers find the lack of availability of Saudi's for the jobs which they have. In-order to overcome this both the employer and the employee should know and adapt to the popular concepts of "dignity of labour" and "labour rights". Islam as a religion had laid down much wider rules for this concept even before this came into being. All should endeavour to make sure that it is followed in right perspective. Since most of the vocational trainings help a trainee to gain the technical qualities of self-employment. An additional entrepreneurial course should be added to help the trainee gain the confidence of taking up the self employment avenues.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has done a commendable job by arresting Medical Council of India (MCI) President Ketan Desai on charges of corruption. Our country is not weak. It is corruption that has made it feeble. Almost every one of us is caught in the cesspool of corruption. That is why 25 per cent of the population is still living below the poverty line even after 61 years of Independence. Corruption is an impediment to development and progress of the country. It is also the gravest threat to our national security, unity and integrity. Union Government must take stern action against Ketan Desai. Besides we should also try our level best to make our society corruption-free so that an atmosphere of peace and amity may prevail throughout the country.

The governments and the people of India and Pakistan have been longing for good and amiable relation since Independence. But it is an irony that when we call a meet to discuss the issues of common concern, some untoward incidents take place and the dialogue hangs in the midst. These two nations are not the first once who were separated. There are so many countries in the world which had faced the similar fate but now they are not facing such a severe challenge as we are. There is hardly a problem in the world without a solution. So there is an immediate need to analyse the foreign policies of such separated neighbouring countries in the world which are now free from fear and terror attacks.

After destroying Iraq, killing thousands of Iraqis including Saddam Hussain, capturing oil fields and wells, the greatest terrorist America along with its NATO allies, have invaded minerals rich Afghanistan. This barbaric air/ground invasion has devastated urban and rural areas of Afghanistan. Is it justified to bombard and enslave poor small nations for suspected crimes of individuals? The American-led state terrorism is thousands times more disastrous, heinous and condemnable than individual terrorism. World community and UNO must stop this genocide and gross violation of UN Charter of Human Rights by America and its NATO allies. Afghanistan had whole-heartedly supported India’s freedom struggle. India’s Govt. in exile was established in Afghanistan with Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, as President and Maulana Barkatullah Bhopali, Prime Minister. Two Afghans had escorted Netaji Subash Bose from Calcutta to Kabul and kept him in a mosque. After some days they escorted Netaji to Berlin (Germany). Afghanistan was a staunch supporter of Nehru’s Non-Aligned movement. Therefore, India’s foreign policy should be pro-Afghanistan and not pro-western imperialists led by America.

Source: The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2010

This text appeared on page no. 30-31 of the 16-31 May 2010 print edition of The Milli Gazette. Subscribers of print edition The Milli Gazette are now reading the 1-15 June 2010 issue

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