Antony,Defense Minister

A K Antony, kerala's perennial Mr Clean is India's Defense Minister. Kerala has had its own share of men in the national cabinet - but its a different feeling when one of the state's most respected leaders has the responsibility thrust upon him by the sheer strength of his character. It is a different feeling from when Kannoth Karu became the Industries minister back in '95. It defenitely is.

The defense minister, National Security Adviser, Foreign Secretary of India, Space agency Chairman , India's candidate for the UN secretary bid , Primeminister's secretary, President's secretary and a home-rule government at centre - the line up in Delhi looks pretty impressive for a state notorious for its indifference to Delhi and highly under represented in the nation's capital. Is kerala becoming less introvert ?

Comparing Mr Antony to Krishna Menon would be doing injustice to both of them. The frames of reference have changed - Indian defense is on the right track of modernisation and in the process of redefining our strategic goals in the sub-continent and the Indian ocean region. A laissez-faire approach with respect to the defense policy makers will be more beneficial here. Calling A K Antony inexperienced makes no sense here - the only experience that would help a defense minister will be experience as a defense minister ; that argument will lead us to Catch 22 then.

Where A K Antony and his zero tolerance to corruption will - I hope - come into play is in the already notorious defense deals of India. 890,000 million rupees annual budget allocation is sure to attract a lot of Ottavio Quattrochi's and Barak missile sellers. Sonia Gandhi would be remembering that early winter Diwali in Delhi when there were no crackers because Bofors had provided enough. The choice of Antony as the defense minister would be a right step towards some clean-up.

Tailpiece : If the battered Congress party plans to fight another election in Kerala, they badly need to reunite the warring factions - especially the DIC (K) faction which has a considerable
influence in South Kerala and Malabar (cause there are a lot of people still wanting to make kannoth karu the Kerala CM) . The only figure who could rise about the partisan squabbles while leading the party is 'Saint' Antony and the Maino high-command realizes it pretty well. His new role is a pointer towards the future of the congress party in kerala.

Good Night and Good Luck !

Has India lost Gujarat ?

When this reporter, with his longish beard, walked into an elite government colony in Ahmedabad to meet a senior official, three children suddenly got off their bicycles.
One screamed aloud, “Terrorist!” Why?
“Because you are a Mussalman,” he responded. So?
“All Muslims are terrorists. My father is a judge. He will call you terrorist in court.” Really?
“Yes. Now get out of here. This is a Hindu area!”
Sauyajya is 12 years old and has not met a single Muslim in his life. No one knows how many Sauyajyas are in the making in Gujarat. - Prashant Jha, columnist

ICYAI the full, disturbing essay is here,

Nothing short of a massive social movement is required to cleanse the state of Gujarat.

The Blanket of freedom

Nineteen-year old Mahammad Maqbool Dar was taken away by troops from his home near Charar-e-Sharief on Friday, his mother Hanifa Begum said. A day later, the boy, a daily wage labourer, was brought dead to a hospital sparking two days of protests in Charar-e-Sharief as anger continues in other parts of Kashmir.The government, concerned at a possible backlash ordered a magisterial enquiry and asked the army to take action against the guilty.

Earlier this month in Anantnag two civilians were killed by the army. No punishment for the army, which said, it was mistaken identity.

In September in Kupwara a girl and her uncle were killed - again no punishment, but a colonel in-charge of operations there was removed for inefficient command.

In February, four boys playing cricket in Handwara were killed by the army. A judicial inquiry has just begun.

Source : NDTV , Oct 23 2006

A team of doctors who performed autopsy of Maqbool at Charari Sharif Hospital on Saturday told Greater Kashmir that “he died due to cardiac arrest caused by extensive torture and multiple burns. His private parts had been damaged.”

Source : Greater Kashmir




Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

Col Jessep , A Few Good Men




Terrorists intruded into the house of Sohan Lal Braroo and shot him dead during the night. They gang raped his wife Bimla and young daughter Archana. Archana succumbed during the gang rape itself and Bimla who was shot after being raped, died in hospital.

Naisarak, Srinagar - March '92

Early Monday, Hindu villagers were herded into the home of the village chief where gunmen started firing indiscriminately, according to S.P. Vaid, inspector-general of police in Jammu.35 civilians have lost their lives. Source : CNN

Doda,Srinagar - May 2006

Near two decades of violence, death and atrocities in Kashmir. Isn't it time that the insurgents realize they are fighting for a cause lost somewhere in the cacophony of interests in the valley, and what happened to the Indian PrimeMinister Manmohan's promise on zero-tolerance towards human rights violations in Kashmir. Its not that we are undermining a struggle gone terribly ugly or disrespecting the brave men of India who defend our freedom, but

Col. Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I think I'm entitled.
Col. Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I want the truth.
Col. Jessep: You can't handle the truth.

A Few Good Men - the movie