26/11 Mumbai Attacks: War with Pakistan

While reading this post from Vinod, I really got confused. I am in dilemma between the question of 'war with Pakistan'.

War with Pak: Yes
There is no way Pakistan govt will help finding perpetrators of any terrorist attacks that have happened in India over the past, forget about current Mumbai attacks. This is shown in their blatant act of ignorance that any terrorist activity even does exist in Pakistan at all. Similarity can defined for Pakistan govt with Taliban which did not take any action against Al Qaeda, and now Pak is reluctant to recognise LeT (and group). Pakistan's behavior in this respect is also criminal, giving refuse to other criminals. It is Pakistan's compulsion or urge, we cannot tell. How to pressurize Pakistan is question which is answered by only taking unilateral military action.
We are left with only military action because over the past, any bilateral or multilateral talks involving India and Pakistan, have been failed utterly in achieving the objective. Though one should not be cynical that if talk has been failed in the past, it is bound to fail again. But going with conditions in Pakistan and attitude of its govt, it is safe to assume.
The other way would have been multilateral pressure on Pakistan with the support of USA(may be Israel also). But here again the glitch is at this point of time, favoring India over Pakistan is not in strategic interests of USA. USA would not want to jeopardize its fight with Taliban on Eastern front of Pakistan, which is its high priority and in which it has already invested.
All India is left with, is unilateral action(not talk) on Pakistan which transforms to war.

War with Pak: No
The solution is not so easy. Lets say we go to war with Pakistan.
First of all that is really not direct solution to India's problem. 'War' means war with Pakistan govt which is in fact supporter of terrorists, not the actual culprit which happens to be LeT and Company Inc.
Secondly there is the mess of Taliban. If there is war between Pakistan and India then Pakistan finds itself in pieces. It will be highly unstable because of war from two fronts - Eastern(India) and Western(Taliban). Now again, unstable Pakistan is highly undesirable for India. India may win one war, but will have to face another war.
There maybe a arguments that Taliban will support Pakistan. Really? The given war will be only platform for Taliban to gain solid stand in Pakistan. After Pakistan goes bust, Taliban will rule the left-overs. Taliban is no mere terrorist group, it has a monumental army gathered(80,000 read somewhere).
On top of that, If India goes to war with Pakistan then it will jeopardize its strategic relations with USA because for USA Pakistan is a crucial ally in fight with terrorism. And in this situation when India is vulnerable from three fronts - Pakistan(west), China(Northern border) and internal threats(like naxalism), it will be a blunder to not have USA as an ally. Because at this point of time, on international front only USA is strong ally for India.

The Question
What should be India's response, as foreign strategy, to Mumbai Terror attacks?
still remain unanswered.

26/11 Mumbai Attacks: In response to NYT

Dear Gosh,
With all due respect, You are so wrong!! Perhaps you need to analyze the Mumbai attacks with more care. These attacks were even more significant than 9/11 not for world or America but for India. Think carefully if the same perpetrators could have kept the whole nation at ransom for three days if the same incident would have happened in USA. No, we are not talking about America, we are talking about India. We are talking about something which is more than number of casualties. It is about national security, it is about corruption of politics, corruption in security forces, it is about ripping of whole nation. 9/11 is significant to world because it was not about world trade center of America but about the price whole Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan had to pay.
And what else do you expect from a city other than returning to normal life, where life is more tough than anywhere else in India.

But yes, I agree with you on:
"Defeat or victory is not determined by the success of the strike itself; it is determined by the response."

Dear Friedman,
Even with more respect, I ask you to read Zardari's response. USA can invade a sovereign nation(Pakistan that is) to find her criminals but India cannot even make a descent request to hand over perpetrators.

And Pakistan's sincerity towards countering terrorism is shown in their ignorance (act of ignorance):
"if any evidence points towards any individual or group in my part of the country..."

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ਜੁਗ੍ਨੀ ਆ ਗਇ, ਬਇ!! (Jugni !!)

'Jugni' has deep penetration into the scales of Punjabi folk songs. Weather it is 'boliyan' or 'tappe' or pop or folk songs, 'Jugni' is always there to greet us. 'Oye Lucky Lucky Oye' had some songs (rather background scores), dedicated to 'Jugni' which when I heard, I realize that I never tried to know what exactly 'Jugni' is. 'Jugni' in today's culture is considered generally 'wandering lady' which can take other forms also. But the story of origin of 'Jugni' is entirely different.

The following is essay taken from some interent-form.


The History of Jugni

By Karamjit Singh Aujla.
Translated by Gurjant Singh.
Originally Published in Punjabi Tribune 24th Sept 2005.

The popularity of Jugni has always touched the hearts of Panjabi mentality. She became a permanent part in the Panjabi folklore right since the ancient times. But who is Jugni? Nobody ever tried to find the veracity and because of it`s simple Jugni-stanzas and simple versification, academic scholars never cared.

Jugni-poetry and Jugni-music took birth a century ago in 1906. Before that time, nowhere do we find any mention of her in history or the folk memory.

Jugni-poetry and Jugni-music was created by two folk singers and most probably its creation was accidental. These folk singers were Bishna and Manda. They were from Majha area and whatever I heard about them is as written below.

According to the late Pandit Diwan Singh, a resident of Khadur Sahib, Manda was a Muslim Mirasi. His village was Hasanpur, Thana Vairowal in Amritsar District. His real name was Mohammad but he was popular with his name Manda. Nobody knows anything about his family.

Bishna was also from Majha and was from a Jatt family. Nobody knew about his background untill 1969 when was asked from a freedom fighter Baba Makhan Singh of village Dhathi Jaimal Singh, he told that their stages were seen a couple of times in Patti and Kasur. Their favourite topics were Mirza and Tappe but they invented Jugni in 1906.

Baba Makhan Singh told that in 1906 when both of them were youths, the Brtish brought Jugni to India. When I asked that how British brought Jugni and what was Jugni, Baba Ji`s answer was that English Queen`s rule was over 50 years at that time. British ruled several parts of the Planet Earth and they thought that they should take a Torche to whole of their Empire. That flame of the Torche was itself Jugni which was taken from city to city in every country under British rule.

Baba Makhan Singh told that that flame was put in a big gold utensil and was taken to the every headquater of the districts. Wherever Jugni was taken big celebration were observed by the Govt. In all those shows Bands, Police department, army, Zaildars,high officials and high society people visited. In these shows Manda and Bishna also held their stage.

When Baba Makhan Singh was all explaining this, then a nearby person who looked a bit more educated, interupped that English didn`t bring Jugni-flame. In fact it was Jubilee which illiterate Bishna and Manda pronounced as `Jugni`.
From that gentleman`s interruption suddenly the mystery of the word `Jugni` was found that the word `Jugni` took birth from the english word Jubilee. It is clear that in 1906 the Jubilee flame was taken everywhere under the rule of Queen Victoria at her 50th anniversary on the throne.

This Jubilee flame was taken to every main city and at the district headquaters celebrations and festivities took place under the charges of DC. On these festivals, Bishna Jatt and Manda Mirasi held their stage where they sang their own composed stanzas of Jugni with the instuments of Dhad and King. Because of the simplicity and easy versification, these verses of Jugni became so popular very soon that many other people started versification of Jugni Verses.

Wherever we find a `Jugni-Verse` there we must find some city`s, village`s, and palce`s name. Wherever Jubilee-flame of the English rulers went Bishna and Manda also went to those places and put their small stage somewhere near the big festivals to perform. Their one original `Jugni-verse` is like this:

Jugni jaa varhi Majithe
koi Rann na Chakki peethe
Putt Gabhru mulak vich maare
rovan Akhiyan par Bulh si seete
Piir mereya oye Jugni ayi aa
ehnan kehrhi jot jagaee aa

This `Jugni`s poetic style and versification later became a traditional method and started taking much more in it`s clasp but the beginning of `Jugni` always remained in some city or place:

Jugni jaa varhi Ludhiane
Uhnun pai ge Anne Kaane
Maarn mukkian mangan Daane
Piir Mereya Oye! Jugni kehndi aa
Jehrhi naam Ali da laindi aa

Manda and Bishna were already used to take part in fesivals of Patti, Kasur, Ajnala and other towns of Majha region. Their Akhara or stage performance was famous. Manda used to play the instrument of Dhad and Bishna played the King. Singing performance was always together. They sometimes had composed stanzas at right while performing. If someone gave them a Rupee, they had composed a stanza linking the donor and his village`s name.

`Jugni` Jubilee flame went from city to city and Bishna and Manda followed. Their popularity also rose to the great level by time. In those days while the movement for freedom didn`t rose but in the mind of the masses anger was there. On many places faminines spead and droughts came. Public was illiterate and the rulers were cruel. So it was sure that the agony and sufferings the public suffered came in their stanzas.

The stanzas of English rule`s criticism and their tyranny were also composed. These new stanzas became so popular in public that now the rulers could not tolerate. Government started banning Bishna and Manda`s shows. Then Bishna and Manda started performing at some distance from the Jubilee fesivals but they gathered hugh crowds there too and many time police lathi-charged those gatherings. In those of their shows, people started talking frankly agaist the English rule on India and their atrocities, had been coming back while singing `Jugni` in revolutionary manner.

Sorrowful End

From city to city `Jugni` alais Jubilee went, Bishna and Manda followed, hugh crowed gathered. Anger against the English rule`s opression rose, public got more restless. In the same manner when Jubilee functions in the city of Gujaranwala became insipid against the Bishna and Manda`s stage, irritated police arrested and tortured them both to death. It is said that police buried them both in the middle of night in some unknown cemetry.

Canes of police had make them mum but their `Jugni` is still there in every city and will remain in the hearts of the people of this sub-continent forever. It comes in mind that something should be done in the memory of these two ignored and forgotten martyrs, some monument should be made.`Jugni` itself is a great memorial of these two worthy artists in the hearts of million but the monuments in the honour of Victorian jubilee are there in V.J. Hospital ( Victoria Jubilee ) in Amritsar and Victoria Terminal in Bombay which remind us the cruelity which faced generations and wiped the creaters of Jugni.

We don`t find any information about the family or siblings of this pair of singers. Neither of them got married in their life time. In 1906 both of them were around the age of 50. Punjab and Punjabis have yet to thank these two greats, next year at the time of century we have a chance to do something important in their memory.

Obama and Change

After all the discussions and debates about 'Obama' and 'Change', here is a new and wonderful perspective.

Mere Mumbai or India?

Once again, terrorists can count another masterpiece against the failure of government in standing unto its words. Anything to say is sheer wastage of words. But I felt guilty of not mentioning this terror in my blog which for ages is exploiting the Indian soil.
I feel like shouting loud in all my helplessness. But I will have to be content with small rant.
Some were surmising the damages in vicinity of attacks. Others were updating the sequences of last terrorist attacks from far away.

Just wondering what all politicians(Lalu Prasad, Advani likes) will say on these attacks. What will they have in defense of their words?? But will the defend their words at all or will they achieve new heights of dumbness?? And wonder, where will people like Raj Thackeray find place in all this.

Pleasure

The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.
In my view, it is even a greater pleasure doing what you should not do...

Happiness and Meaning

Somewhere there was mention of following lines from The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld:

There is NO mystery to happiness.

Unhappy men are all alike. Some wound they suffered long ago, some wish denied, some blow to pride, some kindling spark of love put out by scorn—or worse, indifference—cleaves to them, or they do to it, and so they live each day within a shroud of yesterdays. The happy man does not look back. He doesn’t look ahead. He lives in the present.

But there’s the rub. The present can never deliver one thing: meaning. The ways of happiness and meaning are not the same. To find happiness, a man need only live in the present: he need only live for the moment. But if he wants meaning—the meaning of his dreams, his secrets, his life—a man must reinhabit the past, however dark, and live for the future, however uncertain. Thus, nature dangles happiness and meaning before us all, insisting only that we choose between them.

Crackers and Children

Recently there is debate on child labor in context of Diwali and Crackers.
I already have a lot of arguments on this topic with many of my other friends.

In my view even if children work in Sivakasi factories making crackers using potassium etc., it is not any social or economical 'cause of degradation of their lives'. Notice that I am saying its not a cause, but, yes, it is a symptom of bigger problem called poverty.
On the other hand, in given conditions it is in fact better for those children that they work there and earn their livelihood.

A lot of things need to be clarified(not justified) regarding this.

First of all above point does not mean at all that I want those children to burn in the fire of hell. I am not saying that they should work in contaminated and intense environment. There should be proper measures of their safety like use of gloves, use of overalls, proper distance from chemicals, bearable(regular) working hours. But that goes for adult-workers too, not only for children. The point some people make that those children have to work in very intense unhealthy conditions does not make sense because even if any adult will work in those conditions, it won't still become healthy for him. The point of working conditions is entirely irrelevant to whether children should work or not.

Anyway the thing is livelihood argument, of course, doesn't make sense if you pick up things from scratch; it doesn't make sense if we think of ideal conditions and environment like there will be education at their disposal, some guardian to feed them, government to protect them blah blah.

But think of it when a child has got a father who cannot feed him (whatever the reason, whether he drinks or he is incompetent, blah, blah). If the child cannot get food of two times then what's the use of education to him. Providing eduation doesn't solve any purpose for him in the long run. If I(lets say) really want to help him then I should provide him food, shelter and education and make him competent enough to stand on his own feet, which is no less than adopting him as my child. (Anyway if I really want to see stand on his feet, why I am snatching it from him in the first place, he is already earning his livelihood on his own). If I have to adopt him then it is not a problem of child labor, it is problem of degraded family planning in poor. Once again which is a symptom of poverty and lack of education.

Moreover, I am against creating orphanages and all that(free support). Because I think its charity. And if I(lets say) can give donation out of my income for orphanage then it directly means I have no right to earn that much income in the first place (That, of course, I can not agree upon). Moreover giving donation is basically like giving dowry. It doesn't solve the problem; more you give it, more it will aggravate the problem. Giving donation or charity to someone will neither create long term(not even short term, for that matter unless one calls begging a work) work-opportunity for him nor one, who makes the charity, will gain anything from it. Instead giving someone charity makes them more dependent than ever before. (Yes, if you want to give charity for possible sympathy in your heart, or for all the paap-punya and karma-dharma stuff, or because you hate beggars and don't want to see them rise again or just for the heck of it, then of course, go ahead). The point got diverted from child labor to begging. But it doesn't matter because both are symptoms of same problem.

Anyway, so essentially if I say that child labor is not a cause of degradation but a symptom, then it doesn't mean that it should be left on its own. Of course it is a symptom, but we certainly can help solving the cause.
First of all, children should be provided equal wages to that of adults if an adult would do same work. This will ensure that enterprises(factories) are not biased in exploiting child labor because it is cheap. Secondly work-environment should be hazard-free. Third, working children can be given education after their work-hours. A minimum set of education can be provided ensuring that child can pursue skilled-education if he wants, on its own.

आलम ऐ ज़हन

हम वहां हैं जहाँ हमको भी,

हमारी खबर नहीं आती!!

पहेले तो वो यादों में रहती थी!

अब तो भूले से याद भी नहीं आती...



By coincidence, part of lines in above has a resemblance with one of Ghalib's composition, which I had not read before composing above lines.
Producing below the composition by Ghalib.

कोई उम्मीद बार नहीं आती
कोई सूरत नज़र नहीं आती

आगे आती थी हाले दिल पर हसी
अब किसी बात पर नहीं आती

हम वहां हैं, जहाँ से हमको भी
कुच्छ हमारी खबर नहीं आती

काबा किस मुह से जाओगे 'गालिब'
शर्म तुमको मगर नहीं आती