Desicritics Category: Politics: Asia

All Visitors are Gods, But Some Visitors are Higher Gods

Vinod Joseph — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:23:23 EDT

Recently, an Indian I know suffered verbal abuse of a racist nature at a public place in the UK. Commiserations from friends and well-wishers flowed in. Amidst all the support and handholding, which were all on the usual lines (not every Brit is racist, it’s the recession which makes people so nasty, don’t let a sicko disrupt your life), one comment stood out and set me thinking: ‘We (Indians) treat these people so well when they come to India.’

My initial reaction was to agree with that comment. I could think of so many instances when I used to work in Mumbai or study in Bangalore when I have gone out of my way to help foreign visitors. I have taken detours so that I could walk visitors to destinations they had trouble finding. I have spent valuable minutes answering questions in painstaking detail, questions on everything ranging from why Indians defecate in public to why Indian trains are usually late.

My initial reaction was buttressed by this blog post by Peter Foster, one-time Telegraph reporter based in Delhi who has very recently moved to Beijing with his family. In his post, Foster tells us of a recent experience in Beijing where an old man saved his life (from his kids) by doing some carpentry work for free. Foster goes on to wonder if he would be just as helpful to a newly arrived Chinese immigrant in London asking him for help in broken English.

So, on the fact of it, one gets the impression that Indians and other Asians and possibly even Africans are very helpful and friendly towards foreign visitors whilst nasty westerners are not. But is this true? Is this the full story, the whole truth?

How do Indians treat illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India? You might well say that an illegal immigrant does not deserve any respect or warmth. Fine (though throwing them out of the country without even the semblance of a trial is not, in my opinion, the right thing to do), let’s look at the case of Nepalis in India. How do we treat them? I have known restaurants in Colaba (Mumbai) which has a small floating population of working class Africans, treat poor African customers shabbily (the treatment Indians reserve for servants) and at peak times, even turn them away. African students in India are frequent targets of racist abuse as are people from India’s north-east.

Arabs are legendary for their hospitality, (force) feeding their guests even after they say No, even when they don’t have enough food for themselves. Hospitality is supposed to be a duty and a matter of honour. However, this hospitality rarely extended towards the hundreds of thousands of Indian, Pakistani, Nepalese, Filipino and African workers in Arab lands.

In short, the fabled Indian or Arab hospitality is restricted to prosperous, white Western visitors. This phenomenon can be seen throughout Asia.

Bhutan is a country which strives for Gross National Happiness rather than GDP. However, it has always treated its Nepali-speaking population as second class citizens even though Nepali migration to Bhutan started in the beginning of the 20th century at the invitation of Bhutan’s rulers. Many Nepalese have been forced to leave Bhutan for refugee camps in eastern Nepal.

After the Chinese revolution, the Chinese government gave scholarships to African students to study in China. As elaborated in this article, the Chinese government’s enthusiasm for Chinese students was not shared by the Chinese populace. African students in China were frequent targets of racist abuse. Hatred towards African students was the focal point which helped galvanise Chinese students into organising themselves, which ultimately led to the student demonstration at Tienanmen Square.

Foster is right in saying that if a Chinese immigrant speaking broken English looks for help in London, he is unlikely to receive the sort of assistance which Foster (speaking broken Mandarin) received in Beijing. However, an African immigrant in China is unlikely to get more any help than a Chinese or Indian immigrant in London.

Prosperous Singapore, Hong Kong or Japan are no better than their poorer Asian neighbours in this regard.

I am not for a moment saying that a coloured person in the West who is the victim of racism doesn’t have the right to protest. However, Asians treating White people so well and treating other Asian minorities and Africans so shabbily, is a manifestation of the racism that is so deeply entrenched in the Asian psyche. In my opinion, if Asians can learn to treat all their visitors with respect and dignity, (rather than treating a few select ones as Gods and feeding them till they burst), if Asians can bury their prejudices and work with poor African countries in improving their common lot, they will be able to deal a death blow to racism.

India's Post-Independence Fight For Freedom

Aditi Nadkarni — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:55:37 EST

Let me cut right to the chase here. This is unacceptable. Let me say it again for emphasis. It is not just bothersome or even upsetting. It is unacceptable. In the 21st century, in a democratic, secular nation, what has been going on, festering like a recurrent lesion, sprouting in every part of India, is just, simply unacceptable and will not do.

In case you are wondering who it is that's going to stand up to it: we are. We will not allow our freedom to be violated and we will make sure we protect the independence we fought long and hard to get the first time around. We have come a long way. We have seen the change and been the change. So who better than our pioneering, hot-blooded breed to stand up to the revolting and shockingly regressive acts of a few who feel threatened by progress.

They are just acting out of fear. It is obvious, isn't it? They attack in packs, afraid to be the lone ones incriminated. They target women and assault safely from behind the vague curtains of culture. But we all know that it isn't their culture that is in grave danger. Their position, their power and the extent of their bullying is in great peril. The places where they once ruled the roost are now turning into big, bustling cities making them feel like small, insignificant fish in a big sea.

Institutions and companies have transported the educated, smart crowd into the vacuum in which these bullies once enjoyed unfettered omnipotence. Now, in place of the void, there is a young, vivacious bunch of professionals, men and women who work hard and party hard and do so shoulder to shoulder. These people are harder to manipulate. This crowd has not just taken over, they threaten to pull into their growing ilk, the younger ones too. Business are bending over backwards to accommodate the needs of this new species and everything that once belonged to the bullies is now up for grabs. So they are retaliating. They are like petulant little children who couldn't have all that they demanded, hated sharing and so now are acting up. Therefore it is up to us, the educated class to teach these spoiled little brats to grow up and stop reacting so bizarrely to change. We must do it in a manner that is as different from theirs as is humanly possible.

So now comes the big question: how do we do it? How do we make our presence known? The answer may seem too simplistic because it sits smack in front of our faces. Think about it: we travel through these cities like one stream of blood, flowing steadily, keeping the city alive, stuffed in trains, piled into buses, walking along the teeming streets. Even partying and a trip to the movie theater is all the more fun with a group. We work in teams and are all the more effective for that. We discuss films, fashion, clothes, the economy, the job market and even our health problems. Yet this fear of walking out on the streets of a free country seems like a personal problem, like we were alone in that walk, like when a bully arrived with his little gang and punched us in the face, we would be all by ourselves and the world around us would just suddenly go blind. What we forget is that in this lonely fear too, we are still together. In this anger against the unfairness of the situation, we are together. We can if we decided, be together in the one resolute determination of not letting a handful of insecure men undo all that we have put into making our cities. So the answer is simple. Whatever it is we do, we do it together.

We celebrated Valentine's Day battling fear and took the threats in our stride defanging the demons with the pink disarming humor of our proud underwear. With the International Women's Day approaching, it is time to get serious. In our busy, routine lives we have underestimated the power of silent, non-violent protests. All it takes is for people to stand at a side-walk with banners to get word around. Some major struggles were won with this strategy and somewhere along the line we just shrugged and rolled our eyes at the quiet potential of public demonstrations and satyagrahas. Maybe we started taking our precious freedom for granted and needed to be reminded that we simply cannot. We have to earn it and when someone tries to snatch it, we fight for it.

It is important, I feel, in today's world to use media smartly. Instead of constantly criticizing media's inadequacies, we could use it as a tool. Find a niche and throw yourself into the swift current of this ever growing medium. Find a female leader in your area who is looking to make an arrival on the political scene. Do a little research. If one political party is making your life difficult for wearing jeans and celebrating Valentine's Day and there damn well must be another party that will fight for your votes, or can be persuaded to do so.

Find a celebrity who is willing to make your cause their own or give your movement their support and voice. Find a television network, a newspaper or a magazine that will run your story and provide your opinions with a voice. Find an artist who will put your thoughts into a slogan or a creative, riveting poster. Write to your city officials, your ministers and drown their offices in letters of your indignant protest. Just remember that one or two voices are easy to be ignored. If you are fuming over a coffee mug at your kitchen table, take that rage to a medium that will express it in the most noticeable manner possible.

Haven't we whined about a dysfunctional system for too long? When has this "system" ever worked? Maybe we just don't realize that we are one of the appendages of this faulty system. If the system is not working, we, as a group could propel in into motion. What will it take for us to get off our bums and make a placard with a strong message on it? This is not a women's liberation movement at all. Genders cannot be fighting alone in a battle such as this one. It could be your sister wearing jeans, coming home from work. It could be your teenage daughter walking back from school or college, the neighborhood aunty who brought you food when you were sick, a dear friend or your colleague. Most importantly, it is them today and it could be you next.

Let us review what the odds are of your being targeted next. You have a very high chance of being next on the hit-list if you answer 'Yes' for any of the following questions. Are you considered an "outsider" in Bangalore or a non-Maharashtrian in Maharashtra? Do you party? Do you meet up with friends at pubs? Do you wear jeans or clothing that may not be considered "Indian"? Do you eat pizza or meat? Do you drink alcoholic beverages? Does your religious persuasion always match that of the political party currently raging a mini-war in the nation you know of as secular? Do you send children to convent or English medium schools? Do you have a spouse of a different religious persuasion than yours? Do you have friends of the opposite sex? Are you married to the girl you are driving home from work or who you happen to be having dinner with? Are you non-conversant in Marathi in Mumbai or in Kannada in Bangalore? Are you a blogger or a journalist who expresses their opinions about politics, culture, media and religion? In spite of your qualifications and the six figure salary, do you have no clout with the local law enforcement or political activists? Before you fall asleep at night you should take a moment to wonder which one of these labels will be tagged onto your identity and turned into a vice or a disqualification; which one of these labels will plant nagging fear into your routine as you go about working to make a living, partying to rid your stress and walking on the streets of a country whose freedom you celebrate once a year on a public holiday. India did fight a freedom struggle years ago and it is high time that yet another quest for independence begins.

As a civilized society, we must remember that curbed freedom is a disease, an epidemic that does not spare a gender or a certain religion. It has uprooted saplings of modern, free thinking from Afghanistan and left it barren under the regime of the Taliban school of thought. This disease feeds on your fear and on the social inertia that has settled over our generation. An active, proud and independent public cannot let this inertia set in. Let it be known that this disease feeds most of all on the little disabling voice in your head which tells you that this is not your struggle, that it isn't your battle to fight. Sadly, this malady spreads, swallowing in its wake our hard-earned progress, until the feeble voice in your head is one day replaced with the grim realization that your own struggle has arrived. The assailant and his prejudice have changed form and you are the next prey. And there is nobody left to fight for you or with you.

Meeting The Congressman For The Sri Lanka LTTE Crisis

Kalugu — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 01:21:20 EST

Well finally I have met a US Congressman - I mean a personal meeting with a politician for the first time in my life.

Living in the relatively remote Midwest region of USA with a very small Indian community, the inaction of the Indian government over the human sufferings in Sri Lanka has been a factor of frustration for quite some time now, not just for me but for quite a few family friends here. Watching the human suffering and the brutality of the Sri Lankan forces for several weeks has finally thrust me to swing into action. Consultation with friends lead us to conclude that meeting the district Congressman and presenting the evidences for human rights violations would be the most logical step.

After launching a swift online signature campaign with area residents of Indian origin, we started working with the congressman's office to get an appointment. We were hoping to have a personal meeting at the Congressman's office so that we can show the videos and images that have bothered us much. However the scheduler/Office Manager of the Congressman informed me that the Congressman is busy until a month or so and asked if I would be interested in meeting him at an event in two days. I was aware that the US Senate foreign relations committee is planning to discuss the Sri Lanka crisis in a week and thought the timing would be perfect.

With a decent number of signatures by several area Indians (Not just Tamils, but the entire Indian community signed it displaying a sign of solidarity) and the disturbing videos and images burned to a CD, six of us were all set to meet the Congressman.

We were quite apprehensive about discussing the issue openly since the Tamil rebels are still proscribed in the USA. We all agreed that we will not make any references to the rebels in our discussion but focus on the excesses committed by the Sri Lankan forces.

The meeting was to take place at the Health Care field hearing scheduled at the downtown church. We arrived early and were waiting for the District Director & Staff Agent who was supposed to brief us about the standard procedures of meeting the Congressman and facilitate the meeting.

The Staff Agent arrived and was indeed very helpful and appreciated us for bringing the issue to the Congressman's attention. He also appreciated us for having run the signature campaign. After listening to the information we provided, the Staff Agent collected the file folder with the signed petition and the CD's and informed us that we will be able to meet the Congressman prior or after the event. He also advised us to forward the petition and evidences to other committee members, especially members on the foreign relations committee.

The Congressman arrived and was greeted by few public that were waiting to meet him just like us. The Congressman engaged in a long conversation with a lady who appeared to be in despair due to a loss of a family member. The Congressman was very polite and listened to her long story and hugged her to offer some solace. We knew then that we will have to sit through the meeting and will be able to meet the congressman only at the end of the event. Some of my friends decided to drive home and come back later, while three of us decided to stay.

We found the Health Care field hearing very informative. I was very impressed at the way the hearing was organized.

I started comparing the meeting with that of meetings involving Indians. Be it in India or the USA a meeting involving similar crowd would have been really noisy and full of confusion and chaos. I think we have to accept that confusion and chaos have become part of the Indian culture.

Americans sure have mastered the art of organizing events. Simple process's put in place by the organizers made the event progress in a smooth fashion. The Congressman was very polite and had a fair sense of humor and handled the questions well. A native Indian member who was full of humor asked the Congressman if he needed a job, referring to the acute shortage of doctors and paramedics in his clinic operating in the nearby Indian reservation. The Congressman also did not hesitate to ask for assistance from the folks in the crowd when he was not sure of some statistics.

Finally the meeting got over and we got the opportunity to talk to the Congressman. When I introduced myself and my friends, I mentioned that our roots are in India and we wanted to highlight the crisis in the South Asian nation of Sri Lanka. The congressman immediately said "I have a Tamil Tiger in my office". Looking at our blank reaction, he continued "That was a Joke...". He was making a reference to a Sri Lankan Tamil who works in his office. The Congressman seemed to be very knowledgeable about the happenings in Sri Lanka (obviously).

We informed about the evidences we have compiled and requested the Congressman to take up the issue appropriately and help bring justice to the people. The Congressman said before ending the conversation that he would like to one day visit Sri Lanka and have a vacation there.

That day may be too far away with the approach taken by most involved parties that have a stake in the region.

We all left home with a sense of relief that we have done the right thing. We do not know if the Congressman will be able to stop the terror faced by the people in the war zone, but we are happy based on what is mentioned in Bagavath Geethai - "Do your duty, Do not expect returns".

What if the LTTE Had Won The War?

Suresh Naig — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:05:10 EST

If one believes the vociferous proponents of LTTE belonging to sundry political parties of Tamil Nadu, Tamil Eelam on the terms of LTTE would be a paradise on earth. Though we all know it remains as a distant dream, there is nothing wrong in visualising a Tamil Eelam where the LTTE would be the authority and its supremo Velupillai Prabakaran would be the supreme authority.

On forming a separate nation, Tamil Eelam carved out of northern Sri Lanka, LTTE would change its name to PET an acronym for Party of Eelam Tamils, conveying to everyone that PET is the only Tamil political party in the nation. All other political parties in the new nation would be given a choice to amalgamate into PET democratically. No doubt all parties would follow it, for it will not be a choice but a dictum and as usual it would be celebrated by the cronies of Prabakaran in Tamil Nadu.

Prabakaran would reject the demand of his followers to assume the office of President in Eelam, more out of fear of facing the crowd, Press and opposition, which would again be celebrated with much fanfare in Tamil Nadu, comparing him with Mahatma Gandhi. The president of Tamil Eelam with independent powers to say “yes” to Prabakaran would assume office, with his ears stuck to the ground listening for orders from the bunker. The President would be assisted by a council of ministers, with adequate powers divested from them. First Independence Day of Tamil Eelam would be celebrated unfurling the flag of the nation, which would depict the smiling face of Prabakaran in the centre. The flag would be hoisted by Prabakaran, which would be witnessed by huge gathering of people in Jaffna, on a gigantic screen specially erected for the purpose. The flag would be hoisted by Prabakaran in an undisclosed location, followed by a speech. When the Press, presses for a press meet with Prabakaran, it would be arranged after much deliberation and elaborate security arrangements.

All the media persons would be advised to assemble in Jaffna, two days prior to the press meet. Media persons, mostly from Tamil Nadu would willingly subject themselves to the security drill, where every orifice of a person would be thoroughly searched, before clearance. When some media persons with self esteem object to this inhuman security drill, they will be politely shown the door and while exiting they would be booed by the persons, cleared for the press meet.

Before the broadcast of Press meet under strict surveillance of security persons, where every media person would be blindfolded before reaching the “undisclosed” location of the meet, the “Hero” of Tamil Eelam would invite the wrath of all the other media, depicting him as a coward, scared to meet the people and the Press. For most “Heroes”, ego is sacrosanct than principles, Prabakaran will realise that running a nation is too difficult than running a terrorist organisation. Running a nation has unwanted responsibility of accountability, where every dime and every corpse has to be accounted for, unlike a terrorist organisation. He would realise belatedly that a terrorist leader has absolute powers than responsibility, whereas a leader of a nation has curbed powers with more responsibility.

He would also realise that his heroism is still a saleable commodity in Tamil Nadu; he would opt to fill the void left by Veerappan in the vast jungles of Sathyamangalam, to liberate Tamil Nadu from the oppressive Indian Republic. Most of the political parties of Tamil Nadu would extend their support to him, because like Veerappan, it is always advantageous for them when Prabakaran is confined to a Jungle.

Two Intelligent Men

Vinod Joseph — Sat, 7 Feb 2009 10:11:55 EST

Avid blog-readers would have noticed the presence of two very intelligent men in the blogosphere for some time.

One of them, Mr. Bahukutumbi Raman (Mr. B. Raman for short), has been writing columns for various magazines (especially Outlook) for some years now. Mr. B. Raman used to be with the Research and Analysis Wing, India’s external intelligence agency, where he headed its counter-terrorism division for more than a decade till his retirement in 1994. Presently Mr. B. Raman is the Director of the Institute For Topical Studies in Chennai. Mr. B. Raman’s blog can be found here.

The other ‘intelligent’ gentleman is Colonel Hariharan. Col. Hariharan’s blog informs us that he is a retired military intelligence professional with nearly three decades of experience in South Asian countries. Colonel Hariharan tells us in this very touching post of the time he spent in Sri Lanka as part of the IPKF.

Colonel Hariharan’s blog can be found here.

Mr. B. Raman’s articles tend to be very factual, with an abundance of information of the sort that is not usually available to lay persons. In that sense, they are a delight to read. For example, this article on the situation in Tibet is filled with facts with very little of Mr. B. Raman’s own opinions. However, there are other posts which contain Mr. B. Raman’s opinions and views. For example, in this post, he says that there is an urgent need to tighten Sonia Gandhi’s security due to threats from the LTTE.

Col. Hariharan’s posts are very different from Mr. B. Raman’s. They don’t contain as many facts, (other than what’s available in the public domain) and focus instead on conveying Col. Hariharan’s opinions on various issues. I can assure you that they are a delight to read. Here, you’ll find Col. Hariharan lamenting the fact that red tapism prevented the Defence Ministry from utilising its budget to the full, with the result that it had to surrender sixteen thousand crore rupees (that’s US dollars three hundred and twenty million) as unutilised money.

I think it is wonderful that Mr. B. Raman and Col. Hariharan have started blogging since their articles give lay persons access to expert analysis. So far, I think I have read every article written by each of these gentlemen. I don’t have any disagreement with anything that Col. Hariharan has written. I can’t say the same for Mr. B. Raman. In this article Mr. B. Raman argues that it would be in India's interest to help Sri Lanka destroy the LTTE's military capability, but not its political strength. Mr. B. Raman says that the current crop of LTTE cadres had no role in Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. He argues that India should make a distinction between the ones involved in Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination and the others. This is in line with his view expressed in this post calling on the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora and the LTTE cadres to overthrow Prabhakaran.

I don’t agree with Mr. B. Raman’s views. The LTTE is not the only Tamil movement in the picture even now. Leaders like Douglas Devananda of the Eelam People's Democratic Party and S. Thondaiman of the Ceylon Workers Congress are around. The Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal formed by Colonel Karuna is a political force in the East. Further, if Prabhakaran were to be captured or killed, the LTTE will cease to exist. The LTTE is centred on the cult of a supreme leader and without Prabhakaran, the LTTE cannot survive. I really don’t see why India should try and save the LTTE even if only as a political movement. Mr. B. Raman goes on to say in the same post that the ‘Indian political class never understands the importance of identifying and preserving our strategic assets in the neighbourhood. Jawaharlal Nehru let go our strategic assets in Tibet. I.K.Gujral, who was the Prime Minister in 1997, unwisely and in a moment of misplaced generosity let go our strategic assets in Pakistan. Manmohan Singh, the present Prime Minister, has let go our strategic assets in Nepal and Sri Lanka. It could be a great tragedy.’

What does Mr. B. Raman mean by ‘strategic assets’? Does he mean assets which give India the ability to cause trouble in a neighbouring country? For example, if the LTTE were to survive (on India’s patronage), greatly weakened, but with the potential to be re-armed, and Sri Lanka were to do something that is not to India’s liking, say, it were to cosy up to China, India could rattle sabres by threatening to re-arm the LTTE.

Is that what Mr. B. Raman has in mind? But it is exactly this attitude and approach that created the Sri Lankan mess in the first place! No country, however small or weak it may be, likes to be at the mercy of another country. India will not have a single friend in its neighbourhood if it follows this approach and tries to create ‘strategic assets’ in neighbouring countries! Mr. B. Raman says Nehru let go of India’s assets in Tibet. I don’t claim to have Mr. B. Raman’s expertise or knowledge, but I don’t think Nehru did anything of that sort. Under Nehru, India did not give much importance to defence and cut defence spending, as a result of which, we were unprepared for the Chinese assault in 1962.

I believe that during I.K. Gujral’s time, India stopped arming Baluchi militants. Were they a strategic asset for India? If India were still doing that, could India have used them as a stick to beat Pakistan with? Could we have told Pakistan, ‘you stop causing trouble in Kashmir, we will stop causing trouble in Baluchistan?’ I doubt if it would have worked, since the trouble in Kashmir is caused by militants outside Pakistan’s control. On the contrary, the enormous sympathy which Indian received after the Mumbai attacks wouldn’t have materialised if the international community believed that India was causing trouble in Baluchistan.

As for Nepal, the average Nepali doesn’t have much love for India since India continued to prop up the monarchy long after it lost the people’s support. India stopped supporting the monarchy only after its downfall became inevitable. It cannot be said that India voluntarily gave up its assets (the monarchy) in Nepal. Having said all that, I do hope that Mr. B. Raman continues to blog and write articles and express his views which are very interesting, whether one agrees with them or not.

Sri Lanka-LTTE War: The Shifting Semantics of a Political Solution

Kalugu — Mon, 2 Feb 2009 08:15:49 EST

On Sunday, 31st January, the Red Cross said in a statement that the Puthukkudiyiruppu hospital in Vanni region received two direct hits from Sri Lankan Army shelling. "We're shocked that the hospital was hit, and this for the second time in recent weeks," said Paul Castella, head of the Colombo delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). "Wounded and sick people, medical personnel and medical facilities are all protected by international humanitarian law. Under no circumstance may they be directly attacked." The hospital, which has some 500 inpatients, is one of the few still operating in the region.

A "handful" of United Nations staff are working around the clock to save a growing number of children caught in the crossfire, a U.N. spokesman said Saturday. Children as young as 4 months old were being treated in local hospitals for shrapnel injuries and other "wounds of war," spokesman James Elder told CNN.

The 48 hour respite announced by the government has ended as an act of eye-wash while 80 innocent Tamil civilians have been killed and 230 have been injured in the said 48 hours and that too within the government declared ‘safety zone’ in Vanni. During this 48 hour safe passage assured for the civilians which ended on Sunday, about 70 civilians crossed over to the government held areas. The LTTE announced that it will neither encourage or stop the civilians from moving to any area they feel as safe but will protect the civilians that stay in their territory. Most of the 250,000 civilians appear to be staunch supporters of the rebel movement that they have decided to stay in the rebel held areas.

Meanwhile Sri Lankan Government officials accused aid organizations and foreign media of sensationalizing civilian casualties. In an interview to local media as reported by The Guardian, the defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, highlighted the role of ambassadors of Switzerland and Germany, and television networks CNN, BBC and Al-Jazeera in his criticism of foreigners, accusing them of being biased towards the LTTE rebels. "They will be chased away" he said. In the newspaper article, he singled out the BBC correspondent reporting from Colombo, Chris Morris, saying that "if he does not act responsibly and attempts to create panic, I will have to chase him out of the country"

The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora in a show of solidarity held large scale protests last week in Toronto, Canada and London, UK that gained live coverage in the local media. The protests were reported as something that these cities have never witnessed.

About 80,000 individuals took part in the Human Chain protest in Toronto, Canada and shouted slogans supporting the independence of Tamil Eelam and immediate ceasefire.

In London, UK about 130,000 individuals, mostly Tamils took to the streets also calling for Independence for Tamil Eelam. Few British parliamentarians who were present during the protests, spoke to the crowd. British Parliamentarian Mr Keith Vaz said "Over there across the road is the Indian Embassy. We urge the Indian government in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi to call for peace, to call for democracy".

It is ironic to see a Britisher asking India to honor Mahatma Gandhi.

In Chennai, India, more than 10,000 activists of political parties and social outfits, including a large number of students and youth, on Saturday bade an emotional farewell to Muthukumar, who had set himself ablaze for the Sri Lankan Tamil cause. They chanted slogans seeking recognition for an independent Tamil Eelam, hailing LTTE supremo V Prabhakaran and condemned India for its alleged support to Sri Lanka in the ongoing war.

Meanwhile, the newly-formed Sri Lankan Tamils' Protection Movement, comprising several political parties, announced a state-wide general strike on February 4 and black flag processions on February 7 demanding a ceasefire in the island nation. The strike will coincide with Sri Lanka's Independence Day.

Apprehending student unrest across Tamil Nadu over the prevailing situation in Sri Lanka, the state government on Saturday night closed all government and private colleges and hostels for an indefinite period. Elsewhere in Tamil Nadu, protesters torched a state-owned bus near Vellore, while 225 people were arrested in Thanjavur when they tried to lay siege on the Air Force station. They were protesting against the alleged use of the Air Force station for sending arms to Lanka.

As the international pressure from governments and Tamil diaspora mount on the Sri Lankan government, more analysts are making note that an Independent Tamil Eelam is now a political solution where as a united Sri Lanka has become a military one. The shift in the semantics does indicate that a military victory over LTTE as speculated by the Sri Lankan government may probably not end the crisis.

Terrorism and Its Objectives

Suresh Naig — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:13:47 EST

Irrespective of who the terrorists are, whom they are against, what their operations are, and how they do what they do; they all depend on a group of persons, whose job is to find “why” of it. God alone knows, why these persons go to such pains, to eloquently find “why terror exists”. In crime investigation, usual pitfall is to miss the obvious and hunt for the obscure. When terrorists operate from obscure locations doing the obvious, the job of these obvious personalities is to find obscure reasons for their existence.

The reasons for the existence of terrorism, hypothesized by these persons inebriated with over dose of books, might appear as indisputable as the existence of Yeti and God. No one has seen, yet many would like to believe in its existence. The “why” is an important element in creating heroes, as we have witnessed in many masala movies. A pick-pocket in a movie gains sympathy and turns out to be a hero, when a strong why is emphasized for picking the pockets. It might be to save some hungry children, or with the intention of distributing his booty to have-nots in a slum. However the person, who had lost his wallet in a bus, might have an ailing mother whose medicine depended on the missing wallet, would be obscured from the viewers, skilfully by the script writers. In the absence of reasons, otherwise known as the why of it, any act would turn out to be demonic or villainy. Attributing reasons for any act of terrorism is a subtle justification, glorifying the act.

Though the act of terror has only one purpose, the reasons aimed at its justification are varied and ingenious. Recently we have seen Ram Sena and MNS activists striking terror at Mangalore and Maharashtra. Ram Sena resorted to terrorizing hapless day-time boozers in Mangalore to save Indian culture according to its leader Prasad Attavar, Whereas MNS resorted to terror to save their mother tongue Marathi, according to Raj Thackerey.

We are made to believe that LeT and JUD are resorting to unabated violence for the cause Kashmir, according to their leaders, corroborated by British foreign secretary Miliband, LTTE is resorting to hi-tech violence to save their sisters and mothers getting raped by Sinhalese, according to some hyper active ethnic fanatics, Hamas is launching rockets to save their narrow strip from US supported Israelis, and Al-Qaida had resorted to creative strikes against USA, to save Islam from the infidels. It would be great injustice, if I fail to include Maoists in terrorists list who are out to save socialism from capitalists.

We have also seen enough beating around the “Bush”, for the unwanted terrorism in Iran in search of the elusive WMD (weapons of mass destruction), also several small time terror attacks carried out by “manic minions” belonging to different outfits towards saving something or the other, and we have even witnessed acts of terror in saving one God from the other God, as in Kandamal, Orissa.

Most of the terrorists have not achieved the obscure objectives, but certainly all of them have achieved the obvious objective, of instilling fear into a nation and society. Pakistani terrorists have achieved a rare distinction of instilling fear into two nations simultaneously. Democratically elected government of Pakistan is impotently inept in cracking the whip on these terrorists’ outfits, for the fear of getting toppled by armed coup. All the other nations including India, want to save the impotent democracy in Pakistan, for the fear that its nuclear capabilities would fall into the hands of the terrorists.

Let us accept the obvious reason for the existence of terrorism, which is nothing but instilling fear into the society, than wasting our time in chasing the obscure reasons, concocted by the spin doctors. Once we realise this simple logic, we would refrain from justifying any acts of terrorism, however compelling or lucrative the reasons might be.

Pressure Mounting in Southern India to Stop LTTE-Sri Lanka War

Kalugu — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:01:41 EST

Cadres of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, a Dalit political front in Southern India led by its president Thol. Thirumavalavan on Thursday, Jan. 15th began a hunger strike agitation in Chennai in Tamil Nadu protesting the "lethargic attitude" of the Indian government for failing to protect the interests of Tamils in Sri Lanka. They also charged the government with failing to prevent the violence unleashed on the Tamils by the Sri Lankan Army.

After four days of hunger strike, on Sunday Jan. 18 at 5 pm, heeding to the request of the state Chief Minister of the Tamil Nadu state M Karunanidhi, Thol Thirumavalavan gave up the hunger strike.

Even as Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) general secretary Thol Thirumavalavan called off his indefinite fast, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder Dr. S Ramadoss called an indefinite hartal in Tamil Nadu.

The Times of India reported yesterday:

Tamil Nadu will come to a standstill. Except basic services like milk and health, nothing should move in the state. Until the Centre intervenes to effect a ceasefire in Sri Lanka, the state will be paralysed,'' Ramadoss said after Thirumavalavan gave up his fast in Maraimalainagar in the city suburbs.

Jay Shankar and Paul Tighe who had a telephonic interview with the Indian leaders, report in Bloomberg:

Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam party has “impressed” on the federal government that it should step in and stop the war, spokesman T.K.S. Illangovan said in a telephone interview from Chennai. The party wants Pranab Mukherjee, India’s foreign minister, to hold talks with the Sri Lankan government to “stop the genocide,” he said. “Civilian Tamils are affected in large numbers,” Illangovan said. “This has to be stopped.”

Public outcry and protests started since October last year. They included the Communist Party of India's protest meeting in mid-October, Movie Directors protest, All Party Human Chain protest, Movie Actors protest, All Tamil Nadu Traders Union protest bandh, Dalit Panthers Rail Roko protest, MDMK's protest meetings, TV Actors protest, FEFSI film workers protest, Actor Vijays fast protest, IT Engineers human chain protest with actor Surya and Karthi, Artists Exhibition to express solidarity, Lawyers protest, Doctors protest.

Almost everybody from every walk of life has shown their solidarity towards stopping the war in Sri Lanka.

As a culmination of the protests, a team of Tamil Nadu MP's lead by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi subsequently met the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh in December and urged immediate action. The Prime Minister gave his personal assurance that the Indian government will appropriately exert pressure on Sri Lanka to stop the war. However, many view that India is playing a double game by supporting Sri Lanka in its war to defeat the Tamil resistance.

Mr. V S Subramaniam a citizen journalist reports in Merinews:

Delhi's deceptive tactics to cover betrayal

The foreign minister Pranab Mukerjee was shadow acting to extricate Manmohan Singh from his promise to Tamil Nadu leaders on December 4, 2008. The assurance was to send Pranab Mukherjee to Colombo to pressurise Sri Lanka into a ceasefire. The foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon's role was to sell Pranab's fake wares to 'gullible' Tamil UPA partners. There is deception aplenty in Pranab's role and India's belief in the sanctity of SL's 'sovereignty', 'non-involvement', 'hands-off' and commitment to a 'political over a military solution' to the SL conflict.

Delhi's agenda to 'kill' Tamil cause

However, M Veerappa Moily, the Congress media chief expressed an uncontrolled euphoria when Kilinochchi fell. He asked the Lanka government to hand over the resistance leadership, wanted by the Indian authorities in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, as quid pro quo for its military support for the Lanka genocide. "We are giving full support to the Sri Lanka government, for which it has to hand over the fugitive to India".

Delhi's agenda is to destroy Tamil cause for good by neutralising or eliminating the Lankan Tamil resistance leadership. Moily's forthright statement exposes the hypocrisy of Pranab's fake wares. The Congress-Delhi's double-talk (Pranab vs. Moily) underpins the "greatest betrayal" of Tamilians on the Lanka Tamil issue.

The Tamil Nadu state unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the principal opposition party in India, organized a one-day hunger protest on Monday, Jan. 12th in Chennai to call on the Indian UPA lead government to stop the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka. The State President L Ganesan said Tamils should get their equal rights looking after their own affairs and urged for an immediate cease fire to stop the war. A senior member of the state unit Mr. Vaithiyalingam asked the Indian government to lift the ban on the LTTE at the BJP's state general meeting.

A popular regional magazine, Kumudam, conducted a televised interview last week with K Thangabalu - The State Secretary of Congress Party. The event broadcast over the internet through the magazine's Web TV site allowed callers to ask questions of Mr Thangabalu. The event saw Mr Thangabalu being blasted by every caller regarding the moral principles of the Congress party with respect to the Sri Lankan issue.

A caller questioned Mr Thangabalu on who the Congress party represents - Indians or the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka. Few Sri Lankan Tamils who called from Canada and the USA questioned Mr Thangabalu on the respect the party has shown to the views and aspirations of not only the Tamils of Sri Lankan but that of Tamil Nadu. Mr Thangabalu was seen repeatedly attempting to defend the party's Sri Lankan policy and mentioned that Congress has every right to hold their opinion just like other parties.

The mounting pressure from southern India over the Sri Lankan issue is nearing its boiling point. Whether the Congress government will respect the democratic calls of India's own citizens or continue its clandestine partnership with the Rajapakse government of Sri Lanka is yet to be seen and could very well determine the fate of the already declining popularity of the Congress party in South India.

Sri Lanka: Lasantha Wickrematunge, Journalist, Predicted Own Murder

Kalugu — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:40:45 EST

Journalism, by far is not a dangerous profession. But in Sri Lanka it is a career choice that should be pursued only by the bravest of the brave.

Lasantha Wickramatunga - an outspoken critic of the government's war on ethnic Tamil rebels, knew he was marked for death — and thought he knew why.

The Associated Press reported that three days after he was gunned down execution-style, Wickrematunge's newspaper published a haunting, self-written obituary Sunday in which he says he was targeted for his writings and adds: "When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me."

In a 2,500 word editorial, Wickrematunge foresees his own death, hints at the identity of the killers from within the ranks of Sri Lanka's government, and lays out a gripping and detailed account of what he sees as his country's descent into persecution of citizens and flouting of democracy.

Addressing Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapakse - he says: "In the wake of my death I know you will make all the usual sanctimonious noises and call upon the police to hold a swift and thorough inquiry. But like all the inquiries you have ordered in the past, nothing will come of this one, too. For truth be told, we both know who will be behind my death."

Wickramatunga editor of Sunday Leader newspaper had the reputation of being one of the country's most fearless journalist. Wickramatunga was shot at close range by unidentified gunmen as he drove to work during the morning hours on January 8th in Dehiwela, just outside Colombo.

Just two days prior to the murder on Jan 6th, a private Sri Lankan TV channel was attacked with hand grenades and set on fire allegedly due to its "unpatriotic" coverage of the war against Tamil rebels.

Around 20 armed men in a white van with covered number plates attacked the studio and control room of the Maharaja TV network, just outside Colombo, early Tuesday morning. The attackers threw hand grenades, sprayed gunfire and set alight the building causing heavy damage, Director of MTV/MBC, the TV and radio unit of the channel, Asoka Dias said.

Ameen Izzadeen of Sunday Times writes:

"It was left to us, the journalists and the people who believe that media freedom is essential for a vibrant democracy, to close our eyes and visualize the face of terror that took Lasantha's life. Sadly, among those faces of terror was the government, however much we try to erase that image."

International rights groups, diplomats and local activists expressed outrage at the attacks, while opposition politicians accused the government of at best condoning the violence and possibly ordering the strikes itself.

How far would you believe the news coming out of a country that Human rights groups call as one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists to operate.

India And Pakistan - Hide and Seek

Suresh Naig — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:43:38 EST

After the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, India claims to have furnished enough evidence to Pakistan, about the perpetrators originating from Pakistan, corroborated by US intelligence. Yet the Pakistan Government continues to be obstinate in denying Pakistani involvement, in the worst ever terror attacks of recent past.

Confused by the cacophony of different voices emanating from official, semi-official, demi-official, dummy-official, and non-official sources, an Indian journalist assumed the onerous responsibility to unearth the facts for the benefit of Indian public. Over the years, the journalist in India gathered enough confidence on fact finding missions, since it used to be an easy task; it takes only one visit to the location of an encounter accompanied by some select politicians, and with ease a journalist could declare it to be a fake encounter. However fake the pronouncement might be, there always existed persons from different political parties, ready to sanctify the verdict. Having gathered confidence than facts, the journalist embarked on a tour to Pakistan.

Only on reaching Pakistan, the journalist could realise the hardships involved in fact-finding in the alien land. She was warned about the consequences involved in snooping around in unwanted territories, especially Faridkot and she was reminded about the fate of Daniel Pearl. Having realised the perils involved in fact-finding, she had restricted her activities to only interviewing select diplomats.

The interview was full of surprises and revelations right from the beginning. She had learnt from her younger days, about the intriguing and queer ways a diplomat would respond. She recalled her senior's lecture about diplomats, "When a diplomat says he will, he means he shall try, when he says he will try, he means no and when he says no he is not a diplomat". Equipped with that knowledge, the very first answer from the Pakistani diplomat confused her and her confusion lingered for many more days after the interview. She had sought the help of a local camera person to record her interview with the diplomat and the interview went on for over an hour.

IJ (Indian Journalist): There are talks in India that the terrorists involved in 26/11 Mumbai attacks were from Pakistan. What is your comment on their perception?

PD (Pakistani Diplomat): No they are not from Pakistan and at best they can be termed as Non-State actors.

For a moment the journalist got confused whether he was a diplomat or intelligence person, since she never expected a firm NO from a diplomat. The interview continued.

IJ: Indian Government claims to have furnished all the evidences pertaining to the identity of the persons killed and also a person caught.

PD: No. They have not given any credible evidence. What they have furnished is a bunch of suspicion and we cannot act on suspicions.

IJ: But sir, the terrorist caught by the Indian police, claims he is from Pakistani.

PD: We checked our records, but his name does not exist in our registry. Had his name existed in our records, we would not have spared them.

Indian journalist was confused, as to who is being referred to as them. The terrorists or the officials in-charge of the registry?

IJ: There is news in Indian media, that a person from Faridkot in Pakistan, claims that the terrorist caught in Mumbai is his son.

PD: You are a journalist. Tell me honestly, How much of the news do you trust?

Now the journalist felt the person she was interviewing is a hard core diplomat. Whichever way she answers him, she would be caught. She had ignored the question and proceeded further.

IJ: Even assuming it only as a doubt, don't you think sir, that you should pursue it relentlessly to fight the war on terror?

PD: You are right. But your Government is not allowing us to do so. We wanted to pursue it, so that we can prove that it was a conspiracy, wherein selected police officers were killed, who were pursuing the Malegaon blasts.

Now the Indian Journalist was once again in a fix.

IJ: Are you not raising a doubt, while brushing aside the evidence submitted as a doubt?

PD: No. Not at all. Are you trying to sweep under the carpet what is being said in your Parliament, by one of your ministers?

IJ: But Sir, he had retracted his statement later.

PD: That's the precise point. He had made the statement in the Parliament and retracted it out side. We infer a whole lot, not only from what is said, but also from where it is said.

IJ: I learnt that USA had furnished enough evidence to you about the handlers of the terrorists, giving instructions from your soil.

PD: We are going through the materials submitted by them. If found true, we will try them on our soil.

Indian journalist was once again confused, as to what the diplomat's "try" means. As a last ditch effort, she posed a question pretending to take him into confidence.

IJ: Sir tell me honestly. Where do you think the terrorists are from, who attacked Mumbai?

PD: I have a strong doubt that these men were from the Moon.

The journalist was shocked, yet continued interviewing him calmly.

IJ: What makes you think so Sir?

PD: A terrorist, who is well trained and motivated, from our experience, can never be caught alive. When a terrorist wielding AK47 is caught alive, he could only be a lunatic. The old English expression for a lunatic is "Man in the Moon", and that's why I say he must have been from the Moon.

With that statement, the Pakistani camera person felt "enough is enough" and switched off the camera.