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India's tainted Generals....

Today, yet again, there was news of three top ranking generals of the Indian Army caught up in a land scam. Which means they are facing corruption charges. It's amazing to me, as to how many 'flag officers' of the Army have been suspected of some misdeed or the other. There has been a meat scam, a 'booze scam' or even a tent scam, in which Generals are suspected to be involved. The ultimate being the 'coffin scam' during the Kargil war... I ts also amazing that these officers - clearly lacking 'Officer like qualities' and who have displayed conduct 'unbecoming of an officer' have actually risen to such high ranks in the Army's hierarchy. In the latest 'Sukna' scam in the North East, the generals are commanding Corps - extremely sensitive assignments held by individuals whose basic character is suspect . And it makes me wonder - would I ever encourage my son to join the Army? Because, at some stage he might have a Boss in uniform w

The spirit of Mumbai

'The spirit of Mumbai' has become a very 'nice sounding' phrase in recent times, particularly in the aftermath of 26/11. When 26/11 happened, Mumbaikars came together, joined hands, lit candles, kept vigil around the key landmarks where the terror attacks happened, and voiced their opinion about the media, the politicians, the security forces and so on. According to them some of these agencies did a great job, whereas others let down the City. Since then much has been discussed about the spirit of Mumbai and Mumbaikars in general. That they were united, they came together to express solidarity towards the victims and their families. But hold on. Unity, the courage to come together in face of adversity and expressing solidarity is a matter of convenience - isn't it? The point is, its all very nice to come together and talk about the nameless, faceless adversary, in this case the terrorist from Pakistan. Condemn him, hold candle light marches against him, write sloga

26/11 One Year Later....is India safer?

One year has flashed by -since that horrific incident - the terror attack at major landmarks in Mumbai. More than a hundred and fifty people died, including brave policemen, soldiers of the National Security guard, staff of the Taj and the Trident Hotels, guests patients at the Cama Hospital pseengers at the CST station and last but not the least occupants of the Nariman House. Last evening huge crowds gathered at major landmarks in various cities across India, to pay homage to the lives lost to this cold and cruel act of violence. . They gathered at India Gate, The Gateway of India, in front of the Trident Hotel and the Nariman House, to name a few. There were people across age groups and from all walks of life. Thankfully - some politicians too. Some of them overcome by force of their personal value system to be present there. Others were there perhaps because they were more bothered about the consequences should they have chosen to keep away from this event. And other Netas, who di

Sam Bahadur - II

Here's how the Nation behaved, when Sam Bahadur, the celebrated General, the brain behind India's only decisive millitary victory, and the only Indian Army Officer to be appointed Field Marshal while still in active service - truly one of the World's greatest millitary heros, passed away in June last year. If you want to get a taste of how India's civil society can display its incivility, check out who all were present to pay their last repects to the departed soldier, when the guns were fired in salute during the funeral ceremony on June 27, 2008: Pratibha Patil, President of India and Commander in Chief of the armed forces - absent. Hamid Ansari - Vice President of India - absent. Dr. Manohan Singh - Prime Minister of India - absent. Sonia Gandhi - daughter in law of Indira Gandhi the Prime Minister with whom Sam closely interacted during the 1971 crisis - absent. LK Advani - Leader of the Opposition and an aspirant to the Prime Minister's position - absent M/ K

Sam Bahadur - A soldier's General

Sam was born in 1914, in Amritsar. He was selected for the first course of the new instituted 'Indian Millitary Academy' He was commissioned into the 12th, Frontier Force Regiment, commonly called the 54th Sikhs. He saw action in the Second World War, and in 1942 was gravely injured in action - a much publicised event - when seven bullets from a Japanese machine gun whipped through his body. Sam survived and went on to become argueably the most celebrated General not only in India but across the Globe. He rose through the millitary hierarchy through rapid promotions and held key assignments from the Director - Millitary Operations (during the crucial Kashmir Operations of 1948), then Commandant of the Defence Services Staff College. He then took over 4 Corps as GOC-in-C, just at the close of the Chinese hostilities of 1962. Sam's first meeting with the senior officers of 4 Corps is legendary, just as it was typical of his personality. 4 Corps at that juncture was a comp

A Story of true grit, determination and courage

Lt. Gen. Pankaj Shivram Joshi PVSM, AVSM VSM, passed away recently. Just another army officer who fared better than others, rose to the rank of a Lt. General, then led a quiet retired life and passed on? Not really. For his life is a story of true determination, grit and courage. And an inspiration for the young and old alike. A lesson about how to live life despite adversities, and make a success of whatever you do. Pankaj Shivram Joshi graduated from the National Defence Academy and was commissioned into the 8 Gurkha Rifles in 1967. While posted in Sikkim and involved in a landmine clearing operation, he inadvertently stepped on one. While his one leg was blown off on the spot, the other had to be amputated a few days later at the Army Hospital. He was 24 years old then. At Pune's Artificial Limbs Center, he was fitted with a pair of artificial limbs. A fortnight later, Joshi refused to be wheeled to the limbs center which was a kilometer and a half away from where he was staying

The 2009 IPL Champions....

Sunday evening. The Deccan Chargers scripted what can possibly described as a 'work of art'. And walked away with the IPL trophy. The World was amazed, and couldn't help admire. While I sat and debated, for the nth time - whether 20-20 was the way to go, or if the traditional test matches and ODIs were the 'true' form of cricket, I sat and watched the game. And I was immediately reminded of India's moment of glory - at Lords - 1983. When team India lifted the Prudential Cup. And were declared World Champions. And I saw similarities. India, in the 1983 tournament were the underdogs, much as the Deccan Chargers at the beginning of the 2009 IPL. But India came around from behind. Slowly, but surely and steadily. So did the DCs. And India excelled when it mattered, just as the DCs did. 1983 was also a fine example of a captain leading by example. Kapil Dev came in to bat against Zimbabwe, when the team was on a near collapse at a dismal 50 odd runs for the loss of 5

A Lesson of life

In the hosptial room next to the one where my mother is admitted, was a small child - a boy of not more than 4 years, who was ill. Yesterday in the morning, his condition worsened and he became critical. There was an alarm raised. In no time, all doctors, nurses and other paramedic staff rushed to his room to lend a hand. There was confusion. The parents realized that they are facing impending doom, were both crying in desperation. However, in a short while, the situation turned around. Thanks to the doctors and nurses who kept their cool, and worked in a focussed manner, to avert the crisis. Since I was in the adjoining room, I couldn't help walk across and sneak a peek. There was only one nurse keeping vigil. The parents had calmed down. All seemed to be well now. Today I saw the boy. And the sight delighted me. For he was not only well, he was actually on his feet, and was dancing and prancing around the corridor of the ward. The smile on his little face won my heart. His right

King and his puppy

Once upon a time, not long ago, there lived a young boy who was very very spoilt. His name was King. Easy access to a lot of money made him think he was actually a king. The fact that he was very, very  wealthy made him arrogant. And to make matters worse, he was all alone. He had no parents who could check his behavior and tell him to mend his ways and be a little humble. The story goes that one day, this spoilt young man decided to get himself a puppy. The best that was available. He knew that all he had to do was pay for it, and this wasn't a problem at all ! So he got himself the best puppy that money could find. Once King had this puppy, he started treating it in a very strange manner. One day he would love it and the next day he would be very cruel. Sometimes he would over feed the puppy to the point that it got sick, and at other times, he would make it starve and that too made the puppy sick. He would either make the puppy walk and walk and run and run, to the point that it

Farewell - Feroz Khan

Feroz Khan passed away early this morning. The long battle with the dreaded disease, fought valiantly, is now over. Feroz Khan joined the film industry in the early sixties, and set out to establish himself, amidst stiff competition from others like Dharmendra, Dilip Kumar, Jeetendra, and the like. In the next two decades he acted in some of the most popular 'hits' of the times - Arzoo, Oonche Log, Safar and Aadmi Aur Insaan. And while he mostly played second lead, he managed to carve out a niche for himself. with his rich baritone voice, the sofisticated style of dialogue delivery which will always be remembered is distinctly different and 'classy' Feroz Khan found reasonable success with his production ventures too. 'Qurbani' produced by him in 1980 turned out to be a huge block buster. Other films followed at regular intervals. Everytime, Feroz Khan came back from behind, refusing to be forgotten in the annals of Bollywood history. The last time we saw him

An open letter to Gen. Kayani from Col (R) Harish Puri

from: The News, Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Dear Gen Kayani, Sir, let me begin by recounting that old army quip that did the rounds in the immediate aftermath of World war II: To guarantee victory, an army should ideally have German generals, British officers, Indian soldiers, American equipment and Italian enemies. A Pakistani soldier that I met in Iraq in 2004 lamented the fact that the Pakistani soldier in Kargil had been badly let down firstly by Nawaz Sharif and then by the Pakistani officers' cadre. Pakistani soldiers led by Indian officers, , he believed, would be the most fearsome combination possible. Pakistani officers, he went on to say, were more into real estate, defence housing colonies and the like. As I look at two photographs of surrender that lie before me, I can't help recalling his words. The first is the celebrated event at Dhaka on Dec 16, 1971, which now adorns most Army messes in Delhi and Calcutta. The second, sir, is the video of a teenage girl bein

School to Blame?

My heart goes out to the parents, relatives and freinds of Akriti Bhatia of Modern School, who passed away the other day, after an asthma attack while still in School.  Expectedly, the parents and friends of Akriti have put the blame squarely on the School for negligence which caused the death. While investigations will take their own course, let us pause and reflect on what happened, before we jump to conclusions on who was responsible. At about 10 am in the morning, Akriti complained of an asthma attack, and rang up her mother to send the car to School so she could come home. The mother advised Akriti to go to her Aunt's place instead of coming back home. At about the same time, she informed the Class teacher about her state, and requsted to be excused and let off early. While everyone waited for the car, Akriti was escorted to the 'sick room' where the nurse administered Oxygen to her. After a while Akriti herself informed the nurse that she was feeling better. The nurse

It's just one game won...

So, Mr. Khan's team won a match yesterday. Big deal? Seems so, for him. In the interview with Madira Bedi yesterday, he made it more than obvious. So what's the problem in the team owner being happy if his team won a match? No problem - in being happy per se, and expressing it. But I definitely have a problem with the attitude with which you let your feeling be known to all cricket fans, and your fans across India and the world. Your attitude suggests that you have a problem with all your critics and you cannot digest any criticism. So you tell the World what you will say to each critic when your team wins the Trophy and when you go back to Kolkata with the IPL trophy, riding a 'barge' .. And while you should be thankful that your team won courtesy the Duckworth-Lewis method, your comments about M/S Duckworth-Lewis suggests utter contempt for the method as well as its authors. Being a team owner, have you by now, studied the method comprehensively? You haven't beca

Mayawati and her Ambedhkar Udyaan

Just across the road from where I work, there is a huge wall that has recently been constructed, of red 'Kota Stone' running all along the length of the main road for few kilometers. Obviously, there is more behind the wall, but the common passerby cannot make out what. But now the cat has been let out of the bag. A brand new 'Dr. Ambedhkar Udayaan' is being constructed - thanks to the sole initiative of the current chief minister of the State of Uttar Pradesh - Madam Mayawati. This park is estimated to cost the ex-chequer a whopping Rs. 300 crore. Actually the tax payers' money. It is supposed to have statue of not only Dr Ambhedkar, but of Mayawati herself. And apart from these, there are expected to be seven elephants made of granite, that will add to the glamour of the brand new park ! Why is it being built? Does the common citizen of UP want it? The answer as expected is a 'no'.. A most 'warped' sense of expression of respect to a great man? Or

The Election Circus comes to town

It's election time in India! And the common man is once again witness to what can best be described as a political circus that has come to town. One cannot probably even count the number of parties and 'leaders' striving to come to power. But the common trait amongst all is that they do not have any election agenda or manifesto. So the best that they can do is to downgrade the opponents. For one National party, the only salient point in their election manifesto is that the present Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is 'weak'. And they go around the Country trying to convince people not about how they will form a better, more effective and result achieving Government, but simply that the current Government should be voted out. Then there is another party who take great pride in announcing that if elected they would ban English language and computers in the State of UP. Thankfully on this one, the people of the State have reacted and termed this agenda as outrageous,

Cricket - Is the game greater or the money behind it?

Recently we heard about Shah Rukh Khan slamming Sunil Gavaskar, over the latter's comments on Kolkata Knight Riders' Coach John Buchanan's multiple captain theory. India is a Country where Cricket is a passion and a favorite pastime for a majority of its citizens. But amongst all such self proclaimed experts, there are also Cricket's all time greats, one of whom is Sunil Gavaskar. In an outstanding career spanning 17 years (1970 to 1987), Sunil Gavaskar's contribution to the game helped the Indian cricket team become an World Class team to reckon with. But more than that, this man mesmerized cricket loving fans across the World with his classy stroke play and fielding, which resulted in a long list of 'all time high' achievements, most of which remain unbroken records to the day. It was Sunil Gavaskar who broke Donald Bradman's long standing record of the maximum number of centuries in test cricket. Sunil remains the only batsman to have scored a century

Murky Politics

India was witness in the recent past, to murky politics. Not surprising though, as politics is a dirty game, more so in India. But what is unbelievable, is the extent to which our so called leaders of the Nation have stooped, to further personal gains and those of their Parties. We saw for instance, a young 29 year old political 'nobody' trying to launch himself into what probably is the only profession he knows he will succeed in - politics. And what does he do to make a 'grand entry' into the arena? He, in the most blatant and daring manner, publicly spits communal venom, instigating illiterate and innocent rural folk of different religious communities to start hating each other. Why? So that the population is polarized and he gains votes. What an idea to launch his political career ! Then we saw a major political party with some of the supposedly respected senior politicians, all staking claim to be the ideal set of leaders to form the next Government - actually sup

Holi

"Do you celebrate Holi?" a colleague asked me yesterday. "Yes - of course !" I told him. 'Maybe not celbrating Holi is the ''in'' thing -hence this question' I thought to myself. And today, when Holi celebrations are over, I pause to reflect on how we celebrated the festival yet again - this year - today. We celebrate Holi, by first connecting with the elders in the family. In our case, our Mother. Reaching out to her, mentally as well as physically. And on this auspicious occasion more than anytime else, seeking her blessings. We congregate at Ma's place. All of us, brother, cousins, their families. And suddenly fill up her lonely world and life with a lot of liveliness. The entire space within the four walls of her house is filled with the sound of fun, frolic laughter and joy. The same house which was once ours. Where we lived and which once used to reverberate with people, voices, life...The house which for all times stands quiet, sud

Thanks - Mr. Mallya

Mr. Mallya, We did not expect that help would come from you, of all the people. At a time, when the last memorabilia, things belonging to 'Gandhi' the 'Father of our Nation' were being auctioned by someone in some other part of the World. Not one Indian amongst the one billion of us paused to think that these items shouldn't have left India in the first place. Not one of the thousands of the staunch followers of Gandhi or the practitioners of Gandhism raised their voice in protest at the most blatant form of insult meted out to Gandhi. And when the issue came to light, the Indian Government, led by insensitive 'Netas' devoted full time, not to the principles that Gandhi preached and exemplified, but only to furthering their own ends, and caught in bureaucracy and red tape, just sat and watched. The World also watched - some surprised at the attitude of our Country. And some were even amused. For they knew that 'this happens only in India' And then yo

Terror attack in Lahore - The shape of things to come?

The killing of five policemen and two others at Liberty round about in Lahore blows the lid off the security arrangements in the city, especially at a time when the Sri Lankan team was visiting the city. Yes, Policemen fought valiantly and somehow succeeded in keeping the Sri Lankan team largely out of the harm’s way. Nevertheless it is a security lapse and a huge intelligence failure. As soon as the incident happened, critics in Pakistan and elsewhere sprung into action blaming it on their usual suspects. While some said categorically that it is the RAW paying us in the same coin others blamed it on the jihadis from our Western borders. Probably a more intelligent interpretation, is that of Governor Salman Taseer who believes it is the very people who carried out attacks in Mumbai last year. Are we facing a common enemy? People in Pakistan are shocked and scared. Like many incidents of terrorism in the past we don’t know if the perpetrators of this incident will ever be identified and

Terror strikes cricket...

Today, cricket lovers, particularly Indian cricket fans sat and watched with a sense of renewed confidence, the Indian team redeem quickly their prestige glory temporarily lost when they lost the '20-20' series against hosts New Zealand. Redemption coming through a good batting innings in the first ODI at Napier, leaving the hosts to chase a very ambitous, if not an impossible target to achieve to secure victory. But early in the morning, this feeling of euphoria was soon replaced by a sense of deep shock, when news came in of the cruel terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team currently touring Pakistan, in Lahore. Six players were injured but are thankfully safe. The unthinkable and the unprecedented has happened. Never before were sportsmen targeted in such a henious manner as this. Questions and concerns that were raised about safety of players who toured Pakistan, have now probably been comprehensively answered. And no Country will be keen on sending their teams to p
Have we humans really 'evolved' as a species, over the past centuries? More importantly, have we "Indians' evolved as a species? I think not... How else then would you explain how we behave - not like an 'evolved' species but as if we had degenerated across centuries, millenniums to, to possibly the 'stone age'? Or maybe even earlier - when we were animals? How else do you explain how we Indians behave on the road? Fighting for that extra inch of space and meandering our way to get to the 'front' of the row of waiting cars on a traffic light? Because we just have to be at the top of the line...nothing else matters...? Or zipping ahead and nearly missing colliding with a shocked sixty year old woman trying desperately and helplessly to cross the road, just because you had to be ahead of her. You just had to cross the road first, before she did? How else do you explain how easily we become victims of 'road rage' Bludgeoning a fellow huma

Winning

Oh the wonderful, ecstatic and overwhelming feeling of 'winning' ! A long and tough journey now complete... Of first setting sight on an objective, a goal that when achieved, would make the World sit up, gasp and wonder in amazement... Of getting together a team of dedicated and talented members, all of whom share a common vision and are willing to 'do or die'..... Of pulling together other resources and continuously facing challenges and problems some - financial, some administrative, social....yet being relentless and not giving up. Of each team member committing himself or herself to give to the project, life's best ever effort. For nothing lesser than the best would work. Endless days, months of tireless efforts. No room for complacency, no 'letting go' or taking it easy. Striving for perfection in every minuscule aspect of the project. For being perfect will matter. And then the result of that toil.... The World does sit up and wonder in amazement..