Editorial, "The Ugly Presidential Race," in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 15 October 2016 issue, Vol. 12, Part 2, No. 19

THE UGLY PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Sometimes there seems to be very little to choose between the two eccentric and aggressive candidates of the current presidential race in the United States, which is derided in general as a two-party oligarchy in the guise of democracy, with whoever comes to power toeing the hard line of the powerful military-industrial cum financial crooks who are in reality running the governments. But sometimes it also seems to be a very crucial one which can decide even the fate of the entire world – as to whether it would be pushed into a nuclear Armageddon by the warmongering Killary clique, being supported by several republican neocons too, or be saved from its brink by the no-war, no-intervention protagonists whom in general Trump represents – as the reputed economists and political analysts like Paul Craig Roberts and Stephen Lendman often assert. The contest has escalated to typical American obscene proportions by the fishing out of a 11 year old locker room chat of Trump’s infatuation with grabbing the ‘pussies’ and the counter propaganda of Bill Clinton’s actual rapes and the ‘oral orifice’ proceedings as also Hillary’s own fascination for the male organs.  But as Paul Craig Roberts rightly rues, “What disturbs me about the importance attributed to Trump’s sexual banter is that we have in front of us the dangerous situation of the neoconservatives pushing for Washington to attack Syrian and Russian forces in Syria and the chief Washington propagandist, neocon Carl Gershman, calling publicly for the US to “summon the will” to bring regime change to Russia. The tensions between the two nuclear powers are currently at all time highs, and this dangerous situation is not a factor in the US presidential election!” It is also said that “Both Trump and Clinton are more strongly disliked than any nominee at this point in the past 10 presidential cycles. Clinton’s “unfavourability rating” is 55% and Trump’s 65%.” That the Americans have to choose between “two flawed candidates” in a “campaign of ‘you may not like me, but you’ll like my opponent less’.” Stephen Lendman is more forthright: “The prospect of Hillary succeeding Obama should terrify everyone, an unapologetic war goddess threatening everyone. Businessman Trump would rather profit from relations with Russia than bomb it. Neocon hawk Hillary risks waging potentially cataclysmic nuclear war. Which agenda do you support? A simple choice. Wall Street, war profiteers, media scoundrels, corporate pollsters, and bipartisan lunatics infesting Washington one-sidedly back a she-devil whose extremism may kill us all.” Though the constraints of ‘choosing the lesser evil’ may not be palatable always, this time your editor prefers to travel with Paul Craig Roberts and Stephen Lendman. §§§

Editorial, "INSURGENCY AND 'SURGICAL STRIKES'," in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 30 September 2016, Vol. 12, Part 2, No. 18 issue

INSURGENCY AND ‘SURGICAL STRIKES’

With the understanding of, and to an extent even an admission of, the saying: “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter,” the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is very peculiar in that only about 16% of our controlled state area falls in the Kashmir valley, and only 5-6 districts in it are heavily insurgency-infested. Jammu envelops 26% and Ladakh more than 50%, and are relatively peaceful, shun such militancy and moreover are eager to fully integrate with India. True, population-wise Kashmiri Muslims form about 50% of the total – that due to India’s credit which never disturbed the population proportion in the valley; rather it is the so-called azadiwallahs who ethnically cleansed the valley of Kashmiri Pundits in the 1990s itself. Then, as Tarek Fatah asserts, the people of POK too don’t seem enamored of their Paki connection and there is an agitation in Gilgit-Baltistan for its ‘azadi’. As such, Justice Katju’s comparison of the militancy in the valley with the Vietnamese guerilla war is quite misplaced; the Kashmiri Muslims’ cries for azadi is just an infatuation with fundamentalist Islam and not the love for any ‘Kashmiriyat’, and a real danger exists of their being reduced to a slave status in any ‘Mustafa Raj’. However, the Indian Government and Army too have not done it well by shouting from housetops about the so-called ‘surgical strikes’ carried out in retaliation for the Pakistan inspired, if not directed, attacks; such audacity can be termed a most stupid measure for any wise statesman or military strategist. Surprisingly, Pakistan has also bungled by refusing to admit any such strikes happening, and just tries to degrade those as repetition of the longstanding LoC violations and blames India for not letting UN military observers inspect and report on the same. At the same time, the manner the Pakistani politicians including their prime and defence ministers as also the fanatic Hafiz Saeed and other leaders of the terrorist outfits nurtured by them reacted, shows that something very damaging to their plans, forces and dependant terrorist circles occurred due to these ‘surgical strikes’ and for some reasons, perhaps including avoidance of public disgrace, they cling on to denials. However, it should also be noted that any armed force or terrorist group planning well and carrying out surprise attacks always has the initial advantage but that should not be taken as a decider in any war or longstanding conflict. As repeatedly asserted in this journal, only a wise and sane course – building bridges with China to neutralize any danger from it, negotiating with Pakistan to come to an underhand deal for any rational partition, and, by conduct of region-wise plebiscite, lending it an official and international stamp of approval – could be the real solution for this Ravanasura Kaashta-like conflict. §§§

Editorial, "BLACK SEPTEMBER," in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 15 September 2016, Vol. 12, Part 2, No. 17 issue

BLACK SEPTEMBER

readily brings to recollection the plane hijackings in September 1970 by the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) led by George Habash, in which too four planes were hijacked, and the sovereignty of King Hussein challenged, which led to a brutal civil war in the course of which the then Palestinian Liberation organizations were decimated – not less than 15,000 fighters mowed down and bulk of the refugees fled to Lebanon. But here are referred to – the 3-decades-later purported hijackings, crashing of those planes into the WTC Twin Towers and Pentagon, and the enormous destruction wrought that led to [used as a lame excuse for] aggressive wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, later Libya and now in Syria etc. and also to a macabre religious fanatic organization called ISIS/Daesh created to undermine the very concept and reality of any liberal humanistic civilization. Stephen Lendman asserts that in reality it is a CIA-Mossad plot, and thousands of architects, engineers and other eminent professionals in the US and Europe agree; a powerful 9/11 truth movement is spreading in the US and the West but largely ignored by the mainstream media and derogated by official circles as conspiracy theories. However, a recent European scientific study, published in the Europhysics magazine, declared that “the evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that all three buildings [in WTC Complex] were destroyed by controlled demolition.” More than 3000 persons, of several nationalities, were killed in the so-called plane attacks said to be the cause for the collapse of the towers, which were projected to the public as Muslim terrorist attacks. But even a cursory look at the attacks’ videos suffices to reveal the concocted nature of such allegations and in the entire history of the world there is no prior example of any steel-structured building collapsing due to plane hits/ office fires. Silverstein, the WTC Complex leaseholder soon reaped billions of dollars compensation, on the ground of the collapses being due to terrorist attacks, on his mere 15 million dollars investment there-for. Also in the savage wars unleashed by the Bush-Cheney gang, and later by Obama-Hillary clique, in the name of war on terror, millions of people were massacred; in a way the Third World War was already begun through this new crusade to establish American hegemony all over the world. This is nothing but an insider job, a most massive cover up in history, a 'new Pearl Harbor'. As such it is imperative for people all over the world to realize, mobilize and pressurize the United Nations to forthwith constitute an impartial international commission for a thorough investigation and inquiry into this tragedy and cause indictment and punishment of the traitors responsible for such egregious crimes against humanity. §§§

Editorial, "OUR COUNTRY AT THE OLYMPICS," in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 31 August 2016, Vol. 12, Part 2, No. 16 issue

OUR COUNTRY AT THE OLYMPICS

Our country, even since under the colonial rule, has been almost continuously participating in the World Olympics, since 1920 in the team events; even in the very Second Olympics at Paris in 1900, Norman Gilbert Pritchard (1877-1929), Indian-born athlete of British parentage from Calcutta, our lone contestant, won two silver medals. Real triumph for our country was secured by our super-talented Hockey team, especially by the legendary [Maj.] Dhyan Chand. During 1928-1956 our Hockey team won 6 successive gold medals. The Berlin Olympics in 1936 is a memorable landmark, when the Führer himself would get enchanted by our Hockey Wizard Dhyan Chand and offer him a top post in the German Army if he consented to play for Germany, which the patriotic player so politely declined. But this greatest field hockey player of all time has not been given the topmost national award though a much junior/younger talenter in another game, which is not even an Olympic event, was adorned with Bharat Ratna due to patently political reasons. In all the Olympics we participated so far, we could only secure 9 Gold Medals with the last in 2008 with Abhinav Bhindra winning it in air rifle shooting. It is regrettable that in Athletics/Gymnastics we rarely won any medals, and it is to the credit of our Telugu girl Karanam Malleswari that we could get a bronze medal in weightlifting in 2000 Olympics, making her the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal. Now we are all proud of another Telugu girl P.V. Sindhu bagging the Rio Olympic Silver in Badminton. Our total tally is just 9G+7S+12B = 28 medals in all these Olympics. Compare this to the tally of 100 medals of our neighbor China in the Beijing Olympics 2008 alone, where they also stood as World No. 1. In contrast to us, China has been participating in both Summer and Winter Olympics since the 1980 Winter and 1984 Summer Olympics only, but already its total tally in Summer Olympics is a whooping 201G+146S+126B = 473 up to 2012 – a spectacular achievement with which we have to compare our dismal performances, and try to catch up even to some 10% extent. Truly, in our country where there are no playgrounds in most of the schools, even that would be an insuperable task but what should we do is to provide the basic infrastructure for and fulfill the basic needs of the people, especially the youths, instead of declaring whimsical rewards at public cost for the stray winners; of course, they deserve all encouragement no doubt but not such political pampering. And such winners too, receiving the astronomical gift amounts now, may hopefully try to emulate Usain Bolt of Jamaica, who selflessly donated several million dollars from his earnings to his alma mater to promote the cause and conditions of sports in his country. §§§

Editorial, "69 YEARS SINCE TRANSFER OF POWER," in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 15 August 2016, Vol. 12, Part 2, No. 15 issue

69 YEARS SINCE TRANSFER OF POWER

The so-called Independence Day celebrations fervor was agog again. In the background of the recent imbroglio in Kashmir, the BJP Premier Modi was expected to declare some harsh restrictive measures, coupled with any socio-economic concessions even. However, he chose to ignore the pressing need to tackle this burning issue but just poked Pakistan by referring to the reverent thanks being rendered to him by the people of Sindh, Balochistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. He fell very much short of extending open support to the justified struggle for national self-determination by the Balochs, but yet this is sufficient and sure to create bouts of wrath in the neighboring country. And this once again brings to fore the question whether what was effected in August 1947 can be deemed real liberation for the people of India or were they duped with a transfer of power to some elitist leaders both sides of the border and trapped into endless quarrels and fights with each other over irrational communal and ethnic issues that could have been well tackled in a united India but for the nefarious British intervention. The unparalleled carnage of the partition days and history’s perhaps the biggest exodus of refugees both ways smeared with the most vengeful gory orgies and ethnic cleansings is time and again brought to the mind on this accursed day, fixed not even at the wish of the British Cabinet but solely at the whim and fancy of the sole dictator of the day – Lord Mountbatten, to whose tunes most of the then Congress and Muslim League leaders sang and danced, more with craze for power and perks than for the welfare and interests of the people at large. This editor has always pointed out that Kashmir is one crucial, and international, dispute, burning like the mythical pyre of Ravanasura, which has to be dealt with much tact and a flexible, give and take, approach. Coming to the domestic front, the socio-economic scenario is nothing exhilarating though much boasting of sound growth, controlled inflation and spread of broader national unity climate etc. is being made. What the common man experiences is the enormous increase in prices of food-grains, pulses, edible oils etc. and a sort of dismantling of the protective welfare measures that earlier used to mollify the rigors to some extent, and introduction of naked and merciless market economy measures. Further, anti-labor amendments in law are being made to facilitate the super-rich and multinationals and all this does not augur well for any purportedly democratic government. It is quite sad and shameful that in all these years of ‘freedom’ we have not progressed anywhere near the rate or state of our larger neighbor China or the smaller ASEAN countries even, either in economic growth or in social amelioration or in common civic sense. §§§

Editorial, "KEEP OUR ROADS CLEAN AND GREEN," in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 31 July 2016, Vol. 12: Part 2, No. 14 issue

KEEP OUR ROADS CLEAN & GREEN

and statues- and obstacles- free as far as possible, with wide and beautiful junctions of refreshing greenery with blooming flowers and necessary side roads and comfortable pavements – that is the least we can demand and expect of any governance system. In this context the removal of the YSR statue at the entrance of a flyover in Vijayawada, a big traffic obstruction, is a welcome measure though this process has to be extended to remove/shift all such statues and memorials erected in supposed veneration of various personalities cutting across any parties – be those of Gandhi or Nehru or Ambedkar or even NTR, etc. Likewise all temples and mosques/dargas standing as traffic obstructions have to be removed/shifted to nearby/distant vacant places. Perhaps India is the only country which allows its road spaces to be made ugly and crammed by such encroachments and, even if such temples/mosques pre-date the roads, public interest requires that those be shown a respectful place ‘far from the madding crowds’. More important is providing safe side-roads wherever possible, and good pavements to walk invariably, for every road - pedestrians should have the first right to use the roads and not any other vehicles or machines. Further, at least at every 300 meters intervals free and clean public toilets have to be provided to the people and also all shops/hotels/institutions, public or private, etc. be compelled to keep clean and comfortable rest rooms for use by general public and paying for pissing should be totally eliminated. This money spinning culture has ruined our ethos and our environment. At least two to three decades back there were some public urinals on the roads however shabby and dirty they might be, but now all those are gone; and for women it had been and is always an ordeal. Whatever narrow pavements were there, those also removed or arrogantly encroached on. One feels like crying when walking on these roads, but what can ordinary people do? Judges, ministers, political leaders, bureaucrats rarely walk for their chores, they get air-conditioned cars with free fuel and other facilities, even helicopters at public cost, and further, adding insult to injury, blame the general public for dirtying the roads and environs! True, civic sense and culture is very less in our country, but that defect not limited to the ordinary people but extends to, or more so lies in, the elite. On all cross-roads instead of commercial complexes beautiful parks and wide parking spaces have to come up and has the great Hyderabad Municipal Corporation built any parking complexes after the lone initiative at Abids launched by NTR in the 1980s? Where there is a will there is a way, it is often asserted, and it is for all, whose will influences and matters, to quickly intervene and mend/end this dirty situation in our country.  §§§

Editorial, "KASHMIR BURNING," in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 15 July 2016, Vol. 12: Part 2, No. 13 issue

KASHMIR BURNING

like Ravanasura Kashta (the mythical pyre of Ravana, the king of Lanka) it seems. The recent killing of Burhan Wani, ‘commander’ of the dreaded terrorist [or revolutionary – it depends on which side of the conflict the observer is – per the famous saying, ‘One’s terrorist - another’s freedom fighter’] organization ‘Hizb-ul-Mujahideen’ on 8 July 2016 at village BEMDURU (strangely sounds a Telugu/ Dravidian name, perhaps suggesting some ancient links with Dravidian culture?), some 80 Kms from Srinagar,  in a well-informed and quickly executed attack by the armed police aided by the Army, has ignited huge flames of protest all over the valley [Jammu and Ladakh are not concerned, the people there largely desire total integration with India and if necessary separation from Kashmir], despite the unholy PDP-BJP alliance running the show of a state government there. Misinformed/misguided, or deliberately truth-suppressing vested interested, ‘secular’, ‘leftist’ and ‘liberal’ persons/parties/groups have taken this up as a golden opportunity to corner the pro-Hindu Central Government of Modi, whereas the extremists on the other side are vying for heavy repression and integration of the valley by any means. Saner counsels would suggest a golden mean. First of all, it has to be kept in mind that neither Wani nor his organization was fighting for Kashmir’s ‘azadi’. Their marching song is: “Hizb ul Mujahideen kay jawan hain hum / Syed Ali Geelani kaa Aelaan hain hum / Takbeeron kea naaron kaa tuufaan hain hum / Hindi fauzon sun lo Pakistan hain hum, Allah ho Akbar… (We soldiers of the ‘party of holy warriors’ / actors per declaration of Syed Ali Geelani (separatist Hurriyat leader) / storm-troopers with the slogans of takbeer (Allah is the Greatest) / Hear Indian armies we are Pakistan)” etc. So, Wani had nothing to do with Azadi in the sense of liberty, equality and fraternity for Kashmiris as an independent state, but was just fighting for Pakistan and the ideals of Mohammed bin Qasim and Ghazni Mahmud! The security forces made a huge mistake in handing over the dead bodies and then not properly managing the funeral procession, etc., which was calculatedly converted into violent rioting. This editor feels that Kashmir issue is a pre-partition problem still unsolved, and the remedy is to, if possible, come to some tacit understanding with Pakistan and China, and conduct a region-wise referendum after carving out a separate Amarnath Temple district contiguous to, and joining it in, Jammu – with the only option fixed by the United Nations long back in this India-Pakistan Dispute.  §§§