News Made Juicy

Here is what a great journalist friend sent me. On how the Indian TV news channels would report the Jack-and-Jill nursery rhyme. All names (except those of Jack and Jill), are fictitious.

PRASHANT - TV Anchor
We have important breaking news here. Two persons have been injured in a freak climbing accident. Jack and his companion Jill had gone up a hill to fetch a pail of water when Jack fell down and broke his crown. Jill came tumbling after. Live from the hill, our reporter, Amrita Shah, takes up the story.

AMRITA SHAH
Thank you Prashant. Well, as you say, two persons - Jack and Jill - had gone up a hill to fetch a pail of water. Suddenly, Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after. Prashant.

PRASHANT
Thank you, Amrita. What do we know about the hill?

AMRITA
Not too much at the moment. Jack was going up the hill to fetch a pail of water when he fell down and broke his crown. Jill came tumbling after.

[Headline appears at the foot of the TV screen: “HILL BREAKS CROWN OF PAIL-BOY JACK”]

PRASHANT
Any news of Jack and Jill?

AMRITA
Prashant, it seems that Jack had gone up the hill to fetch a pail of water. We know nothing about the pail, or how heavy it was. But it appears that Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after. I have here with me, an eyewitness to the entire accident, Mr Shahid Trivedi. Mr Shahid, tell us what you saw.

SHAHID TRIVEDI
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after.

[Headline appears at the foot of the TV screen: “BOY AND GIRL TUMBLE DOWN HILL. WATER SPILLED”]

AMRITA
Jack and Jill. What do we know about them? Are they brother and sister? Are they married? Just what were they doing on the hill together?

SHAHID TRIVEDI
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.

AMRITA
And what happened next?

SHAHID TRIVEDI
Jack fell down and broke his crown.

AMRITA
Go on...

SHAHID TRIVEDI
And Jill came tumbling after.

AMRITA
Prashant, there you have it! Two people innocently going about their business to fetch a pail of water when one of them falls down, breaks his crown, and the other comes tumbling after. Back to you in the studio, Prashant.

[Headline appears at the foot of the TV screen: “WATER ERRAND ENDS IN TRAGEDY”]

PRASHANT
I have with me in the studio now, Professor Chandrashekhar Belagare from the Indian Institute of Applied Hill Sciences. Professor: A hill. Jack. Jill. A pail of water. A tragedy waiting to happen?

PROF BELAGARE
Well... that depends on the hill, the two persons, the object they were carrying and the conditions underfoot. Let us look at the evidence so far:

Jack and Jill / Went up the hill / To fetch a pail of water. / Jack fell down / And broke his crown / And Jill came tumbling after.

Clearly, one would suspect that if Jack’s fall was severe enough to break his crown, then the surface of the hill must have been slippery and therefore unstable. But I think we’re overlooking something quite fundamental here. Who was carrying the pail? Jack fell down and broke his crown and – this is the key – Jill came tumbling after. If Jack and Jill had been carrying the pail together, would they not have fallen at the same time? The fact that Jill came tumbling after suggests that Jack lost his footing first and perhaps knocked Jill over as he slipped.

PRASHANT
Professor, thank you very much. So there we have it, two persons – Jack and Jill – went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after. Later in the programme, some other news: Osama bin Laden captured in Afghanistan, President Obama promises free health-care for every American citizen, and Pakistan launches nuclear warheads against key Indian cities. But next up, join us after the break for an in-depth studio discussion about hills, boys and girls, and whether water-fetching trips should be supervised. Don’t go away. We’ll be right back...

Confronting Guns of Peace: Bastar Faces its Worst Crisis

As I write this critical note on the worst ever crisis undivided Bastar is facing, ambushes and gun battles between para-military, Salwa Judum and State Police forces and Naxal cadres are being played out in jungles of Dantewada and Bijapur districts of undivided Bastar in South Chhattisgarh. To understand this crisis one needs to have a brief knowledge of the previous crises that have confronted Bastar. It must be stated upfront that since historically this region has been a forested, tribal dominated and physically difficult terrain, it has also been a malgoverned region ! And this malgovernance manifested itself in injustice and denial of rights for the tribals inhabiting this region with the State eyeing it only for its mineral deposits and forest resources. This somewhere laid the ground for the crisis that is unfolding here since June 2005.
In June 2005, as part of a larger plan to tighten control over the rich mineral and forest resources of Bastar, the State, backed by private capital, launched a major offensive on tribals of this region and called it ironically Salwa Judum or peace movement. On the face of it Salwa Judum was a people’s uprising for peace against Naxal violence but the hidden agenda, as is gradually unfolding, was the corporate grabbing of resources. The sum total of four years of Salwa Judum has been the internal and forced displacement of more than 3.5 lakh people from their villages, a 30 fold escalation of violence and a 22 time swell in support base and area under control by the very Naxals whom the Judum aimed at decimating ! But the State never learns from failures – even after unleashing the loosing battle of horrifying violence on tribals of Bastar in name of Salwa Judum, it has launched a phase two in the name of Operation Green Hunt and Operation Godavari in Bastar and adjacent districts of Malkangiri (Orissa). This confrontation of Bastar’s tribals with the ‘guns of peace’ will unleash the worst crisis this region has ever seen or will ever see … but that is only if remaining tribals ever survive these ‘guns of peace’.
So through this note I am attempting to simply analyse each strategy and act of the State and map its impact on tribals of Bastar and how counter-productively it has benefited the CPI (Maoist) party!
The State launched Salwa Judum in 2005 to counter insurgency by cadres of CPI (Maoist) or Naxalites through civil defense by recruiting and training civilians in ‘armed resistance’
But soon Salwa Judum cadres went beyond the control of para-military and police forces under whom they were supposed to function and began looting, burning, raping, murdering and kidnapping of tribals and remained beyond any accountability due to political support.
The State forcefully evicted tribals from 700 villages and dumped them in 30 odd camps built for them and cordorned by security forces – it was protecting people from Naxal violence ! It was following the American counter insurgency strategy of ‘draining the water and killing the fish’ … State forgot that tribals are not fish and villages are not fish bowls!
But freedom loving and nature-dependent tribals refused to move into camps and fled for fear of being captured, tortured and then deported to camps – reminds one of the Jewish Holocaust. While a meager 50,000 population shifted to camps, about 50,000 fled to the adjacent district in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa where they had relatives and clan families and remaining 2.5 lakh people hid deeper in jungles living a life of fear, hunger and death.
Human rights and civil society groups watching over the State’s warfare, challenged its American copy of counter insurgency. And when they were tried to be silenced, they went up to State High Courts and Indian Supreme Court challenging the notions and strategies of mitigating Naxal violence and restoring peace.
The State retaliated by creating an imaginary divider, obviously through corporate media houses, in the minds of the middle class. If you are in its camps, you are with the State and if you are in the jungles, then you are Naxalite …. thus declaring the 2.5 lakh tribals hiding in the jungles as Naxalites and thereby justifying training its guns of peace on them ! And another divider declared anyone supporting the ‘Naxal tribals’ as Maoist sympathizers or informers and liable to imprisonment and torture under the draconian Public Securities Act. It unjustly put activists who questioned it behind bars or bulldozed their premises, not even soaring sources of drinking water or simply diverted them by bribing them with funds, contracts and opportunities for sharing the great wealth created through Salwa Judum!
The Indian Supreme Court, hearing out petitioners against Salwa Judum ordered the State to reconsider its civil defense strategy and stop evicting tribals from villages. Instead it asked the State to launch a rehabilitation drive to resettle tribals, provide them with basic services and entitlements and asses damages to life and property. This damage assessment was to be followed by compensation and registering of criminal cases against the offenders, in particular Salwa Judum and para-military forces. This was aimed at cleaning up the mess of Salwa Judum and starting afresh all attempts at just and democratic governance.
The State responded by blatantly violating the Supreme Court orders,speaking white lies before Court when questioned about its inaction.
It neither attempted rehabilitation efforts nor set up district and State committees to look into damage assessment or filing of cases against offenders and also it did not make any attempts at rethinking its strategies. Rather it continued its forced evictions, its looting, burning, rape, kidnap and murder and printed in bold letters its justification of continuing Salwa Judum. In fact it even went a step further by sabotaging and blocking any civil society attempts at rehabilitation, damage assessment and filing of cases against offenders. It used the Public Securities Act against volunteers working for the rehabilitation of internally displaced tribals!
Tribals who fled their villages and hid in jungles are still living nomadic and terrorized lives. In the face of an inhuman onslaught on them, they clung to the only support they got in the forests … that of the Maoists who appeared more human to them than persecuting State forces ?! Their attempts at seeking justice and dignity as citizens of this country were met with arrests and abuses. Their faith in the State dwindled and converted into anger and despair. It was therefore natural for them to pick up their traditional weapons in their self-defence because the State had left no option before them.
How did the State respond ? Whenever tribals came seeking justice through democratic and legal means, their FIRs were not registered, their court cases were dismissed without a hearing and they were arrested for being Naxalites. And any sympathetic judge or officer to the tribal cause was either sent on forced leave or transferred out. No one was ready to listen …. not even local mediapersons who benefited from State dole outs of contracts, advertisements and general patronage. National media too ignored the Bastar question or made half-hearted attempts at covering truth because they were bankrolled by corporates eyeing the mineral and forest resources of Bastar ! How could they let the cat out of the bag and lock out opportunities of profiteering ? Tribals were isolated and rendered helpless.
In such a complex situation of denial and injustice, the State has been expecting tribals to show loyalty to it, abide by its laws and support it in restoring peace. These expectations could be justified and binding on tribals had the State shown respect for the same virtues!
The State talks of loyalty when it has itself distrusted its own tribal citizens and branded them Naxals when they have come seeking justice at its doors … State talks of abiding by its laws when it has itself made a mockery of its own laws – holding Gram Sabhas at gun point to coerce tribals into giving away their lands to mining corporations, subverting laws protecting the tribals’ rights to land and forests as stated in PESA, disrespecting Supreme Court’s orders to rehabilitate villages, deliver entitlements and services, co-opting judiciary, executive and legislature to ratify and justify violence and terror by its forces and so on. In fact the State has been attacking its poor to secure the interests of the rich and still it expects the poor to abide by, put faith in it and support it? There are thousands of cases where the law of the land has been bent backwards to accommodate corporate interests but when it comes to tribals State puts on false pretence of legal systems and democracy!
The State wants tribals to help it in restoring peace – but when did the State believe that peace was possible without justice or that tribals could make peace with guns firing around them – does the State believe that tribals will confront its guns of peace without first arming themselves in their self-defence ? And what peace is the State talking of restoring – had it wanted peace it would have allowed rehabilitation, it would have allowed the nation to know the truth of Bastar, it would have respected its laws and would have adhered to the democratic governance systems it has put in place?
Despite all that I have stated above (not that people in the State do not know what I have stated ?), the State has launched its second Salwa Judum through its strategic military operations called Green Hunt (hunting whom ?) and Godavari. But what will be the net impact of this Salwa Judum II ? The same, if not worse. The crisis will just deepen, the tribals will get further terrorized, Naxals will further consolidate their support base and area under control and voices of sanity among civil society and human rights groups will further get silenced and decimated. This military offensive will only isolate the tribals more and they will begin to look upon every non-tribal as an aggressor. And do we believe that in such a situation peace and democracy can prevail ? Thus military operation will simply push democracy further away and endanger the Indian socio-political system.
Thus, as tribals continue resisting corporate grab of land and resources in the garb of Salwa Judum and Operation Green Hunt, State repression will just rise manifold. One must remember that it is not as if repression never happened but it has got heightened with dash of corporates to set up mining and industrial units while the great global market goes booming. Corporates are just making hay while the sun is shining and all this at expenses of the State ! And Governments have also readily complied by disposing off their socialist agenda to follow routes tread by private capital. And to make this a reality, these proxy wars are being fought on tribal territory. But who really will be targeted ? Not Naxals who are deft at guerilla warfare and will escape bullets of Salwa Judum and para military forces. It will be the tribals who will be caught in the crossfire.
Salwa Judum (Phase I) resulted in a near civil war that destroyed over 644 villages and displaced 3.5 lakh tribals in one way or the other and filled the lives of tribals with fake encounters, gangrape of tribal women, looting and burning of livestock and belongings of poor tribals, brutal suppression of any resistance or protest has become the order of the day in the name of combating Naxals. This makes us wonder whether they are still bonafide denizens of this country or have they been obliterated as people of India!?
We have gone to villages to understand the truth behind encounters, have interviewed dozens of tribal women gangraped or enslaved for months by Salwa Judum and para military forces and witnessed the total demolition of my house and office premises because we dared to expose these acts of violence through several cases filed in Chhattisgarh High Court. Is this the democracy and tribal development our Governments want us to espouse? I shudder to think what will be the outcome of Salwa Judum (Phase II) …… yet another fake encounters, yet more gangrapes and yet more souls gone down fighting injustice and repression in the name of peace and democracy?
But for how long are tribals going to bear the brunt of a brutal and inhuman police force? For how long will tribals stand in the crossfire between Naxals, a militarized State and a demonized police? For how long will middle class ‘bhadralok’ remain silent spectators to State’s colonization of tribal territory to subsidize urban growth in the name of ‘tribal development‘ ? And for how long will we look on helplessly as tribals get butchered, raped and exterminated? We believe that some day the tribal specter will rise and fall heavily on those who repress loot and pauperize them. But who will get sacrificed and who will survive? The fittest … as Darwin eulogized evolution? The question is who is fitter – you and me who enjoy privileges of a subsidized consumer culture or tribals whom we have hanged giving them the name of savage, backward and poor ? I guess we all know the answers … but don’t want to articulate it, preferring to ignore it exists. But we cannot so this and so we strive to call the State’s bluff and turn every stone in our path in the attempt to bring justice, peace, dignity and democracy into Bastar so that we never have to confront the guns of peace!
-- Himanshu Kumar
Vanvasi Chetna Ashram
Dantewada
vcadantewada@gmail.com
Mobile – 09425260031

Nobel’s Novelty

Shoumika Ganguli

It was 12.15 pm, a sunny Saturday morning, when I climbed down my hostel staircases to do the job I was best known for and my favourite hobby, too — scanning every corner of the newspaper. But, today, was different; in fact, surprisingly and unpleasantly (considering my case) different: the US’ first black president winning the Nobel Prize for Peace. For a while, I was astounded and stoned; even a news of Osama bin Laden’s incarceration wouldn’t have abducted me of my senses but then I read the whole story and thought that the Norwegian Nobel Committee must be still recovering from a hangover the previous night. Hey No! Obama winning the Peace Prize for sowing the seeds of hope! Are we kidding? Then why not me? Why not every Indian youth?
Yes, we youths deserve, then, to join this elite and illustrious club. After all, we all hope that we won’t spend the entire day blabbing our heart out and do something constructive. Instead, after all, we all hope every new session that we will study well in advance before an exam unlike the 11th hour; after all, we all hope for having dates with the likes of George Clooney and Penelope Cruz; we all hope that someday down the line we are going to have a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce; breakfast in Venice, lunch in Italy, supper in Switzerland and dinner in New York. Hope, hope and more hope. Aah, the Audacity of Hope.
The question, rather, I point a finger at is that the Norwegian Committee for making another troubled and controversial decision after showering appraisals to Kissinger and Tho and Rigoberta Menchu, to name a dubious names. The question I ask is: ‘Is Nobel, noble anymore?’ Probably a No in my case, because I am a patriot. Our very own Bapu deserved the Nobel, even posthumously; after all, can anyone match up to him?
The brainstorming session was not the argument on ‘why’ Obama but ‘why’ Peace? The man is a great orator and, yeah, I supported him all through the election campaign (though more for his classic and grand Beast Cadillac) and, of course, not forgetting his book.
Imagining Winston Churchill (he received the Nobel for Literature but the point here is the Peace Prize), Corazon Acquino, Mahatma Gandhi, Joseph Stalin, Steve Biko and the like not getting the Peace Prize and image Obama joining the ranks of Mother Teresa, Albert Schweitzer, Aung San Suu Kyi, Woodrow Wilson… huh! A daring imagination, indeed.
Is the Nobel so easy to achieve by just hoping for peace by not even doing concrete things (even Nobel’s will had it other way)? Then Indian films do deserve a Nobel because peace is its landmark achievement (achieving; leave aside hoping for it). Why leave the Indian cricket team then? Why leave Ishant Sharma, why leave Sania Mirza? They all are hoping for peace in their own ways. Even the Dalal Street hoped for peace hearing the news of a dilapidated Lehman Brothers and the nightmare word Recession.
Every cloud has a silver lining, so is the cloud named Obama. Well, yes, the only face-saving operation that raises reverence for the Prize was the Peace Prize for the Dalai Lama (I would not mention Ramakrishnan who came to India just twice in his 30 years and has a US citizenship; that’s a cheap way of our country’s propaganda).
Alas, I just gave a thought I too deserved a Peace Prize. Aw no giggles… After all, unlike the stressed-out people I do rest in peace most of the time — in my hostel room, of course; but hearing this pie of news, my peaceful rest was a bit marred. Ahem.

Flu and You

Dear All,
This message is from Dr. Vinay Goyal a renowned doctor who visited last week to lecture on the topic H1N1 (SWINE FLU), its origin and precautions.
He is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital, Bombay Hospital, Saifee Hospital, Tata Memorial etc. Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).
The following message given by him, I feel it makes a lot of sense and important for all of you guys to know,
The Message:
Thanks to media hype about H1N1, several people who trust me have either approached or called me to advice. The hype in media about the utility of face masks and N95 respirators as a tool for general protection against H1N1 can't be deplored enough. Yesterday, a friend who listened wanted me to write down briefly what I advised so that he could tell others in similar words. Hence this short email to friends whom I have advised recently (and others whom I haven't yet). Please realize that this is not an official advice, especially the one about face masks or N95.
Most N95 respirators are designed to filter 95% particulates of 0.3µ, while the size of H1N1 virus is about 0.1µ. Hence, dependence on N95 to protect against H1N1 is like protecting against rain with an umbrella made of mosquito net.
Tamiflu does not kill but prevents H1N1 from further proliferation till the
virus limits itself in about 1-2 weeks (its natural cycle).
H1N1, like other Influenza A viruses, only infects the upper respiratory tract and proliferates (only) there. The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/ throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible not coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.
While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps – not fully highlighted in most official communications - can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):
1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).
2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).
3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
4. Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.
5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
6. Drink as much of warm liquids as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.
All these are simple ways to prevent, within means of most households, and certainly much less painful than to wait in long queues outside public hospitals.
Happy breathing!

What Indian Papers are Worth

Hey folks, I got this from a journalist friend. Well, though I do not subscribe to most of them, I am sure I could have been much nasty about some of the publications mentioned below. Anyway, enjoy:

The Economic Times is read by people who think they own the country.
The Hindu is read by people who are not sure who's country it is.
The Indian Express is read by people who shouldn't run the country.
The Statesman is read by people who think they ought to run the country.
The Asian Age is read by people who think someone else should run the country.
The Hindustan Times is read by people who think Delhi is a country.
The Telegraph is read by people who think Bengal is the best country.
The Malayala Manorama is read by people who think Kerala is their country, and God's!
The Mid-Day is read by people who can't think in this country.
The Pioneer is read by people who think the Brits ran this country better.
The Tribune is read by people who're more bothered about the country-side.
The Dainik Bhaskar is read by people in the country-side.
The Bombay Samachar is read by people who'd rather be in some other country.
The Saamna is read by semi-literates who think, tujhi aiee chi..., everyone should fuck off from 'their' country.
The Femina is read by the fat wives of the rich in this country.
The Stardust is read by people who care a shit who runs the country as long as she has big tits.
The DNA is not read, but used to pack footwear by people going out of this country.

What Islam Is Not

Islam is not a religion, nor is it a cult. In it's fullest form, it is a complete, total, 100% system of life.
Islam has religious, legal, political, economic, social, and military components. The religious component is a beard for all of the other components.
Islamization begins when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their religious rights.
When politically correct, tolerant, and culturally diverse societies agree to Muslim demands for their religious rights, some of the other components tend to creep in as well. Here's how it works.
As long as the Muslim population remains around or under 2% in any given country, they will be for the most part be regarded as a peace-loving minority,
and not as a threat to other citizens. This is the case in:
United States -- Muslim 0.6%
Australia -- Muslim 1.5%
Canada -- Muslim 1.9%
China -- Muslim 1.8%
Italy -- Muslim 1.5%
Norway -- Muslim 1.8%

At 2% to 5%, they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups, often with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs. This is happening in:
Denmark -- Muslim 2%
Germany -- Muslim 3.7%
United Kingdom -- Muslim 2.7%
Spain -- Muslim 4%
Thailand -- Muslim 4.6%

From 5% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. For example, they will push for the introduction
of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature
halal on their shelves -- along with threats for failure to comply. This is occurring in:
France -- Muslim 8%
Philippines -- Muslim 5%
Sweden -- Muslim 5%
Switzerland -- Muslim 4.3%
The Netherlands -- Muslim 5.5%
Trinidad & Tobago -- Muslim 5.8%

At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves (within their ghettos) under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islamists is to establish Sharia law over the entire world.
When Muslims approach 10% of the population, they tend to increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions. In Paris, we are already seeing car-burnings. Any non-Muslim action offends Islam, and results in uprisings and threats, such as in Amsterdam, with opposition to Mohammed cartoons
and films about Islam. Such tensions are seen daily, particularly in Muslim sections, in:
Guyana -- Muslim 10%
India -- Muslim 13.4%
Israel -- Muslim 16%
Kenya -- Muslim 10%
Russia -- Muslim 15%

After reaching 20%, nations can expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings, and the burnings of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues, such as in:
Ethiopia -- Muslim 32.8%

At 40%, nations experience widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks, and ongoing militia warfare, such as in:
Bosnia -- Muslim 40%
Chad -- Muslim 53.1%
Lebanon -- Muslim 59.7%

From 60%, nations experience unfettered persecution of non-believers of all other religions (including non-conforming Muslims), sporadic ethnic cleansing
(genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon, and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels, such as in:
Albania -- Muslim 70%
Malaysia -- Muslim 60.4%
Qatar -- Muslim 77.5%
Sudan -- Muslim 70%

After 80%, expect daily intimidation and violent jihad, some State-run ethnic cleansing, and even some genocide, as these nations drive out the infidels,
and move toward 100% Muslim, such as has been experienced and in some ways is on-going in:
Bangladesh -- Muslim 83%
Egypt -- Muslim 90%
Gaza -- Muslim 98.7%
Indonesia -- Muslim 86.1%
Iran -- Muslim 98%
Iraq -- Muslim 97%
Jordan -- Muslim 92%
Morocco -- Muslim 98.7%
Pakistan -- Muslim 97%
Palestine -- Muslim 99%
Syria -- Muslim 90%
Tajikistan -- Muslim 90%
Turkey -- Muslim 99.8%
United Arab Emirates -- Muslim 96%

100% will usher in the peace of 'Dar-es-Salaam' -- the Islamic House of Peace. Here there's supposed to be peace, because everybody is a Muslim, the Madrassas are the only schools, and the Koran is the only word, such as in:
Afghanistan -- Muslim 100%
Saudi Arabia -- Mu slim 100%
Somalia -- Muslim 100%
Yemen -- Muslim 100%

Unfortunately, peace in never achieved, as in these 100% states the most radical Muslims intimidate and spew hatred, and satisfy their blood lust by killing
less radical Muslims, for a variety of reasons.
"Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my
cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; the tribe against the world, and all of us against the infidel." -- Leon Uris, 'The Haj'
It is important to understand that in some countries, with well under 100% Muslim populations, such as France, the minority Muslim populations live in
ghettos, within which they are 100% Muslim, and within which they live by Sharia Law. The national police do not even enter these ghettos. There are no
national courts nor schools nor non-Muslim religious facilities.
In such situations, Muslims do not integrate into the community at large. The children attend madrassas. They learn only the Koran. To even associate with an infidel is a crime punishable with death. Therefore, in some areas of certain nations, Muslim Imams and extremists exercise more power than the national average would indicate.
Today's 1.5 billion Muslims make up 22% of the world's population. But their birth rates dwarf the birth rates of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Jews,
and all other believers. Muslims will exceed 50% of the world's population by the end of this century.
Would the World last that long???

!This is Happening In India!

Government of India has an online Grievance forum at http://www.pgportal .gov.in
The govt. wants people to use this tool to highlight the problems they faced while dealing with Government officials or departments like:
1) Railways
2) Posts
3) Telecom (incl. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) & Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL)
4) Urban Development (Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Land & Development Office (L&DO), Central Public Works Department (CPWD), etc)
5) Petroleum & Natural Gas
6) Civil Aviation (Air India , Airports Authority of India, etc)
7) Shipping, Road Transport & Highways
8) Tourism
9) Public Sector Banks

Allahabad Bank
Andhra Bank
Bank of Baroda
Bank of India
Bank of Maharashtra
Canara Bank
Central Bank of India
Corporation Bank
Dena Bank
Indian Bank
Indian Overseas Bank
Industrial Development Bank of India Ltd
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
Oriental Bank of Commerce Punjab & Sind Bank Punjab
National Bank Small Industries Development Bank of India State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur
State Bank of Hyderabad
State Bank of India
State Bank of Indore
State Bank of Mysore
State Bank of Patiala
State Bank of Travancore
Syndicate Bank
UCO Bank
Union Bank of India
United Bank of India
Vijaya Bank

10) Public Sector Insurance Companies

GIC of India
Life Insurance Corporation of India
National Insurance Company Ltd.
The New India Assurance Company Ltd.
The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd.
United India Insurance Company Ltd.

11) National Saving Scheme of Ministry of Finance

12) Employees' Provident Fund Organization

13) Regional Passport Authorities

Regional Passport Office, Ahemadabad
Regional Passport Office, Amritsar
Regional Passport Office, Bangalore
Regional Passport Office, Bareilly
Regional Passport Office, Bhopal
Regional Passport Office, Bhubaneswar
Regional Passport Office, Chandigarh
Regional Passport Office, Chennai
Regional Passport Office, Cochin
Regional Passport Office, Coimbatore
Regional Passport Office, Dehradun
Regional Passport Office, Delhi
Regional Passport Office, Ghaziabad
Regional Passport Office, Goa Regional
Passport Office, Guwahati
Regional Passport Office, Hyderabad
Regional Passport Office, Jaipur
Regional Passport Office, Jalandhar
Regional Passport Office, Jammu
Regional Passport Office, Kolkata
Regional Passport Office, Kozhikode
Regional Passport Office, Lucknow
Regional Passport Office, Madurai
Regional Passport Office, Malappuram
Regional Passport Office, Mumbai
Regional Passport Office, Nagpur
Regional Passport Office, Patna
Regional Passport Office, Pune
Regional Passport Office, Raipur
Regional Passport Office, Ranchi
Regional Passport Office, Shimla
Regional Passport Office, Srinagar
Regional Passport Office, Surat
Regional Passport Office, Thane
Regional Passport Office, Trichy
Regional Passport Office, Trivandrum
Regional Passport Office, Visakhapatnam

14) Central Government Health Scheme

15) Central Board of Secondary Education

16) Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan

17) National Institute of Open Schooling

18) Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti

19) Central Universities

20) ESI Hospitals and Dispensaries directly controlled by ESI Corporation under Ministry of Labor

No need to say that these things don't work in India .

Couple of months back, the Faridabad Municipal Corporation laid new roads
in his area and the residents were very happy about it. But 2 weeks later, BSNL dug up the newly laid roads to install new cables which annoyed all the residents. A resident used the above listed grievance forum to highlight his concern. To his surprise, BSNL and Municipal Corporation of
Faridabad were served a show cause notice and the guy received a copy of the notice in one week. Government has asked the MC and BSNL about the goof up as it's clear that both the government departments were not in sync at all.

So use this grievance forum and educate others who don't know about this facility.
Invite your friends to contribute for many such happenings.

-- S Ayyappan / Sony Chacko

Ab Tak Chappan

With the sacking of a senior sports journalist from the struggling Delhi newspaper Mail Today, its editor, famously known as Batla Bleedingheart (BB), has reached the magical figure of chappan sackings in the two years he has clung on to the office, erasing all records of editorial terrorism we have come to know in recent years.
Batla Bleeding heart also has many other reasons to claim the title (Ab tak chappan) -- as all his own. Studying the art of encounter killings in detail, he of the liberal conscience, has mastered the art of hit-and-run. Crouching by the doorway, looking for a target to sack, sometimes rushing in for the kill, he however leaves no trail digital or verbal and no word of sacking has ever escaped his lips.
Oh how much is there to learn from the encounter cops. Behind the ear-murmuring to a passing HOD, some of whom are so obese with incompetence and leching that BB has an easy time hiding in the dark while his hit men pull the trigger. The latest trigger was of course pulled by him, showing that BB is trying some ways of moving away from his hands-off style.
Throughout the two years of sackings (22 superb city reports for no reason at all, just as he arrived and the rest followed in quick succession) BB has figured out how to put out men who he has not hired, who has unlike him shown some balls and some editorial skills. Slithering in and out of office, he still says he has no clue about sacking and all that is handled by HOD. His managing editor, (formerly the editor, um um) bereft of editorial skills is given the job of summoning people and given them the handshake as he of the liberal conscience rushes off to IIC to further the liberal agenda with various glasses of choicest whiskies. Such a huge expense account voucher to fill up.
The latest sacking came apparently due to some mistakes but then MT under BB has been the one for utterly unimaginative headings and stories, surviving so far only on the Daily Mail feeds and strong features. Not a single marketing or circulation guy has gone for they have stood their ground in front of the marauding malik who bereft of any intellectual dept or maniacal brilliance of the TOI boss, knows only sacking as the solution to any media problem.
Ab Tak Chappan should be remade with the fade in and fade out of a liberal bleeding heart editor raving against encounter cops through his editorial while on his table lies a smoking gun covered in the filthy newsprint with blotches of red ink (the favourite of the malik) which can be the blood that flows through the newsroom of MT.
(Blogger's Note: "I got it from a friend in Delhi; we will keep you posted on further developments on this subject if she posts us more on this. Watch this space.)

Forcing Times Down the Throat

Here in PATNA, INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, is forcing the parents to buy THE TIMES OF INDIA from the school itself. They have made it compulsory and not paying the amount results in beating and humiliation of the students in morning assembly. It appears the Principal has become an agent for selling The Times of India. Ms F Hasan, Directress and Principal, International School, is getting the commission for selling the papers through the students thereby making a lot of money. We fail to understand, a student of class two or three who are learning the spellings of bucket and dictionary, how the students will read the newspapers. When the school is closed who will deliver the paper. Its really pathetic and TOI which publishes THE SPEAKING TREE for the benefit of the society is going so low in shaping the future of INDIA, the young minds. Is it to support the LEAD INDIA campaign at the cost of the poor parents?
The contacts number of International School is 0612 2263577, 2263946, FAX no 0612 2271406. Principal MS F Hasan can be contacted on 9835415485, residence 0612 2270022.
It will be very nice of you people to highlight this matter for the benefit of the poor parents. Please help us in fighting the financial crisis.
Thanking you with regards.
Kamal Chand
Patna

Counter to the Counterpoint

In reference to Vir Sanghvi's Counterpoint titled "When attacked, we must hit back", I beg to make the following submissions.
1) the very title of the column " When attacked, we must hit back" apparently seems to be terribly misplaced and unwarranted in the backdrop of the historical evidences accumulated by the historians. The glaring evidence can be cited of the valiant Hindu king, possibly the last Hindu ruler of Indraprastha, the modern Delhi., Prithviraj Chauhan who, in the light of all evolving circumstances, brazenly and in utter callousness, exhibited the same complacency----- awaiting for his enemy, Mohmad Ghory to attack him before he could have hit him back and, the history indubitably testifies that the same policy of waiting for the enemy to strike before hitting back, proved to be the undoing for the Prithviraj Chauhan. Are not we supposed to preempt the enemy;s strike, rather than waiting for the enemy to do the same and cause us substantial damages? Prithviraj lost the battle and unfolded the agony of India being an object of invasion and depredation for millenium . Vir Sanghvi, in course of his scores of pieces, poignantly argued that " India, on account of its indecisiveness, was never taken to be a serious country which meant business, ironically prescribes the same "soft" treatment, when nothing short of swift but harsh steps are required to safeguard the nation's strategic interest, Vir Sanghvi"s so -called " soft" measures suggested can at best be pooh-poohed by the terrorists as another "weak Indian response". I, therefore, would love to have the title of the piece revised as "We must pre-empt the potential terrorist attack" by striking first, rather than waiting for the terrorists to do the needless devastation.
2) Vir Sanghvi's repeated assertion that India can undertake all the necessary diplomatic manoeuvrings to isolate Pakistan in the eyes of International community, would be another addition to scores of futile diplomatic steps that needlessly India had taken to expose Pakistan. Could the world community needed anything more substantive evidence than the blatant terrorist attack on Mumbai, yet apart from expressing the grave concern at the happenings, what the international community did for India.? Vir has to realize that India alone stands in the battlefield of confronting the terrorists and, no matter, routine expressions of condolences or solidarity notwithstanding, India cannot expect anything substantial from the International community. Therefore, India has alone to look up to Lord Krishna, who asked Arjuna " OH, Arjuna, in this battle of righteousness, u represent the good and, therefore, good shall eventually vanquish the evil as Pandavas would ultimately triumph. Even in course of fighting your battle, if u lose, thy place in heaven is secured and, if you register
-a victory, thy rule of the earth is guaranteed". Likewise, India has to fight the battle to erase the concept and it's image of a soft state and instill in the minds of terrorists that " gone were the days when India cried for international community's attention, I ndia needed nobody's attention, but it's own. to teach these terrorists a befitting lesson."
3) In course of writing this article and numerous others, Vir Sanghvi has repeatedly applauded the India" rich heritage as a " liberal democracy". Is not it the right time to lay down the parameters for so called liberal democracy? Has not this so - called weapon of " liberal democracy " become an easy tool in the hands of such journalists as Vir and the so- called his liberal comrades to villify and denigrate the Hindu gods and godesses.In many of his columns, including the current one, Vir Sanghvi has irreverently alluded to portraying of the nude photographs of the mother Saraswati by Hussain. In course of many of his articles in the past, Vir had upheld the blasphemous act of Hussain in the name of liberal democracy, I would politely but sincerely like to know that a person like Vir and the men of his ilk, that why not these same people invite Hussain to draw the nude images of their mothers and their wives so that they could be publicly displayed and, then, their true faith in so-called liberal democracy can be best applauded. These so called hypocrites only capitalize on the peace-loving nature of Hindus and hide behind their impotent argument that mother Saraswati is only a mythological figure and , therefore, has no physical existence. Even for the sake of argument it is presumed to be so, is it not that this so-called champions of "liberal democracy" playing with the sentiments of Hindu religion.It is the high time that nation has to determine whether the so -called "Liberal democracy be allowed to run amok and sully the sanctity of Hindu religion, or a Lakshman Rekha be laid down to declare that enough is enough, thus far and no further,.Let the Indian democracy come stronger with a voice in unison that we cannot allow the rouges in the garb of so-called "Liberal democracy" to indulge in the blatant acts of blasphemy to denigrate our gods and godeses.
Thanking You.
Regards,
Vivekanand Jha
+91 9211763190 (New Delhi)
+91 9250125330 (New Delhi)

Entertainment TOI Style

The Times of India today has a TV channel ad spread out on the front page. The entire first column is one part of the ad. The remaining space on the page has four large circles of the ad. One circle has these words:
BECAUSE
THERE’S
ENTERTAINMENT
IN EVERYTHING
THAT IS REAL
Below this ad circle is a story headlined thus:
Teen gang-raped
& blackmailed,
attempts suicide
Lovely, isn’t it? Reality is entertainment...

Balkanisation & Mumbai

(Below is a comprehensive analysis of aims of those seeking to destabilize the Middle East and South Asia. It is argued here that the Mumbai attack was a part of global strategy to balkanize the countries in the 'Arc of Crisis'; with US military presence in both regions, to encircle China and threaten peace of the world that gets the world tired of war to accept global hegemony of the US and call it a ' New World Order for Peace'. + Usman Khalid+)

Introduction

The recent attacks in Mumbai, while largely blamed on Pakistan's state-sponsored militant groups, represent the latest phase in a far more complex and long-term "strategy of tension" in the region; being employed by the Anglo-American-Israeli Axis to ultimately divide and conquer the Middle East and Central Asia. The aim is destabilization of the region, subversion and acquiescence of the region's countries, and control of its economies, all in the name of preserving the West's hegemony over the "Arc of Crisis."
The attacks in India are not an isolated event, unrelated to growing tensions in the region. They are part of a process of unfolding chaos that threatens to engulf an entire region, stretching from the Horn of Africa to India: the "Arc of Crisis," as it has been known in the past. The motives and modus operandi of the attackers must be examined and questioned, and before quickly asserting blame to Pakistan, it is necessary to step back and review:
Who benefits? Who had the means? Who had to motive? In whose interest is it to destabilize the region? Ultimately, the roles of the United States, Israel and Great Britain must be submitted to closer scrutiny.

The Mumbai Attacks: 11/26/08
On November 26, 2008, a number of coordinated terrorist attacks occurred across India's main commercial city of Mumbai, which lasted until November 29. The attacks and three-day siege that ensued left hundreds dead, and roughly 295 others injured. Among the dead were a Briton, five Americans and six Israelis.[1]

Asserting the Blame
The 60-hour siege that engulfed Mumbai was reportedly undertaken by just ten, well-trained "commando killers." Most blame has fallen on the heels of the group known as Lashkar-e-Taiba. [2] At first, a previously-unheard of organization, known as the Deccan Mujahideen, took responsibility for the terror attacks when it sent emails to several news outlets a mere six hours after the fighting began. However, much skepticism remained about whether the group actually even exists.[3] British intelligence then claimed that the attacks had the "hallmarks" of Al-Qaeda as it was undertaken in an effort to target westerners, similar to the 2002 Bali Bombings. British intelligence officials suggested the attacks were in "retaliation" for the recent US air attacks of suspected Al-Qaeda camps in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, and that India was chosen as the target because that is where Al-Qaeda has "sufficient resources to carry out an attack."[4] On November 28, India's foreign minister said the attackers were coordinated "outside the country," in a veiled reference to Pakistan.[5] India's Prime Minister also blamed the attacks on militant groups based in Pakistan, which are supported by the Pakistani government.[6] Then, the focus was put directly on the group, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant Pakistani-based organization responsible for past attacks in India. American intelligence early on pointed the finger at this group, as well as identifying the Pakistani ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) as its supporter.[7]

The Lashkar-e Taiba (LeT)
It is important to identify what the LeT is and how it has operated historically. The group operates out of the disputed territories between India and Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir. It has close ties with the Pakistani ISI, and is largely known for its use of suicide attacks. However, aside from its links to the ISI, it is also closely allied with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The LeT is even referred to as the "most visible manifestation" of Al-Qaeda in India. It has branches across much of India, Pakistan, and in Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, South East Asia, and the United Kingdom. It primarily gets its funding from Pakistani businessmen, the ISI and Saudi Arabia. The LeT also took part in the Bosnian campaign against the Serbs in the 1990s.[8] All the above-mentioned connections make the LeT the most desirable outfit to blame for the Mumbai attacks, as its Al-Qaeda connections, international presence and historical precedents of terror attacks set it up as the perfect target. Much like with Al-Qaeda, the LeT's international scope could serve as a basis for taking a "war against LeT" to the steps of many countries, thus further serving the interests of the Anglo-American "War on Terror."

Militant Islam and Western Intelligence – The Case of Yugoslavia
The LeT has not operated independently of Pakistani influence and finances. It's close relationship with the ISI must be viewed in context: the ISI has a close relationship with Western intelligence agencies, primarily those of Great Britain and the United States. The ISI has effectively acted as a conduit for Anglo-American intelligence operations in the region since the late 1970s, when the Afghan Mujahideen were created in collusion with the CIA. Out of this collusion, lasting throughout the 1980s until the end of the Soviet-Afghan War in 1989, Al-Qaeda was created, as well as a series of other militant Islamic organizations. It is often stated that the CIA then discontinued its relationship with the ISI, and in turn, that the militant Islamic organizations broke off from their Western intelligence sponsors to declare war against the West. However, the facts do not support this. The ties remained, but the strategy changed. What changed was that in the early 1990s, the Cold War ended, and Russia no longer was the "Evil Empire," and thus the excuse for an exacerbated defence budget and imperialist foreign policy receded. As George H.W. Bush declared, it was during this time that we would see the formation of the "New World Order." And with that, there was a need for a new, elusive enemy, not in the form of a nation, but a seemingly invisible enemy, international in scale, thus taking the war to an international arena. So in the early 1990s, Western intelligence maintained its ties to these Islamic terrorist groups. Yugoslavia is a very important case to analyze in relation to current events. The break-up of Yugoslavia was a process undertaken by Anglo-American covert interests with the aim of serving their imperial ambitions in the region. In the early 1980s, the IMF set the stage in Yugoslavia with its Structural Adjustment Programs, which had the effect of creating an economic crisis, which in turn created a political crisis. This exacerbated ethnic rivalries, and in 1991, the CIA supported the Croat move for independence. In 1992, with the start of the Bosnian War, Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists began operating with the ethnic Bosnian Muslim minority in fighting the Serbs. In turn, these Al-Qaeda affiliated groups were supported with training, arming, and finances by German, Turkish, Iranian and US intelligence agencies; with additional financial support from Saudi Arabia. In 1997, the Kosovo War began, in which the militant-terrorist-drug trafficking Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) began fighting against Serbia, with training, arms and financial support from the US and other NATO countries. The CIA, German intelligence, the DIA, MI6 and British Special Forces (SAS) all provided training and support to the KLA.

Yugoslavia - Before and After Balkanization
The aim was in breaking up Yugoslavia, using ethnic rivalries as the trigger for regional conflict and ultimately war, leading to the dissolution of Yugoslavia into several countries, justifying a permanent US and NATO military presence in the region. [See:



Breaking Yugoslavia, by Andrew G. Marshall, Geopolitical Monitor, July 21, 2008] The Lashkar-e Taiba's participation in the Bosnian War against Serbia would have in turn been financed and supported by these various Western intelligence agencies, thus serving the interests of Western Imperialist states; primarily those of Great Britain and the United States.

The LeT and Western Intelligence
The LeT has a sordid history of involvement with Western intelligence agencies, primarily those of Great Britain. With the London 7/7 bombings [July 7, 2005] in which three underground stations and a double-decker bus had bombs explode on them; many of the suspected terrorists had interesting connections to Pakistan. For example, one of the suspects, Shehzad Tanweer, had apparently "attended a religious school run by the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)" while in Pakistan. Due to the LeT's ties with Al-Qaeda, this allowed for the conclusion to be drawn that Al-Qaeda may have played a part in the London bombings, which were initially blamed on the international terrorist organization. The LeT also has close ties with the Jemaah Islamiyyah (JI),[9] an Indonesian terrorist organization, which was blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings, which also targeted tourists in Indonesia. The Bali Bombings Interesting to note, however, is that in the early 1990's, when the Jemaah Islamiyyah (JI) was officially formed into a terrorist organization, it developed close ties with Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. Further, the organizations founders and leaders played a significant role in recruiting Muslims to join the Afghan Mujahideen in the war against the Soviets during the 1980's, which was covertly directed and supported by US, British and various other Western intelligence agencies. The JI wouldn't exist "without the CIA's dirty operations in Afghanistan." A former Indonesian President stated that one of JI's key individuals was also a spy for the Indonesian intelligence agency, and that Indonesian intelligence played a more central role in the Bali bombings than the JI itself.

Bali Bombings
The JI itself, had reportedly been infiltrated by the CIA, Israeli Mossad, and that "the CIA and the Mossad, assisted by the Australian Special Action Police (SAP) and the M15 of England, are all working towards undermining Muslim organizations in an attempt to weaken the Muslims globally." Further, one of JI's key planners of the Bali bombings, Omar al-Faruq, was reportedly a CIA asset, and even senior Indonesian intelligence officials believed the CIA was behind the Bali bombings. The CIA subsequently "guided" Indonesia's investigation into the bombings, which found the JI, and the JI alone, responsible for the attacks. [See: Andrew G. Marshall, The Bali Bombings. Geopolitical Monitor, November 15, 2008

]

London 7/7 Much of the focus of the London bombings of July 7, 2005 (7/7), was focused on the "Pakistani connection." The suspected bombers had all visited Pakistan, and apparently developed contacts with groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Lashkar-e Taiba. However, a less known and less publicized connection yields some very interesting information. The suspected mastermind of the London bombings, Haroon Rashid Aswat, had visited all the suspected bombers leading up to the attacks. Phone records revealed that there were "around 20 calls between him and the 7/7 gang, leading right up to those attacks." Why is this significant? Because Haroon Rashid Aswat, apart from being an Al-Qaeda operative, also happened to be an MI6 agent, working for the British intelligence. Haroon also made his appearance on the scene of Islamic terrorism when he was in Kosovo in the 1990's, where he "worked for British intelligence."[10]

The Liquid Bomb Plot
Another event which brought to the forefront a "Pakistani connection" was the August 2006 London liquid bomb plot, in which terrorists supposedly were plotting to blow up nearly a dozen Atlantic airliners bound for major US cities. The Pakistani ISI apparently helped in "uncovering" the liquid bomb plot, aiding the British in their roundup of suspects, and "tipped-off MI5." One of the Pakistani groups accused of some involvement in the liquid bomb plot was the Lashkar-e Taiba.[11] However, again, the suspected terrorists had been "infiltrated" and spied on by British intelligence for over a year. Further, the supposed ringleader of the bomb plot, Rashid Rauf, a dual British-Pakistani citizen, was pinpointed as the ringleader by both British and Pakistani intelligence, and was the link between the plot and Al-Qaeda. Rauf also has close ties with the ISI, and apparently had the plot approved by Al-Qaeda's number two in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who formerly worked for the CIA during the Soviet-Afghan war. The ISI had arrested Rashid Rauf following the "exposure" of the liquid bomb plot, yet, in 2006, the charges against him were dropped, and in 2007, he amazingly escaped Pakistani custody, having "managed to open his handcuffs and evade two police guards." [See: Andrew G. Marshall, Liquid Bomb Plot. Geopolitical Monitor: October 27, 2008 ]
Clearly, if the LeT is discovered to be responsible for the Mumbai attacks, its connections to Western intelligence agencies should be more closely examined and subject to investigation. The ISI, throughout its history, has not been the key player in supporting various terrorist organizations, rather, it can be more accurately described as a conduit for Western intelligence agencies to covertly fund and support terrorist organizations in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Terrorizing India
We must examine the current attacks with a backdrop of reviewing recent terror attacks in India. 1993 Bombay Bombings March 12, 1993, Bombay (today, Mumbai) experienced a coordinated attack of 13 explosions, which killed over 250 people. A man with close connections to Osama bin laden and Al-Qaeda, Dawood Ibrahim, was believed to have been the mastermind of the attacks. He has also financed several operations of the Lashkar-e Taiba, and was believed to be hiding out in Pakistan, and receiving protection and support from the Pakistani ISI, which in 2007, reportedly arrested him. [See: Andrew G. Marshall, Political Destabilization in South and Central Asia: The Role of the CIA-ISI Terror Network. Global Research: September 17, 2008

]

Mumbai Bombings, July 11, 2006: 7/11
Over 200 people were killed in Mumbai when seven bombs exploded within 11 minutes of one another on several trains. Blame for the attacks was placed with the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and the Lashkar-e Taiba (LeT), both of which have close ties with the ISI. The ISI was subsequently blamed for organizing the attacks, which were then carried out by the LeT and SIMI. The bombings led to the postponement of India-Pakistan peace talks, which were set to take place the next week. [Ibid] Indian Embassy Bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan: July 7, 2008 On July 7, 2008, a bomb exploded at the Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing over 50 people, and injuring over 100 others. The Afghan government and the Indian intelligence agency immediately blamed the ISI, in collaboration with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, of planning and executing the attack. Reports on the bombing suggested that the aim was to "increase the distrust between Pakistan and Afghanistan and undermine Pakistan's relations with India, despite recent signs that a peace process between Islamabad and New Delhi was making some headway."

Indian Embassy in Kabul
In early August, American intelligence agencies supported the claim that members of the ISI helped plan the attack, which they based upon "intercepted communications," and that, "American officials said that the communications were intercepted before the July 7 bombing, and that the C.I.A. emissary, Stephen R. Kappes, the agency's deputy director, had been ordered to Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, even before the attack." Interestingly, "a top Central Intelligence Agency official traveled to Pakistan [in August] to confront senior Pakistani officials with information about support provided by members of the ISI to militant groups." However, the CIA knows of these connections, as it has actively supported and financed these covert ISI connections with terrorist organizations. So, what was the real purpose of this top CIA official's visit to Pakistan? Days after the CIA released this information to the New York Times, the US accused Pakistan of undermining NATO's efforts in Afghanistan by supporting Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and further, "Mike Mc-Connell, the director of national intelligence, and [CIA director] Hayden asked Musharraf to allow the CIA greater freedom to operate in the tribal areas," and was threatened with "retaliation" if he did not comply. [See: Andrew G. Marshall, Political Destabilization in South and Central Asia: The Role of the CIA-ISI Terror Network. Global Research: September 17, 2008 ]

The ISI and the CIA
Again, if the ISI is to be blamed for the recent Mumbai attacks, as it has played a part in several attacks and support of terrorism throughout its history, it is important to identify its relationship with the CIA. The CIA developed close ties with the ISI in the late 1970s, as the CIA used the ISI as a "go-between" for CIA support of the Afghan Mujahideen. This relationship was also pivotal in supporting the Afghan narcotics trade, which again is rampant. The relationship between the two agencies continued throughout the 1990s, in areas such as Chechnya, Yugoslavia and India. [See: Michel Chossudovsky, Al Qaeda and the "War on Terrorism". Global Research: January 20, 2008

]
A week prior to the 9/11 attacks, the head of Pakistan's ISI was on a visit to Washington, D.C., where he met with several key policy figures, such as Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage; Senator Joseph Biden, who is going to be Obama's Vice President; and with his counterparts in the CIA and Pentagon, and several other officials. He was in Washington right up to and after the 9/11 attacks, and was engaged in several key consultations with US officials, pledging support for the US War on Terror instantly. However, the very same Chief of the ISI also happened to have previously approved of wiring $100,000 to the lead 9/11 hijacker, Mohammed Atta, which was also confirmed by the FBI. Thus, the ISI suddenly became a financier of the 9/11 attacks. Yet, no action was taken against the ISI or Pakistan, apart from the ISI Chief being fired upon this revelation making it into the media.

ISI Chief Lt.-General Mahmoud Ahmad
Of significance is that this ISI Chief, Lt.-General Mahmoud Ahmad, was approved as head of the ISI by the US in 1999. From then, he was in close contact and liaison with top officials of the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and the Pentagon. [See: Michel Chossudovsky, Cover-up or Complicity of the Bush Administration? Global Research: November 2, 2001 ] Collaboration between the ISI and CIA did not end with these disturbing revelations. In 2007, it was reported that the CIA was arming and funding a terrorist organization named Jundullah, based in Pakistan's tribal areas, with the goal of "sowing chaos" in Iran. Jundullah not only is funded and armed by the CIA, but has extensive ties to Al-Qaeda, and the ISI, as the CIA's financial support for the group is funneled through the ISI, so as to make it more difficult to establish a link between the CIA and the terrorist outfit. [See: Andrew G. Marshall, Political Destabilization in South and Central Asia, op cit ]



As Michel Chossudovsky pointed out in his article, India's 9/11

,
"In September, Washington pressured Islamabad, using the "war on terrorism" as a pretext to fire the ISI chief Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj," and Pakistani "President Asif Ali Zardari had meetings in New York in late September with CIA Director Michael Hayden." Following these meetings, "a new US approved ISI chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha was appointed by the Chief of the Army, General Kayani, on behalf of Washington."

Anglo-American-Israeli Intelligence and India
In mid-October, American intelligence agencies warned Indian intelligence about an attack "from the sea against hotels and business centers in Mumbai." Even the Taj Hotel, which became the key area of fighting, was listed as a specific target.[12] In late November, "India's intelligence services had delivered at least three precise warnings that a major terrorist attack on Mumbai was imminent."[13] Immediately following the attacks, it was reported that, "Unprecedented intelligence cooperation involving investigating agencies and spy outfits of India, United States, United Kingdom and Israel has got underway to crack the method and motive behind the Mumbai terrorist massacre, now widely blamed on Islamist radicals who appeared to have all four countries on their hit list when they arrived on the shores of India." Specifically, "Investigators, forensic analysts, counter-terrorism experts and spymasters from agencies the four countries are converging in New Delhi and Mumbai to put their heads, resources, and skills together to understand the evolving nature of the beast."
Further, "Washington suggested sending US Special Forces for on-the-ground operations in Mumbai but New Delhi declined the offer, saying its own forces could take care of the situation." This unprecedented intelligence cooperation was based upon the understanding that, "the manner in which the terrorists who attacked Mumbai are reported to have singled out Americans and Britons, besides pointedly occupying a Jewish center, has revealed that their agenda was wider than just domestic discontent or the Kashmir issue."[14] Shortly after the attacks began, it was reported that FBI agents were quickly flown to Mumbai to help in investigating the Mumbai attacks.[15] Israel also offered to send in its "crack commandos to Mumbai to rescue Israeli hostages held in a Jewish centre," which was refused by India, which led to Israeli media criticizing India's response to the attacks as "slow, confused and inefficient."[16]

The Terrorists
Hours after the attacks began on November 26, it was reported that two terrorists were killed and two others were arrested.[17] Later on, reports surfaced in which Indian police had killed four of the Mumbai terrorists and arrested nine of them.[18] The international media was full of this reported capture of nine terrorists.
Interestingly, by November 29, the story had changed. All of a sudden, Mumbai cops had only "nabbed" one terrorist. This person has effectively become the nail-in-the-coffin for laying the blame at Pakistan's door. As soon as this person was caught, he began to sing like a canary, and said that, "all [the] terrorists were trained in marine warfare along with the special course Daura-e-Shifa conducted by the Lashkar-e-Taiba in what at once transforms the nature of the planning from a routine terror strike and into a specialized raid by commandos." He also stated that the terrorists "were made to believe by their Lashkar bosses that they were not being sent on a suicide mission and that they would be coming back alive." He also revealed the names of his fellow terrorists, all of them Pakistani citizens.[19] Along the same lines, another very interesting mystery of the Mumbai massacre is the early reports of British involvement. Shortly following the outbreak of violence, Indian authorities stated that, "Seven of the Mumbai terrorists were British Pakistanis," and that, "two Brits had been arrested and another five suspects were from the UK." Further, Blackberry phones found on the suspects contained "a lot of content" connecting them with the UK.[20] The Chief Minister of Mumbai had early on reported that, "two British-born Pakistanis were among eight gunmen seized by Indian commandos who stormed buildings to free hostages."[21]
On December 1, the Daily Mail reported that, "As many as seven of the terrorists may have British connections and some could be from Leeds and Bradford where London's July 7 bombers lived." As a result of these revelations, Scotland Yard anti-terrorist detectives were sent to Mumbai "to assist in the investigation." There was also speculation that one particular British Al-Qaeda suspect may have helped plan the assault, and just happened to be killed a week earlier in Pakistan by the CIA. That person was Rashid Rauf.[22] This is the same Rashid Rauf who was at first declared the mastermind of the London liquid bomb plot, who had close ties with the ISI and Al-Qaeda, who was subsequently arrested by the ISI, and then miraculously "escaped" from Pakistani custody. Barely a week before the Mumbai Massacre, Rauf was reportedly killed by a CIA drone attack on a militant Islamic base in Pakistan's tribal region.
Early on, there was an incident in which a taxicab was blown up in Mumbai, with the driver and passenger killed. The taxi started moving through a red light when the car bomb exploded, which ended up saving the lives of "hundreds," as opposed to if the car had moved when the light was green and intersection was full. This ensured that the only ones who died were those in the taxi.[23] This sparked an investigation into whether the driver "was aware that his car was loaded with explosives."[24] Why is this significant? Because this closely resembles tactics used in Iraq since the Anglo-American occupation of the country, employed by both US and British intelligence and Special Forces in an effort to sow chaos and create civil strife and war. [See: Andrew G. Marshall, State-Sponsored Terror: British and American Black Ops in Iraq. Global Research, June 25, 2008 ]

Means, Modus Operandi and Motive
Means: While the possibility that Pakistan and the ISI (or Lashkar-e Taiba) are responsible for the Mumbai attacks should be taken into consideration, given precedence and means, we must allow ourselves to contemplate other possibilities. While India and the west are placing the blame for the attacks on Pakistan's ISI and the Lashkar-e Taiba, the Pakistani press is reporting on another possibility. On November 29, the Pakistan Daily reported that, with a stiff side of anti-Israel rhetoric, that the Mumbai attack would be used "as justification for a US invasion of Pakistan." It reported that the Israeli Mossad "has mobilized since 2000 in the Jammu and Kashmir areas of India, where the Indian government has been pursuing a 'security' issue with regard to the Kashmiri people." It quoted a Times of India article that reported, "Israeli counter-terrorism experts are now touring Jammu and Kashmir and several other states in India at the invitation of Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani to make an assessment of New Delhi's security needs. The Israeli team, headed by Eli Katzir of the Israel Counter-Terrorism Combat Unit, includes Israeli military intelligence officials and a senior police official." There was also a reported agreement on "closer India-Israeli cooperation on all security matters."[25] Modus Operandi Shortly after the start of the attacks in Mumbai, a Russia counter-terrorism presidential envoy stated that, "The terrorists in the Indian city of Mumbai, who killed more than 150 people and injured over 300, used the same tactics that Chechen field militants employed in the Northern Caucasus." He elaborated, "These tactics were used during raids by militant Chechen field commanders Shamil Basayev and Salman Raduyev against the towns of Buddyonnovsk and Pervomaiskoye. For the first time in history the entire towns were terrorized, with homes and hospitals seized. The Mumbai terrorists have learned these tactics well."[26] Shamil Basayev, one of the Chechen rebel leaders, as well as many of the other Chechen leaders, were trained by the CIA and ISI in Afghanistan, in CIA-run training camps during the Soviet-Afghan war of the 1980s.[27]

Motive: On December 2, former ISI Chief Hameed Gul, said that the "Mumbai incident is an international based conspiracy to deprive Pakistan of its atomic power. Talking to a private TV channel on Friday, he said that to involve Pakistan in the incident reflected that some forces wanted to declare Pakistan a fail[ed] state as somehow it had become necessary to make Pakistan kneel down in order to snatch its atomic power away." He elaborated that the method of attacks, and how the militants executed them, "seemed impossible without internal support." He continued in stating that the "US wanted to see [the] Indian army in Afghanistan to disintegrate the country," and referred to recent US maps showing a divided Pakistan in four parts, and that making Pakistan "kneel down" before the IMF was "part of a pre-planned trick."[28] As astonishing and outlandish as these claims may seem, the US has a long history of turning on its allies when they seek to become self-sufficient and developed, such as with Saddam Hussein and Iraq in the early 1990s. Also, it is vital to note the role of the IMF and World Bank in creating economic crises, and thus, political-social-ethnic instability, which invariably has led to all out ethnic war, genocides and "international interventions," in countries such as Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
The International Financial Institutions (IFIs) often create the conditions for political instability, while covert Western intelligence support to disaffected and radical groups creates the means for rebellion; which then becomes the excuse for foreign military intervention; which then secures an imperial military presence in the region, thus gaining control over the particular region's resources and strategic position. This is the age-old conquest of empire: divide and conquer. Interesting to note is that in 2008, "Pakistan was again seeking IMF help. On Nov. 25, it won final approval on a $7.6 billion loan package after foreign reserves shrank 74 percent to $3.5 billion in the 12 months ended on Nov. 8."[29] This loan was approved a day before the Mumbai attacks began. On December 4, it was reported that, "Tough conditions of International Monetary Fund (IMF) have now started surfacing as IMF and the Government of Pakistan (GoP) agreed to discontinue oil import support, eliminate power subsidies and budgetary support of the government, public and private entities. IMF and GoP have agreed to phase out the State Bank of Pakistan's (SBPs) provision of foreign exchange for oil imports." On top of this, "further steps will be taken during the remainder of the fiscal year to strengthen tax enforcement. Moreover, fuel prices will continue to be adjusted to pass through changes in international prices." Further, "The programme envisages a significant tightening of monetary policy."[30]
The results of these conditionalities are predictable: Pakistan will lose all subsidies; fuel prices will drastically rise, as will food and other necessary commodity prices. At the same time, a tightening of monetary policy and World Bank/IMF control over Pakistan's central bank will prevent Pakistan from taking measures to curb inflation, and the cost of living will skyrocket as the currency value plummets. All this is going on while taxes are increased and expanded greatly, and public jobs such as bureaucratic positions, education, etc., are downsized or altogether disbanded. Money will likely continue to flow to the ISI and Army, which will create discontent among Pakistan's deprived and disillusioned. A military coup would be likely, followed by rebellion en masse, which would in turn pit the various ethnicities against one another. This could lead to either a war against India, ultimately ending with a consolidated national security state to act as a conduit for Anglo-American imperial ambitions, such as in Rwanda; or, it could result in ethnic conflict and wars, ultimately ending up in the break-up of Pakistan into smaller states divided among ethnic lines, such as in Yugoslavia. Or, it could end with a combination of the two, a divided, warring, region engulfed in crisis. The break up of Pakistan is not a far-fetched idea in terms of Anglo-American strategy. In fact, the plan for the destabilization and ultimately, balkanization of Pakistan has originated in Anglo-American-Israeli military strategic circles. As I previously documented in Divide and Conquer: The Anglo-American Imperial Project [Global Research, July 10, 2008], the destabilization and balkanization of the near-entire Middle East and Central Asia has been a long-held strategy for the Anglo-America-Israeli Axis since the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Divide and Conquer
This concept evolved in strategic planning circles in the late 1970s in response to regional nationalist tendencies in the Middle East and Central Asia, as well as a perceived threat of growing Soviet influence in the region. The central aim of these strategic thinkers was to secure Middle Eastern oil and Central Asian gas reserves and pipeline routes under the control of the Anglo-Americans. Control over these vital energy reserves is a strategic as much as economic concern, as most of the world gets its energy from this area; so those who control the energy, control who gets it, and thus, control much of the world. The economic benefits of Anglo-Americans controlling the regions energy reserves cannot be analyzed separately from strategic interests, as they are one and the same. Anglo-American oil companies gain control of the oil and gas, while the British and American governments install puppet regimes to look after their interests; and to act as proxies in creating conflicts and wars with countries of the region who act in their own national interest, as opposed to acting under the guidance of and submission to the Anglo-Americans.

Arc of Crisis
After the 1973 oil shocks, which were, in fact, promoted and covertly orchestrated by Anglo-American banking and oil interests, the oil producing nations grew very wealthy, such as Iran. As well as this, countries like Afghanistan were becoming increasingly leftist and progressive. Fearing possible alliances developing between Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries with the Soviet Union, as well as the even greater threat of these countries becoming truly independent, taking control of their own resources for the good of their own people; Anglo-American strategists turned to what is called the "Arc of Crisis." The "Arc of Crisis" describes the "nations that stretch across the southern flank of the Soviet Union from the Indian subcontinent to Turkey, and southward through the Arabian Peninsula to the Horn of Africa." Further, the "center of gravity of this arc is Iran." In 1978, Zbigniew Brzezinski gave a speech in which he stated, "An arc of crisis stretches along the shores of the Indian Ocean, with fragile social and political structures in a region of vital importance to us threatened with fragmentation. The resulting political chaos could well be filled by elements hostile to our values and sympathetic to our adversaries."[36] Anglo-American strategy in the region thus developed and changed at this time, as "There was this idea that the Islamic forces could be used against the Soviet Union. The theory was, there was an arc of crisis, and so an arc of Islam could be mobilized to contain the Soviets. It was a Brzezinski concept."[37] Bilderberg member, Bernard Lewis, presented a British-American strategy to the Bilderberg Group during the 1979 meeting, which, "endorsed the radical Muslim Brotherhood movement behind Khomeini, in order to promote balkanization of the entire Muslim Near East along tribal and religious lines. Lewis argued that the West should encourage autonomous groups such as the Kurds, Armenians, Lebanese Maronites, Ethiopian Copts, Azerbaijani Turks, and so forth. The chaos would spread in what he termed an 'Arc of Crisis,' which would spill over into the Muslim regions of the Soviet Union."[38] Since the Soviet Union was viewed as a secular and atheist regime, having oppressed religion within its sphere of influence, the rise of radical Islamic influence and governments in the Middle East and Central Asia would ensure that Soviet influence would not enter into the region, as radical Muslims would view the Soviets with more distrust than the Americans. The Anglo-Americans positioned themselves as the lesser of two evils.
Bernard Lewis was a former British intelligence officer and historian who is infamous for explaining Arab discontent towards the West as not being rooted in a reaction toward imperialism, but rather that it is rooted in Islam; in that Islam is incompatible with the West, and that they are destined to clash, using the term, "Clash of Civilizations." For decades, "Lewis played a critical role as professor, mentor, and guru to two generations of Orientalists, academics, U.S. and British intelligence specialists, think tank denizens, and assorted neoconservatives." In the 1980s, Lewis "was hobnobbing with top Department of Defense officials."[39] Lewis wrote a 1992 article in Foreign Affairs, the journal of the Council on Foreign Relations, titled, "Rethinking the Middle East." In this article, Lewis raised the prospect of another policy towards the Middle East in the wake of the end of the Cold War and beginnings of the New World Order, "which could even be precipitated by fundamentalism, is what has of late become fashionable to call 'Lebanonization.' Most of the states of the Middle East - Egypt is an obvious exception - are of recent and artificial construction and are vulnerable to such a process. If the central power is sufficiently weakened, there is no real civil society to hold the polity together, no real sense of common national identity or overriding allegiance to the nation-state. The state then disintegrates - as happened in Lebanon - into a chaos of squabbling, feuding, fighting sects, tribes, regions and parties."[40]

Bernard Lewis' Redrawn Map of the "Arc of Crisis"
A Foreign Affairs article of 1979, the journal put out by the powerful Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), discussed the Arc of Crisis: "The Middle East constitutes its central core. Its strategic position is unequalled: it is the last major region of the Free World directly adjacent to the Soviet Union, it holds in its subsoil about three-fourths of the proven and estimated world oil reserves, and it is the locus of one of the most intractable conflicts of the twentieth century: that of Zionism versus Arab nationalism." It explained that US strategy in the region was focused with "containment" of the Soviet Union as well as access to the regions oil. [41]
It was in this context that in 1979, as Zbigniew Brzezinski later admitted, "According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahideen began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, 24 Dec 1979. But the reality, secretly guarded until now, is completely otherwise Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention." He claimed that, "We didn't push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would." What a perfect example of what George Orwell would call "double-speak," saying that the Americans "didn't push the Russians to intervene" but rather, "increased the probability that they would." In other words, they "pushed" them to intervene.[42] This is when the Mujahideen were created, and through this, Al-Qaeda, and a variety of other radical Islamic groups which have come to plague global geopolitics since this era. Terrorism cannot be viewed, as it often is, in such a simple manner as "non-state actors" reacting to geopolitics of nations and corporations. In fact, many terrorist groups, particularly the largest, most well organized, extremist and violent ones, are "proxy state actors," receiving covert support – through arms and training – by various state intelligence agencies. They are not simply "reacting" to geopolitics, but are important players in the geopolitical chessboard. They represent the perfect excuse for foreign militaristic adventurism and war; domestic tyranny in the form of developing police states to control populations, stifle dissent and create a totalitarian base of control. As the San Francisco Chronicle wrote in September of 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, "The map of terrorist sanctuaries and targets in the Middle East and Central Asia is also, to an extraordinary degree, a map of the world's principal energy sources in the 21st century. The defense of these energy resources -- rather than a simple confrontation between Islam and the West -- will be the primary flash point of global conflict for decades to come." Further, it stated: "It is inevitable that the war against terrorism will be seen by many as a war on behalf of America's Chevron, ExxonMobil and Arco; France's TotalFinaElf; British Petroleum; Royal Dutch Shell and other multinational giants, which have hundreds of billions of dollars of investment in the region."[43] Indeed, where Al-Qaeda is present, the US military follows, and behind the military, the oil companies wait and push; and behind the oil companies, the banks cash in.

Balkanizing the Middle East
In 1982, Oded Yinon, an Israeli journalist wrote a report for a publication of the World Zionist Organization in which he advocated, "The dissolution of Syria and Iraq into ethnically or religiously unique areas such as in Lebanon [which] is Israel's primary target on the Eastern front. Iraq, rich in oil on the one hand and internally torn on the other is guaranteed as a candidate for Israel's targets. Its dissolution is even more important for us than that of Syria. Iraq is stronger than Syria. In the short run, it is Iraqi power which constitutes the greatest threat to Israel." In 1996, an Israeli think tank with many prominent American neo-conservatives, issued a report in which they advocated for Israel to "Work closely with Turkey and Jordan to contain, destabilize, and roll-back some of its most dangerous threats," among them, to remove Saddam Hussein from power. In 2000, the Project for the New American Century, an American neo-conservative think tank, published a report called Rebuilding America's Defenses, in which they openly advocated for an American empire in the Middle East, focusing on removing the "threats" of Iraq and Iran. Shortly after the US invasion of Iraq, prominent members of the Council on Foreign Relations had begun advocating the break-up of Iraq into at least three smaller states, using Yugoslavia as an example of how to achieve this. In 2006, the Armed Force Journal published an article by retired Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Peters, which called for the redrawing of the borders of the Middle East. He first advocated the breakup of Iraq, and that, "Saudi Arabia would suffer as great a dismantling as Pakistan," and that, "Iran, a state with madcap boundaries, would lose a great deal of territory to Unified Azerbaijan, Free Kurdistan, the Arab Shia State and Free Baluchistan, but would gain the provinces around Herat in today's Afghanistan." Describing Pakistan as "an unnatural state," he said, "Pakistan's Northwest Frontier tribes would be reunited with their Afghan brethren," and that it "would also lose its Baluch territory to Free Baluchistan. The remaining "natural" Pakistan would lie entirely east of the Indus, except for a westward spur near Karachi." He even made up a helpful little list of "losers" and "winners" in this new great game: as in, who gains territory, and who loses territory. Among the losers are Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the West Bank and Pakistan. And Peters made the startling statement that redrawing borders is often only achieved through war and violence, and that "one other dirty little secret from 5,000 years of history: Ethnic cleansing works." [See: Andrew G. Marshall, Divide and Conquer: The Anglo-American Imperial Project. Global Research, July 10, 2008]


Ralph Peters' Map of a Redrawn Middle East - Note similarity to Bernard Lewis' Map of a Redrawn Middle East

Conclusion
Ultimately, the aims of the Mumbai attacks are to target Pakistan for balkanization. The question of who is responsible – either the ISI, largely rogue of Pakistan's civilian government and under the authority of Anglo-American intelligence; or separate Indian terrorists, likely supported by the same Anglo-American intelligence community – while important, is ultimately a secondary consideration in comparison to the question of Why?
The Who, What, Where, and When is a show for public consumption; masked in confusion and half-truths, designed to confuse and ultimately frustrate the observer – creating a sense of unease and fear of the unknown. The WHY, on the other hand, is the most important question; once you discover the why, the who, where, what, and when begin to fall into place, and create a full picture. If the Mumbai attacks were designed to be blamed on Pakistan – as they likely were – and thus, to possibly start a war between Pakistan and India – which is now a growing reality – what is the ultimate significance of knowing if it was the ISI or Indian elements responsible? Albeit, this is important to know, however, when it comes to understanding the motives behind the attacks, it pales in comparison. Pakistan is a strategic lynch-point in the region. Pakistan borders Iran, Afghanistan, India and China. It lies directly below the Central Asian republics of the Former Soviet Union, which are rich in natural gas resources. With NATO's war in Afghanistan, and the Anglo-Americans in Iraq, and American forces in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the occupation of Pakistan would position Western imperial militaries around Iran, the central Middle Eastern target. With the balkanization of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, destabilizing forces would cross the borders into Iran, ultimately creating the conditions for political and social collapse within the country. A conflict between Pakistan and India would not only have the effect of dismantling Pakistan, but would also greatly deter India's rapid economic and social development as the world's largest democracy, and would force it to come under the influence or "protection" of Western military might and International Financial Institutions. The same is likely for China, as destabilization would cross Pakistan's borders into the most populated country on earth, exacerbating ethnic differences and social disparities. A large Anglo-American military presence in Pakistan, or, alternatively, a NATO or UN force, combined with the already present NATO force in Afghanistan, would be a massive military strategic position against advancement of China, Russia or India into the region. With China's massively increasing influence in Africa threatening Anglo-American and European domination of the continent, a massive military presence on the border of China could act as a powerful warning.
The Mumbai attacks do not aid India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, or any nation within the region. The beneficiaries of the Mumbai Massacre are in London and New York, in the boardrooms and shareholders of the largest international banks; which seek total control of the world. Having dominated North America and Europe for much of recent history, these bankers, primarily Anglo-American, but also European, seek to exert their total control over the world's resources, currencies, and populations. There are many concurrent strategies they are employing to achieve this end: among them, the global financial crisis, to reign in and control the world economy; and a "total war" in the Middle East, likely escalating into a World War with Russia and China, is the perfect tool to strike enough fear into the world population to accept an over-arching supranational governance structure – to ensure no future wars occur, to ensure stability of the global economy – a utopian vision of a single world order. The problem with utopias is that they are "ultimate ideals," and if humanity has learned anything in its history on this planet; it is that perfection is impossible, be it in the form of an "ideal person" or an "ideal government;" humanity is plagued by imperfections and emotion. Accepting our imperfections as a species is what can make us great, and understanding that a utopian ideal is impossible to achieve is what can allow us to create the "best possible" society we can have. All utopias attempted throughout history have always turned into dystopias. We must learn from humanity's history of sordid flaws; and only when we accept that we are not perfect, and cannot ever become perfect, in person or in politics, are we free to become humanity at it's most advanced and at its most noble.
(http://micropower.blogspot.com)

India Needs A Leader Like This

Prime Minister John Howard, Australia


His speech to his Nation:

"Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia, as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks...
"Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques. Quote: 'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians.
"This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.
"We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!
"Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.
"We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.
"This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.
"If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted."

Hotel Taj: Icon of Whose India?

Gnani Sankaran

Watching at least four English news channels surfing from one another during the last 60 hours of terror strike made me feel a terror of another kind. The terror of assaulting one's mind and sensitivity with cameras, sound bites and non-stop blabbers. All these channels have been trying to manufacture my consent for a big lie called — Hotel Taj the icon of India. Whose India, Whose Icon ? It is a matter of great shame that these channels simply did not bother about the other icon that faced the first attack from terrorists - the Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station. CST is the true icon of Mumbai. It is through this railway station hundreds of Indians from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Tamilnadu have poured into Mumbai over the years, transforming themselves into Mumbaikars and built the Mumbai of today along with the Marathis and Kolis But the channels would not recognise this.
Nor would they recognise the thirty odd dead bodies strewn all over the platform of CST. No Barkha Dutt went there to tell us who they were. But she was at Taj to show us the damaged furniture and reception lobby braving the guards. And the TV cameras did not go to the government-run JJ hospital to find out who those 26 unidentified bodies were. Instead they were again invading the battered Taj to try in vain for a scoop shot of the dead bodies of the Page 3 celebrities.
In all probability, the unidentified bodies could be those of workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh migrating to Mumbai, arriving by train at CST without cell phones and PAN cards to identify them. Even after 60 hours after the CST massacre, no channel has bothered to cover in detail what transpired there.
The channels conveniently failed to acknowledge that the Aam Aadmis of India surviving in Mumbai were not affected by Taj, Oberoi and Trident closing down for a couple of weeks or months. What mattered to them was the stoppage of BEST buses and suburban trains even for one hour. But the channels were not covering that aspect of the terror attack. Such information at best merited a scroll line, while the cameras have to be dedicated for real time thriller unfolding at Taj or Nariman Bhavan.
The so-called justification for the hype the channels built around heritage site Taj falling down (CST is also a heritage site), is that Hotel Taj is where the rich and the powerful of India and the globe congregate. It is a symbol or icon of power of money and politics, not India. It is the icon of the financiers and swindlers of India. The Mumbai and India were built by the Aam Aadmis who passed through CST and Taj was the oasis of peace and privacy for those who wielded power over these mass of labouring classes.
Leopold club and Taj were the haunts of rich spoilt kids who would drive their vehicles over sleeping Aam Aadmis on the pavement, the mafiosi of Mumbai forever financing the glitterati of Bollywood (and also the terrorists), political brokers and industrialists. It is precisely because Taj is the icon of power and not people, that the terrorists chose to strike.
The terrorists have understood after several efforts that the Aam Aadmi will never break down even if you bomb her markets and trains. He/she was resilient because that is the only way he/she can even survive.
Resilience was another word that annoyed the pundits of news channels and their patrons this time. What resilience, enough is enough, said Pranoy Roy's channel on the left side of the channel spectrum. Same sentiments were echoed by Arnab Goswami representing the right wing of the broadcast media whose time is now. Can Rajdeep be far behind in this game of one upmanship over TRPs ? They all attacked resilience this time. They wanted firm action from the government in tackling terror.
The same channels celebrated resilience when bombs went off in trains and markets killing and maiming the Aam Aadmis. The resilience of the ordinary worker suited the rich business class of Mumbai since work or manufacture or film shooting did not stop. When it came to them, the rich shamelessly exhibited their lack of nerves and refused to be resilient themselves. They cry for government intervention now to protect their private spas and swimming pools and bars and restaurants, similar to the way in which Citibank, General Motors and the ilk cry for government money when their coffers are emptied by their own ideologies.
The terrorists have learnt that the ordinary Indian is unperturbed by terror. For one whose daily existence itself is a terror of government-sponsored inflation and market-sponsored exclusion, pain is something he has learnt to live with. The rich of Mumbai and India Inc are facing the pain for the first time and learning about it just as the middle classes of India learnt about violation of human rights only during emergency, a cool 28 years after independence. And human rights were another favourite issue for the channels to whip at times of terrorism.
Arnab Goswami in an animated voice wondered where were those champions of human rights now, not to be seen applauding the brave and selfless police officers who gave up their life in fighting terorism. Well, the counter-question would be where were you when such officers were violating the human rights of Aam Aadmis? Has there ever been any 24-hour non-stop coverage of violence against dalits and adivasis of this country?
This definitely was not the time to manufacture consent for the extra-legal and third degree methods of interrogation of police and army but Arnabs don't miss a single opportunity to serve their class masters, this time the jingoistic patriotism came in handy to whitewash the entire uniformed services.
The sacrifice of the commandos or the police officers who went down dying at the hands of ruthless terrorists is no doubt heart-rending but in vain in a situation which needed not just bran but also brain. Israel has a point when it says the operations were misplanned resulting in the death of its nationals here.
Khakares and Salaskars would not be dead if they did not commit the mistakeof traveling by the same vehicle. It is a basic lesson in management that the top brass should never travel together in crisis. The terrorists, if only they had watched the channels, would have laughed their hearts out when the Chief of the Marine commandos, an elite force, masking his face so unprofessionally in a see-through cloth, told the media that the commandos had no idea about the structure of the Hotel Taj which they were trying to liberate. But the terrorists knew the place thoroughly, he acknowledged.
Is it so difficult to obtain a ground plan of Hotel Taj and discuss operation strategy thoroughly for at least one hour before entering? This is something even an event manager would first ask for, if he had to fix 25 audio systems and 50 CCtvs for a cultural event in a hotel. Would not Ratan Tata have provided a plan of his ancestral hotel to the commandos within one hour considering the mighty apparatus at his and government's disposal? Are satellite pictures only available for terrorists and not the government agencies? In an operation known to consume time, one more hour for preparation would have only improved the efficiency of execution.
Sacrifices become doubly tragic in unprofessional circumstances. But the Aam Aadmis always believe that terror-shooters do better planning than terrorists. And the gullible media in a jingoistic mood would not raise any question about any of these issues. They after all have their favourite whipping boy — the politician the eternal entertainer for the non-voting rich classes of India.
Arnabs and Rajdeeps would wax eloquent on Manmohan Singh and Advani visiting Mumbai separately and not together showing solidarity even at this hour of national crisis. What a farce? Why can't these channels pool together all their camera crew and reporters at this time of national calamity and share the sound and visual bites which could mean a wider and deeper coverage of events with such a huge human resource to command?
Why should Arnab and Rajdeep and Barkha keep harping every five minutes that this piece of information was exclusive to their channel, at the time of such a national crisis? Is this the time to promote the channel? If that is valid, the politician promoting his own political constituency is equally valid. And the duty of the politician is to do politics, his politics. It is for the people to evaluate that politics. And terrorism is not above politics. It is politics by other means.
To come to grips with it and to eventually eliminate it, the practice of politics by proper means needs constant fine tuning and improvement.
Decrying all politics and politicians, only helps terrorists and dictators who are the two sides of the same coin. And the rich and powerful always prefer terrorists and dictators to do business with. Those caught in this crossfire are always the Aam Aadmis whose deaths are not even mourned - the taxi driver who lost the entire family at CST firing, the numerous waiters and stewards who lost their lives working in Taj for a monthly salary that would be one time bill for their masters.
Postscript: In a fit of anger and depression, I sent a message to all the channels, 30 hours through the coverage. After all they have been constantly asking the viewers to message them for anything and everything. My message read: I send this with lots of pain. All channels, including yours, must apologise for not covering the victims of CST massacre, the real Mumbaikars and Aam Aadmis of India. Your obsession with five-star elite is disgusting.
Learn from the print media please. No channel bothered. Only Srinivasan Jain replied: you are right. We are trying to redress balance today. Well, nothing happened till the time of writing this 66 hours after the terror attack.
(Gnani Sankaran is a Tamil writer from Chennai)

Be an Alert Citizen

In case you come across any suspicious activity, any suspicious movement or have any information to tell to the Anti-Terror Squad, please take a note of the new ALL INDIA TOLL-FREE Terror Help-line "1090". Your city's Police or Anti-Terror squad will take action as quickly as possible.
Remember that this single number 1090 is valid all over India.
This is a toll free number and can be dialed from mobile phones. Moreover, the identity of the caller will be kept a secret.
Please try to aware every citizen of India about this facility.

Balu's Mouse Raju's Daring Act

A letter the PM will never read

Dear Mr. Prime minister
I am a typical mouse from Mumbai. In the local train compartment which has capacity of 100 persons, I travel with 500 more mouse. Mouse at least squeak but we don't even do that.
Today I heard your speech. In which you said 'NO BODY WOULD BE SPARED'. I would like to remind you that fourteen years has passed since serial bomb blast in Mumbai took place. Dawood was the main conspirator. Till today he is not caught. All our bolywood actors, our builders, our Gutka king meets him but your Government can not catch him. Reason is simple; all your ministers are hand in glove with him. If any attempt is made to catch him everybody will be exposed. Your statement 'NOBODY WOULD BE SPARED' is nothing but a cruel joke on this unfortunate people of India.
Enough is enough. As such after seeing terrorist attack carried out by about a dozen young boys I realize that if same thing continues days are not away when terrorist will attack by air, destroy our nuclear reactor and there will be one more Hiroshima.
We the people are left with only one mantra. Womb to Bomb to Tomb.. You promised Mumbaikar Shanghai what you have given us is Jalianwala Baug.
Today only your home minister resigned. What took you so long to kick out this joker? Only reason was that he was loyal to Gandhi family. Loyalty to Gandhi family is more important than blood of innocent people, isn't it?
I am born and bought up in Mumbai for last fifty eight years. Believe me corruption in Maharashtra is worse than that in Bihar. Look at all the politicians, Sharad Pawar, Chagan Bhujbal, Narayan Rane, Bal Thackeray, Gopinath Munde, Raj Thacekray, Vilasrao Deshmukh all are rolling in money. Vilasrao Deshmukh is one of the worst Chief minister I have seen. His only business is to increase the FSI every other day, make money and send it to Delhi so Congress can fight next election. Now the clown has found new way and will increase FSI for fisherman so they can build concrete house right on sea shore. Next time terrorist can comfortably live in those house , enjoy the beauty of sea and then attack the Mumbai at their will.
Recently I had to purchase house in Mumbai. I met about two dozen builders. Everybody wanted about 30% in black. A common person like me knows this and with all your intelligent agency & CBI you and your finance minister are not aware of it. Where all the black money goes? To the underworld isn't it? Our politicians take help of these goondas to vacate people by force. I myself was victim of it. If you have time please come to me, I will tell you everything.
If this has been land of fools, idiots then I would not have ever cared to write you this letter. Just see the tragedy, on one side we are reaching moon, people are so intelligent and on other side you politician has converted nectar into deadly poison. I am everything Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Schedule caste, OBC, Muslim OBC, Christian Schedule caste, Creamy Schedule caste only what I am not is INDIAN. You politician have raped every part of mother India by your policy of divide and rule.
Take example of former president Abdul Kalam. Such a intelligent person, such a fine human being. You politician didn't even spare him. Your party along with opposition joined the hands, because politician feels they are supreme and there is no place for good person.
Dear Mr Prime minister you are one of the most intelligent person, most learned person. Just wake up, be a real SARDAR. First and foremost expose all selfish politician. Ask Swiss bank to give name of all Indian account holder. Give reins of CBI to independent agency. Let them find wolf among us. There will be political upheaval but that will better than dance of death which we are witnessing every day. Just give us ambient where we can work honestly and without fear. Let there be rule of law. Everything else will be taken care of.
Choice is yours Mr. Prime Minister. Do you want to be lead by one person or you want to lead the nation of 100 Crore people?
Prakash B. Bajaj
Chandralok 'A" Wing, Flat No 104
97 Nepean Sea Road
Mumbai 400 036
Phone 9821071194

Who Should be Held Guilty?

Why are we allowing our government babus to just resign and get away with what they have done?
Are they not to be hauled up for their failures? Read the following and asses yourselves:
1) It was reported that the Intelligence Bureau had informed and warned the Maharashtra government about the attacks on the two hotels; even as recently as November 18, 2008, the Intelligence Bureau had even warned about the attack being planned from the sea.
2) It was reported that the Mumbai Macchimar Union had written about four months back to the state government about false licences and registrations given to Bangladeshi trawlers to fish in the seas of Maharashtra and Gujarat and that such vessels were being used to transfer RDX.
3) It was reported that the Coast Guard was aware and was informed about the missing trawlers from Gujarat.
And yet nothing was done; if only the Maharashtra government had acted on these and many such Intelligence reports, then precious lives could have been saved.
The Chief Minister and the Home Minister should not be allowed to just resign; they should be thrown out by the government and they should be prosecuted for the murders of the dear citizens of Bombay.
Why can't we arrest our babus for the murder of the deceased? We should unite and demand for the arrest of these erring ministers and all the erring officials of the other agencies like the Coast Guard.
Please keep forwarding this mail till it reaches the right people who can take up -- Kassandra Pinto (kassandra.pinto@gmail.com)

You Can Make Your Vote Count

The recent terrorist attack has been something which seems to have awakened a lot of intelligent, talented, educated white collared professionals from every walk of life. People are very angry and want to show their anger. People want to meet at various locations to show their anger. I am truly wondering to whom do all of want to show our anger to? I thought ours is a democratic country and all of us are equally responsible for the state of the country at all points of time.Most of us are earning a good amount of money and leading a fabulous high profile life living in great houses, sending our children to best schools, dining at the Taj, spending as much on one evening as much as the police man who died for us earns in a month! Doesn't our Mumbai police have enough work to do? Don't you think they are hurt more than anyone one of us put together? If the attack has gone on for 59 hours, haven't they held fort for 59 hours? I feel that people like us should not meet at public locations and create more work for these people who have been selflessly working so that you can have a good nights sleep at least at this point of time. Aren't we creating more opportunity for more attacks? Imagine the top professionals of Mumbai's top companies are all collecting at one public location, what more could a terrorist organization ask for? Imagine a firing or a bomb when this is happening? And then the rest of the country will again blame our politicians for not doing anything and create more angry people!
I am not saying our politicians are right or they are wrong. India was an underdeveloped country till a few decades ago. Today it is a developed country. India was a slave till few years ago, today most developed countries are scared that India may become the super power. India was a mere country blessed with all natural resources, today keeping our natural resources intact and utilizing them to whatever potential feasible, we have managed to reach a level where most International top organizations want to invest in India. Today India is one of the very few countries which is least affected by the recession. Why? Today is India is being targeted because India is a threat. Do you realize the amount of money, manpower, resources, time that must have gone to plan this attack? Why are they Targeting India?
Has that happened because our politicians are selfish and only thinking about filling up their pockets? Maybe so. But who is not selfish? At least these politicians have taken the lead and are putting their lives at stake to fill up their own pockets. But if they are doing nothing for our country then how is our country constantly on a progression path? When times were bad years ago, the best of Indian talent was desperate to go abroad and earn money and they left our country and went to earn money for themselves. Any country needs talent to grow, but our talent has gone to make UK and US grow. Why? Today, our corrupt politicians working with selfish interests throughout the past so many years have used their intelligent brains and put in a lot of hard work to make themselves and by the way make the country grow ? At least they have not left the country to fend for itself and fill up their own pockets. Today, the kind of salaries and lifestyle that India can offer, no country can? But we then crib about traffic. Is there an end to complaining?
You know, the easiest is to play the blame game. Instead of retaliating and working against the government, if we truly want to do something, let's work with them to bring India upto the level of a super power so that nobody has the guts to ever do something like this to India. The country needs to support the government. Take responsibility for ourselves.
Why a leaderless movement? Can any movement, any company, and any project work without a leader?It is leaderless because it is wrong; it is leaderless because nobody wants to lend a face to it. Don't do that. I am not so well read so I am truly unaware of how and what is needed for the country to move towards being a contender for being the super power, but I am sure all of you people must definitely know some way start this movement. For e.g. the reason why so many people died from Mumbai Police was because they did not have proper protection. Now you will say why they don't have it? When you have limited money, don't you have to plan your budget at home? It's precisely like that; maybe the center has to allocate the funds to build a Worli sea link to facilitate traffic movement rather than being worried about a few lives of their own police. I don't know. When the budget comes out how many of us see the allocation of funds? Everyone sees the budget from their own eyes, on what affects their lives. Did anyone see at that point of time whether any funds were allocated to the police for protection? Nobody wants to go to a government office today because it smells and it is bad to even visit but has anyone thought of the million people who work there? Have you seen the state of our anti terrorist cell? Have you seen the state of our police stations? And it is not because the government doesn't want to do it.Of course ,they want to do it and they will .They are answerable to themselves before they are to us.
I am sure there must be unlimited issues of this nature that must be existing. Why cant we create a organization of white collared individuals who may not have too much time to give or too much money to spare but maybe if there is this one small thing that all of us can create as a small part of our mind space that our home is not the 4 bedroom flat that we are living in only but the country that we are living in.
Sure ,we all are very very angry,sure that we have failed as a country,sure we knew about this attack months ago and couldn't do anything about it. Sure we were not equipped and will never be equipped because defence is on the least priority of our country. Maybe that could be questioned ?That could change?
Sure when 9/11 happened ,US attacked and conquered so much so that till date nobody has had the guts to do anything to them.
I am sure now after this episode our government is also very very angry.
We all should motivate our leaders and tell them to take the bold step of getting the people responsible arrested or killed .They don't deserve to live. There is no more retrospection or thinking ,the next obvious step should to be bold step of SIMPLY ATTACK AND FACE THE CONSEQUENCES.
DO WHAT IT TAKES .EVEN IF IT MEANS A WAR .SEVERE CONSEQUENCES.NO CHOICE.NO ONE CAN BARGE INTO OUR HOME AND KILL US AND OUR CHILDREN.WE SHOULD NOT ALLOW THAT AT ALL.
If we don't do this ,then this will happen again and again and again.
So people, support and motivation will help our government take this bold step. INDIAN ARMY ,INDIAN GOVERNMENT ,WE ARE WITH YOU...
I am sure a lot of people will not agree with these views.If anyone has any solutions please suggest.We need to get a lot of heads working and provide solutions.In these difficult times we need to show our support and work together instead of working against each other .Remember UNITED WE STAND ,DIVIDED WE FALL. Caste, creed, language ,status ,position should be no barrier. Every Indian should support together fight this and ensure that nobody can ever have the b….s to do this again
We can question the government and ask questions,it is our right.What has happened is very, very wrong .But will that help.Will there be a better leader ?Will there be a better government.This is endless and forever.
-- Sapana Chaturvedi (sapnac2020@gmail.com)

Uniting Indians Under One Single Banner

After the shocking terrorist attacks in Mumbai on the 26th of November, one fact has emerged---the citizens of India have had enough. “Enough is enough” seems to be the common cry running through us. But are we really ready to shed our individual differences, and stand up as one solid nation, against politicians, terrorists and war mongers? Every act of terrorism thrives on the divisions between people and on the incompetence of the State political machinery. While the State machinery corrects itself, can we ever become a united India?
India today is divided on the basis of many criteria---religion, caste, creed, language, state, community----so much so that these divisions are responsible for constant and continuous conflicts, all over the country. Whether it is one community fighting against another in Rajasthan, Hindus fighting Christians in Orrisa, the anti- north Indian tirade in Maharashtra, the fight between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the anti-Brahmin feelings in the South, or the perpetual Hindu—Muslim divide--ne soon realizes that behind all these clashes is the fact that there is no single common factor that unites us Indians. Of course, if you were to ask any Indian citizen, he would emphatically say that he is an Indian. Probe further, and he will soon come out with further sub-divisions to this citizenship---North Indian, South Indian, Gujrathi, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamilian, Keralite, Kannadiga, Andharite, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jew, Parsi, Buddhist, upper caste, lower caste, reserved category, Brahmin, non-Brahmin, and so on and so forth.
Yes, just being an Indian is enough to make one feel proud and unite us under our tricolor, but unfortunately, because of the burden of thousands of years of culture, language, tradition, religions and civilization, we have only managed to divide ourselves more and more, almost to the point of having thousands of different groups in the country. It is well known that a country and a people’s strength, progress, prosperity and evolution lies in unifying ourselves, not further dividing and sub-dividing ourselves under various headings and categories. To this effect, if India is to progress, if every Indian is to be educated, fed, clothed and sheltered, and if we are to enter into a Utopia that India can be, thanks to its rich natural resources and to the bountiful monsoons that occur here, we need to be united, under one common head, one common banner. And our religion or our mother tongue or state cannot become that banner, because there are too many. This banner can only simply be Indian.
It is time that we shed our cloaks of separation and unified ourselves under our tricolor. Religion, community, caste, language----these are very personal things, and everyone should have the freedom and right to practice any religion, and pray to any God that he or she wishes to---and there is no conflict of interest in these areas. But these individual differences should not be allowed to be above the common concept that we are all first Indians, and only then are we Hindu or Muslim or Christian or North Indian, or South Indian. All these sub-divisions that divide us, and give us a so called identity can remain, but preferably within the four confines of our walls. Once we come out on the streets of this country, we should all be equal, all should be known only as Indians.
Man has been divided into various factions, not today, but over thousands of years. It is time we put on our thinking caps, and decide how we really want our life and our country to be----divided, warring, violent, regressive and destructive or forward looking, progressive and prosperous. The choice is ultimately in the hands of each one of us, for a country is nothing but a collection of its citizens. Just for a few moments, imagine what this country would be, if we shed our individual differences and collectively be called only Indians, where our Indian-ness is our religion, our God, our identity, our common uniting factor. Looking at the way our country is headed, we desperately need to put our house in order, and find a common unifying banner, so that our patriotism and love for our country is above everything else, and on one----from inside or outside the country can destroy our togetherness.
-- Dr. P V Vaidyanathan (vaidyanathan.pv@gmail.com)

Comments from Concerned People

I was shocked what happend in mumbai in last four days. that was unforgotable and unbelievable.it was a big tragedy. hundred of innocent lives had been lost in henious terrorist attack.it was a nightmare.my sympathy to all the people of mumbai and the innocent people who lost their lives.i salute those brave jawans who had given supreme sacrifice of their lives to great cause to save thousand innocent lives.now it is time for the government and the intelligence agencies to awake from sleep to find out new formula to tackle such a henious terrorist attack in future. mumbai is the heart of the country .if mumbai is hurt then the country is hurt.
-- Prasenjit Shome

There were well-planned terrorist attacks in several places,simultaneously. All that requires lots of manpower.
Yet only ten terrorists have been killed/caught and the whole crisis is claimed to be over.
SOMETHING VERY WRONG WITH THE NUMBERS.
Where are the other terrorists as well as local support systems manpower?
How many terrorists escaped by planned routes?
How many escaped as 'rescued hostages'?
Were all those rescued interrogated, fingerprinted, photographed, etc.?
Scary. Worth thinking about.
-- Dilip Raote

Bombay is reeling with anger. Its been frustrating how easily they did it and how sloppy our handling of the situation was. So many people are suddenly voicing so many opinions its noisy again.. don't we need a someone to step forward and take control of the situation to help coordinate amongst all the civic bodies, security agencies, private businesses to get back on their feet..
There are NGOs and governmental bodies operating with public support pouring in.. where is a leader who calls the shots and everything becomes efficient? A PM, CM, a Mayor? Ah?
-- Manish Gupta

Dear Sunil
What you have echoed is so well summed up in the headline " A Sham and Shame" . Having said we all have to do our individual bit and try and change the system and be part of the system. There is too much Politician bashing and system bashing. I lost my friend Rohinton Maloo to the terrorists and I am very pained. This could happen in Delhi or anywhere in India.
Warm regards and thanks
Anurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief , exchange4media group

A Sham and a Shame

"Thank God, it's all over." That's how a news anchor concluded the telecast on India's own 911.
The terrorists have been flushed out. There are no hostages out there. Taj, Nariman House and other places are back in our hands.
What remains is the shock, the impotent anger raging within, a few hundred dead bodies, many, many people bereaved and above all a number of nasty, uncomfortable questions - why security was withdrawn from all these hotels only a few days back? how could the terrorists set up a full-fledged server room in the hotel and how could they smuggle a satellite phone to talk to Pakistan? Why our ATS heroes who were slain were wearing bullet-proof vests which were made in 1992 and 2002. What was our Navy doing when the terrorists infiltrated into the country through Porbandar?
There has been no terrorist attack in the US since 911 and none in the UK after the 7/7 attacks. Virtually nothing in Israel. Why in India alone? People in India are ready to sacrifice some of their liberties. We are ready to come to the airport two hours before the departure time. We are ready and willing to offer ourselves for frisking, or any other type of examination or questioning any time. But our sacrifice will be meaningless unless there is a strong leadership to guide us and defend us.
If instead of those 150 innocent people, if the same number of our Members of our Parliament had been killed, India would have found out a fool-proof solution to this kind of terrorism. Human life is precious and valuable - whether it belongs to a beggar in the street or to a Cabinet Minister.
I heard a news correspondent listing about the recent terrorist attacks in the country. While describing a particular attack he said "Only two people were killed." That's the kind of callousness we have in dealing with human lives. His other statistics talked about "80 killed" "150 killed" and "220 killed." Compared to that just two people being killed was a "picnic", he might have thought. That's the typical way a politician views the killings. Even if just one life is lost it's still a disaster - especially if it belongs to us or our dear ones. Will our leaders look at it this way?
Now that "it's all over" we'll forget it and start worrying about the result of the next 20:20 match, or wait for the next Sharukh Khan movie. Or worry about the share prices or our bank balances. And indulge in our own cozy lives.
But before doing that, let's us stand up and bow down to the men in uniform who were our "real guards and saviours" in our hour of trial. While we were watching the whole thing in the cozy comfort of our bedrooms in the large screen LCD TV, these brave men risked their lives (and many lost their lives too on our account) to rescue the hostages and destroy the terrorists.
Wherever you are please stand up and salute these real heroes.
Of course that's the only thing we can do. And that too if we are blessed with a heart.
Today these people are heroes. But once everything is over we will continue to pay them a basic salary of 3190 plus a HRA of 1230 plus a DA of 2100 ... while we would lovingly pay lakhs and crores to our actresses and cricketers and spend crores on our bookies.
"Thank God, It's all Over." Is it?
-- Sridharan Rengasamy

Letter to a Terrorist

Mr. Terrorist

I was compelled to write this letter because you were compelled to express your dissent by murdering innocent people. If you saw me out on the street, you would fill hand grenades with hatred and without a second thought pull the pin and throw it at me, so that your disillusionment with the world may shatter my body and leave it lifeless in a pool of my own blood. But I would like you to know that when I usually meet people on the streets, I smile at them.
But now that you have declared war on the sanctity of life, I am going to throw a grenade of ideas at you, that I hope will encourage you to indulge in some self-reflection, if that is not too much to ask for. And ideas, Mr. Terrorist like a great man once said, is immune to bullets, your bullets.
I have been trying to make some sense of the tragedy that has been unfolding in Mumbai over the past few days and I must confess that I am so distressed that I have been sleepless. But today, I had a sudden realization that I must stop trying to make sense of what happened, because there IS NO sense in it.
You see, this has been the problem in the first place. The world failed to talk some sense into you.
Instead, someone else got to you first and you readily accepted the nonsense they fed to you and accepted your bags full of ammunition and dried fruit and fake credentials and crossed the seas to murder and to perish in a faraway land. I assure you that your pilgrimage was a vain one, because I have not heard of anyone having a spiritual revelation either while pulling the trigger or while being shot at. Last time I checked, God was all for peace.
It really amazes me that instead of joining an organization to build schools, shelter, and orphanages, you chose to sign up for "Pointless death and destruction 101".
I don't care about your motives, I do not sympathise with your ideas and I do not accept your protestations. You are no martyr, you are no savior, you are no victim, you are no freedom fighter, you are no soldier, you are not a revolutionary. YOU ARE A MURDERER!
You were human before you went to the camps, to crawl in the dirt, under barbed wire fences, and stabbed dolls filled with hay and learned to shoot, to murder, to maim. If only you had used your brain to think; if only you had used those fingers which were trained to put together explosives, to write and express your ideas; if only you had walked out of rooms that preached hate and practiced non-violence, we would have not witnessed these heart wrenching sights of death and destruction.
You might call this letter an oversimplified and emotional response to the complex issues underlying incidents such as the Mumbai massacre. But considering the lack of intelligence you have displayed with your actions over the last 72 hours, I am obliged to oversimplify, so that you may understand. So that you may stop. Now!
-- Nikesh Murali

Two Comments

We were all devastated by what happened at Mumbai. I have been to Mumbai many times and the city has always held a fascination for me. I have stood before the Old Taj and have been looking at its classical beauty for hours on end. To see it in flames, to hear gun shots and bomb blasts from the very symbol of Indian hospitality... the last three days have been the most cursed in my live.
It is kind of you to have started a blog on the incident. For the last three days I was looking at the NDTV and CNN with horror.
Varalotti Rengasamy, Madurai

Dear friends across India and the world,
We're all feeling the shock of the awful attacks in Mumbai. All our hearts go out to the victims and their families.
The attacks were aimed at our people, our prosperity and our peace. But their top target was something else: our unity. If these attacks cause us to turn on each other in hatred and conflict, the terrorists will have won. They know that hatred and chaos feed on division. As radical extremists, their only hope of winning is by turning the rest of us against each other.
Let's deny them that victory. We're launching a message to extremists on all sides and all our political leaders, one that will soon be published in newspapers across India and Pakistan. The message is that these tactics have failed, that we're more united than ever, united in our love and support to each other, determined to work together against terror and call on our leaders to do the same. If millions of people sign it, our message will be unmistakable, click below to sign it and please forward this email widely:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/india_undivided/98.php/?cl_tf_sign=1
It's time to speak out, let's do it together.
Priya Sarukkai Chabria

The Indian Art of Losing

By Dilip Raote

WARS are no more fought on national frontiers, with tanks and artillery guns, aircraft carriers, destroyers, submarines, fighter and bomber jets, and missiles. Such wars are very expensive. There are cheaper ways of destabilizing nations.
Wars are now fought behind borders, behind the backs of the armed forces. They are fought in markets, railways stations and five-star hotels. There are no uniformed brigades, no big-blast bombs. Only a few dedicated individuals can shake up a nation with weapons that can be hidden in handbags. Mobile phones and internet enable connectivity among these warriors.
Some nations have understood well this new concept of war and are making effective use of it. Only a handful of warriors are needed to create a disaster. The warriors can be recruited in one country, trained in another, and brainwashed by instigating their religious, ideological, or communal identity. The funding for the missions is supplied by devious paths so that neither the terrorists nor the victim nations know who is masterminding the game.
There are some essentials for the success of such missions. The targeted nation must have: corruption, extensive money-laundering, incompetence of governance which leads to the incompetence of policing and, most important, incompetence of intelligence-gathering. In a corrupt nation the entire system of governance is purchasable; shortcuts and bypasses can be created for a sufficient bribe. The bribe need not be given in the mission country; it can be delivered to bank accounts in other countries. Globalisation of economies and money-laundering are terrorist support systems.
Corruption and incompetence are trickle-down effects. Corruption and incompetence at the top breed corruption and incompetence at lower levels. Systems decay to the detriment of the ordinary citizens, and simultaneously become beneficial to the criminals and terrorists.
All this is elementary. It is part of history. Guerilla warfare and sponsored revolts make and unmake nations and empires. But the relentless pursuit of power and wealth leaves the ruling classes no time for reading history, and so history repeats again and again.
Politicians, bureaucrats and intelligence officers do not have to be history scholars. All they need is a slim bedside book – Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", edited by James Clavell. The book was written more than 2,500 years ago.
Sun Tzu says: "The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road to either safety or to ruin." Of intelligence gathering, he says: "It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results. Spies are a most important element in war, because upon them depends an army's ability to move."
There is little positive to be said of Indian intelligence gathering. 'Intelligence failure' is a term commonly used after every disaster. And there is no preparation for the next disaster. The spy systems are used efficiently to gather information about internal rivals, but external threats or rivals are not given the same attention. India is still stuck in feudal times when kings and petty lords spied on one another but were little concerned about foreign invaders. There is still no global perspective of threats, no quick response systems, no futurism think tanks to anticipate threats, and generals and forces are trapped in bureaucratic procedures.
Finally, here is a Sun Tzu warning: "The general who wins a battle makes many calculations … before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat; how much more no calculations at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose."
The terrorists do calculations beforehand, the Indian system doesn't. It is thus that terrorists and ordinary Indian citizens can foresee who is likely to win. No one is betting on the Indian system.
Fortunately, other concerned countries are taking an interest in the Indian mess. They will demand reform of the Indian policing and intelligence systems. Or else … return to the old Hindu rate of growth and recurring terrorist intrusions.

A Small Ode

Okay so New York got back to its feet. So did London. And with routine familiarity we say Salaam Mumbai! An ode to its unbreakable spirit. Don't break that spirit but for once say NO. Stop your commercial activity for once. Stop the trains. Shut the Stock Exchange. Let Delhi hear the voices. For once. The common man's. How often have we forgiven and forgotten these incidents like we do with an errant child. Of course a man has to eat. He has to go out. But shut down the city. Out of fear ? Never! But call a Bandh! Its potent. Sometimes protest has its own demands.Its own. Its effective. And it has to come from a powerful centre. Let the face of Indian politics change once and for all. Seize the moment. We will reap greater economic benefits this way.
-- A Kolkata mother of two

a Need for Centralised & Coordinated Crisis Management

While watching for hours together on TV the latest terrorist attack on Mumbai, I was thinking, on the basis of a study I had done earlier, that the management of the crisis could have been different and more effective if a proper system was in place. This statement is not meant in any way to be critical of the brave and committed efforts by the police, National Security Guards (NSG) and the Defense Forces in fighting the terrorists.
A few years back I had submitted a project profile on National Disaster Management, which also briefly covered terrorism, to the Government of India. The then Cabinet Secretary convened a meeting at Delhi to which I was invited and given the opportunity to speak first. This was followed by discussions.
It was a disappointing exercise for me. Most of the people who attended could only see localized situations, say, like cyclones on the East Coast, and not the total picture. However, I understand that my suggestions including the name for the organization were given due consideration when the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was formed under the Ministry of Home Affairs. I am not aware how effectively the NDMA is operating.
The world runs on meticulously prepared systems, and dedicated and qualified men who implement and run them. Was such procedure available and followed when the terrorists struck Mumbai on November 26? I do not know.
If such a plan was in force, a unified command would have taken over immediately when the magnitude of the attack became evident. The top officials would have been in the War Room to help the crisis management with their experience, expertise and genius.
Perhaps our intelligence system requires a revamp. It seems to be based more on traditional concepts. And there are so many agencies involved, coming under different ministries and states. Sometimes they cooperate with each other and at other times each proceeds alone. A centralized coordinating mechanism seems to be the answer.
One of the points that I had stressed in my report to the Government of India was that VIPs should stay away from disaster sites. Their visits distract people who are engaged in critical assignments and overburden the police with their security concerns.
And lastly – the people who are agitating to keep non-Maharashtrians out of Mumbai would be doing a great service if they instead focus their energy and efforts to sanitize this great city from terrorists. Those who are so bravely fighting the invaders include many non-Maharashtrians. They come from several parts of the country and belong to different castes and communities.
-- Parayil A Tharakan
(http://parayilat.blogspot.com)

Cry, Beloved Bombay

We Have to Do
‘Cry a tear so red
for blood is running like water
On the streets of Mumbai.’
There are blasts at Colaba.
Is it a gang war?
An encounter between the police and criminals?
NO, these are bombs, taking the lives of innocent civilians once again.
People who have been out shopping at Colaba return home and are thankful that they are not out, partying at Leopold tonight.
A 100 year old heritage hotel spews fire in the middle of the night, and innocents lose their lives, in the fire, and through shots at point blank range. Others are held hostage.
Two students from a well-known college of Mumbai have duty at the Taj, they are training there. They get shot, and are no more. Their friends won’t see their faces again, their families will reach out to a void and grope forever.
YES, this is war, a war against India and Indians, a war against peace, stability and harmony.
Who is doing this? What is there intention?
The face of this terror is young, it is 22-24 year olds who tote their AK 47 as come out of the Taj. The face of terror is hideous especially when it is young.
The intention is clear. Destabilze India. And do it through blasts, fire and shootings that rob innocent lives to create fear and terror and hatred. Make living unsafe, instill dread. Start with the metros—Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi and now, this devil gathers impetus, it is emboldened— do it in Maximum City, do it in the Financial Hub, do it in Mumbai.
So, once again, held hostage by madness, this time its Mumbai.
The nation and the world watches in horror, as the audacity of the operation hits home. Each heart, near or far, is crying. We will be lighting the candle of grief— for the brave and the bold; the innocent and the dead and injured. But we need to shed our grief and see what we can do so that this act is the last one in the book. We need an action plan, we need ideas and we need implementation. We need not only to speak but also do and get done.
The loss should not be in vain.
Light the candle.
Take action.
In whichever way possible-ideas, suggestions, however far-fetched, throw them in here, in this space. Something has to work. We have to rid Mumbai of menace. We cannot sit with our hands folded and say, “What can we do?”
We have to do.
Abha Iyengar (abhaiyengar@gmail.com)

For the protectors of Bombay

With respect and gratitude.
Our brave police, armed forces and firefighters have been putting their lives at risk to bring our city back to normal. Many have died.
We often criticise them vociferously; we probably will do so again. And we should. Later.
But now is a good time to show our gratitude and respect for what they've done since the night of the 26th.
Go over to your neighbourhood police station, fire brigade or army post.
Light a candle or a diya and leave it there.
Or leave a card, or a note of appreciation.
Or a flower.
Shake the hand of any police, army or fire brigade personnel on the spot, say thank you, and explain why you're doing this.
Do this whenever you can, wherever you can. You don't have to be in Bombay. This could have happened anywhere in the world.
(People in other countries and Indians abroad: you may want to do this at your nearest Indian embassy or consulate.)
There's a Facebook event page up - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=45451428981 - for those of you who are members. Do sign up if this seems like a good idea to you. And yes, please do forward freely.
-- Peter Griffin

A Reporter's Eyewitness Account

My close friend, ace reporter Nirmal Menon who works for Mumbai Mirror, recalls what happened on Wednesday night, when Bombay was taken under siege. And, yes, he had a close shave too...

10:30 pm

I had just reached Metro Adlabs at Marine Lines — on being informed of incidents of firing at Leopold Café in Colaba and at CST — only to see the entire area cordoned off by the Mumbai Police. The officials were stopping civilians from crossing the barricade that extended from St Xavier's college to the Metro junction. I managed to sneak through the subway, opposite Lady Willingdon Building, and walked towards the BMC building and CST.

10:45pm

It took me about 15 minutes to reach the Azad Maidan gate. Four constables had taken up positions on the grounds – two equipped with service revolvers. They asked me to hide behind the BMC Municipal Sports Complex shed. While I waited with the posse, I overheard a call for reinforcements at the Oberoi and Taj Hotel on the police wireless. There have been blasts at the site, the dispatcher informed.

11:10pm

The group on the grounds had steadily grown by this time. Suddenly, two blasts were heard. Around six reporters and photographers, who were cooped up with me, then decided that its time to move out of the grounds. We walked towards the Metro junction. Now, while most decided to stop at the Mumbai Press Club (opposite Azad Maidan Police station), three photographers and I inched our way towards Metro Cinema.

11:34pm

We've just about reached the PCO outside the Press Club when we hear around eight gun shots, followed by two more shots within a span of three to five minutes.

The three photographers moved further ahead, while I decided to break away and walk up to the police Qualis that's stationed outside Cama Hospital (on the lane between the divider and the footpath touching Azad Maidan).

11:43pm

Four cops in bullet proof vests stationed outside Aahar Hotel opposite Cama Hotel asked me to move away. After displaying my press reporter credentials, I crouched, moved away and settled down between the Vasudev Balwant Phadke Chowk bus stop and a stall on the same footpath.

I overhear two cops, discussing their firearms. One asks his colleague to explain the workings of the pistol.

"Isn't this an automatic? How do you use it?" he asks. The other shows him and says "Keep your cool."

11:45pm

My attention is suddenly diverted to two guys, at a distance of 40 feet, who walk out of the St Xavier's Collage ‘In’ gate. One guy, about 5'5" tall and stocky in build, walked ahead, while the other stood in the dark, about two feet behind him. Expecting trouble, I crouched further into the shadows. One cop walks towards these men and they exchange few words. Before I even could sense it, the stocky guy pulled out a revolver and fired a round. The cop is down, instantly. Scared, I turn and run blindly towards the Lady Willingdon Building.

11:51pm

After what seems like a flight back from hell, I slowly move from Lady Willingdon Building towards the crossroad at Metro chowk where about 100 people including cops, locals and media persons have assembled. The cops asked the locals to stay back. At 11.58 PM, the two terrorists are seen walking calmly across the chowk. People started yelling and pointing towards them. Many ran towards Cheera Bazaar, the rest got behind divider.

12:06am

About seven minutes later, the same police Qualis jeep — apparently commandeered by the terrorists — sped towards the Lady Willingdon Buildings. The assembled crowd dropped down to its knees. I can hear the sound of screeching tyres, a few gun shots and the cracking of a windscreen glass as the Qualis speeds away towards Marine Lines from Metro Cinema signal.

12:07am

People slowly began to stand up as the vehicle disappears into the distance. I notice that one cop is shot critically, while a cameraman from a television channel is hurt. Locals lifted up the injured. After a while, an ambulance comes and picks the injured cop. The broadcast journalist is taken in a media van. I later learn that the cop succumbed to his injuries.

Latest Bombay Terror Attack News: 6 pm

# Death toll climbs to 146 as commando says attackers showed no remorse
# Indian official again suggests that terrorists came from Pakistan
# Police say standoff at Oberoi Hotel has finally ended; 30 bodies found
# Militants still believed to be in Taj Mahal Hotel with at least two captives
# ISI chief will come to India to share info
# Elements in Pak behind attacks: Pranab
# Arrested Fidayeen reveal terror route, LeT hand
# Stunned US dispatching FBI team to Mumbai
# Gujarat trawler was hijacked on high seas, says owner
# Terrorists loaded with arms, 'can go on and on'

A Prayer for Bombay

Dear friend,
It's been a terribly numbing experience, the past couple of hours, watching the violation of Mumbai yet again. Watching and waiting through a terror struck night, on email, on chat, on call… to hear from buddies, friends and ex-colleagues, out there that they are safe. To hear from some dear British friends, who frequently stayed in those still being brutally violated hotel monuments of Taj and Oberoi (Trident) from Mumbai's urban history, hoping that they weren't there, this time. Never even in the worst nightmares could one have ever imagined that a welcoming, friendly place like Leopold Café, the venue of many a Friday-weekend pub crawl, and one of my farewell drink parties just three months back, could have its reveling music and fun, ever served with gunshots and blood.
Live TV involves one in a tragedy like never before, but the fact that all this was happening bang opposite a place, Express Towers, I used to go for work, everyday for nearly a year now, before I came for my current study break, scares and scars me. I too could have been there in that crossfire. It's being touched by death again, like the crater of explosion two years ago on the Mahim station and in the train, I used to take to return home from work. Sudden death has so become a part of Mumbai life that it fails to get a tear, evoke the natural emotions, anymore. It bounces back to life, because it has to… because life has to go on… life goes on…!
But it pains to see a city that never sleeps even at late in the night, go silent through a whole day!
Fear, outrage, hurt, anger, shock, sorrow, despair, resignation, frustration, sheer and utter helplessness… rages at this repeated, almost annual, mass brutalisation of innocent, unsuspecting lives and a psycho-emotional rape of my beloved city, as it begs to ask the Almighty… Will this never stop?
Tonight at 9 PM, people in Mumbai will be putting a candle in their window to get together and show solidarity for innocent lives lost, and hope that this gets over forever. Let us if we can, at least in our thoughts, pray for a return to dailyness in the lives, of fellow citizens of our global community. (:
Regards,
Piyush Roy (piyusroy@gmail.com)

Foreign Nationals

Eight foreign nationals have been killed; 22 wounded.
477 commandos in operation now to fight Bombay terror.

What services can you offer to terror victims?

If you can offer services, such as counselling, please fill:
http://www.karmayog.org/forservices.htm.
If you want to volunteer, e.g. for any citizen initiatives, please fill:
http://www.karmayog.org/forvol.htm
175+ citizens have given their views regarding the terror attacks. These are at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/karmayog/message/44249. Many are very thought-provoking. All of them together show the depth and range of people's thoughts and reading them sensitises one into starting thinking on a deeper level.
If we don't want such incidents to recur, it is critical that you voice your thoughts on all aspects including the role that media should play.

List of Victims: Bombay Terror

Here's a list of all those injured/dead at the hospitals.

1 KEM Hospital Sadanand Date NA Male Injured
2 KEM Hospital Suryakant Gaikwad NA Male Injured
3 KEM Hospital Chandrakant Dike NA Male Injured
4 KEM Hospital Arvind Bhalekar NA Male Injured
5 KEM Hospital S.H.Wardhankar NA Male Injured
6 Nair Hospital Mohammed M. Ansari 19 Male Injured
7 Nair Hospital H.K. Asif 22 Male Injured
8 Nair Hospital Unknown NA Male Dead
9 Nair Hospital Unknown NA Male Dead
10 Cooper Hospital Balkrushna R. Bare 40 Male Injured
11 Cooper Hospital Unknown 45 Male Dead
12 Cooper Hospital Unknown 40 Male Dead
13 Cooper Hospital Unknown 40 Male Dead
14 Cooper Hospital Shyamsundar Choudhari 45 Male Injured
15 JJ Hospital Abdul Sheikh Sohel 5 Male Injured
16 JJ Hospital Siddhiki Sheikh 35 Male Injured
17 JJ Hospital Rajendra Prasad 20 Male Injured
18 JJ Hospital Heena Sheikh 16 Female Injured
19 JJ Hospital Shabira Majid Shaikh 40 Female Injured
20 JJ Hospital Sanju Husain Ghorpade 15 Male Injured
21 JJ Hospital Haseena Sheikh 20 Female Injured
22 JJ Hospital Manora Begam 46 Female Injured
23 JJ Hospital Muktar Sheikh 35 Male Injured
24 JJ Hospital Abdul Razak 22 Male Injured
25 JJ Hospital Farookh N. Khaliluddin 53 Male Injured
26 JJ Hospital Adhikrao Kale 38 Male Injured
27 JJ Hospital Anand Arjungi 30 Male Injured
28 JJ Hospital Tejas Arjungi 3 Male Injured
29 JJ Hospital Santosh Yadav 23 Male Injured
30 JJ Hospital Manoj Kanojia 36 Male Injured
31 JJ Hospital Mohan Shinde 40 Male Injured
32 JJ Hospital Nathuni Yadav 42 Male Injured
33 JJ Hospital Asif Mohamad 26 Male Injured
34 JJ Hospital Fhiroz Khan 44 Male Injured
35 JJ Hospital Nivruthi B. Gawane 57 Male Injured
36 JJ Hospital Nibma Shyampuri Gosavi 40 Male Injured
37 JJ Hospital Hemant Shadulkar 22 Male Injured
38 JJ Hospital Maltidevi Madan Gupta 62 Female Injured
39 JJ Hospital Rajan Sharif 23 Male Injured
40 JJ Hospital Abdul Salam 50 Male Injured
41 JJ Hospital Ashok Patil 49 Male Injured
42 JJ Hospital Prabhukumar Laldev 21 Male Injured
43 JJ Hospital Fhakir Mohamad 38 Male Injured
44 JJ Hospital Sushant Patil 38 Male Injured
45 JJ Hospital Manoj Thakur 27 Male Injured
46 JJ Hospital Ramchandra Morya 40 Male Injured
47 JJ Hospital Annasaheb A. Waghamode 19 Male Injured
48 JJ Hospital Laxman Shivaji Undekar 25 Male Injured
49 JJ Hospital Abdul Rashid 40 Male Injured
50 JJ Hospital Dadarao Jadhav 27 Male Injured
51 JJ Hospital Suryabhan Gupta 42 Male Injured
52 JJ Hospital Mohd. Siddique 29 Male Injured
53 JJ Hospital Kanya Shahane 24 Male Injured
54 JJ Hospital Ravi Ranjangiri 26 Male Injured
55 JJ Hospital Nafhisa Sadaf Qureshi 48 Female Injured
56 JJ Hospital Sawnath Chemburkar 46 Male Injured
57 JJ Hospital Chandrakant Lokhande 60 Male Injured
58 JJ Hospital Uttam Sasurkar 20 Male Injured
59 JJ Hospital Akhilesh 22 Male Injured
60 JJ Hospital Sushant Panda 22 Male Injured
61 JJ Hospital Ebran S. Bhagwab 29 Male Injured
62 JJ Hospital Ashokkumar 18 Male Injured
63 JJ Hospital Mahadev Petkar 30 Male Injured
64 JJ Hospital Dilsad B. Ismail Patekar 40 Female Injured
65 JJ Hospital Shabbir A. Salam Dalal 52 Male Injured
66 JJ Hospital Pappukumar Laldev 20 Male Injured
67 JJ Hospital Priyanka Chitaranjan Giri 25 Female Injured
68 J.J. Hospital Shri Ramachandran Nair 25 Male Injured
69 J.J Hospital Shri Vijay (Unclear) 30 Male Injured
70 J.J. Hospital Shri Ashok Babu (Unclear) Sunappa 85(Unclear) Male Injured
71 J.J. Hospital Shri Santosh Dattaram Veer 32 Male Injured
72 J.J Hospital Shri Anil Sakharam Varal 30 Male Injured
73 J.J Hospital Rekha Rathod 30 Female Injured
74 J.J Hospital Shri Anilkumar Danojee Hakudkar 39 Male Injured
75 J.J Hospital Shri Vijay R. Khot 52 Male Injured
76 J.J Hospital Shri Niranjan Sadashiv Sardar 70 Male Injured
77 J.J Hospital Shri Santosh Kanojia 31 Male Injured
78 J.J Hospital Shri Sourabh Mishra 29 Male Injured
79 J.J Hospital Shri Miraj Alam 24 Male Injured
80 J.J Hospital Shri Mohan Bharati 37 Male Injured
81 J.J Hospital Shri Mumtaj Khan 28 Male Injured
82 J.J Hospital Smt Sulochana Lokhande 50 Female Injured
83 J.J Hospital Shri Hanish Patel (British) 29 Male Injured
84 J.J Hospital Shri Jairam Chouhan 28 Male Injured
85 J.J Hospital Shri Raheman Ali Sheikh 17 Male Injured
86 J.J Hospital Shri Surendrakumar Kanojia 30 Male Injured
87 J.J Hospital Shri Shivram Sawant 18 Male Injured
88 J.J Hospital Shri Alok Gupta 25 Male Injured
89 J.J Hospital Smt Nirmala Ponnadurai 30 Female Injured
90 J.J Hospital Shri Bharat Shyam Naodiya 20 Male Injured
91 J.J Hospital Smt Sarika Upadhyay 30 Female Injured
92 J.J Hospital Shri Giriraj Louis 40 Male Injured
93 J.J Hospital Shri Lalji Pande 54 Male Injured
94 J.J Hospital Shri Mohd Ayub Ansari 21 Male Injured
95 J.J Hospital Shri Habibul Raheman Khan 30 Male Injured
96 J.J Hospital Shri Vishweshwar Shuspal Pacharme 22 Male Injured
97 J.J Hospital Shri Afroj Abbas Ansari 30 Male Injured
98 J.J Hospital Shri Mohammad Farvez Aslam 27 Male Injured
99 J.J Hospital Shri Ibrahim Abdul Rehman 40 Male Injured
100 J.J Hospital Vibha Singh 39 Female Injured
101 J.J Hospital Bajrandi 30 Female Injured
102 J.J Hospital Prashant 40 Male Injured
103 J.J Hospital Satyanand Behara 25 Male Injured
104 J.J Hospital Devika Natwarlal Rotawan 10 Female Injured
105 J.J Hospital Minakshi Sada Dani 21 Female Injured
106 J.J Hospital Samdhan More 22 Male Injured
107 J.J Hospital Shital Yadav 24 Female Injured
108 J.J Hospital Shweta Yadav 4 months Female Injured
109 J.J Hospital Asha Borade 36 Female Injured
110 J.J Hospital Bharat Satu Prasad 32 Male Injured
111 J.J Hospital Rasika Krushma Sawant 22 Female Injured
112 J.J Hospital Bebl Ashok Yadav 26 Female Injured
113 J.J Hospital Bharat R Bhosle 53 Male Injured
114 J.J Hospital Sanjay Yadav 25 Male Injured
115 J.J Hospital Sanjay L Katar 23 Male Injured
116 J.J Hospital Asif Babubhai Menan (Unclear) - Male Injured
117 J.J Hospital Betty Alafoso 58 Female Injured
118 J.J Hospital Smt Manwara Alishekh 60 Female Injured
119 J.J Hospital Vatsala Kurade(unclear) 6 Female Injured
120 J.J Hospital Balaji Baburao Khatmole 53 Male Injured
121 J.J Hospital Akshay Tanaji Supekar 11 Male Injured
122 J.J Hospital Anil Mahadev Nirmal 25 Male Injured
123 J. J Hospital Raju Pandurang Mane 35 Male Injured
124 J. J Hospital Rajan Ishwar Kamble 50 Male Injured
125 J. J Hospital Uguarinni 62 Female Injured
126 J. J Hospital Ramesh Chervotu 41 Male Injured
127 J. J Hospital Unknown 40 Male Injured
128 J. J Hospital Unknown 60 Male Injured
129 J. J Hospital Unknown 35 Male Injured
130 J. J Hospital Unknown 25 Male Injured
131 J. J Hospital Hemant Karkare 50 Male Injured
132 J. J Hospital Mastan Qureshi 45 Male Dead
133 J. J Hospital Ashok Shivram Poulke Male Dead
134 J. J Hospital Prabhukumar Lal Male Dead
135 J. J Hospital Sushant Patil 40 Male Dead
136 J. J Hospital Fakir Mohammad 68 Male Dead
137 J. J Hospital Uttam Male Dead
138 J. J Hospital Reema Sheikh 35 Female Dead
139 J. J Hospital Goutam 30 Male Dead
140 J. J Hospital Wilson Mandip(GRP) 35 Male Dead
141 J. J Hospital Unknown 30 Female Dead
142 J. J Hospital Unknown 40 Male Dead
143 J. J Hospital Kale Male Injured
144 J. J Hospital Utsala Kurahde Female Injured
145 J. J Hospital Ganpat G Shigvan Male Injured
146 J. J Hospital Shaiwananth Chandulkar Male Injured
147 G.T. Hospital Kalpanath Singh 35 Male Injured
148 G.T. Hospital Prakash Surve 65 Male Injured
149 G.T. Hospital Puppu Singh 22 Male Injured
150 G.T. Hospital Prakash Bhagvani 38 Male Injured
151 G.T. Hospital Bharat Koshti 17 Male Injured
152 G.T. Hospital Ajhmal Ali 63 Male Injured
153 G.T. Hospital Ajay V. Korgaonkar 47 Male Injured
154 G.T. Hospital Kailas G. Dani 41 Male Injured
155 G.T. Hospital Izaz Abdulla 20 Male Injured
156 G.T. Hospital Naresh Jumani Male Injured
157 G.T. Hospital Hemant Pravin Male Injured
158 G.T. Hospital Akshay T. Shinde 32 Male Injured
159 G.T. Hospital Maruti Fad 32 Male Injured
160 G.T. Hospital Anil Nitram(Nirmal) 38 Male Injured
161 G.T. Hospital Sarita Harkulkar 35 Female Injured
162 G.T. Hospital Neeta Khurade 20 Female Injured
163 G.T. Hospital Harshada Harkulkar 20 Female Injured
164 G.T. Hospital Nilesh Gandhi 43 Male Injured
165 G.T. Hospital Ansar Allahbaksh Male Injured
166 G.T. Hospital Sanjay S. Surve Male Dead
167 G.T. Hospital P Gopalkrishna Male Dead
168 G.T. Hospital Thakur Budha Waghela Male Dead
169 G.T. Hospital Jasmin Female Dead
170 G.T. Hospital Vijay Salasker(Police) Male Dead
171 G.T. Hospital Prakash More(Police) Male Dead
172 G.T. Hospital Arun Chitale(Police) Male Dead
173 G.T. Hospital Vijay Katkar(Police) Male Dead
174 G.T. Hospital Bhagan Shinde Male Dead
175 G.T. Hospital Shankar Gupta 30 Male Dead
176 Mumbai Hospital Sachin Tilekar Male Injured
177 Mumbai Hospital A.B. More Male Injured
178 Mumbai Hospital Murlidhar Male Injured
179 Mumbai Hospital Sajid Ashraphi Male Injured
180 St. George Hospital Lalji Pandey Male Injured
181 St. George Hospital Sudam Pandarkar Male Injured
182 St. George Hospital Gopal Prajapati Male Injured
183 St. George Hospital Unknown Male Injured
184 St. George Hospital Unknown Male Injured
185 KEM Hospital Sadanand Date NA Male Injured
186 KEM Hospital Suryakant Gaikwad NA Male Injured
187 KEM Hospital Chandrakant Dike NA Male Injured
188 KEM Hospital Arvind Bhalekar NA Male Injured
189 KEM Hospital S.H.Wardhankar NA Male Injured
190 Nair Hospital Mohammed M. Ansari 19 Male Injured
191 Nair Hospital H.K. Asif 22 Male Injured
192 Nair Hospital Unknown NA Male Death
193 Nair Hospital Unknown NA Male Death
194 Cooper Hospital Balkrushna R. Bare 40 Male Injured
195 Cooper Hospital Unknown 45 Male Death
196 Cooper Hospital Unknown 40 Male Death
197 Cooper Hospital Unknown 40 Male Death
198 Cooper Hospital Shyamsundar Choudhari 45 Male Injured
199 JJ Hospital Abdul Sheikh Sohel 5 Male Injured
200 JJ Hospital Siddhiki Sheikh 35 Male Injured
201 JJ Hospital Rajendra Prasad 20 Male Injured
202 JJ Hospital Heena Sheikh 16 Female Injured
203 JJ Hospital Shabira Majid Shaikh 40 Female Injured
204 JJ Hospital Sanju Husain Ghorpade 15 Male Injured
205 JJ Hospital Haseena Sheikh 20 Female Injured
206 JJ Hospital Manora Begam 46 Female Injured
207 JJ Hospital Muktar Sheikh 35 Male Injured
208 JJ Hospital Abdul Razak 22 Male Injured
209 JJ Hospital Farookh N. Khaliluddin 53 Male Injured
210 JJ Hospital Adhikrao Kale 38 Male Injured
211 JJ Hospital Anand Arjungi 30 Male Injured
212 JJ Hospital Tejas Arjungi 3 Male Injured
213 JJ Hospital Santosh Yadav 23 Male Injured
214 JJ Hospital Manoj Kanojia 36 Male Injured
215 JJ Hospital Mohan Shinde 40 Male Injured
216 JJ Hospital Nathuni Yadav 42 Male Injured
217 JJ Hospital Asif Mohamad 26 Male Injured
218 JJ Hospital Fhiroz Khan 44 Male Injured
219 JJ Hospital Nivruthi B. Gawane 57 Male Injured
220 JJ Hospital Nibma Shyampuri Gosavi 40 Male Injured
221 JJ Hospital Hemant Shadulkar 22 Male Injured
222 JJ Hospital Maltidevi Madan Gupta 62 Female Injured
223 JJ Hospital Rajan Sharif 23 Male Injured
224 JJ Hospital Abdul Salam 50 Male Injured
225 JJ Hospital Ashok Patil 49 Male Injured
226 JJ Hospital Prabhukumar Laldev 21 Male Injured
227 JJ Hospital Fhakir Mohamad 38 Male Injured
228 JJ Hospital Sushant Patil 38 Male Injured
229 JJ Hospital Manoj Thakur 27 Male Injured
230 JJ Hospital Ramchandra Morya 40 Male Injured
231 JJ Hospital Annasaheb A. Waghamode 19 Male Injured
232 JJ Hospital Laxman Shivaji Undekar 25 Male Injured
233 JJ Hospital Abdul Rashid 40 Male Injured
234 JJ Hospital Dadarao Jadhav 27 Male Injured
235 JJ Hospital Suryabhan Gupta 42 Male Injured
236 JJ Hospital Mohd. Siddique 29 Male Injured
237 JJ Hospital Kanya Shahane 24 Male Injured
238 JJ Hospital Ravi Ranjangiri 26 Male Injured
239 JJ Hospital Nafhisa Sadaf Qureshi 48 Female Injured
240 JJ Hospital Sawnath Chemburkar 46 Male Injured
241 JJ Hospital Chandrakant Lokhande 60 Male Injured
242 JJ Hospital Uttam Sasurkar 20 Male Injured
243 JJ Hospital Akhilesh 22 Male Injured
244 JJ Hospital Sushant Panda 22 Male Injured
245 JJ Hospital Ebran S. Bhagwab 29 Male Injured
246 JJ Hospital Ashokkumar 18 Male Injured
247 JJ Hospital Mahadev Petkar 30 Male Injured
248 JJ Hospital Dilsad B. Ismail Patekar 40 Female Injured
249 JJ Hospital Shabbir A. Salam Dalal 52 Male Injured
250 JJ Hospital Pappukumar Laldev 20 Male Injured
251 JJ Hospital Priyanka Chitaranjan Giri 25 Female Injured
252 St. George Hospital Ashabai Shribal Baradi Female Injured
253 St. George Hospital Minakshi Dantashi Female Injured
254 St. George Hospital Tayan Merappy Female Injured
255 St. George Hospital Vibha Singh Female Injured
256 St. George Hospital Sunita Upendra Jadhav Female Injured
257 St. George Hospital Rasika Sawant Female Injured
258 St. George Hospital Baby Yadav Female Injured
259 St. George Hospital Anamika Gupta Female Injured
260 St. George Hospital Shubhangi Rahekar Female Injured
261 St. George Hospital Dilshad Ismail Dulai Female Injured
262 St. George Hospital Sarika Kripashankar Upadhyay Female Injured
263 St. George Hospital Bharat Bhosale Male Injured
264 St. George Hospital Poonam Santosh Singh Female Injured
265 St. George Hospital Shivchandra Patil Male Injured
266 St. George Hospital Ramjivan Napti Male Injured
267 St. George Hospital Pappukumar Laldi Male Injured
268 St. George Hospital unknown Male Injured
269 St. George Hospital Jatin Matin Male Injured
270 St. George Hospital Anantlal J. Male Injured
271 St. George Hospital Sachin Singh Male Injured
272 St. George Hospital Tejas Anand Anungi Male Injured
273 St. George Hospital Devika Natvarlal Rotwan Male Injured
274 St. George Hospital Afroj Abbas Ansar Male Injured
275 St. George Hospital Shashank Shinde 48 Male Dead
276 St. George Hospital Shri Sohel Ahmed Shaikh 30 Male Dead
277 St. George Hospital Amina Hamid Shaikh 25 Female Dead
278 St. George Hospital Aziz Nabilath Ramkhure 55 Male Dead
279 St. George Hospital Shri Mukesh Bhikaji 23 Male Dead
280 St. George Hospital Sitaram Mallapa Sakhre 40 Male Dead
281 St. George Hospital Mishralal Morya 40 Male Dead
282 St. George Hospital Bred Gilbert Taylor (Australian) 49 Male Dead
283 St. George Hospital Haji Izaz Bhai 39 Male Dead
284 St. George Hospital Meera Jattherjee 64 Female Dead
285 St. George Hospital Shirish Chavla Charo 44 Male Dead
286 St. George Hospital Michael Stert (Australian) 73 Male Dead
287 St. George Hospital Jurgem Hetraz Rudalf 68 Male Dead
288 St. George Hospital Studdar Daphne (Australian) 50 Female Dead

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p7-Xzfz6qatWSF2nSYdsoWA

Chronology of Mumbai Terror Attacks

04:54 PM: Heavy firing is on at the second floor of Taj Mahal hotel. The firing is going on in a corner room, facing the Gateway of India. It is learnt that a foreign journalist was hit in the knee while a bystander, outside the hotel, was shot in the back. Reports say the bullets may have recoched during the cross-fire. The media has been asked to move back as precaution.

04:50 PM: Commandos in Nariman House have been systematically attacking floors. A rocket-propelled grenade went off with a big bang and flash. For a while, there was fire on the other side of the building. Commandos are on the roof. They are also firing from the outside.

04:30 PM: Terrorists holed up inside the Nariman House are exchanging fire with NSG Commandos. The commandos are receiving fire from the ground floor and second floor of the building.

04:22 PM: Fifteen policemen and two NSG personnel have lost their lives in anti-terror operations, says Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil.

04:07 PM: NSG officer Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan shot dead in operation against terrorists at Taj hotel in Mumbai.

04:00 PM: Actor Ashish Chowdhury's sister, who was among those trapped in the Trident Hotel standoff, dies in the hotel.

03:37 PM: Multiple grenade blasts at Taj Hotel. One terrorist is being engaged by NSG commandos at the Hotel, says Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor.

03:05 PM: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asks his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani to send ISI chief to Delhi to share information on Mumbai terror attacks, says Gilani's spokesman.

03:04 PM: Huge explosion rocks Taj Hotel. Prior to this, constant exchange of fire was going on. Unconfirmed reports said a person was rescued and taken in an ambulance from the hotel lobby.

02:25 PM: NSG Commandos make progress in flushing out terrorists at Nariman House. They have cleared 4th and 5th floors of the building. They are scaling down the outside wall to reach to terrorists holed up in the 3rd floor.

02:30 PM: Trident Hotel has been cleared. Two terrorists have been killed and all guests have been rescued, says NSG official. Two AK-47 rifles, one pistol and few unexploded grenades seized.

01:45 PM: Television black out in may parts of the metropolis.

01:18 PM: The railway authorities on Friday denied that there was any new incident of firing at the Chatrapathi Shivaji railway terminus in Mumbai. "There was no firing at Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus. The reports of firing at CST are nothing but rumours," Commissioner (Railway Safety) A K Sharma told reporters. Sources said a metal detector fell at the entrance with a huge thud causing the panic.

01:04 PM: Fourth and fifth floors of Nariman House cleared, military sources said, adding that one terrorist may be holed up on the third floor.

01:00 PM: Terrorist attacks show Al-Qaeda links, IB sources said, adding, that the links would not just stretch up to pak, but will go beyond

12:57 PM: Reinforcements brought to Taj Hotel. Terrorists were aware of Taj layout, say Marine Commandos. The terrorists had AK series rifle. What made MARCOS' progress difficult was the presence of many guests. Plastic explosives and 8 credit cards were recovered from the terrorists' possession. All recovered items have been handed over to the police. The marines have recovered 30 bodies from one of the halls of the hotel. Close to 200 guests were held hostage in one of the halls. A Mauritius national ID card recovered from one terrorist's bag. Currency worth $1,200 was recovered from terrorists.

12:55 PM: Trident Hotel is 'totally clear' and the Oberoi section is 'almost clear', says Vilasrao Deshmukh.

11:48 AM: Heavy gunfire and grenade explosions have been reported from the Taj Hotel. Media has been asked to stop broadcast for it is believed that terrorists holed up inside are getting access to the security forces' movement.

11:29 AM: About 8 to 9 commandos have entered Prem Bhawan, near Nariman House, with two cartons of supplies. Heavy gunfire has resumed.

11:00 AM: Army Commander LT Gen N Thamburaj says the new Taj Hotel building has been totally sanitised and handed over to the police. One confirmed terrorist left in the old Taj building. He says the terrorist has knocked out the lights in two floors and is on the move constantly. The NSG has established contact with this terrorist. The army is confident that operations at the old Taj Hotel building will come to an end in a couple of hours.

10:39 AM: About 30 hostages, mostly foreigners, have been rescued from Trident Hotel. They are being escorted to a bus stationed near the Air India building.

10:00 AM: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi addresses media persons outside the Triden Hotel. He said his government would give Rs one crore to the Maharashtra government to be dispersed to the kin of the deceased in the multiple terror attacks in Mumbai.

09:15 AM: Gun battle is still on at Taj Hotel. Two terrorists with 25 hostages are believed to be still holed up inside the hotel.

08:36 AM: A helicopter has been seen circling the Trident Hotel. It is believed that commandos may be pushing for a final assault on terrorists holed up inside the hotel.

08:25 AM: Another grenade blast heard on the fourth floor of Nariman House. NSG commando injured in gunbattle.

08:20 AM: Heavy gunfire can be heard from Nariman House. Ambulances have beeen positioned closer to the building. Fire brigade personnel are present on the scene too.

08:11 AM: Helicopters make Nariman House look like a war zone. Routes have been cleared for ambulances.

08:10 AM: Five commandos have landed in choppers atop Nariman house, and opened fire. Two to three terrorists are believed to be holed up in the building.

Sources say that a man can be seen on the seventh floor of the Oberoi wing of Hotel Trident. He can be seen talking on his mobile phone and dropping something from the balcony. Army men, who have surrounded the hotel, have moved in.

One NSG commando has been seriously injured in Taj Hotel, informed Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor.

07:48 AM: Another explosion has reportedly taken place at Nariman House.

The area near Hotel Trident is bustling with activity. Four trucks with over 50 NSG commandos have left the hotel complex.

Speakers are being mounted near Air India building, and the names of the victims killed in Hotel Trident would be announced soon. Relatives of both hostages and victims have started gathering near Hotel Trident.

05:10 AM: Civilians are still trapped inside Hotel Taj, according to the latest reports. However, the number of civilians is not yet known.

Things have quietened down at the Hotel Taj, Hotel Trident and Nariman House. Sources say that the offensive by security personnel has been halted for the time being and will be resumed in the morning.

03:15 AM: Two explosions have taken place at Nariman House. Three terrorists are suspected to be hiding inside the building.

The power supply to Nariman House has been cut off.

02:04 AM: Six to eight men of the Anti-Terrorist Squad, wearing bullet-proof vests, have entered Hotel Trident from the side of the Air India building. Personnel from the Army, NSG and RAF have already entered the hotel.

Only one terrorist is still holed up at the Taj Hotel, claim NSG sources.

12:52 AM: Fresh firing has erupted at Taj Mahal Hotel, where the terrorists and the security personnel exchanged three rounds of gunfire in the last 15 minutes.

All the buildings near Nariman House are being evacuated. The residents of nearby buildings are being evacuated by the police and RAF personnel.

12:11 AM: Security personnel and terrorists have reportedly started exchanging gunfire at the Nariman House. Seven hostages have been rescued from the building.

Firing has resumed at Taj Mahal Hotel, according to reports.

11: 37 PM: Residents staying in buildings near the Nariman House have been asked to evacuate. Some members of the local Shiv Sena unit have also reached the spot.

10:55 PM: NSG personnel have taken positions outside Hotel Trident in Nariman Point, on the road between NCPA and the hotel.

An army truck with over 20 commandos has stationed itself near Hotel Trident.

Low-intensity gunshots can also be heard from inside the hotel.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rushed to Mumbai and is visiting the injured victims at JJ Hospital.

10:24 PM: The death toll in the Mumbai terror attacks has reportedly crossed 125.

Another explosion has taken place in the first floor of the old building of the Taj Hotel and several rounds of gunfire have been heard.

Columns of Army personnel are marching into Hotel Trident.

Military personnel have taken positions around the hotel

09:42 PM: Firing has started again at Trident Hotel, after a lull of 30 minutes.

A senior official from the Israeli Consulate has arrived at the Nariman House, where two Israeli families are being held hostage. However, he refuses to divulge much information about the hostage situation.

The authorities say that the situation at Nariman House will be tackled only after the hostage crises in Hotel Trident and Taj Hotel come under control.

09:10 PM: Five more foreigners have been evacuated from Hotel Trident.

The operation at Hotel Taj is reportedly over. All terrorists at Taj Hotel have been killed by the security personnel. The situation is under control

At Nariman House, commandos have started entering the building as the offensive against the terrorists escalates.

08:30 PM: Vicky Nanjappa reports from the Taj Hotel that massive explosions are taking place inside the hotel.

A major fire has broken out at the Trident Hotel. The 13th and 14th floors of the hotel are on fire.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has left for Mumbai, in the wake of the terror attack.

The ongoing operations against terrorists in three places were in their final stages and would be over soon, says Maharashtra Director General of Police A N Roy.

Major General R K Hooda, General Officer Commanding, Maharashtra area, said that the Army and other security agencies had completed the first round of room-to-room combing at the Taj Mahal Hotel. But he said the operation was not yet over and there may still be terrorists holed up inside the hotel.

A huge convoy of army trucks has reached Nariman House. A BEST van can also be seen in the vicinity, and it might be there to cut off the power supply to the building. Two Israeli families have been reportedly held hostage in Nariman House.

08:00 PM: The Taj Hotel's General Manager's wife and three children have been reportedly killed in the attack.

The locals are distributing biscuits to the security personnel deployed at the Nariman House. An ambulance, from Saifee Hospital, is distributing water.

The chief of the Special Action Group has arrived.

07:49 PM: This road in the heart of Mumbai's tourist district looks worse than a scene from Kashmir. The range of forces here is incredible. The deployed personnel are from the NSG, RAF and Black Cats, apart from the city's police.

The city hadn't witnessed such a tight security blanket even during the infamous Mumbai riots.

Major General Hooda has reached Nariman point.

06:07 PM: 70 more people have been evacuated from Trident.

05:57 PM: Railway Additional DGP K P Raghuvanshi has been given temporary charge of ATS following Hemant Karkare's killing in Mumbai terror attacks, says Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil.

05:45 PM: Lashkar-e-Tayiba has denied involvement in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Death toll in Mumbai terror attacks 101; 288 injured, six of them critically, says Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

05:31 PM: Commandos are in NCPA apartments across the road from Trident hotel, and firing at the terrorists, police officers said.

05: 26 PM: Gunshots have been heard from inside Oberoi hotel where terrorists are holding around 35 people hostage.

05:08 PM: IAF keeps seven transport aircraft and one VVIP aircraft on standby in Delhi for airlifting troops and leaders at short notice.

05:05 PM: Grenade sound could be heard from Nariman House building. The residents of Prem Bhavan, next door, have moved out. Nariman House area wears a deserted look.

04:55 PM: About 18 to 20 rounds of gunfire has been reported from Trident Hotel.

04:45 PM: Lot more commandos have arrived outside Nariman House. A team of commandos is scaling the building. Helicopters overhead are providing cover.

04:25 PM: Loud explosion has been heard outside Taj Hotel.

03:54 PM: Third grenade blast has been reported from the Trident Hotel (Oberoi).

03:15 PM: Two grenade blasts have been heard from Trident hotel.

02:54 PM: Grenade blast has been reported from Nariman House in south Mumbai, where six terrorists are holed up. One terrorist had been gunned down earlier.

02:33 PM: Navy helicopters are chasing a Vietnamese registered ship, MV Alpha, which is believed to have dropped terrorists near Bombay. Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta is closely monitoring the situation.

02:10 PM: Our correspondent Krishnakumar K reports that the first 4 floors of the six-storeyed Taj Hotel have been sanitised. Forty bodies have been recovered so far. NSG sources add that four fidayeen (suicide bombers) have been killed in the final assault.

01:50 PM: Director General of Police A N Roy says all people trapped inside Taj Hotel have been rescued and the hostage situation is over. "No negotiations with the terrorists. Either we will kill them or nab them alive," says Roy. Meanwhile, an National Security Guard spokesman says 200 more NSG commandos were being rushed to Mumbai.

01:13 PM: Trident Hotel (formerly Oberoi), has said that it is under the control of police and security forces, and they are monitoring the situation in wake of the terrorist strike.

01:23 PM: Handgrenades lobbed from Oberoi Hotel in south Mumbai where terrorists are holed up.

12:42 PM: Police say one terrorist holed up inside Nariman House has been killed. Six more terrorists are suspected to be hiding inside the building.

12:14 PM: At least four terrorists are holed up in the Taj Hotel where 40 to 50 guests were still trapped, says Major R K Hooda, General Officer Commanding of Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat. Two bodies have been brought out of the Taj Hotel and taken away in an ambulance.

11:25 AM: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil has said that there can be 10 to 12 terrorists involved in the terror attack inside Taj Hotel. Five of them have been killed and one of them arrested, he told media persons outside the hotel as security forces prepared to launch an assault to end the terror.

11:09 AM: Latest reports say that the Navy and Army have taken control at Oberoi. Meanwhile, a child of foreign nationality and an Indian maid have been seen coming out of Nariman House in South Mumbai. Reports also say that US intelligence officials are among the foreigners killed at Taj Hotel.

10:57 AM: Fire brigade personnel have started rescuing people from Taj Hotel. Top French Nuclear physicist has also been rescued from the hotel.

10:40 AM: Smoke has been seen billowing from the new building of the Taj Hotel -- which stands next to the old building where terrorists are holed up. While NSG operation was on in the old building, fire brigade personnel were trying to douse fire in the new wing.

10:30 AM: The number of policemen killed has gone up to 16. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address the nation after 7 PM after the Cabinet meeting. The Maharashtra state Cabinet will meet at 2 PM.

09:30 AM: Terrorist out in the open! A terrorist holed up inside Nariman House jumps to the adjacent building. Meanwhile, an emergency Cabinet meeting has been called at 1100 hours.

09:27 AM: IB has arrested a Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist of Pakistani origin from Mumbai. The e-mail sent after terror attacks has been traced to Russia. Authorities say the mail was sent by Lashkar operatives. They also believe that the Lashkar terrorists came directly from Karachi to Mumbai.

09:30 AM: Firing has been heard near Nariman House in Colaba. Police have cordoned off the area amid reports that terrorists are holed up in the building.

09:09 AM: Curfew has been clamped in Colaba after firing intensified in the Taj hotel. Police are using smoke cannisters to disable terrorists' vision. Meanwhile, Hostages are being evacuated from the Taj hotel even as gunbattle rages. A journalist has been injured in the firing. All international flights from Mumbai have been cancelled.

08:55 AM: Agencies have reported that terrorists are holed up inside the Cama Hospital. Commandoes have started firing at terrorists.

08:05 AM: Fresh firing erupted early on Thursday in Taj hotel as commandos moved in to flush out terrorists holding some foreigners hostage.

Sharp shooters of army, NSG and other security forces moved into Mumbai's landmark hotel. Police believe that the number of holed out terrorists could be three or four.

Another luxury hotel Trident (formerly Oberoi) was under siege with some terrorists holding some foreigners hostage.

07:50 AM: More grim news is coming in from Taj Hotel, where several staff members have been feared killed in the terrorist attack.

Over 100 guests are still stuck inside the hotel, where two terrorists are reportedly holed up.

At Nariman House in Colaba, onlookers informed that the police exchanged fire about an hour ago.

The place looked like a riot-hit site, swarming with police officials and military trucks. Most people have been holed up here since an explosion shook the area at 10.30 pm.

The explosion occurred when the terrorists lobbed hand grenades at the local petrol pump. The blast was followed by a gunfight between police forces and the terrorists.

06:20 AM: The hostage crisis continued at Taj Hotel in the wee hours of Thursday as Army commandos moved in to flush out the terrorists.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh assured that there was no hostage situation at Cama Hospital in South Mumbai.

An Army commando was reportedly injured in the shoot-out. An explosion was also reported in the lobby of the Taj Hotel

04:23 AM: Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel reports that the fire that engulfed the old wing of the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai has been put out. Though the major conflagration has been contained, flames continue to flicker, occasionally leaping into life, at the corner of the heritage wing.

Police and fire brigade personnel have placed ladders against the side of the building, and are bringing hotel guests out through that means. Some foreigners who had been evacuated were being ferried to a nearby hospital for first aid, while others are being taken by bus to alternate accommodations. Officials here estimate that most of the guests inside the hotel have been evacuated.

Commandos of the Indian navy meanwhile have staked out vantage points covering all exit points, while others of their number prowl around the perimeter of the hotel.

A group of Taj employees stood clustered on the pavement opposite the hotel, staring at the hotel through tear-filled eyes. They had been told to leave, they said � but clearly, they could not bring themselves to walk away from a hotel that, to them and to most Mumbaikars, is shared heritage than mere hotel.

Elsewhere, an attractive young woman attempted to restore some semblance of order to her silver-zari sari. She was drenched, and still disoriented from her experiences of the night.

"We were partying, and suddenly there was firing all over," the woman, who had just been evacuated by ladder from a window some 30 feet up, recalled. "I'd read about such things in the paper, and routinely turned the page� but when it happens to you, when you experience it�"

03:57 AM: Though the firefight at the Oberoi is still far from finished, the takeover of the operation by units of the Indian Army appears to have taken the South Mumbai hotel off the 'critical' list.

Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel reports for Rediff that most of the one dozen fire trucks that had been stationed around the Oberoi have been dispatched to the Taj Mahal Hotel, where a blazing fire threatens to devastate the old wing of the iconic hotel.
Daniel cites police sources as saying the army commandoes are doing a systematic sweep of the hotel, lobbing grenades ahead of them to take out hidden dangers before securing each successive wing of the hotel.

The constant bang of grenades from within the hotel continues to alarm the crowds gathered outside the hotel, and kept at a distance by police. Not all of them have come to gape, however. Vadhavan, a businessman from New Delhi, sits in rumpled attire on the parapet of Marine Drive, trying to stay awake.

He had arrived in Mumbai this evening at the head of a 13-member business delegation. He was in the act of checking into the Oberoi when the firing began. "I think the shooting started at the Oberoi," says Vadhavan. "They ushered us all out through a side entrance and told us to leave. I got separated from the rest of my group; I think they are waiting on the other side of the hotel."

The flushing out operation is far from finished; Vadhavan's wait threatens to extend through what remains of this night.

3:42 AM: At the Taj Hotel, where a joint operation involving the Mumbai police, the Central Reserve Police Force and a commando group from the Navy is engaged in flushing out terrorists within the premises, PTI reports that almost all the guests have been brought out to safety at the time of writing this.

The situation continues to remain dangerous, however, with an indeterminate number of terrorists within the hotel, two of whom are believed to be holding a group of tourists hostage on an upper floor.

Meanwhile, the fire that erupted in the old wing of the historic hotel has spread alarmingly. The fire now burns bright across at least two mid-level floors of the old wing, and thick clouds of black smoke spew from the signature minaret that crowns the hotel's roof.

03: 06 AM: A little over four hours since gunshots first erupted at the CST railway terminal, and coordinated terrorist attacks spread to various parts of South Bombay, the situation remains fluid.

At the Taj Mahal Hotel, a contingent of Navy commandos has joined the police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel attempting to enter the hotel and flush out the terrorists. From within the hotel, word is that occasional explosions, and sporadic gunfire, continue at the time of writing this.

At the Oberoi Hotel, the army has taken over the operation and entered the hotel; it is now reportedly engaged in flushing out the terrorists hiding within.

At the Cama Hospital, a specialty medical center for women and children, official sources say terrorists are holed up on the fourth floor and have been firing from that vantage point. Police have surrounded the hospital and are engaging the terrorists in an ongoing gun battle.

02:50 AM: Communist Party of India-Marxist leader and Member of Parliament N N Krishnadas, who is staying at the Taj Mahal Hotel, reports that as late as 2:10 AM, explosions could be heard from within the premises.

Krishnadas told CNN that he is holed up in a room, and outside of the noise of explosions and gunfire has no real idea what is happening within the premises.

Meanwhile, the fire that broke out in one of the hotel's middle floors has been spreading upwards, adding a fresh hazard both to the police and CRPF personnel engaged in the anti-terrorist operation and to the guests within the hotel.

Even as police sources upped the toll in today's terrorist strikes in Mumbai at 80 and counting, police continue to lay siege to the Taj Mahal Hotel, where two terrorists are believed to be holding at least 15 guests hostage on one of the upper floors of the hotel.

The police are at this point in time unsure whether the two hostage takers are the only terrorists within the hotel.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army has moved into the Oberoi and the Trident, the two other South Mumbai hotels targeted in today's terrorist strikes.

A battalion of the Indian army entered the Oberoi and began an operation against the terrorists holed up inside. The army was called in after the police took several casualties, including the deaths of some senior officers.

With the army now in charge of this phase of the operation � the first time the Indian army is operating in the city since the 1992 riots � the police has fallen back and is focusing on cordoning off the area.

Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel, reporting for Rediff.com from outside the Oberoi Hotel, reports that with the cordon being drawn tight, people waiting outside are in a state of panic, and desperately searching for information. A group of senior bankers from Hyderabad are among those inside the hotel to attend a conference; their Mumbai-based colleagues are outside, awaiting word of their fate.

02: 25 AM: Mumbai's Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare died of bullet wounds in the ongoing battle against armed terrorists that is raging across several parts of South Mumbai.

Vijay Salaskar, an officer attached to the Mumbai police who has been famed as an 'encounter specialist', was seriously injured in the ongoing gun battle and has been rushed to hospital. In all, seven Mumbai policemen are believed killed thus far.

Meanwhile, Railway Police Chief Ashok Sharma told Rediff.com that at least 40 people were killed inside Mumbai's nodal Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminus. "The attack started around 9.35 pm," Sharma said. "Two terrorists were inside. We can confirm at least 40 people killed."

It is yet unclear whether the terrorists are still on-site, have left, or been killed. Sharma said there had been no firing from within the terminus for the last two hours. "Despite this, we are not allowing people to go into the station as we are worried that the terrorists might have planted bombs or left live grenades in the station," he said.

Sharma said the official belief is that the two terrorists had sneaked out of the station in the confusion following the original assault.

Sudhir Dalvi, a sub-inspector attached to the Mumbai cell of the Anti-Terrorist Squad, told Sheela Bhatt for Rediff.com that his boss, ATS chief Hemant Karkare, and senior police officers Vijay Salaskar and Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte, were killed in an incident outside Mumbai's Cama Hospital.

"Our chief Karkare, my senior officer Salaskar and ACP Kamte died while engaging terrorists outside the Cama hospital," a sobbing Dalvi told Rediff.com. "All of a sudden, terrorists threw grenades at Karkare leading to chaos. We are unable to confirm whether they fell to terrorist fire or were killed by the grenades."

Meanwhile, the army has moved into the Trident Hotel, the third five-star hotel in the South Mumbai region that had been targeted in tonight's coordinated terrorist strikes.

02:10 AM: It is now believed that 15 people, at least seven of them foreigners, have been taken hostage by two terrorists and are being held on the roof of the Taj Mahal Hotel.

Rakesh Patel, a London-based businessman who managed to escape, told NDTV that the two terrorists, estimated to be in their early 20s, came to a restaurant on the ground floor of the Taj, rounded up the hostages and took them to the 18th floor. Patel, who was one among them, managed at that point to escape.

Patel said the terrorists asked if any of the hostages were carrying American or British passports, and said he got the clear impression that they wanted foreigners.

01:50 AM: Krishnakumar reports from the Juhu region that a bomb went off in a taxi that was speeding along the Western Express Highway from Vile Parle towards Andheri, killing two people and injuring two others.

"The taxi exploded and went up in flames as it sped past the traffic island under the flyover at the domestic airport," an eyewitness said on phone. "The vehicle, which was up in flames soon after it crossed the traffic signal, was on the left
side. A bystander and a person in the taxi were killed.

Reports indicate that this was perhaps the night's highest-intensity blast. Krishnakumar reports that the taxi's doors were found a distance of 50 meters or more away, and body parts of the victims had been thrown even further.

01:43 AM: At least two suspected terroristswere shot dead minutes earlier at the corner of Mumbai's Chowpatty. Rediff's Vaihayasi Pande-Daniel, who is on the site, reports that the area has been cordoned off and is swarming with police officers; the Skoda is under guard and a cellphone, a jacket, and items of footwear are strewn around the vehicle.

Meanwhile at the Taj Mahal Hotel, the standoff between police, who have surrounded the hotel, and terrorists who are holed up inside, continues.

A short while ago, power went off in parts of the hotel, adding to the sense of panic and fear. Well known food critic Sabina Sahgal Saikia, who is inside the hotel, told NDTV on phone just now that the guests are terrified, and unaware of just what is happening around them. It is unclear at this point in time whether the power has been turned off by the police as they battle the terrorists.

01:27 AM: Rediff's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel calls in from the Marine Drive region to report that the approaches to the South Mumbai area have been shut down, and that sounds of firing are audible as far away as Mumbai's famed Queen's Necklace stretch, though the source of the firing is unclear.

Meanwhile, a foreign national who managed to escape from the Taj Mahal Hotel, where a state of seige currently exists, told NDTV that armed and masked gunmen were wandering around inside the hotel, looking for people with American or British passports.

The eyewitness account appears to confirm the growing belief among law enforcement circles that this latest attack is aimed directly at foreign nationals -- hence the choice of star hotels as prime targets. They further theorize that automatic weapons are being used rather than bombs in order to orchestrate such targeted mayhem.

Meanwhile, the real dangers of the situation are being exaggerated by a proliferation of rumors. One such that has been aired on a few channels including CNN suggested that firing was taking place at the JW Marriott, another five star hotel in the Juhu region of suburban Mumbai. A source in the hotel however confirmed to Rediff just now that there was no alarm at the hotel, and no incident of any kind had taken place.

12:44 AM: A gun battle is ongoing in the Taj Hotel in Colaba. Within the last ten minutes, a guest at the hotel got word out to CNN via email that a grenade had exploded within the hotel premises just then.

Additional Commissioner of Police AN Roy and other officials confirmed that some armed terrorists are holed up in the iconic hotel.

Police officials said they have no information of a hostage situation; they say guests have been sequestered in safe areas of the hotel, and the police are now engaged in flushing out the terrorists from their hiding place.

Courtesy: www.rediff.com

Mumbai Police alert

The Mumbai Police sent me an SMS: "Terrorists fled away with two vehicles -- Jeep No MH01 ZA102 of Maharashtra Government and Police Qualis No MH01 BA5179. If you know the whereabouts about the vehicles, please inform the Police at 100 or 022-24937755 or 022-24937747."

Saja's Special Report

SPECIAL REPORT: Mumbai Terrorist Attacks

NEW YORK, Nov. 27, 2008 -- Shortly after news of the terrorist attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai broke yesterday, “SAJA” launched a series of live webcasts on the horrific events. These special 90-minute reports will continue every 12 hours in the coming days, with the next report beginning Thursday, Nov. 27 at 10 a.m. New York City time.
Journalists and experts in Mumbai and in the U.S. will join host Sree Sreenivasan for updates, struggling to make sense of the massacres that left 101 people dead and 287 wounded.
After seizing hostages, a group identifying itself the “Deccan Mujahedeen” claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks on the upscale Taj Mahal and Trident hotels, and for bombings and shootings elsewhere in the West Coast city - which targeted U.S. and British citizens.
Sreenivasan, a professor of journalism at New York’s Columbia University and co-founder of the South Asian Journalists Association, is encouraging listeners with updates from Mumbai to call the show at (347)324-5991 and share information with the South Asian community, as well as with journalists worldwide.
They can also email questions and suggestions to: saja@columbia.edu.
Updates, comments, archived webcasts at http://snurl.com/6uj95

Burning Taj

Bombay Is Burning

Bombay is Burning
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