IF HUMAN RIGHTS ARE IGNORED IT IS HARD TO RETAIN PEACE IN KASHMIR..

More than 60 year after independence Pakistan and India are still to behave as good neighbours. Both countries have their stand for not having friendly and cordial relations. It has always been the Issue of Kashmir. Several times during these past decades leaders of India and Pakistan have tried to sit together to solve the problems. India insists that Kashmir is a part of India; Pakistan argues that it is a disputed territory. One part is controlled by India by deploying a very strong contingent of Indian army and the rest is controlled by Pakistan of course not with the military might. Indians argue that Pakistan should vacate the territory under its control. Pakistan insists that Kashmir is the core issue and should be solved according to the wishes of the people of Kashmir.

Since after 1987, disputed State elections resulted in some of the states legislative assembly to form militant wings later on after the election, creating the catalyst for the insurgency; the Indian-administered JAMMU AND KASHMIR VALLEY has been the site of conflict between the Indian armed forces, militants and separatists. Furthermore, India alleges these militants are supported by Pakistan. This turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir has resulted in thousands of deaths.We,the Indian people are used to read and hear about the violent activities in Kashmir since we were born,but what is striking me for the last couple of months is that, the people of Kashmir are protesting against the armed forces without caring for their lives.

Last week I a saw a photograph in the news paper that a boy hardly about 8-9 years old was desperately running after a military van with stones in his hand.A boy of this age who is supposed to enjoy his childhood has become so desperate to attack on the armed forces.This is a protest of the common people against the nation,against the army.The army is empowered by the act ARMED FORCES SPECIAL POWER ACT.This is more like a shield to them,they have got the right to kill or rather brutally murder the civilians but no one will ask them whether it was really needed or not.

Our home minister Mr.P CHIDAMBARAM has constantly argued that behind this protest of the Kashmiris there are the helping hands of Pakistan.It is often very easy to blame others to avoid your own onus.What is the reason behind this turmoil in the valley???What caused them to ignore the fear of being arrested,killed or being brutally tortured by the armed forces??The civilians are protesting against the gunman with only stones in their hands.The youth of Kashmir who are likely to be of my age are protesting against the police without thinking what could happen to them.

The act of the government is not praiseworthy at all.Even after so many years of Independence INDIAN government has completely failed to improve the socio-economic condition of the Kashmir valley.The child who is born in Kashmir has no bright future,most of the families in the valley are in acute poverty.Only tourism is not gonna help them to improve their economic conditions.When day after day a person spends his life without any ray of hope he is bound to loose his loyalty towards his country,towards his government..and the jihadis like al-quaeda are taking this opportunity..Only war against war, deployment of more forces,bullets to stop the violence can never be a solution..for the last 1 month television broadcasting has been stopped,only 15 mins a day one national channel is allowed to broadcast news,no news paper have been published for the last one week,sms cannot be sent.The human activities have come to a halt.

Stiil we will go to Kashmir on our vacations,we will enjoy the Dal lake,we will stay in houseboats and we will say that Kashmir is still ' heaven on earth'..but cries of the mothers who have lost their innocent child,whose sons are killed by the armed forces will be lost into the oblivion..because there are the civilians of heal.

Justice Prevails-But Isn't It A Bit Too Late?

Finally all the holidays,vacations ended and Calcutta High Court uphold its verdict on the Sergant "Bapi Sen Case" on March 3rd,2010.The convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment after about 2yrs 7months to be exact...finally.But one question stills remains in our mind n heart.The man who gave his life trying to protect people needs almost 3yrs to be given justice?then what remains ahead for commoners like us?will we ever get justice?when will the court learn to act fast?its a question which we will asking ourselves for God knows how long.Although these TATA Tea,"Jagore" ads infuses in us the quality to protest against any injustice,yet the main organisations of our country prevents anything as such to be followed in reality,because by the time justice comes in reality the wounds cut us too deep to be of any help.One more thing for the girl,whose refused to come forward for whom Bapi Sen died(if by chance you come across this blog)-We common people,do always avoid troubles of any sort,and most of us are not heroic enough to protest alone,but if someone dies protecting our honour,we r a coward if we still don't come forward,to join hands to protest.Hope you got what i tried to say.

terror strike the innocents again

yesterday,night while browsing through the channels,i suddenly got shocked by the news in pune.3 youngsters from our city had fallen a victim of terror again.obviously for no fault of them,or their forefathers.i really dont know what is the issue with this guys.what enemity does this terrosits have with us?what do they really want?time and again innocent people from various states,countries are being targetted again and again!its not that today 3 young citizens of our state has died,and suddenly i am aroused by this fact.but its enough.right from the innumerable blasts in kashmir,to the 26/11 attacks in mumbai,to the endless attempts in various states.doesn't these terrosits get tired?i mean for god's sake,or whoever u believe to be your almighty,just think what have these people done to you?whom do you all target?and what do you'all gain from these? i really dont have these answers.but to everyone who read this blog,today is 15th feb 2010.just open any newspaper,and the front page will make you feel worse.that guy "ankik's" photo seems looking at us and asking for an answer for his death.i really dont hav any answer,neither do i have any words for his mother who seems fighting to live after the death of both of her children.don't know whether one day i will come in politics,or any power.but i want an end to all of these.violence will encourage violence time and again.but all we want is a bit of peace.im no "RANCHORDAS" neither im someone great to say all these.but its enough,lets try and settle this issue once and for all.to those people who have power in their hands, how long will this injustice continue?do you have any answer?

OPERATION GREEN HUNT.

The massacre of policemen in Shilda ,West Midnapore is a great set back for the operation Green Hunt.It killed 24 policemen on the spot giving them almost no chance to fight back.Now this left no option for our goverment, but to move ahead with the operation.This is not the first time when Maoists have attacked the cops but the magnitude of this attack undoubtedly sent a very strong message to our rulers..The Maoists have been deliberately killing and targeting the cops for the last few years because the cops represent the ruling goverment to them..

The naxal movement that was born out of deprivation has become a game or a license to kill people without any justification.Now we don't expect the Maoists to be decent with the goverment and co-operate with them for operation Green Hunt.But can we atleast now expect our senior officers to be serious on this kind of sensitive and alarming issues??After the massacre in Shilda investigations have been started and what we have come to know is shocking and shameful too..

It is indeed very surprising that in day time such an attack could be launched on a police camp..But the most surprising thing is that intelligence sources had warned West Bengal Police and goverment about the attack.But they just ignored that because they thought that this kind of alert is just like weather forecasts,it never rains when it is forecasted.But this time the intelligence branch report was very specific than usual.But unfortunately a very casual approach to this alert has led to such huge causalties..

Now as usual,the blame game has stared.Oppositions and some of our intellectuals(they think they are) will take this opportunity to show their concern about the victims and the maoists too.They will condemn the act of our government for operation green hunt.Even some of the celebs are so concerned about poor,deprived people in the remote araes like Lalgarh that they choose to go there just the day before the Lalgarh operation began.They are celebs after all ( how can they miss a single chance to come on the spot light??).

Now as the aftermath of this attack the goverment will definately ask for more forces.But what is the use of sending more goats to the butcher until and unless they are not well equipped and well trained ??Goverment officials said that the attack was not expected..but when West Bengal intelligence branch had repeatedly warned them how could they have ignored that???just because they were too casual.

So are they the right person for their own posts??An efficient employer can't do this i guess..this trigers the questions that who is sitting at the top of the administration??efficient or obedient???when lack of work efficiency causes bloodshed,deaths of people then we can only hear the top official's excuses..
Digusting??ridiculous????irritating???to us only,who watch it on tv,read it in the news papers..but what about those who lost their loved ones???

Arjun thakuri,Chandra Chhetri,Mikmar Tamang who lost their lives in the attack,all of them joined force to serve for the state,for the country..their families are proud of them.But at the same time their lives came to a halt also..if their loved ones would have a hint of what was going to happen then they must have not been talking over phones with families,not have been cooking dinner or relaxing keeping their rifles away..we will discuss this issue for next couple of days and then we will forget them..but those who have lost someone will never be able to forget..any amount of compensations,sympathy cannot make their lives like before.

We request our administration to hear the cries and expect a humanlike behaviour..enough games have been played with common men's lives..now it is high time for them to talk less and work more..because actions always speak more than words and we certainly dont want to hear any excuse next time..

Let's make a difference...

"A tiger is a large-hearted gentleman with boundless courage, and when he is exterminated - as exterminated he will be unless public opinion rallies to his support - India will be the poorer by having lost the finest of her fauna."- Jim Corbett

Yesterday an advertisement caught my eyes with a Royal Bengal Tiger in the background and it says, "Only 1411 of them are left…you can make a difference.” Then I realized how correct Corbett was about his prophecy! Moreover this was a figureaccording to the National Tiger Census 2008 and more than 130 tigers died since. Which means the remaining tiger in the wild of India has come down to an alarming number of nearly 1300! But what has caused such a serious situation for the big cat family?

According to the experts, various reasons are there for which our national animal is on the verge of extinction. The first and foremost of which is poaching of tigers. More than 35% of the death of tiger every year is caused by poaching. The tiger parts are being exported to china through Nepal border where it is used for traditional medicines, aphrodisiac, piece of dress or talisman. A local poacher gets Rs. 7000 to 15,000 for a tiger and in foreign market a tiger costs as high as $20,000. So high market value is reason behind poaching.

Secondly, the unprotected areas of the forests all over the India don't have much tigers left, not just because poachers are killing them, but because their prey species are being hunted out. So lack of food is causing a great deal of harm towards the survival of the tigers...not times even in the protected areas.

But is that all? Can't we do really anything regarding the problem? Have we tried enough to save our tiger? If we look at the way govt. handled the situation, we see an unfortunate story.

At the inception of the Project Tiger (presently known as National Tiger Conservation Authority or NTCA) it did a good job and it showed result. And they were very happy at themselves. But the time changed, political scenario changed, our population increased, demand for tiger parts increased, modus operandi for poachers developed, technologies advanced, but what didn't change was the defensive attitude of forest dept. and their mode of working. They are reluctant about any external expertise or advanced technologies and information. In 2002,a Wildlife Protection Act amendment made it mandatory for the state governments to create advisory committees for all sanctuaries; these were to include Panchavati Raj institutions, NGOs and wildlife expert members. But none have been created yet. What was more surprising that NTCA had many experts but not a single tiger expert!! When supreme court warned in 2005,that tiger condition in Madhya Pradesh is critical no one paid attention to it and in 2008 department reluctantly accepted that only 1 or 2 male tiger is left in Panna forest and they are thinking of introducing females!! And these are just few instances of govt. inefficiency.

So coming back to the point we started with, we can make a difference. But for that we will have to start afresh. Wildlife science is much more developed now a days. With the help of this advanced information and technology, involvement of experts both inside and outside the government it can be done effectively. A Tiger Conservation Committee, free from autocratic and outdated systems, taking care of the tigers all over the nations is what we need today. So let's roar to save our tiger…let's make a difference...

Give me some sunshine...........

Heard about a tragic incident last week.One of our relatives had a neighboring family consisting of a newly married couple and the husband's widowed mother.Since the wife,a young girl,came from a lower middle class family she could not meet the exorbitant demands for dowry made by her mother-in-law.Hence she was regularly tortured,both physically and mentally by her mother-in-law when her husband was away.At last she was killed by her mother in law who has been imprisoned since by the police.The husband married again and a girl has been born to him recently.She has been named Titli after the dead first wife.
It is amazing how such heinous crimes are still being perpetrated against the girl child in this so called 'civilized' country.Every hour that ticks by in India inflicts more brutality on women, with two rapes, two kidnappings, four molestations and seven incidents of cruelty from husbands and relatives, reveal the latest national crime statistics.The numbers are swiftly increasing.Even today,widowed women are burnt at their husband's pyres in rural Rajasthan-and we boast Sati has been abolished from India!!Girls as young as 6-7 years are being forcibly married off by their families for money.They are sold or are trafficked to distant countries like Saudi Arab or they become prostitutes.Is this the future of the girl child?Killed while still in their mother's wombs,unwanted,neglected,sacrificed and tortured in every steps..
We often forget it is they who,as our mother gave us our lives,as our sister protected us and became our ally in everything,as our wives shared our burdens,as our best friend gave us a shoulder to lean on and cry when life had no meaning for us-she is behind every man's success,she is the reason for our smiles,she is our companion,friend,philosopher and guide-where would we be without her?
So let us unite to stop the crimes against women and give her the respect and love which she deserves.Let us pledge ourselves to give little Titli a better world to grow up in-a new beginning,a new sunrise.....

MEDIA:What should I believe?

Last Wednesday as I was returning home from a friends place, I was witness to a heated argument between two of my fellow passengers regarding a particular political issue..It was fascinating to see a public bus getting transformed to a debate arena and then gradually almost getting transformed into a boxing ring..both the passengers provided with facts so varied regarding the same issue that it was indeed quite hard to pick a side and decide on who is right among the two..both of them were adamant that the information he had was absolutely correct and authentic, refering to the respective newspapers they read, and news channels they follow...but how is this possible, I thought...how can there be conflicting facts regarding the same incident reported by newspapers??

The truth is that in todays world the Media shapes our lifes in every aspect..from how we should think to what we should believe, from what we should wear to what we should eat, from what is 'in' to what is 'out'...just about everything..
Media has its different forms-from newspapers to television, from the internet to the advertising hoardings...everywhere these guys are telling us what to do and how to do..it has become like this that we should behave and react in the particular way they want us to..
But the question I'm asking is should we go on beliving just about everything that is given to us.. without even judging the matter with our conscience..should we behave and react to a particular incident as someone else wants us to without analysing the entire incident, before knowing the different aspects of that particular incident..??

We, the educated people feel whatever opinion we have on a particular issue is well thought out,is logical and reasonable but we often fail to realise that those very opinions that we have are prejudiced, influenced by the kind of newspapers we read, the kind of television channels we follow..if this is the situation of the educated..then spare a thought for those who are not educated and lucky like us...

The truth is, running of the entire media, be it of any form, is similar to the running of a business..every media enterprise is a business conglomerate on their own and needless to say for the sake of their business they cater to the interest of themselves and to the interest of people who look after them,their 'well-wishers'...
If I take the example of newspapers, regarding national or international politics there are only two ways for them...you are either for a certain camp where you absolutely agree to the policies and decisions made by your camp,even if the policies are faulty and some times preposterous, or you are against a certain camp when, no matter even if their policies and decisions are good you have to oppose them...

I guess my co-passengers from the bus are victims of this for and against policy of the media..

It is indeed confusing that if none of them are telling the truth..then whom to beleive in and how to know the truth...but regarding this I feel that to make an idea about the truth one must not have a prejudiced opinion regarding an issue...one must keep an open mind such that your thought is not single-tracked..best way is to know about both sides of the story...the one you like as well as the one you don't...only then i guess you can have a clearer picture..and you will be much nearer the truth...