Heir apparent adept at lip service

So, the next big thing in the Congress visited Gujarat, criticized the Modi administration alleging that it worked "only for the rich" and assured jobless diamond workers of help from the centre -

Gandhi addressed nearly 900 jobless workers at Sardar Smruti Bhavan in the
diamond hub of Varachha where he invited jobless diamond workers to
speak about their problems and promised to take up their issues with the
Centre. Emphasizing on 'aam aadmi' focus of his party, Gandhi asserted:
"For us the common man comes first." [Link]
(Emphasis added)

So what happened to the promise?

Jobless for four months now, diamond
polisher Paresh Morakhiya is now worried about his family's survival. The
interim budget was his last hope, but there was nothing in
store for him and thousands like him. [Link]
(Emphasis added)

The Interim Budget has left disappointed
several thousand diamond workers, who either have been laid off or on the verge
of losing their jobs in Surat's diamond industry. [Link]

Nothing came of it. Rahul was merely continuing the same grand Congress tradition of all talk and no action. It also speaks volumes of his influence in his own party. But that did not stop him from promising anything. It is also an indication of the vindictive approach towards the BJP in general and Modi in particular by the Congress. Modi has been seeking help from the centre to help out the diamond industry in the state, yet the interim budget had nothing for it. And Rahul is being sold by the media as the panacea to all our problems, the only one who can take us forward!

In his token criticism of the Tata Nano project, Rahul failed to realise that it will help generate thousands of jobs, directly and indirectly for the people. So, it is the same 'aam aadmi' that will benefit who Rahul fears will be left out.

So while his party at the centre couldn't care less for the diamond workers, some of them are beating adversity by going back to farming -

Hit by recession, thousands of displaced
diamond workers in Gujarat are returning home to rediscover their farming roots.
And the cash crops they are growing in a matter of months is bringing some
sparkle back to their lives.

"When the diamond industry flourished
I earned about Rs.60,000 per year. Now I expect to earn Rs.1.6 million after
harvesting nearly 800 mounds of cumin seed," said Rajesh Dabhi of Sangasar in
Ahmedabad district. [Link]

Availability of electricity, irrigation projects and check dams seem to have done the trick. The Congress certainly did nothing for agriculture. Does Rahul have any ideas for turning adversities into opportunities?

Dhimmitude taking over the world

Just a couple of days before Mumbai was attacked by rampaging jihadis, a consortium of 57 Islamic states were successful in lobbying the UN to pass a measure on "Combating Defamation of Religions". It was passed with a 85-50 vote with 42 abstentions. Check the link to see how various countries voted. And what was the motive?

Passage of the resolution is part of a 10-year action plan
the 57-state Organization of the Islamic Conference launched in 2005 to ensure
"renaissance" of the "Muslim Ummah" or community. [Link] (Emphasis added)

It is not Islam specific or binding at the moment, but is part of a greater plan as seen in the above comment and below -

[...] religious tolerance advocates warn
the resolutions are being accumulated for a more sinister goal.

[...] Pakistan's Ambassador Masood Khan
reminded the UN's Human Rights Council this year that the OIC ultimately seeks a "new instrument or convention" on the issue. Such a measure
would impose its terms on signatory states. [Link] (Emphasis
added)

The dhimmis in the UN fail to realise that this is another attempt at curbing free speech and will have serious ramifications. Individuals already enjoy protection under human rights. That ought to be enough, granting protection to religion is a validation of its "truth". We have already seen how Islamists, every other day, invoke the "hurt to our religious sentiment" argument against even an objective observation of Islam. This UN resolution gives the intolerant Islamists even more fodder. The doors even for peaceful speech, expression, forget any criticism, will now be firmly shut. Any critical look, indeed even an attempt at such, will now be denounced as "demonizing" Islam. It is this inward looking tendency and nonacceptance of any questions on Islam or any aspect of it that has led to the extreme intolerance amongst Islamists. Besides, it is highly hypocritical of the Islamists and their apologists to scoff at non-Muslims as "infidels" while not being open to any criticism of Islam.

Apologists fail to, rather do not want to see the direction in which "Muslim brotherhood" is headed. The same charade continues, Islam is peaceful, radicals are misguided while it is the Islamic religious leaders and holy teachings themselves that are a source of inspiration to the various extremist organisations terrorizing the world.

(Geert Wilders. Image from here)

And assault on free speech is already on. Geert Wilders (also see earlier post), the Dutch politician who speaks out against Islam is already facing consequences. For making a movie on Radical Islam, Fitna (see it here), and attempting to raise awareness about the serious consequences, Wilders is paying a price. Rather than face the truth and realise the dangers facing the European region today, this is what the Dutch courts do -

On 21 January 2009 the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam ordered
the criminal prosecution of the member of parliament Geert Wilders for the
incitement to hatred and discrimination based on his statements in various media
about moslims and their belief. In addition, the Court of Appeal considers
criminal prosecution obvious for the insult of Islamic worshippers because of
the comparisons made by Wilders of the islam with the nazism. [Link]

So much for making the world face the reality! It is Islamic leaders and the Mullahs that propagate hostility towards "infidels" and Wilders gets the rap for spreading hatred! He is currently fighting the legal battle and will need support. If you can, kindly donate on his website.

Wilders was scheduled to screen his movie at the House of Lords in Britain this week. But when dhimmitude has permeated to such a level that it is now begging jihadis not to attack the UK, Wilders never had a chance of making it there. He is being held in detention at Heathrow and will be deported back.

And India has a long history of dhimmitude itself. Time and again our institutions, laws, people have had to bend over backwards in deference to the "true of faith" and "religion of peace". Shariah must be upheld, no matter how unjust it may be. Law of the land be damned!

It is no coincidence that the Ummah lobbied the UN to curb free speech. It is now a handy, effective and legitimate tool to pull down every criticism. It will also give cover to the "misguided youth". Rather than guide the "misguided", it is the "infidels" that get chastised for holding mirror to the Islamists. Political correctness is a trap that will sink us "infidels" pretty soon. India must think again about being in the UN.

Secularism is myopic

The editor and publisher of a top English-language Indian daily have been arrested on charges of "hurting the religious feelings" of Muslims. [Link]

More than 20 people, including four policemen, were injured in a clash that broke out when police tried to clear Lenin Sarani where Muslim agitators had put up a road block for four hours in protest against an article published in The Statesman a few days ago. Forty-four people were later arrested in connection with the attack on police and blocking traffic, said Mr Pradip Chattopadhyay, joint CP (administration). [Link]

A certain young girl who was seduced to have sex with a man of 26 years killed herself to hide her shame on Tuesday night. The incident occured in a place called Maroor in Mulky police limits. According to a complaint lodged by one Jaya Moolya two girls were lured by one Saleem aged 26 and taken to a seculded places in Maroor. Some elders who caught the man in a compramising condtion along with the girl handed over the girl to the Moodbidri police station while the man Saleem escaped. [Link]

The cracking of the Bangalore serial blasts case has confirmed security agencies' claims about Lashkar-e-Tayiba's links with the dreaded Indian Mujahideen.

Interrogation of terror suspects revealed that they belonged to a terror module in Kerala operated by the Lashkar.

[...] The Lashkar finds the Kerala wing of the IM to be the most dedicated and hence has chosen its cadres for Kashmir.[Link]

There is report of a simmering tension in North Lakhimpur district as two Pakistani flags were seen flying in two interior areas on Wednesday. Confirming this, police officials told reporters that the name of Pakistan was clearly written in English in both the flags [Link]

A scrutiny of the diary recovered from the car of the two suspected militants gunned down in Noida late Sunday night reveal they were in constant touch with a few persons in Azamgarh and the NCR, police sources said.

[...] The surveillance so far reveals that Ali Ahmed and Abu Ismail, the alleged militants gunned in Noida’s Sector-97 after a brief gunbattle, were in constant touch with the Azamgarh duo. The police had yesterday claimed to have found two Pakistani passports from their car. Investigators suspect they initially stayed in Azamgarh for a while after crossing the border to India; later, they came to the NCR in a bid to sneak into the Capital. [Link]

The merger of Dawood Ibrahim's gang with the Lashkar-e-Toiba at the behest of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has Indian security agencies worried since the underworld gang will expand the ISI's reach in the country.

[...] Asked why the ISI had roped in the D-Company in LeT activities, the official said, "The underworld's penetration in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu is very deep. [Link]

Tears streaming down his face, his hands trembling, the man who allegedly led the serial bombing of Ahmedabad that killed 58 and injured over 200 last July claimed he was brainwashed and ensnared into doing what he did by radical Islamist handlers.

[...] If Kapadia is to be believed, his transformation from an ordinary Muslim youth with ordinary dreams and a loving family to look after to one of the country’s top Terror accused, is a tale of intense indoctrination.
It started with Kapadia, a deeply religious youth, meeting up with Sajid Mansuri, the SIMI hardliner and a qualified engineer who is also in police custody now for the Ahmedabad blasts. His journey to terror began in a closed little room in Vatva. [Link]

"In the Urdu textbook, children are told that infidels are cowards by nature and when a holy warrior attacks them, they scream with terror and fear," she (Dr. Rubina Saigol of Action Aid Pakistan) said. "Mujahideen are glorified as being on a mission from Allah and they are superheroes that kill Hindus and make infidels cower in fear," she said, referring from the pages of the textbook.

[...] "India is presented as an enemy and Saudi Arabia as a best friend. Kashmir appears as Pakistani territory forcibly snatched by Hindus and Pakistan as a country created only for Muslims." [Link]

There are many more. Where is the "secular" outrage? Such grave dangers facing our nation do not move your "progressive liberals" into starting a mass movement against them. The "secular" Congress is succeeding in taking over every democratic institution by planting its stooges. But the "secularists" will hijack public discourse and divert public attention on entirely inconsequential matters.

Some random thoughts on some random topics

The "secular" media seems to be raising a lot of noise these days. Trust it to raise a stink about inconsequential things and remain completely silent on matters of importance. And also to frame debates to suit their ideas.

A certain group of women, calling themselves “progressive and loose” have begun a campaign against Mutalik of the Shri Ram Sene. It is rather curious that these page 3 pinkos begin crying foul, hog headlines and distract national attention from important maters ONLY when THEIR partying ways and frequented destinations are either attacked or criticised. Mutalik’s men were not exactly covering themselves in glory by attacking women. But the “progressives” seem to suffer either from amnesia or myopia, for they do not seem to care for other instances where women and their rights are violated. They didn’t seem as peeved when Taslima Nasreen was ill treated, Shah Bano got an unfair treatment by her “religious leaders”, the various cases of rapes in Delhi and other places. The various cases when wives were beaten by abusive husbands, when they are subject to oppressive religious laws. They don’t start a campaign to increase number of girls enrolling in schools. Green and Red seem OK, but apparently Saffron is uncool.

Another sentiment shared by the glitterati seems that Hinduism is evil. Now, how’s that for a whitewash? They couldn’t be more wrong, it is not Hinduism, but certain practices adopted by some Hindus that are bad, viz. dowri, sati etc. This is the Macaulite and Marxist education speaking. The chatteratti have never even bothered to study Hinduism at any depth. They have been told that Hinduism is bad by the missionaries and the same is mouthed off. Ill treatment or being unfair to anyone, much less women has never had any sanction in Hinduism and the various sacred texts. In fact, women are treated with great respect and equality in the Hindu faith. In fact, Devis are the most powerful amongst the Gods. History and mythology is enough proof of that. No other religion accords this stature and respect to women. It is always about one man and his whims in the monotheist religions. Yet some sundry customs adopted by societies and some odd work is cited to propagate falsehoods about Hinduism. A mountain of good in the holy texts and Hindu history is conveniently ignored. Besides how does it help to abandon the faith and abuse it? How about trying to reform it, correcting the wrong, making good what’s bad? You wouldn’t dump your child and adopt another one for some of his wrongdoings, would you? Won’t you help him/her correct himself/herself?

Politics is bad and politicians are evil. That’s the latest charade going on. The media is fully behind it. Can’t protect your patrons, whitewash the entire class. Enough has been said / is being said on the media’s transgressions and irresponsible conduct. At a time when the nation is upset with the current central government, it serves the media well to play along in this absurdity. After all their allegiance to a certain party is pretty clear by now. Alright, politicians are bad. So what have you done about it, other than say this at parties with cocktails in your hands? How about holding the evil politicians accountable? How about asking them questions for their faults? How about forcing them to perform in public and national interest? How about holding the media responsible for not asking the right questions? How about participating in politics and setting an example? How about mobilizing people to vote for the right candidate? How does refraining from polls help? It will only allow the same evil politicians to buy their way in to the parliament because the educated and privileged ones don’t vote.

If the “progressives” were serious about doing something for the country, it would help them a lot to stop, think and introspect on why are things wrong, what’s hurting our nation and what would help it. Cure themselves of the amnesia and myopia they suffer from, rather than fall for the “secular” trap.

'Brothers across the LoC' won't pay

Here's the latest gripe from the Kashmiris -

"We were eagerly waiting for the beginning of cross LoC
trade, even dispatched thousands of apple boxes to PoK in the start. But, so far
growers have not received a single penny in lieu of the apples," President Fruit
Mandi Sopore, Bashir Beig said.

Your 'brothers across the LoC' won't pay? You don't say! So much for your 'brotherhood'. Bashir Beig further says -

"After three months, we don't know what happened to apples
in PoK,"

Take a guess Beig. I can suggest one, your 'brothers' ate them all without bothering too much to pay for them. How's that for a reality check? So when the dough proved tough to come by from the Pakistanis our Kashmiri friends grew wiser and stopped sending them apples. Left with empty pockets, they have suddenly realised how much better, indeed profitable it is to do business in our country. Not only do the 'evil' Indians make for a good market, they also pay enough so our Kashmiri friends can make up for their losses -

There is other reason that compelled
growers not to dispatch their apples to PoK as the growers were offered
lucrative rates by the Delhi based traders. "Soon after the cross LoC trade
started, the rates of apples have gone up," said Beig, adding that this year all
the losses got compensated by good rates.

So, the Indians don't seem as 'oppressive' any more eh Beig? Looks like the money paid for your apples made up for all your grudges. But not quite, Beig adds -

"The trade is useless unless Government starts a permanent communication link
between two parts of Kashmir," he said.

Well, that still does not guarantee payments from across the LoC, what do you do about that? Besides why would any one want to do trade with someone who won't pay, much less pay enough. The Indians are already covering for your losses.

Javid Ahmad, another Kashmiri says -

"I don't know what happened to my apples in PoK. Government
has to do more to sustain this trade, otherwise in coming months no trade will
take place via Kaman bridge. “

So while it is the Pakistanis that don't pay, yet somehow, it is the Indian Government that is not doing enough. Whatever happened to the 'Autonomy' demand.

The Kashmiri 'grievances' never end, do they? It is time we called the separatist's bluff. The recent elections in the valley exposed the lack of ground support for the 'Azadi' leaders. They make far too much noise, completely out of proportion to their 'support base'. So do their seditious supporters in the media.

The season for stale rhetorics

With about two months left for elections, politicians will be at their rhetorical best. The Congressmen are the unparalleled masters at it. Sonia had this to say at a rally in Silvassa (Dadra & Nagar Haveli) -

"India's identity is that all religions and communities co-exist in harmony. Our
neighbour wants to weaken this strength of ours but they do not know that we can
give a befitting reply to their every design,"

So what is Sonia waiting for? A clearance from the Ulema council of India? When will the befitting reply come? If indeed the Congress was serious about defeating terror and protecting India's interests, why hasn't it done something already? In the five years since it regained power at the centre its primary focus seems to be on weakening our democracy and treating India as Sonia's own personal fiefdom. Terrorism is not a recent problem that India faces, decades of attacks on our soil have seen thousands of lives being lost and displacement of even more from their homes, the Kashmiri Pandits are perhaps the most affected. But it hasn't dawned on Sonia that decisive action is long overdue, not empty rally talk.

Yet it is lip service that is meted out to a hapless nation. Manmohan Singh is another master of this. His entire tenure as PM has been nothing but that. Not too long ago, on 23rd September 2008, Singh talked of a 100 day roadmap to fight terror. And much like every other promise of his, this too turned out a non-starter. There never was any will. The fact that the thought came so late in his tenure should be proof conclusive of it being mere talk. It was an unconvincing exercise in sounding tough on terror.

And the rhetorics themselves lack novelty. Every rally by Sonia is an exercise in regurgitation. Promises that are decades old continue to be mouthed. There has hardly been any introspection on this. Hardly has Sonia or the Congress ever stopped to wonder how is it that they find themselves talking about the same issues election after election when the party has ruled India for over 5 decades since our independence. It is their arrogance that allows them to do so, knowing very well that the talking heads, in a cahoot media, would spin this away.

So this election season too will see much of the same charade continue. Sonia and the Congress will sell their scams (NREGA, loan waivers, job guarantees, free power etc.) as their achievements. While it is the thousands of crores of taxpayer's money that is being doled out, it won't stop the sycophants in Congress claiming it Sonia's gifts to the nation. And while the conniving media will not ask the right questions (the various Padma' titles are at stake), it is left to the bloggers to do the auditing. And they will.

Chawla must go

The 'secular' voices in the media are unnecessarily trying to create a controversy over the Navin Chawla issue. This case is a reminder of how, once again, the media is trying to obfuscate reality by drumming up a cacophony of sounds based on flimsy grounds.

A simple look at facts ought to make the matter crystal clear. However, the media, which should set the right tone of public discourse, is failing miserably at it. And not for the first time either. All the scepticism seems to originate from the 'timing' of the CEC's recommendation to oust Chawla. A pretty feeble argument considering the damning facts against the conduct of Chawla.

Navin Chawla has a long history of questionable conduct. His integrity has been suspect since about 1979 (3 decades ago) when he was Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. And a commission under Justice Shah had this to say -

Chawla is “unfit to hold any public office which
demands an attitude of fair play and consideration for others”.

And what were the reasons for this conclusion?

..for “authoritarian and callous” conduct and gross misuse
of power “in cynical disregard of the welfare of citizens”.

A man of integrity would hardly be described thus. Yet a couple of decades later Chawla sets up a trust, headed by his wife and seeks funds from the Congress folks viz. A A Khan, R P Goenka, Ambika Soni, Karan Singh and A R Kidwai. It would be interesting to see if this did not play any part in his being appointed as an Election Commisioner (EC).

Lacking completely in the ability to introspect, this incorrigible man continues his dubious ways even when serving as the EC, which requires a non-partisan conduct. The current Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami has detailed out his blatantly partisan behaviour in his submissions to the President which includes more damning details -

Rajashri Bhattacharya, a 1979 batch IAS officer of the Andhra cadre, had even
complained to the Cabinet Secretary that Chawla had abused him and threatened to get him
arrested. Bhattacharya has since moved to the Planning
Commission. R Balasubramanian, an Orissa cadre IAS officer, is the other deputy election
commissioner who complained to the CEC in writing against Chawla.

Besides his far from ideal functioning during the Uttar Pradesh (UP), Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh (HP) pools too have been questioned in the CEC's report to the President.

As for questioning the 'timing' of the CEC's recommendation against Chawla, a look at facts, rather than seeking motivated 'expert' opinions, would reveal that the circumstances were not entirely in the CECs hands. Chawla has more then his share in causing the delay.

And if there are any questions about him being a Congress stooge, this should make it clear -

In the report to the President, the CEC notes that whenever
the full bench meeting was seized of an issue, Chawla will make an excuse of going to the washroom.
And soon thereafter, invariably, the CEC would get phone calls from top Congress
functionaries even as the meeting was in progress. This amounted to interference
in the functioning of the Election Commission, the CEC felt.

He even tried to protect Sonia Gandhi -

In his report, Gopalaswami also elaborated on the visit of the
prime minister's Principal Secretary T K A Nair to Nirvachan Sadan, which houses the
Election Commission of India in New Delhi, to enquire about the 'notice' being
sent to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on her receiving an award from
Belgium.

With such a mountain of inconvenient facts against Chawla, the 'secular' voices are left to question the motive and the timing rather than the substance. Filter all this noise and it will be clear that there is no case to defend him. Chawla simply must go.