The Aftermath.

Here we are. Some two and a half months after the Mumbai attacks. What has happened since? So much, and so very little. 

On the eve of receiving Pakistan's reply to the Indian dossier on the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, we need to ask ourselves, how did we get here? Did we do all that we could? Could we have done things differently, and hoped for better results? 

A little over a week after the attacks I, the very fresh and very young student of geopolitics that I seem to have become, had scribbled a short list of things the Indian government should do in response to the mayhem back then. 

Two months since, I think that it is time for a review. Let's see what I had and compare that to what was done, shall we?

1) Remember Kargil. Take the high road, no matter what. Pursue diplomacy. If it fails, go to the UN. Implore the international community to press sanctions.

It's very important to remember what we did in Kargil. So there we were in 1999, caught with our pants down when the Pakistani military forces and militants supported by them had occupied all the high-altitude positions along the Line of Control just as the winter was retreating. Tactics apart, India had two strategic options to choose from: a) Go around the mountain peaks, across the line of control and into Pakistani territory, and block off the supply routes to the militants' advanced positions., or b) do not violate the LoC, stay on the Indian side and fight a difficult, uphill battle with the militants and win land piece by piece, peak by peak. The then Vajpayee government chose the latter, harder option, and eventually we were able to gain back all the territory we had lost, in the process of which, we had garnered international support from all across the globe. There was no doubt in anyone's mindn as to who the aggressor was. (Except perhaps for the confused Pakistani populace, having been fed too many lies and too much propaganda.)

That, I think, resulted in the beginning of the dehyphenation of India and Pakistan in the west. And now, by and large India has shown restraint. Belligerent talk apart, exhaustive diplomacy has been key to what India has done since then. 

2) Go with gifts to Bangladesh. Give them aid, and develop some mechanisms to combat terror on their soil. Rope in the commies. 

This, I'm pleased to say, is happening as I write. Till December of last year, Bangladesh was under military rule, which had put the country in an unofficial limbo for the better part of the last two years. Things changed after the army lifted its state of emergency for what were by and large free and fair elections, when to India's delight, a friendly government led Sheikh Hasina was able to form after winning the elections by an overwhelming majority.

And as I type now, the Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee is in Bangladesh, signing trade agreements, promising the extremely poor country more aid and investment, and in turn has been succesful in getting Bangladesh to cooperate extensively with India's Northeast insurgency and terrorism issues. 

The past few years had seen an alarming increase in the number of suspected terrorists who sought safe haven in Bangladesh, with an increase in recruitment of local youth as well. The coming to power of an India-friendly government and immediate lobbying by the Indian MEA could reverse these trends with a little luck.

3) Go to China. Get them to poke Pakistan. China is seen as a friend by the junta (a la the military GHQ at Rawalpindi) and the people. Commies here as well.

The role China has played in the aftermath of 26/11 has been cryptic to say the least. It started with some baseless and alarming reporting by the state-run People's Daily speculating about the involvement of Hindu youth with the Mumbai attacks. Other than some largely symbolic and meaningless joint declarations to fight religious extremism and terrorism, China did support the ban on Jamat-ud-Dawah at the UNSC meeting convened by India, something the veto-wielding country had failed to do before. 

After that India did its due diligence by providing China with ample information about the attacks, and it is reasonable to assume that India urged its communist neighbour to put some pressure on Pakistan. Things took a very weird turn late in January when the Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi annouced that Pakistan was giving a "blank cheque" to China to deal with India on its behalf. Eventually this went nowhere as India refused straight up to deal with any middlemen.

It might be considered unreasonable to expect more from China, and it would be wise to be happy with whatever concessions we can get. 

The rest, and more, in the second part of this fun analysis. Please wait. And as ever, with bated breath.

Joie de vivre.

Contentment is not something I feel often. Today it seems to overwhelm everything else.

Thank you. ^_^

India, The Navy and Aspirations of Regional Supremacy.

The Indian navy was successful in yet another anti-piracy operation yesterday. The INS Tabar spotted another pirate ship accompanied by speed boats at around 10pm yesterday. The pirate ship was challenged by the Talwar class stealth frigate, at which point the pirate ship tried to ram Tabar. 

You have to give the pirates some credit for the sheer audacity of such a move. Maybe they did not really see what they were up against in the darkness. The result, surprise surprise, was that the INS Tabar opened fire and sunk the pirate vessel. Earlier this month, the very same INS Tabar had been instrumental in repelling two successive attacks on commercial ships plying off the territorial waters of Somalia. 

So far this year, only the Indian Navy has had high-profile run-ins with pirates off the coast of Somalia. At a time when the Indian profile in world affairs has been markably ascendant, and when the Indian high command has started talking in public about force projection, these successes hold great value in furthering India's cause in regional and global diplomacy. 

Over the past few years, many have expressed great concern about the direction India has been heading militarily. Apart from extensive defense spending in general, bilateral and multilateral military exercises such as the Malabar naval exercise in 2007 involving Indian and U.S. navies, along with those of Japan, Australia and Singapore have drawn a lot of flak. The direction in which Indo-American military ties have been heading has also been criticized. A report from 3-4 years back by the Information Assurance Technology Analysis Center (IATAC), quoted here, reads, "U.S. military seeks a competent military partner that can take on more responsibility for low-end operations in Asia, such as peace-keeping operations, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and high-value cargo escort, which will allow the U.S. military to concentrate its resource on high-end fighting missions." (emphasis added).

While the American conceit should not be overlooked, India needs to look at its options dispassionately. For sure, India should refrain being from allowing the U.S. to setup military bases in India similar to those in Turkey or Poland, or allow too much inter-operability to be established between the armed forces of the two countries (which could potentially allow the U.S. to remote-control maneouvres and operations of Indian forces when they wish to.) However, the low-end operations should not be looked at with too much disdain.

The low-end operations such as off-shore patrolling and securing the high seas and busy shipping lanes from acts of piracy ought to be seen as confidence-building measures among regional countries. In geopolitics, a country is often only as powerful as other think it is, and thus far though a non-specific acknowledgement of Indian ascendancy is given in various parts of the world, the Indian point of view has rarely been given due consideration. By winning over smaller powers by gestures of goodwill, India can develop its sphere of influence from the bottum-up and in an arguably more stable manner. 

A landmark pact in defense cooperation was signed just earlier this month by Manmohan Singh and the Emir of Qatar, where India agreed to go to the resuce if the latter's interests are threatened. Chief among Qatari concerns was piracy on the high seas, and the pact lays out a structure for joint maritime security and training. India has also been deploying its navy for piracy patrol in the straits of Malacca since 2006, relieving U.S. naval ships and joining the Singaporean and Malayasian navies. When taken together with the Indian Navy's recent activities off the horn of Africa, one can comfortably make the claim that India now is a major player in securing three strategically important areas in South Asia: the strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Aden, and the Straits of Malacca. Over half the reported incidents of piracy in the world these last few years have taken place in the latter two. 

If success continues over the next few years in similar ventures, India will also be in a much better position to get the U.S. to dismantle its military base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, amongst others in South Asia.

All this needs to be given priority while setting the defence budget by whichever government that comes to power in 2009. Acquisition of 4th and 5th generation fighter aircraft, T-90S Bhishma tanks, aircraft carriers such as the Admiral Gorshkov and nuclear submarines, though all vital for national defense and needed to maintain a suitable deterrent against external threats of agression, by themselves they will not actively enhance India's importance in the region or the world. Instead, it would be the construction and deployment of lower-profile ships such as corvettes, frigates and offshore patrol vehicles that would truly make a difference. 

It is assuring to learn though, that the current defense budgets and proposals are not ignoring such needs. 5 frigates, 8 corvettes and several patrol vehicles are either currently under construction or have been ordered, with many more planned for the near future. Whether these are enough, or whether there is a need for increased spending for such ships is necessary, is hard to say. 

Personally, I should admit that I am very impressed by the diplomatic and strategic overtures made by the current administration, more so over the past few months than before. Where there was a certain lack of will and apparent sycophancy among certain members of the current government, it seems to have been replaced almost entirely by a rational, considered and deliberate (even if a bit too deliberate) outlook in India's foreign affairs. 

May I have the next dance, Miss Ball?

Stephen Colbert, in his inimitable style, talks of Jane Austen and Baseball.

A Wag of my Finger to British Author Julian Norridge, who claimed that Baseball originated in Britain, just because the word 'baseball' first appeared in the Jane Austen novel, Northanger Abbey, forty years before the sport was played here.

That doesn't mean that baseball is British! Austen wasn't writing about American baseball, it was a Jane Austen version, where the ball is not hurled about rudely, but introduced to the bat through proper channels at a society function. And one does not steal bases like a commoner, one sends word to the next base ahead by messenger, requesting to approach at the base's leisure. Of course, what the bat cannot reveal is that though he loves the ball desperately, he's sworn an oath of loyalty to the glove, to whom the ball was promised. So the bat must pretend that he hates the ball, swatting at it though he wishes nothing more than to profess his undying affection. But he can't, he musn't, he shan't. 

And so... the bad must retreat to the gardens of his estate and pine. 

The point is... the point is, Jane Austen, stay away from baseball. Stick to what you're good at, making your readers believe some debonair stranger will ride his horse through the rain over your father's fields. 

[Cut to Stephen behind an old window, with rain in front.] Oh, where are you, Mr. Darcy? Keep your promise!

*is rolling on the floor*

(It comes somewhere near the middle of that video. Enjoy! And you can go here in case the video doesn't work on my page.)

And to hell with Palin. Colbert for 2012!

A World Lost.

It is with disbelief and sadness that I am writing here today, that Michael Crichton, author extraordinaire, died on Tuesday after a private battle with cancer. 

From the shores of Isla Nublar to the lost city of Zinj, from mediaeval Dordogne to the Nordic lands of yore, he will be missed. The sadness is in part quite selfish, I will admit, that I will never get to read another Crichton novel for the first time. 

A generation of authors seem to be breathing their last. Robert Jordan, Arthur C. Clarke, and now Michael Crichton. Is there anyone capable enough of stepping into their shoes? One can but hope. 

Michael Crichton

October 23, 1942 - November 4, 2008

"Life breaks free. Life expands to new territories. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life finds a way." -- Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park. 

If I had to pick five people who were responsible for my interest in science and a scientific career, Crichton would undoubtably be among them. 

You could find his excellent opinion piece about the death of mass media here. You should note that he wrote this in 1993, fifteen years ago. And he was vindicated 11 years later, in 2004. I should also mention that along with Al Gore, he has had a great influence on my views on global warming. (The last link seems to be temporarily down perhaps due to excessive traffic.)

Sirigannadam gelge!

On the eve of the fifty-second anniversary of the formation of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the central government gave the two states a most coveted prize: the granting of classical status to the two languages Kannada and Telugu.

A status enjoyed only by Tamil and Sanskrit so far, the Union cultural minister Ambika Soni announced today that two languages had been allowed to join this elite group. A nine member committee of linguistic experts had been formed for this purpose after four years of intense lobbying by the respective state governments and an assortment of political and civil entities from the two states. 

Is this but a cheap political trick on the part of the Congress government which is soon to face nation-wide elections and the expected anti-incumbent factors? Or will the parties currently in power in the two states tout this as a victory and try to score some political points? Did the committee have to lower prior standards for this classical language status in order to award it to Kannada and Telugu? All this even if one forgets to consider the validity of those prior standards and the ulterior motive behind awarding the classical language status to Sanskrit and Tamil four years ago. 

Yes, the worse the idea, greater the chances that it's true. But. None of that matters. Kannada finally got the classical language tag that it so rightly deserves! The Halmidi inscription, the earliest known use of full-length Kannada, dates back to circa 450 CE. 1500 known years of continuous use surely deserves something. The kingdoms and dynasties which ruled over ancient Karnataka all switched their loyalties from literary Sanskrit to the common man's Kannada, slowly developing the literature of the language. Over the centuries it has enjoyed the royal patronage of the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Gangas, the Hoysalas, the Vijayanagara empire and the Wodeyars of Mysore after them. It is the language of kavirajamarga, it is the language of Pampa and Ranna and Ponna. It is the language in which Purandara Dasa sang of Vittala, it is the language in which Carnatic music as we know it today was systematized and stylized. 

Modern Kannada has been living up to its glory days in courts of Amoghavarsha I, Veera Ballala II, and Krishnadevaraya. With the likes of Kuvempu, Gorur and Maasti, since independence Kannada literature has managed to bag seven Jnanpith and fifty one Sahitya Akademi awards, more than any other language in the country. It is in our times that Bhimsen Joshi introduced many non-Kannada speakers to the language with his sublime rendition of Bhagyada Lakshmi Baaramma. 

So sit back, relax, forget all politics for a while and bask in the glow inherent to being a Kannadiga. 

Sirigannadam gelge!

Top right. A Hoysala stone inscription from a Lakshmi temple at Doddagaddavalli, Hassan district, circa 12th century CE.

Bottom. Dated circa 700 CE, the Kappe Arabhatta inscription at Badami, Bagalkot district is the earliest known example of Kannada poetry. It is written in what appears to be an early form of the tripadi meter, ubiquitous in early Kannada verse. 

PS. It is with regret that the author of this post refuse to claim having any significant reading or writing skills in the language he so identifies with, as a prime component of his cultural heritage even.

PPS. As corny as it may sound, I offer the heartiest of congratulations to Telugu and Telugu speakers as well. As the language of Tyagaraja's music, its positive impact on me hasn't been insignificant. 

Intoxicate me now.

Toxic. The latest song which has managed to bury itself into my head and get stuck there. And before you run off thinking that it's the Britney Spears song I'm talking about, stop. Yes, it is her song I'm talking about, but covered by the most wunderful Yael Naim. 

Rising to fame when Apple featured her song "New Soul" in the MacBook Air commercial, rumour has it that it was Steve Jobs himself who discovered her. Of French-Israeli origins, she sings rather well in English, French and Hebrew.

And she was in Madison last night. Music is usually so much better live, but yesterday was so much more. Giving off an Anne Hathaway-Julie Delpy vibe (which could never ever go wrong, obviously,) she was enthralling, accentuating the music with some memorable antics. And that voice!  

I'm positively smitten. :) 

The highlight of the concert for me was Toxic. The studio recording is lovely, and the live version magical. What she played at SXSW comes close, I suppose. 

It was hilarious when she started playing New Soul. Half the girls in the audience (and two guys. Just two,) ran up to the stage and started jumping up and down. 

And the applause after the concert did not stop until the whole troupe came back on stage wearing red (Go Badgers!) and performed New Soul again and then some. My feeble words cannot do justice to her music or her performance. She's touring in the US for the next week or two. Hope you can catch a concert!

New exhibit unveiled.

Chicago, IL. A new exhibit was unveiled on Saturday at the Art Institute of Chicago containing a single photograph by a reclusive French artist who wished to remain unnamed, titled Au large de la fonte. 

Noted Italian art critic Grigio Pellegrino had this to say about it, "... [the photograph] embodies contrapositive destruction, the removal of one object from the universe by another leaving only the shell of existence which reflects the human condition."

The late Henri Cartier-Bresson was unavailable for comment, but the manager of his estate expressed strong feelings of disappointment that the photograph was not in black and white. 

The Indian Association of Orthopedic Surgeons issued a vociferous statement alleging that the photograph belittled the human trauma that ought to dominate any study undertaken, however artsy(sic), of orthopedics. When asked if the leg ought to be included in the photograph, the director instead suggested an inclusion of the surgeon involved in the creation of the cast. 

The exhibit is open from 10:30am-8:00pm Monday through Thursday, 10:30am-5:00pm on Friday and 10:00am-5:00pm on Saturday and Sunday.

In between lenses.

Most people who love photography get stuck behind the lens a little too often for their own liking. It isn't something that is easily admitted, though. 

It's nice to have someone better than yourself at photography come along with you to lovely places. And include you in the frame in a most tasteful fashion when possible.

Taken in MahakooTa and Badami, Bagalkot district, Karnataka.

Photos courtesy Grey skull. And that awesome cam of his.

To drink philosophically.

Café Descartes: I drink, therefore I am.

Taken from a bus somewhere in the Near North region of downtown Chicago. 

The other side of the veil.

Ok, just so you're on board from the very beginning, this isn't another article criticizing the journalism of the Times of India. 

Earlier today, the ToI ran an article titled Pak claims girl killed in LoC firing. 

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army has alleged that a girl was killed on its side of the border after Indian troops fired at its troops at the Line of Control (LoC). 

However, terming the charge as 'baseless', Indian Brigadier Gopala Krishnan Mural said that militants from Pakistan infiltrated into India and triggered a gun-battle that left several of the insurgents dead. 

Pakistan Army spokesman Major Murad Khan said the girl has been identified as Rania. "Indian troops fired across the LoC and Pakistani troops returned the fire," The Daily Times quoted Khan as saying. While strongly protesting the Indian firing at the LoC, Pakistan has demanded a flag meeting. 

When a news article talks of an Indian jawan being shot near the LoC, there's no doubt in our minds. If it wasn't the militants, it was the Pakistani army. But here, doubts linger. In our minds, in the journalist's mind, in everyone. Things become "alleged". It is possible, is it not, we ask ourselves, that the Pakistani army spokesperson may be lying. 

I am not saying that it isn't. I'm only questioning our lack of even a little doubt when "our side" makes of claim of similar nature. For sake of argument, is it also not possible that the Indian army misattributed the cause for one of its jawan's deaths? 

Also, have you ever noticed how these articles follow a rather fixed template? I dug up this article published in Pakistan's Daily Times on the 20th of May this year. Here are a couple of excerpts from the piece. 

Pakistan Army denies shooting Indian soldier across LoC

Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas has termed Indian military allegations of Pakistani troops killing an Indian soldier across the Line of Control (LoC) as baseless.

...“No firing from this side of any kind has taken place,” Abbas said, adding that military officials would pursue a meeting with their Indian counterparts to clarify the matter... 

...“The soldier died in unprovoked firing from across the LoC,” an army spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Anil Kumar Mathur, told AFP... The Indian army said the firing was unprovoked and they would lodge a protest.

“We have sought a flag meeting with the local commander to lodge our strong protest over the incident,” he added. “Pakistan is only responsible for this unprovoked attack,” he said.

Baseless. Check. Unprovoked attack. Check. Protest lodging. Check. Flag meeting. Check.

Funny game they all play. 

PS. There's a very interesting article by Robert D. Kaplan in The Atlantic, that I would recommend for those interested, on the world view of the ISI and how it looks at Indo-Afghan ties (via Sepia Mutiny). While it is unfair to assume that the perceptions and paranoia of the common Pakistani and the ISI are the same, it does give us a glance as to what lies on the other side of the veil. We feel so threatened every time China helps Pakistan, how do you think Pakistan feels about the Karzai government becoming chaddi dost with India?

No one can help Sgt. Jimenez.

What the fish? I thought I'd posted this ages ago. Anyhou, here it is.

As it turns out, Staff Sgt. Jiminez Alex Ramon is a real person. Of the delta company, 4th battalion, 31st regiment, 2nd brigade combat team, 10th mountain division of light infantry. Hailing from Lawrence, Massachusetts, he was really in Iraq.

And then he went missing on May 12, 2007, during an ambush on the 4th Battalion somewhere in South Baghdad. His body was found earlier this year (a few months ago, the news reports seem to have conflicting dates, so I cannot say for certain when,) and returned home.

So I wonder why the good fellow who sent me that e-mail used this particular name. Maybe he started using it while the soldier was still missing, maybe? To attract even greater curiosity? Or was there an implicit assumption that it would be unlikely in the extreme for me to know anything about the real seargent? I'm very much aware that I might be over-thinking it, but I've never stopped for that reason alone.

Anyhou.

The tracking software on my blog told me something rather interesting last week. Someone from the town of Wetter, Nordrhein-Westfalen in Germany visited my page by searching for "spcjiminez@live.com". Which, as of right now throws up only one result. I'm assuming that if it were someone who had also got the same mail as me, he or she would've left a comment there.

So. Sgt. Jiminez's shade seems to be resting in some nondescript li'l town on the Franco-German border. And in retrospect, has picked up a German influence in the written English grammar that he uses. In German one capitalizes all nouns, irrespective of position in the sentence, something that can potentially explain the ease with which he's capitalized things here and there in the mail.

Lemme know if you have analyses more interesting than my own.