THE STORY OF STOLT VALOR

June 27, 1976, Air France flight139, carrying 248 passengers and twelve crew members, en route from Tel Aviv to Paris took off from Athens sometime in the afternoon. Shortly afterwards, the aircraft was hijacked by two members of the Popular Front of Palestine and two Germans from the German revolutionary Cells. The hijacked plane after refuelling in Beghazi in Libya, finally landed at the Entebbe airport in Uganda.

Uganda at that particular point of time was under the dictatorship of Idi Amin. Idi Amin is considered to be amongst the cruellest despots in modern history. Iterestingly Idi Amin had assumed the title of: "His Excellency, President for life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of all the beasts of the earth and fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in general and Uganda in particular." Do we need to say anything more about this man !

After its landing in Uganda, the hijackers were joined by three more Palestinian hijackers, and the passengers and the crew were conveniently moved out of the plane to the terminal building of the airport, with due connivance of the Ugandan authorities. The demand of the hijackers was the release of 40 Palestinian terrorists in Israeli jails and 13 terrorists held in various countries like Kenya, France, Switzerland and the erstwhile West Germany.

The hijackers then released the non Israeli and the non Jewish passengers, which trimmed down the number of hostages to 83 along with 20 others which included the crew. Negotiations between the Israeli government and the hijackers bore no fruit, and the situation looked grim.

In the early hours of the 4th of July, 1976, four Hercules C 130 aeroplanes circled over the Entebbe airport. The passengers were no ordinary passengers, for they were the elite commandos of the Israeli Defence Force. To their surprise, the commandos found that the runway lights had not been switched off. Undeterred,the planes landed with their hatches already opened. The Ugandan forces which were present in full strength,detected nothing, as out came a Black Mercedes and a Land Rover car, from the aircraft.The cars were exact replicas of the ones used by Idi Amin,in order to befool the Ugandan forces, and before realisation dawned,.......the attack was on. All the terrorists,alongwith 45 Ugandan army personnel were killed. 3 hostages were also killed in the battle. The lone Israeli casualty was Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, who was killed by sniper fire. Incidentally, Col. Netanyahu's younger brother Binyamin Netanyahu later became the Prime Minister of Israel. The Israeli forces also destroyed 11 MiG 17 aircrafts which had been parked at Entebbe, in order to counter an Israeli attack. The Israeli forces which had taken a circuitous route to reach Entebbe, so that the Ugandan radars could not detect their approach, went back along with the hostages.

Operation THUNDERBOLT was over.

The statement of the Israelis before the U.N, when Uganda pressed for action against it, shows the determination this country possessed, the Israeli ambassador Chaim Herzog said:

" We come with a simple message to the Council: we are proud of what we have done because we have demonstrated to the world that a small country, in Israel's circumstances, with which the members of this Council are by now all too familiar, the dignity of man, human life and human freedom constitute the highest values. We are proud not only because we have saved the lives of over a hundred innocent people—men, women and children—but because of the significance of our act for the cause of human freedom."

September 15, 2008:

A Hong Kong registered and Panamanian owned cargo vessel MT Stolt Valor en route to Mumbai from the Suez, is hijacked off the coast of Yemen by Somali pirates. The crew on board the ship consist of 18 Indians, 2 Fillipinos, 1 Bangladeshi and one Russian. The ship is anchored in Somali waters till date.

The coast of Yemen has become the hot bed of seafaring pirates, with hijacking becoming big business. Like kidnapping in India, it is basically outsourced to the poor, with the real mafiosi taking over once the hijacking has taken place. Even last month, a ship with some Indian crew on board was hijacked, the crew were later on freed, not without ransom of course. Reportedly the Somalians have developed an expertise in this field with a town on the Somalian coast,boasting of citizenry, all of whom are involved in this art.

For more than 10 days , 18 Indians are in captivity inside their ship. As per information received by family members who established contact through satellite phone,the crew is fast running out of food and the hijackers are turning hostile.

Now sample the response of the Indian establishment towards these unfortunate souls.

The Indian Navy wants permission from the government to enter the Somali waters and rescue these sailors, who are facing an extremely hostile situation, for these pirates are ruthless and have no qualms in killing their hostages. After all they are professionals and cannot stay on if they do not receive ransom, for them it is waste of time, as they need to move on.

The MARCOS (Marine commandos) are itching for action,and the Navy is confident of its capabilities.The Navy Chief has sought permission for action. But the Indian leadership is clueless, as usual... .....

The defence minister A.K.Antony, a minister whose integrity is a rarity in these times, said ;

" The problem is that we have no agreement with Somalia on this. We are trying our best but the ship is at a Somali port and we have no agreement (to tackle the situation). We can act only as per the law,"

Excuse me, Mr. Minister!! What law prevents you from proceeding to save the lives of your citizens. Are these sailors in the lawful custody of the Somali govt? Did Israel wait for an agreement to act?

Sir, we are talking about lives, about families, about human dignity, ........about Indian citizens. Would the same alibi been given, if God forbid, one of the sailors was the kith and kin of a minister or a bureaucrat. Here we give elite security to the son- in- laws and daughter- in- laws of the powers that be, and we need laws to counter an unlawful situation!!

The Indian Navy is touted as a Blue Water navy, which has ambitions to defend the entire route from South East Asia till the Suez Canal . The tradition of the Indian Navy defending its borders and protecting its people in far off lands is nothing new. The Chola kings during the medieval period had a very strong navy, which protected its commercial interests. Once when Indian traders were harassed by Chinese sailors in South East asia,the Chola king despatched his navy to protect his traders there. The Chinese were defeated and stayed silent thereafter. Kanohji Angre, who led the navy of Shivaji,ensured that the Portugese were repulsed every time they approached the Indian ports.

Today the same Navy is being made to wait for orders from the govt.....Orders to save its own people.......UNFORTUNATELY.

Time is running out fast!

Time is of prime essence in cases like this. Remember the day when the hijacked IC 814 landed at the Amritsar airport for refuelling. The crisis management group of the govt. dithered, and the subsequent result needs no story telling.

Cut to the incident when the daughter of Mufti Mohd.Sayeed,the then minister of state for Home, was kidnapped by terrorists in 1989,and the prompt release of five terrorists in bargain. Do we need to brush up on the definition of Hypocrisy.

We Indians have the pretension of being a super power, the swagger of our economic growth (never mind 'honour killings, female foeticide, the fact that more than half the population lives in sub Saharan Africa like conditions) , but in fact we are the biggest pleaders in the World. We plead before our neighbours to stop instigating terrorism in our country, we plead with the terrorists spreading havoc in the country with a 'they are our brothers only' theme,(The latest statement from our designer clothes Home Minister), we mortgage our sovereignty before foreign superpowers for the sake of nuclear fuel, we plead before people spreading communal tension,our policemen plead before the truck drivers for their 'hafta' irrespective of the cargo they are carrying. The common man , well, he pleads for everything, reservation in trains, electricity, better roads, safety of his family,clean drinking water and what not.

In the instant crisis (although our leaders still do not think of it as one) , we look in askance before the U.S. whose navy patrols the Somali waters for the sake of the safety of their ships. Does this approach befits a country which wishes to see itself as a permanent member of the U.N security council? Even the French, who are renowned for their laid back approach towards life (perhaps the only country which strictly imposes its 35 hour per week policy at the work place) sent in their commandos to rescue an elderly French-Polynesian couple from their hijackers in Somali waters, a couple of months ago. A similar group of pirates had hijacked them in their private yatch. Imagine if people can be rescued from a yatch which is much smaller than a ship in area, what stops us?

Perhaps the fact that it is only a group of 18 people, which does not constitute a vote bank is holding our country back. Further, the mainstream media is also not bothered about this 'story' (except a few honourable exceptions), so the pressure to act is even less, not that it would have made any particular difference. The lack of media coverage has also resulted in the fact that a man on the street does not even know about this incident.

The Government is not bothered and has for all practical purposes left 18 Indians to their fate. The fact that the Govt.has also left 1 billion Indians to their fate is of no solace to the families of these sailors. The P.M is busy attending to his dream project aka the nuclear deal, the foreign minister has not uttered a single word regarding this incidence, the defence minister speaks of legalities,......................while 18 sailors and their hopes and families........drift away.

Decades ago, the same Idi Amin drove away thousands of Indians from Uganda without the Indian rulers of the day raising so much as a whimper. The story was nearly repeated in Kenya last year, when Indian owned establishments were ransacked and looted, while the Indian govt. refused to raise its voice in protest or when 13 B.S.F personnel were ambushed by the Bangladesh Defence Rifles personnel, on Indian territory, and paraded like dead animals.

Though it might sound outlandish and offensive, it is astounding to notice the lack of sense of identity we Indians have ,which is worsened by the lack of confidence we have in our abilities. For heavens sake, how long will we keep on looking towards others to save us. Did Raja Raja Chola ask for any help when traders from his kingdom were harassed in South East Asia sometime in 1000 A.D ? Did Shivaji ask Aurangzeb for help in order to protect his coast from the depredations of the Portugese?

If India has to achieve its full potential, the people must be made aware of the oneness of the nation, the sense of sharing a common heritage, the feeling that we as Indians may have a difference of opinion on various issues, we may differ on our religious and political affiliations , but India remains one , and no one, absolutely no one can be permitted to harm the nation and its people and get away with it, be it the terrorists, be it the pirates, be it the foreign countries inimical to us, or our very own people who care for nothing else but themselves and lining their pockets.

The price of an Indian citizen has to be made prohibitively expensive.

The country has to get behind the sailors. Pardon me for borrowing from the Home Minister although in a different context, while I call them 'our brothers', have to be brought home and brought home safely. We cannot fail them and the nation.

The nation cannot remain silent for eternity .

NEW DELHI 9/13

The time is 6.10 P.M on the 13th of September,2008, on a hot and sultry evening in the capital, New Delhi.

One of the news channel receives an e mail,from an unidentified source.The mail is in the form of a power point presentation ,courtesy the Indian Mujahideen.The various presentations apart from abusing the Indian system of life,Indian religion and the Indian people includes certain separate presentations,viz ,' YOUR DIRTY BLOOD',which shows a person dying from a blast,with blood oozing from his body,'YOUR BLOOD BATH',the visuals accompanying the slogan needs no explanation,'YOUR FUTURE',shows a small child lying on a hospital bed with bandages all over his body,'YOUR TERMINATION' has a dead body covered in a shroud ,with a relative weeping nearby,'YOUR LEADERS' is accompanied by language which cannot be reproduced for public consumption.The catch phrase is that explosions are about to be set off in the city.

Implicitly,it is a 'catch us if you can',challenge.

Before anybody can realize the magnitude of the message, multiple explosions rock the city.

The explosion is accompanied by a deafening sound.Human parts fly off in all directions,vehicles are thrown up in the air and catch fire.For a few moments following the blast,life comes to a standstill,both literally and figuratively.Debris all over,a thick pall of smoke and dust hangs in the environment.People in the vicinity who have miraculously escaped death are too stunned to react.The scene in front of their eyes does not make it any easier,as they see dead bodies, which can hardly be called bodies following the disfigurement,injured with grievous injuries on their person, crying children.The scene is not for the weak hearted.

The law enforcer,the policeman,who was busy collecting his dues from the unauthorised hawkers,illegally parked vehicles and traffic rules violators,runs away from the scene to inform his superior.He does not want to waste time in helping the injured and securing the area for forensic details or even in calling up for fire brigade and ambulance.Besides he does not want to spoil his uniform while helping the individuals,who are bleeding like a stream.His uniform allowance is a pittance,and he is no Home Minister that he can change his clothes three times in three hours.He is a mere constable and knows fully well which side of his bread is buttered.So off he goes to inform his superior,who in turn has to intimate his boss.The constable remembers the firing he got from his superior, when he informed the control room only, without informing his superior directly, and went out to help an individual who had met with a serious accident.The bosses wanted the news,immediately,before the darned news channels got it.

The first to rush in assistance are the Common people,the neighbouring shop keepers,the bystanders, the people passing by.Without a care in the world for their own safety,they rush in,after their initial fear is overcome.They lift the injured, extricate people trapped under the debris,stop passing autos,cars,whatever in order to rush the injured to hospitals.Some lend their mobile phones to the injured,so that the concerned families are informed. Nobody cares whether the injured is a Hindu,Muslim or for that matter an atheist.The priority is to save the injured.The politicians can come in later on.

The policeman has in the meanwhile come back.The scene before him is heart rending."What the heck",he mutters to himself, and joins in helping the injured.He curses himself and his greed,for becoming so oblivious to the suffering.The entire area surrounding the blast site,pitches in, Guys in suits and ties,roll their sleeves and join in,the rag pickers are not behind.

Within minutes of the blast and even before the police reinforcements can arrive, the News Channels guys arrive.There is an old saying in Hindi,"JAHAN NA PAHOOCHE RAVI, WAHAN PAHOOCHE KAVI" (the poets reach places where even sun cannot reach).These fellows from the electronic media are the modern day poets.

The blast site now becomes the site for the channel wars. All the channels want to take vantage points, no camera angle can be left unexplored.This is an opportunity of a lifetime. Excitedly,they speak into the cameras with the blast scene in the background.Vigorously shaking their hands and rolling their eyes, they explain the nuances of the scene to the anchors sitting in the comforts of the H.Q. Not a hand is raised in support of the injured or the people helping them out.They cannot let go of this story,you see! Let the govt. help the people! After all, what if XX channel takes advantage of their helping out the injured and gets an extra byte. "According to our information,@#%# organisation is behind the blast", some say, others go on,"Our sources in the intelligence dept...".The Mahabharat of news channels is being played out,"As you see,this man is in a pretty bad shape,imagine his family must be waiting for ....It appears that a senior police official has arrived on the scene,let us hear what he has to say." Let the family wait!

The senior sahib from the Indian Police Service (designation does not matter, they are all the same),had received the message from the SHO,and has reached the spot, muttering all the while.After all he had taken Mrs. for shopping .There is this guy on Connaught place whom sahib had helped in an accident case and saved him from a prison term.The shopkeeper is indebted to sahib, and gives a very good discount on all antique items(We all know what discount means,don't we?) . Sahib and memsahib were supposed to have dinner at the posh club afterwards.It was the same club which charges Rs. 10-15 lakhs for membership,but for sahib it was for free. This cursed blast had spoilt everything, and sahib was afraid that his Golf schedule for Sunday was also ruined."@##$%% ",he swore, "why set off explosions on a Saturday,when you can target more people on a working day".But anyway he arrived,looking all grim and mouthing obscenities to his subordinates, for 'their lapse' and making pious statements before the TV channels."The Police Commissioner must be on the way", he thought and set about looking busy.

Suddenly the mobile phone of one the TV reporters rang.It was an IB (Intelligence Bureau) guy,who used to give the reporter the 'Sources in Intelligence' bit.He wanted to know the extent of damage caused by the blast at the site,"Arre yaar,kisi ne jimmedari li kya?(Has anybody owned up?) ,he enquired from the reporter.He had been deputed to follow up on a political opponent of the Govt., by his boss,when his primary duty was 'Counter Intelligence'.Now he had to submit an immediate report regarding the blast and the people behind it .This was routine for the IB guy,who had been in similar situation before.That is why he supplied information to the media guys, who helped him out in times like this.

Life had stopped for some , but for others it was another day in office.

The injured were being rushed to hospitals.the doctors were on an overdrive,since they had to battle the injuries as well as lack of facilities.There were ultra modern private hospitals opening up. Hospitals which got subsidised land,were permitted to import latest equipments by waiving off Customs duty,ostensibly on the grounds of treating a certain amount of poor people free of cost.That nobody had seen the poor receiving treatment in these hospitals,is well, a trivial issue.Not surprisingly,the injured are as a matter of routine never taken to these Private Hospitals. After all it appears that the rich and the VVIP's cannot be disturbed.The common people who bring the injured to the hospitals,as well as others who hear the news, line up to donate blood for the injured.The Muslims do not ask whether it is the blood of the Hindus which is being injected,neither do the Hindus. Come to think of it,in a situation like this it is always the common man who comes forward to donate blood,the blood of our 'leaders' and bureaucrats is too precious to waste like this,it seems.

The hospitals are by now overcrowded, with the relatives,friends,wellwishers of the injured and the dead.thronging the premises.There is hardly any room to stand, but our friends, the TV reporters, have a job to do.They are standing on the steps,the lobby,any goddamn place which can show their presence in the hospital and give them 'exclusive visuals'.Some try to venture inside the ward,for a 'better view' and 'first hand report',but the staff shoo them away.

Suddenly there is a flutter amongst the senior police officials and other bureaucrats,and the place is abuzz .Carloads of security personnel start arriving, all armed to the teeth. A special ambulance arrives at the sight. The bomb disposal squad arrives at the hospital and begins to scour the hospital.The patients and their attendants do not know what is going on.People are apprehensive of another attack,this time in the Hospital. You certainly do not expect anything better from these "freedom fighters', an attack at the hospital gives them good publicity as well as easy victims.

Sirens blaring,beacon lights flashing,a fleet of around 20 cars enters the Hospital compound.The secret is let out.It is the Home Minister,who has taken time out of his busy schedule and decided to pay the injured a visit. He is surrounded by scores of security personnel, the moment he steps out of his car.These elite security personnel were raised to fight the terror related acts like sabotage,hijacking,and stuff.Now they do what most of the govt. servants are supposed to do,i.e.protect the "public servants", the public can wait.

The Home Minister has changed his suit,three in a matter of few hours,but that is an extremely cynical way of looking at it.The minister after all is a representative of the people (what of it that he lost the Lok Sabha elections),and he cares for the sentiments of the people.Haven't we seen the death scenes in numerous movies and serials where everybody wears white.Now when this poor man does so, everybody sniggers.Why this double standard? If the poor fellow came dressed in a cream coloured suit, we would go ballistic about his 'insensitivity'.

The Home Minister mouths platitudes about 'fighting terror', 'not bowing down before terror', 'need for a federal intelligence agency', 'appreciating the resilience of the people'.

We are indeed fortunate to have ministers like this,and these esteemed Hon'bles (notice the ads where the ministers are addressed like this) are our best best bet to fight terror.There is one thing common amongst the terrorists and the Hon'bles. One is consistent in its tactics of creating chaos through explosions etc., and the other in mouthing the same things after each such act, robotically. Some body has to blink, and rest assured that it is not going to be our Hon'bles.

But the ungrateful,cynical people we are, nobody listens to the H.M. Not even the TV reporters are interested, but then they have nothing better to do for the moment, so what the heck!

In the meanwhile, in order to protect the "people's representative", the main entrance to the hospital is barred , and people have to use the side entrance.Distraught families and relatives, people bringing medicines for the injured have to enter through the side entrance, while the minister and his entourage occupy the main entrance.The ungrateful common people want the use of the main entrance at this critical juncture. Always thinking about themselves,aren't they?

The minister of state for Home goes a step further, and says that "security cannot be provided to one billion people". Bravo sir! Way to go! After providing security to the 'people's representative',where is the need to provide security to the 'people' themselves. Let them fend for themselves. If they want security from terrorists, let them eliminate the terrorists themselves. Welcome to the age of Self reliance.

By now the 'experts' on security affairs have been brought out of their hibernation, by the TV channels, alongwith all and sundry politicians. Notice the fact that not a single person who rushed to the spot,carried the injured and donated blood , is ever interviewed.

Most of these 'security experts' who spout their wisdom on various channels are retired police officials.That these worthies were no better than their present day counterparts is , well, nobody's concern. No anchor questions the credentials of these dead woods and their contribution towards the evolution of a safe society and respect for the rule of law.These worthies go on and on about the methods to counter terrorists and their psychology, policing and intelligence. Suddenly, Intelligence or the lack of it has become the favourite flogging horse.

Recent media reports suggest that three of the perpetrators of this ghastly act were under the scanner in the days preceding the blast. The three had met the prime accused Subhan Quereshi, in the Azamgarh dist. of Uttar Pradesh. Information in this regard had been divulged by the two persons arrested by the Gujarat and Rajasthan police in the recent past. Reportedly, the U.P police refused to give the green signal for their arrests because they were afraid of disturbing the 'communally surcharged' atmosphere of Azamgarh.Then these fellows disappeared, and Delhi happened.

Bravo again sirs. Please do not be surprised to see the D.G of U.P police talking about policing and taking on the terrorrists on T.V channels, post retirement.A memoirs on leading the biggest police force in the country, encounters may already be on the anvil.

Which brings us back to the point of 'intelligence failure'. My question is that whether we have the political and executive will to act on these intelligence reports. Intelligence is not worth the paper it is printed on, if not acted upon. If the will was in place, maybe , just maybe, a few lives would have been saved. But then what does a small man like me know!

Meanwhile, the politicians are having a field day on the T.V channels.Everyone is accusing the other one about just about everything.The anchor is having a tough time controlling the panellists, but news trickles in about TRP's , and the anchor lets it be.

The great 'people's representative', the one who roamed around with an Osama bin Laden lookalike for the sake of votes, and is a cabinet minister now, is not to be seen on any channel.But rest asssured, the fellow will be back in a few days,mouthing homilies, and no one, absolutely no one, will question this act of treason and sedition.

It is getting around mid night.The doctor's in the hospitals are getting fatigued, after all they have been working tirelessly for the past 6-7 hours. In India , we do not requisition the services of the doctor's serving in the Private hospitals, the one's who earn a fat pay package,after studying in Govt. subsidised colleges. They are back home, comfortably enconsed in their beds.

But the family members of the injured have no such comforts.Heated arguments break out between the doctors and the attendants of the patients.Nobody but the circumstances is to be blamed.

The govt has announced compensation package for the family of the dead, dying or injured. One agitated relative remarks sarcastically,"I will pay their family double the amount from my own pocket,if something like this happens to these 'leaders'. Can they bring back my ..." The rest are too fatigued and worried, to even react.

The police, the national security guards and other forensic experts are all over the blast site, searching for that all elusive clue,that just might help them in nailing the culprit, provided the govt. has the will.

It is a going to be a very long night.

Our friend, the IPS sahib,is digruntled. His Sunday is ruined. If his subordinates are working like mad , he cannot go back home.The media guys might roast him alive, if he makes an appearance at the Golf club.

The discussions on the TV channels are coming to an end.Now the field reporters have to replace the 'experts'. The show must go on.

After a hard day's work, somebody in a nearby hotel,switches off the TV set. It has been a long day. The person has a sinister smile on his face. He texts a message to somebody,"Pathake ki aawaz suni kya?"(Did you hear the cracker?). Subhan Quereshi , the prime suspect,hits the bed for the night.

The noise in the hospital is of inconsolable wailing.Another martyr for the sake of the society and life that is India, is no more.India which gives space to all faith,assimilates various religions in its local traditions, an India which lets everybody profess his faith and live in peace, can only hear the wailing for its dead,while the enemies go to sleep peacefully..........UNFORTUNATELY.

The next morning, the newspapers present contrasting death toll. Some say '20 dead', others '25 dead', some talk of the resilient people of Delhi and their "Muhtod Jawab"(fitting reply) to the terrorists . People all over the country set out for their daily routine. The topic of discussion remains the blast and stuff.

6-7 years old Chander Prakash,also sets out with his mother Laxmi.The kid is wearing a green shorts and black T shirt, and looks adorable. In front of the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in New Delhi, he watches 10-15 policemen while away their time . Chander Prakash watches them in rapt attention, with his fingers twirled around the back of his head. It is going to be long day for him,......... for he has come to receive the dead body of his father who was killed in the blast yesterday.

For Chander, life has changed forever.

Disclaimer: The details are fictitious,the incident well........!
Chander Prakash is a real life boy , who lost his father in the blast.(Photograph in The Hindu, New Delhi edition,the 15th of September,2008).

My condolences to the families of the deceased.May God give them strength to bear their loss.

JAAGO BHARAT JAAGO

EKLA CHALO (WALK ALONE)

The scene is set in a room in the headquarters of the Trinamool Congress, in Kolkata. Present are the leaders of the Trinamool Congress, Ms. Mamta Banerjee, other associates and a young man in his early 20's Tapan Mukherjee. Tapan is a student of the prestigious Presidency college of Kolkata, and is hugely influenced by Marxism and the creation of an egaliatarian society. His natural inclination towards Marxism is caught in a perpetual conflict with the growth of the 'Free Market Society' and the enormous opportunities it presents for the youth.

31 years of Communist rule in West Bengal with the resultant trappings of power have resulted in the ideology driven youth like Tapan shifting away from the Communist rule, although the yearning for an egalitarian society still remains strong. Communism in West Bengal, Tapan feels, is a deadly concoction of abhorrence of Democracy inherent in a Communist state, along with the spice of the unbridled greed of a capitalistic system. A Fatal combination.

With the dust of ideology clogging his eyes, Tapan and scores of youth like him, found in Mamta an ally who could take on the brute force of the Communist with the simplicity and integrity of a man like the Mahatma. The lady showed no trappings of power, and although whimsical, retained the ideology of Guru Rabindra Nath Tagore's ,"EKLA CHALO" (Walk alone).At times Mamta seemed more Marxist in her thought than perhaps Karl Marx himself. She was victimised, attacked, assassination attempts made against her, but she ploughed along. ALONE.........

Tapan worshipped her.

Then Singur happened!!

Here was a project which was the brainchild of perhaps India's most respected businessman Ratan Tata, and belonged to the most trusted brand the TATA's. The announcement of the Rs.One Lakh car, the NANO had set the business world ablaze. No Indian product had gained so much world wide publicity before its launch. The nondescript area of Singur came into prominence. Tapan was excited.

When you are 20-21, things like opportunity, employment, development, do carry a special buzz, Marxism notwithstanding.

But Singur changed everything..........

The meeting today had been convened by Mamta Banerjee in the aftermath of her 'success' at Singur. The Govt. of Buddhadeb Bhattachrya had yielded to her demands of compensating the farmers whose lands had been acquisitioned by the govt. for the NANO project. Apparently, as per the deal brokered by the Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi , the govt. of West Bengal had acceded to granting 400 acres of land to the aggrieved farmers, inside the project area. This after TATA had stopped work in the project area and shut down the factory due to the 'hostile' and 'intimidating' environment created due to Mamta Banerjee's dharna and protests.

Although insignificant in the party hierarchy, Tapan was able to wriggle his way into the meeting room. The mood was festive, with even Didi (Mamta Banerjee) sporting her Mona Lisa smile. Mona Lisa because just as in Da Vinci's painting, you could not make out whether Didi was smiling or scowling. But a smile it indeed was today.

Slogans like,"Ladai, ladai, ladai chai, ladai kore bachte chai" (We want a fight, we want to survive by fighting) rent the air. Slogans which meant the world to Tapan till some time back, sounded irritating today. Holi or the festival of colours had come early for the supporters of Didi, as colours were being thrown about in the air. But firecrackers were bursting inside Tapan’s head.

Close associates of Didi surrounded her, congratulating her all the while.

One of them spoke out,"Ae baar baam front shesh"(This time the left front is finished).

The other one laughed aloud, "Let us say TATA to TATA".

Everybody joined in the laughter show. Didi kept on her smile. Her resistance to exaggeration had endeared her to idealistic youth like Tapan.

Another one of the sycophants (What would politics be without them?) joined in, "Didi, your name will be etched in History, as having finished of the Communists from their last bastions."

The chamchas (sycophants) were having a field day, "Ki bhaab chilo, oi TATA , gaari chalabe?"(What did that TATA fellow think, he will drive his car?)

Tapan could not take it any more. But being an inherently sincere guy and in awe of the leader, he spoke meekly, "Didi, kintoo eta ki, bangaler jonye bhalo holo?"(But is it good for Bengal?).

Heads turned towards him, "Tumi ke bhai?" (Who are you brother?) Didi enquired.

At this moment, Tapan felt that the cat had got his tongue. His reply was not audible to anybody except himself.

Irritated at the limelight shifting from themselves, the sycophants started to roll their sleeves. Tapan remembered how these fellows had run at the sight of the Communist cadres and had not faced the assault of the Police. That was the responsibility of foot soldiers like him. He could still feel the baton assault of the Police on his back.

But this was their territory, and he was a mere encroacher. A trespasser, who needed to be prosecuted.

Fortunately,Didi intervened, "Oke bolte dao,suni ki bole!"(Let him speak, I want to hear what he has to say).

Tapan felt relieved. His reverence for Didi grew. After all how many political leaders of the day allowed any body to speak.

Emboldened at the turn of events, he found his confidence coming back .He introduced himself.

Didi seemed impressed. You do not get Intermediate and college toppers as your party workers everyday. This young man could have easily left the state or even the country for greener pastures. Didi remembered the case of one of her sycophants, who had got his son admitted to a foreign University .The son had then got a cushy job and had settled down there. That guy did not have even half the credentials of Tapan.

The slogan,"Ladai ladai,ladai chai,ladai kore bachte chai", continued outside.

Tapan was at fight with himself. How could he ask what he wanted to! But he continued, nevertheless!!

Praying to the Gods he worshipped, he mustered enough courage to ask, "Eta ki thik holo?" (Did the right thing happen?)

Didi could understand his predicament, but wanted him to continue. "Ki thik hoyni?"(What has not gone right?), she enquired.

"Ei Singur jinish ta!"(This Singur incident), Tapan said. He was amazed at his confidence. Maybe he belonged to this place, after all.

The sycophant intervened, "Everything has gone perfectly. Didi has pushed the Communists into a corner. When did the Communists last retreat into a corner? We are sure to cause a lot of damage to the Communists in the next election. We will win at least 20 seats in the Lok Sabha election, which is a phenomenal increase from the present one seat. Celebrate! for come the next Vidhan Sabha election and we will sweep into power. Didi will be the next Chief Minister. If I may so, Didi is bigger than Mikhail Gorbachev, who finished Communism in Russia."

Sycophants around the world have an inherent genetic disposition towards hyperbole. Add to that a proclivity towards theatrics, and there you have it, a perfect composition.

Didi maintained her perfect statuesque facial expression.

Tapan was quick to react, "Good that the party will win 20 seats, better still that Didi becomes the C.M. But my question is that, are the happenings in Singur good for Bengal?"

The sycophant had run out of ammunition pretty quickly. He already had delivered the statement about 20 seats, et al, countless number of times, before the news reporters and knew it by heart. Besides most of the statement was muffled by his supporters and their war cry of "Ladai, Ladai, Ladai chai, Ladai kore bachte chai". No media person could dare to proceed to further questions after this.

But this was different. No supporters shouting slogans in the room ........and a Question, which every body knew would haunt them.

But not for nothing are sycophants so successful in life. The sycophant changed track, as a chameleon changes its colours.

" You mean to say that Didi does not know what is good for Bengal!", the sycophant raised his voice, trying to browbeat Tapan.

Tapan was perplexed for a moment, but recovered quickly," I did not say that. What I meant to say that we might have scored a few brownie points against the Communists, but I feel that with the incidents in Singur, Bengal has lost out. I mean have we ever given a thought to the reasons as to why Bengal which was the most industrialised state in 1947, at the time of Independence, is amongst the least industrialised states in the country today. Admitted that 30 years of the Communist rule did derail the development of the state, but when efforts are being made to put back the development of the state on rails, are we not acting like these Communists and putting a spanner in the works?". It appeared that the spirit of the nationalists of yore had gotten into Tapan. Nationalists like C.R.Das, Netaji Subhash, Aurobindo; during a time when it was famously said, "What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow." Now it was the other way round.

Tapan could sense the frown on Didi's head, "You mean to say that we sell out the farmers for the sake of industrialisation?" she queried pensively.

"No Didi, I know that the farmers are the back bone of our society, and their rights need to be protected", Tapan continued "but we must realise that a developing economy cannot survive on agriculture only. We need to have a balance between the two. Any skewed approach will result in a lop sided development, besides the TATA group is the most rural friendly business group in the country. The development of Jamshedpur and its surroundings is a case in point."

"But our confrontation was not with the TATA's, but with the West Bengal govt. The deal which has been arrived at only involves the transfer of land back to certain farmers, inside the project area. The project is still functional, my son," Didi tried to reason with Tapan.

The sycophant had in the meanwhile recovered his wits. Trying to impress Didi, he also added his two bit, "Arrey! ektu jomin dile, TATA chotto hoye jabe na."(TATA will not become small by giving a bit of land).

Tapan was amazed at this lack of any insight. The rhetoric was good, but the content hollow. "That land which they are supposed to hand over was to be given to the vendors, to set up ancillary units. And we all know that industries are dependent on ancillaries for supply of various parts, don't we? If the ancillaries go, the entire viability of the project goes. Besides the supply of parts, ancillaries are a very good source of employment since they do not require the input of high skills. Local populace in general is employed. This again has a indirect fall back effect, as prosperity is contained in the area of the project. And this through the Domino effect spreads out to the surrounding areas," Tapan looked and sounded like Amartya Sen revisited.

Tapan was in no mood to hold back, "After decades of gheraos, meaningless bandhs, political violence, somebody had dared to venture into the state. Things were finally beginning to look up. Our state does not comply with the High Court ruling on Bandhs, be it the Communists or any other party. Bandhs are ostensibly called for protection of the rights of the poor man, but pardon me for saying this, who goes to the bed hungry that night? Not us, not the salaried class who gets a paid holiday, but the poor rickshaw wallah, the daily wager who cannot venture out that day! Where are we heading?"

There was a shocked silence in the room. The sycophants did not know how to react, but they could not let this young man go on like this. He was DANGEROUS!!

"This fellow is a turn coat", some body shouted.

"O bam fronter log" (He is a communist), shouted another, trying to open a new front. After all unsubstantiated allegations are the best way to discredit an upright man - as per the policy of the Indian polity.

"I am neither. I believe in an egalitarian society, which I believe can only come through a balanced development of industry and agriculture. After all, agriculture alone can sustain the livelihood of so many people and no more. You need industry, albeit an unbridled commercial development needs to be avoided. We need manufacturing units more than we need malls. Will some body tell me as to why the massive construction of shopping malls in Kolkata is not opposed, but when it comes to factories either the Communists or we are up in arms? Why this hypocrisy, in the name of the people," Tapan was into an overdrive.

"Tor sahos ki kore holo?"(How dare you?), the original sycophant intervened." You mean to say that you are the only one who knows politics and development. All of us are fools!"

"If politics means intrigue, skulduggery, one upsmanship, deceit, I know nothing of it," Tapan countered. "But I want to know, has any one given a thought to the exodus of educated youth from West Bengal. Tell me how many young men find a living in the state. Even the HR Head of Infosys has warned that with the development in Singur, they have put their expansion plans in Kolkata on hold. Rest assured Hyderabad or Pune would surely gain from that. No body wants to put in money when employees are stopped from attending offices on 'bandh days', and a general atmosphere built to the effect that any political party can hold you to ransom, with the Administration standing by as a mute spectator."

"Let them go anywhere they want to, we cannot be held to ransom by anybody!" the sycophant was keen to impress Didi. After all, he was in the running for a ticket to the parliamentary election.

Tapan retorted "the TATA's might wait for some time, but rest assured they must seriously be contemplating a pull out. For after this mayhem, they must be wary of the CITU(Communist trade union). If the opposition party can create this chaos, the opportunity for the ruling disposition is enormous."

"Tui ki TATA'r chamcha?"(Are you a stooge of the TATA's?) Somebody contributed.

"Ami ekta sadharan lok"( I am a common man), Tapan was speaking calmy, but sternly, "I too want job opportunities in the state, so that the youth does not have to go far off in search of job, out of compulsion. I want people from other states to come to West Bengal. Have we ever thought that the development of a state results in people paying taxes to the state, which the state can then plough back into building roads, schools, hospitals etc? In fact it results in better facilities for the poor man we talk about. Even the situation on the agricultural front improves, since more jobs mean less pressure on the land, with people having other sources of employment too. Why do all parties refuse to see this glaring truth ?"

The sycophants had had enough. If this man started speaking in public their career was over, they thought! "Eke tarao, beta ta samrajyawadi, bamfronter lok",(throw him out, he is an imperialist, he is a man from the Left front), the sycophants were getting incoherent and irrational.

Didi was nonplussed. Somewhwere down the line she knew that Tapan was speaking the truth, and nothing but the truth. But as usual, events bypass you, and all you can do is watch with a feeling of what could have been.

The sycophants and their cohorts were on the verge of assaulting Tapan, who stood fearlessly. Suddenly somebody’s cell phone rang, which played the song from the movie “Netaji” by Shyam Benegal:

"JODI TOR DAAK SUNE KEU NAA AASHE, TOBE EKLA CHOLO RE.

TANHA RAHI APNI RAAH CHALTA JAAYEGA, AB TO JO BHI HOGA DEKHA JAAYEGA."
(If nobody pays heed to your call, walk alone).

DISCLAIMER: With sincere apologies to any sentiments hurt unintentionally. This is a work of fiction, but being played out throughout the country in various forms. Let us all search for the Tapan amongst us.

Wish to avail this opportunity to thank my friend Shankar, who has redesigned the blog, to make it more reader friendly.

THE ART OF DAANA

Legend has it, that thousands of years ago , King Shivi, who was known as a King who never turned away anybody empty handed , was conducting a Yagna in order to propitiate the Gods. Suddenly, a frightened pigeon flew into the assembly hall , followed by a vicious eagle. Before anybody could realize it, the pigeon flew into the King's lap and asked for protection from the hungry eagle. The King, true to his self asked the eagle to let the pigeon go unharmed, to which the eagle replied that the pigeon was its food and he could not fore go his food for anything. King Shivi tried to reason with the eagle to the effect that since the pigeon had come under his protection and asked for deliverance, he could not hand over the pigeon to him. The eagle would have nothing of it, and said that it could not remain hungry in order to honour the King's pledge . King Shivi, asked the eagle to have anything it wanted as food apart from the scared pigeon. Finally a deal was worked out to the effect that the King would cut out flesh from its body and would give away his flesh which would be equal to the pigeon's weight. So the pigeon sat at one end of the balance and King Shivi began to cut out parts from his body. To every bodies bewilderment the body parts could not outweigh the pigeon.Finally, King Shivi began to cut off his head, and lo and behold the eagle converted into Lord Indra and the pigeon was also transformed into a God.Apparently the Gods had decided to test the giving power of Lord Shivi,who for all practical purposes ,passed the test with flying colours. The Gods then restored King Shivi to his original form.

Daana or the power to donate,give alms or simply give up one's possessions is considered to be amongst the biggest of virtues in the Indian culture.Even in the Gita, Lord Krishan speaks about the various types of Daana and its merits.

We therefore have the ultimate warrior Karna , who too was famous for his power to give ,he even gave away his armour which left him exposed in the battle of Mahabharata, but he did not back out.

King Ashoka gave away his son and daughter to the Dhamma (Buddhist religion) after he gave up on War, after the battle of Kalinga.Incidentally, Mahendra , the son of King Ashoka is credited with bringing the Buddhist religion to Sri Lanka.This power to give is so strongly ingrained in our system that we consider it quite natural to give rather to receive.This act of giving continued down the centuries,Pakistan was given away after bisecting the country, we gave away parts of Indian territory to China, without so much as batting an eyelid.

Post 1962, Indians became a bit stingy with the Art of giving. Therefore ,in spite of being at what Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said,'an informal war', with Pakistan,we refused to cede Kashmir,in spite of paying a heavy price for it.Apparently 64,000 lives have been lost in being stingy over Kashmir,and the numbers are still rising.Imagine the amount of lives which could have saved, the resources utilised in a better manner ,if only we would have kept practicing the'Art of Daana' .

But there is a ray of hope on the horizon, and all is not lost.Suddenly voices are again being heard in reviving this lost 'Art of Daana'. Glory be to the 'intellectuals' who are now speaking in favour of' 'removing the chains of Indian Imperialism from Kashmir'.The Grand Dame of Indian intellectuals,Arundhati Roy has called for 'an end to Indian military occupation of Kashmir' in a recent article in the magazine 'OUTLOOK'.The same Ms. Roy had earlier given up Indian Citizenship ,post Pokhran in 1998.What of the fact that she still continues to use an India passport and has not been deprived of her Indian citizenship, as per the provisions of the Indian constitution. Well what of it? You guys are only inquisitive about trivials , instead of bowing in reverence before this modern day Daani, or modern day Karna.

Not to be outdone ,other Intellectuals....oops Daanis ,have joined in . S.Swaminathan Ankeleshwar Aiyar ,in his article in The Times of India,has compared 'Indian occupation of Kashmir, with the Imperialism of the British in India'. He too wants India out of Kashmir.Similar feelings have expressed by Veer Sanghvi,in the Hindustan Times.
Let us all hail the 'comeback' of the Indian Daanis.They are on a higher pedestal than King Shivi, since they want to cut off the Head of the nation straightaway , and then maybe proceed towards the other body parts.

One of my friends( not a daani), asked me about the lives lost ,the resources wasted,the strategic importance of Kashmir for the country and of course ,the centuries old Indian way of living in Kashmir.Do we all gift it away?

Please ignore my friends questions! The fool has no idea of the Indian tradition of Daana.Did the ultimate warrior Karna for a moment think before giving away his body armour in Daana. Whatof it ,that he was slain because of this ,in the battlefield.Well if Karna , can do it, so can Veer! And no smirking on the fact that what Karna gave away was his personal possession ,and not the nation's.

So agreed , Kashmir or the head given away. Hail the Art of Daana.

Drawing inspiration from King Shivi and the present day Daanis, I have drawn up a list of possessions we Indians could give away.None of them are our own mind you, for this is the modern day tradition of Daana. We do not give our wealth, knowledge,wisdom,energy,our other worldly possessions and such stuff in Daana, they remain for our use only.

Since we have proceeded from head down wards,the next thing we could gift away is our hand.The North East was never part of us any way ,remember how we call them 'chinkis',and smirk at them .The North East is in a permanent state of boil, since 1947, at least . China has claims over Arunachal Pradesh, remember the 'Finger tip' area controversy , a few months back. Chinese consider Arunachal to be a part of their territory. Sikkim's accession to India has not been accepted by the Chinese wholeheartedly.Frequently , we see maps appearing on the Chinese side , depicting Sikkim as partof China. Our response to this perfidy ,is as usual, silence. Assam is innundated by illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.Yesterday, the B.S.F, Director General ,in a press conference stated that 120,000 Bangladeshis had entered India on valid grounds , and there was no records ofthem going back .Add to this the millions who have entered illegally , and the figures are there in front of you. Ram Bilas Paswan ,has already stated that that Bagladeshis who have entered India till date, and do not want to go back, shouldbe granted Indian Citizenship.

Bravo!! What magnanimity. A round of applause for Ram Bilas Karna....oops Paswan! Wow! Citizenship for illegal people when we cannot handle the load of the legal citizens and their needs. It appearsthat this modern day Shivi will hand over his House to you, if you enter it illegally.Any body wanna try?

Coming back to the North east ,Nagaland was never Indian anyway, as can be seen from longest insurgency in the country. Our leaders hold talks with Naga insurgents in Amerstadam , Paris ....So it is International for all practical purposes.

So the hand or the North East gifted away . We will respect everybodies wishes.

The modern day Shivi then proceeds towards the legs. Tamil Nadu .....well what of it . With Prabhakaran and his dreams of the Tamil Eelam ,do we need to look any further.Priyanka Gandhi or Vadra (whatever) has already forgiven Nalini( her father's assassin) and therefore we have no issuses with LTTE.And please do not rake up the issue of IPKF and the lives lost. Soldiers are meant for dying anyway , aren't they?If Priyanka can forgive Nalini, what is the issue with the families of the army men killed in Sri Lanka.Daana has no place for the selfish.
Karunanidhi, Vaiko,Ramadoss,it appears that their heart bleeds forTamil Eelam anyway .Therefore the Indian occupation of Tamil Nadu must be brought to an end.

Long live King Shivi.

The other hand ,Maharashtra , since the blog is not in Marathi,my apologies to the ferocious cub Raj Thackrey. But since it appears that everybody who is not a Marathi Manoos is not welcome in the state and therefore Indian occupation of Maharashtra must also end.

The naxalites dream of a Red Corridor , starting from Andhra Pradesh , passing through parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh,Jharkhand,Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and linking up with a now Red Nepal, and obviously Red China.

As you can visualise,the entire contiguous area looks like the arteries and veins which supply blood inside a human body . Before the modern day Karna, Arundhati Roy ( a Red by the way) ,starts talking about the oppression of the poor, down trodden people of the areas ,and their exploitation under the Indian state, how about letting them set up their sought for corridor. Atleast lives of security personnel and innocent citizens will be saved . Nepal will be too happy to have Dhoni leading thier Cricket team.

Now let us come back to the surviving organ , the Heart(Daanis don't have brains, so says my party pooper friend).

Well the heart is already infected by the virus of casteism and its proponents, and is already worn out .The arteries are clogged with unwanted deposition in the form of the fallout of casteism,poverty,lack of education and last but not the least, leaders like Mulayam and Mayawati.The blood supply to the heart has been reduced to a trickle.If the heart is weak so is the body,so say the Doctors.What follows generally is a coronary disease or in layman's terms,a heart failure.The heart failure in the instant case comes in the form of the SIMI(Student's Islamic Movement of India) and their vision of the Dar-ul-Islam (land of islam ) and Nizam-e-Mustafa(Law of Islam).These religious warriors may wage war in any part of the nation but the bulk of the cadre is drawn from Uttar Pradesh.The only problem with their law is that if implemented, people have their hands amputated,flogging in public,stoning to death,hanging in public, remember the Taliban.Wonder how Afzal Guru will be punished under the Nizam-e-Mustafa!

King Shivi's of the day will definitely not hesitate to take out their heart and gift it to the eagle in order to save the frightened pigeon.Any guesses on the frightened pigeon..............

Well let me save your valuable time, the pigeon is the common man inhabiting the nation .He is scared of everything and just wants to live in peace, no confrontations please!

My advice to the King Shivi'sof the day : Please do not try to cut off your head, in the hope of the eagle transforming into Lord Indra. These time the eagle is for real............