Thoughts from a discrete mind

We rarely come across any news about India that sweeps you off your feet these days. We are quite used to regular bomb blasts, terrorists trying to cross the Indo-Pak border, Pak Foreign Ministry's accusation of Indian interference in some Pak area, violence in University campuses, some Indian born American kid winning the spelling bee etc etc. We are different kind of people.

The NY Times reports: "Canadian and United States computer security researchers have monitored a spying operation for the past eight months, observing while the intruders pilfered classified and restricted documents from the highest levels of the Indian Defense Ministry. "

The news  did not meet come to many of us as a surprise. I am sure, this news definitely may not have taken any of the govt functionaries by surprise too. Almost 50% of our respected lawmakers  in the parliament may not understand what this means also.

Superpowers are feared, revered and respected. Convincing military power is needed to route Pakistan out of the equation or dream of even taking on China to settle our border issue. After the terror strike in New York, 9/11, Americans wanted to invade Afghanistan and wanted Pakistan to aid their effort. For the fear of being bombed to stone ages, General Musharraf gave every support possible to the Americans and help them slay their own Muslim brethren and their own creation Taliban.  For the last 59 years we are locked on with our military with Pakistan on a Status quo situation. Soon after we exploded Pokharan-II, Pakistan went ahead and grabbed our hills on Kargil. They did not get scared of our military or newly acquired status of a nuclear power as obviously they thought we were some kind of paper tigers. We got whipped so badly in Kargil that when we tried to take it back militarily from another third world army supported Guerrillas, they hit back ferociously that we were about to give up the hopes of recapturing them. Thanks to the American intervention that Nawaz Sharf was asked to pull back his forces and we were able to put our flag back on the peaks of Kargil hills. The only thing which proves that we fought bravely and won in Kargil is the Bollywood films made on Kargil like LOC and Lakshya. Our Bollywood films are busy blowing sunshine on our butts 24/7 depicting what we are not and things which are a fantasy. They would show by and large what every Indian wishes to see.

In 1982 we could not even fight Tamil Guerrillas in Sri Lanka when our forces were dispatched to maintain some kind of peace in there. The Guerrillas evicted our forces from Sri Lanka and demoralized us for quite some time. Today, despite of having a congress rule, Mrs Sonia Gandhi can not bring a Guerrilla leader Prabhakaran to Justice who killed her husband, our ex Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Couple of years ago agitated soldiers from a much inferior nation, Bangladesh, crossed our border, snatched our army Jawans, tortured them and then killed them and threw their bodies back at us without any fear of punishment.

We are slightly better than Pakistan in military balance but they do have the power to nuke us back to stone ages and then it becomes irrelevant that we can wipe them out from the face of earth. But then we have our revered "panchasila niti" which was laid down by one of our founding fathers. If you remember it, one of the "niti" says, we should always be in defensive. We don't attack anyone. So you get the point. You get nuked first. Thats scary.

So super NOT power are we that we can not send back hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri pundits back to Kashmir as we can not guarantee them within our own land. We can not take back the lost piece of Tibet or Kashmir occupied by Pakistan and China (Aksai Chin) militarily or diplomatically.

Another major sign of not being able to become a super power is sports. We are a nation of physically unfit people. It takes eleven best Indian people to have a shot at being number 5 or 6 in cricket playing nations (There are about 7 countries in the world that can play competitive cricket). But ask any Indian and he will say that we are the best or maybe second best nation in cricket. .

All the sudden found richness in the country is concentrated in less that 1% people of our population and the inflation is all time high. We have more Crorepatis in the country as the property prices have gone up four to five folds and have made Lakhpatis out of the ordinary poverty line people. Do we all know that about 750 Million (that's about 70%) of Indians have never seen a toilet in their life leave aside owning one? 80% of our professionals graduating from engineering schools are not employable. 75% of the software engineers from India who had acquired their meal tickets abroad have been sacked due to not being viable, commercially or financially. We spend time in following false stories in our newspapers which glorify India's achievements but never bother to cross check as to what the truth is. The truth is that we Indians, by and large, do not want to hear that their is something basically wrong with our system.

We are still badly confused between Metric and non metric system. Ask a doctor as to what the thermometer says when measuring  someone's fever and he will reply you in Fahrenheit (non-metric)and immediately ask him the temperature out side his clinic and he shall give you the same in Centigrade ( metric)? Same goes for small things in the shops. Fabric is sold in Meters (as it is a metric measure) but the width of the fabric is still given out in inches (that is no metric measure).

People in General are scared of the Government and its machine (Law and Order) and not the other way around and till this reverses; we can not even have a shot at being in the second world. I would say don't even dream of being in the first world less about being a super power.

Most of the Indians have never stepped out of their own borders of the city they live in leave aside crossing the national borders. In the world we are known as a democratic poor nation which is progressing. We are known for our non violence ways and respected for that. Four out of the five Security Council members in the UN are our friends which guarantees our safety should any military adventure is launched against us by China and this in no way be construed as India's military might.

We have to give up being arrogant. Bring compassion in our behavior. Be humble. Look down and concentrate in your work and good things will happen.

Remember, we have to be in the second world first in order to reach the first world and that should be our immediate ultimate aim.

If Hope Has a Pric(z)e

Ok, I am quite late in letting my feelings out. Part of the reason goes to I actually wanted the debate to reach a point and see how people react to this news.
 

Just a couple of months ago, we were discussing how beleaguered Mr President's situation is: regarding his top-of-the-list health care reform. There is the right wingers and there is the left-wingers. When Mr Obama started his Presidency, he was all out to say he will going to work in a bi-partisan fashion. Well, that became a pipe dream in no time. Not everything in Washington is simple and easy. Then there is the Iran nuclear issue, hullabaloo over Guantanamo prison closing delays; the Israelis were digging in their heels with respect to settlement expansion etc etc. Oh, I forgot the economy. Are you saying economy is humming again ? Well lets just keep it in the list for the time being. So, yes, the list is long for the President. If you dont want to ignore, the right calls him socialist, Marxist, dictator, careless and so many other adjectives which I am sure will boil anybody's blood sans the President. Or at least he does not show that. Whichever it is, thats something we can ignore at this time.

And someone in the discussion said, this guy deserves a prize. The Nobel did not cross the mind though. But yes, after holding the President's office of United States, what more is there to expect for Mr Obama. I could think of few looking at American trends ! Couple of stamps showing his face, some coins showing his head and may be a street names after him and at last a library name after him..

The news about Mr Obama's Nobel winning must have caused millions say "What ? Not him ! Nah !". Thousands of computer key boards must have met their end of life by unprecedented stressful typing and spraying of caffeines from readers mouth. Unwanted coffee spraying must have eliminated hundreds of crisp white shirts from friends closets. All for the single word: "What ?".

Honestly, like me, a lot of people will think that economy follows a curve of ups and downs. So Mr Bush just happened to be unlucky to be in the "down" curve and Mr Obama is just lucky to be on the "up" curve. Thats not entirely untrue though. But I like the quote from his Chief of Staff : Never let a crisis go in vain. Thats the reason he could do the healthcare. Many believe, the healthcare reform ended up being something what it started to be or what it was aimed at. But I come to a point to agree with Mr Obama for a number of things. At least its is the beginning !