AUM
A DOUBTING THOMAS DESTROYS SELF AND SOCIETY
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
This morning( 28 Oct 09) in Kabul, Afghanistan there were a number of bomb blasts and explosions of possibly IEDs or Improvised Explosive Devices that may be more deadly than the TNT or ordinary explosives. About 6 AM just before the crack of dawn, five or six Taliban terrorists entered a UN guest house where foreign employees of the United Nations were billeted. The guest house is located near the Presidential Palace of Hamid Karzai in a high security zone. There was a lot of gunfire of automatic weapons accompanied by explosions. Six to seven foreigners were killed on the spot and on top of that three UN employees were also done to death. In a separate incident the Taliban terrorists attacked a hotel frequented by foreigners and destroyed whatever they could lay their hands on. The sound of gunfire and explosions could be heard much after the security forces and the Afghan police had arrived on the scene.
The Taliban terrorists took the responsibility of this carnage and also said that this was just a curtain raiser of the actual play of theirs that they were staging just ten days before the run off of the presidential polls. Apparently the terrorists have the upper hand in Afghanistan and not only call the shots but can strike at will wherever and whenever they wish to. Capital city Kabul with numerous security rings is no exception. One may recall that the US forces led NATO have been in Afghanistan for eight years now and there have been many think tanks advising the local commanders how to prosecute the war. There is neither dearth of arms and ammunition nor of transport facility with the NATO forces. And yet the rag-tag local militia of Afghans is neither overawed nor deterred by the might of America. It is the US four- star general who petitions his President for a surge of forces to the tune of 40,000.The President of the United States is dithering. The Afghans may be aided and abetted by other terror groups from Pakistan, Chechnia, Palestine and so on but they have not gone public with the crying need for more militants or modern weapon system. It is a point to ponder.
WHO IS THE DOUBTING THOMAS
President George Bush had decided to intervene in the situation then obtaining in Afghanistan. The ghastly attacks on the American twin towers in New York had taken place and it dealt a massive blow to the American prestige besides causing loss of life and property. The American Intelligence gave proof that the 9/11 attack on America was planned by the Al Qaida, assisted by the Taliban, in Afghanistan by foes of America led by Osama bin-Laden. It was, therefore, decided to destroy the haven of terror so that there is no repetition of 9/11 attack. After arrival of the US forces, the terror hub shifted to Pakistan from Afghanistan and the present friends of Americans, that is Pakistan aided and abetted the dreaded foe, the Al Qaida and the Taliban. The Pakistan Army even provided a safe passage to the Al Qaida and the Taliban from the Tora-Bora caves in Afghanistan to the new haven in AFPAK borders. The difficult terrain there became a safe shelter for the Islamist terrorists. The situation is no different now. Osama roams around in those hills, dales, ravines and dry creeks as a free man. The Pakistan government accepted huge amounts of American money without delivering the goods. The main aim of Pakistan was to gain modern weapon system and money that it could use against India as it had been doing all along. Thus what commenced as a HALAL turned into a HARAM because of Pakistan’s intentions to cheat on their friend, USA. The Americans could see through the Pakistan’s game but they had no choice as they needed an Islamic country to support them in staying on in Afghanistan and Iraq. The nagging doubt about intention of Pakistan lingered on. Indeed that explains so many riders on the massive aid to Pakistan now in 2009, mainly to ensure that it is used for fighting against terror, and not for stockpiling arms and ammunition to be used against India at a later date.
DETERMINATION TO EXTERMINATE TERROR
Selection of AIM is the most important factor before going to war. Maintenance of AIM is equally important. Having done that the commanders at all levels and subsequently the troops have to plan, prepare and prosecute WAR on TERROR with determination. One need not entertain doubt about the ethics of war or about the outcome of war. Doing that at any stage after the battle has been joined is like handing over the victory to the enemy on a silver platter. The commander and his soldiers have to go on fighting with determination irrespective of the strength of the enemy or the tactics that the enemy is using. Indeed, a change in the battle plan may be effected but no one should question the very idea of waging a war on terror. This kind of question will amount to blasphemy and must not be permitted. The other day an ex-Marine Captain and now a diplomat, Hoh, resigned from service because he thought that the presence of Americans in Afghanistan was promoting terrorism instead of destroying it. He wanted his country to quit the scene. What a disastrous course of action he is suggesting at this stage?
The American public back home always pressed for termination of war. “Bring the Boys Home”, that has been the slogan. One may recall that similar slogans were raised during the Vietnam war. Doubts about American success were expressed every now and then. The US forces pulled out and the Americans lost the war. The Islamist terrorists are paying attention to propaganda so that lurking doubts in American minds forces the President of the United States to withdraw from Afghanistan. The doubting Thomas would hand over Afghanistan to Islamist terrorists and Pakistan would control them as was the case after the Soviet withdrawal.
Yogeshwar Shri Krishna,agreat leader and a patriot to his finger tips, has given the most sagacious advice to a Yodha or a warrior and a Senapati or commander-in-chief like Arjuna who was dithering from killing the enemy, in these words :
“HATO WA PRAPSYASI SWARGAM, JITWA WA BHOKSHYASE MAHIM
TASMAAD UTTISHTHA KAUNTEYA, YUDHYAY KRIT NISHCHAYAH”
Shri Krishna, a great statesman and master of statecraft advised Arjuna, the famous archer that when you join a battle, either you are slain and then your soul goes to Heaven or you win and then enjoy the fruits of victory in the form of perks and privileges offered by a State, and, therefore, arise you son of Kunti and WAGE WAR WITH DETERMINATION’.
The emphasis is on Determination – a warrior must fight and defeat the enemy. At the stage of joining a battle, one must not entertain any doubt about its legitimacy or outcome.
In Afghanistan during the last couple of years, Americans spent more time and energy about making plans to go home than on exterminating the Taliban terrorists. The Afghan war has never been considered seriously as an American war. On the other hand, the Al Qaida and the Taliban terrorists fought before and have been fighting now with determination because the Afghan war will make them or break them. Their future lies in winning the war in Afghanistan and, therefore, the terrorists have put their heart and soul in it.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA – 201303, INDIA. Mobile : 0091-9811173590.
Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com. Phone – 0091-120-2454622.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
PAKISTAN- A COUNTRY DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF
AUM
A COUNTRY DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
Pakistan is at war. It is not a declared war but everyone, one and all, both the natives and the foreigners know that a war is going on. The Pakistan Army is dead serious on eliminating the menace of terrorism. However, other citizens like teachers, bureaucrats and ordinary citizens are not convinced that the Army is serious about its business vis-a-vis terrorism. Nevertheless, in the heart and mind, a guide escorting some brave foreign tourists is convinced that this is not the best of times to see Taxila’s Buddhist university of yore or the Anarkali Bazar of Lahore today. But he has to earn his daily bread and this is the cleanest way of doing so.
WHERE IS THE ENEMY
It is an undeclared war. No unit has identified an enemy. A circular floated by General Headquarters has just arrived. It defines the enemy and asks all ranks not to have any dealings with the defined enemy. A person, male or female of any age, who challenges the concept and formation of Pakistan and is waging a war against Pakistan or is prepared to wage a war, and with this common intent assembles and organises them to go on a raid to destabilise the country, will be called an enemy of the State of Pakistan and will be brought before a court of law to stand trial. On conviction, such a person will be hanged till death. The body will be handed over to the next of kin for performance of last rites.
Who runs the government of Pakistan? It is a sensitive issue and is never discussed in an open space. In the lighter vein, one may say that three A’s run the show –America, Army and Allah –and in the same order of importance. America has loosened its purse strings and gives a soft loan to Pakistan to the tune of 1.25 billion dollars per year. He who pays the piper, dictates the tune – the age old saying is true to situation even today. Army has run the government most of the time since independence and knows the finer nuances of administration. One of the major reasons why the Pakistan army lost the 1971 war and surrendered unconditionally to India was their distaste for the devilish business of fighting and their penchant for a cushy job like governance of the country. Be that as it may, the Pakistan Army still runs the show by using remote control. There is a civil administration with a President, a Prime Minister and an elected legislature. They know their limitations and do not wish to cross the Lakshman Rekha. No one in his senses expects a powerful Army Chief like General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to take orders from a playboy President, Asif Ali Zardari. In any case, the two are not on talking terms.
Thus here is a government where the right hand does not know what the left is doing. Here is a country where the people are badly divided on sectarian lines like the Shiite, the Sunni, the Ahmediyas and what have you. The minorities like the Hindus, the Sikhs and the Christians do not matter in Pakistan. Their national flag has a white strip to represent the hapless minorities and that is the end of it. The residents of the tribal belt come under a separate administration called the FATA or Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The British in India had kept them divided so that they gain no political strength. Since Independence on 14 August 1947, the government of Pakistan made no endeavour to improve their educational, economic or political condition and they are where they were more than 62 years ago. Since no effort was made for their integration, the process of disintegration gained momentum. The tribes like Mehsuds, Waziri, Yusufzai, Tadjiks and what have you who were fiercely independent by nature gained more momentum through the barrel of the gun. The British Indian Army of the undivided India had found it difficult to control what is now called FATA through force and they bought their silence through hard cash. The situation is no better now; rather it is worse. The invisible enemy lies in wait for the regular army in the hills and dales, jungles and ravines of the unforgiving terrain of Waziristan.
WATERLOO OF FOREIGN FORCES
Alexander’s invincible phalanxes had found it difficult to hold the ground in the areas called FATA today. The mighty Mughals ruling from Delhi lost the humorist general, Raja Birbal in the process of suppressing the revolt of these tribal people. The tribal loyalties are strong and the entire tribe goes out to the rescue of an individual or a family in distress. Even Tadjiks and Waziris come to the active aid of Mehsuds, notwithstanding tribal rivalries. Of late, Pakistan had been trying hard to play one tribe against the other but had no appreciable success. With modern system of surveillance, an organised regular army has gained more strength. Baitullah Mehsud, the tribal chief and head of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan was thus killed by a missile fired from an American drone while sleeping in the open terrace with his young second wife. While making an attempt to sire a son, he lost his life. His place is now taken over by Hakimullah Mehsud who has vowed a revenge for loss of his predecessor.
As is well known to those who have been following the strategy of the Taliban and the Pakistan Army, it is the United States of America that had been pressurising the Pakistan government to make a decision to eliminate the Taliban leadership and proceed against Islamist terrorism with determination. The Americans increased the aid money to Pakistan but kept an eye on the recipients ’budgeting. It is an open secret that General Kayani is unhappy with the strings attached to the US aid and was in favour of declining to accept it. President Zardari, however, did not wish to alienate the Americans and has accepted both the aid and strings. The US pressure on Pakistan worked and in June 2009 a firm decision was taken to fight it out with a one-time brothers-in-arms, the Taliban. However, it took time to mobilise two divisions of 28000 men and deploy them in the battle zone. Thus it was not until 16 October 09 that a ground attack code named “ Rahe Nijaat”or Road of Deliverance, was launched. The air attacks by helicopter gunships and fighter jets had been going on for quite some time. The troops were needed to hold the ground snatched from the Taliban. Should the Pakistan Army make a decision to penetrate deep into the jungles or the hills and dry ravines, they will have to constantly keep an eye on the Terrain, the Weather and the attitude of non-Mehsud tribes towards the ongoing armed confrontation. The winter is not far behind and a snowfall may be expected in November-December 2009.
PROGRESS OF BATTLE
Let us admit right at the beginning that there is no transparency in the battle procedure and progress of battle. The whole process is opaque. The press briefing by the PRO confuses the scribes more and removes doubts less. Whatever little information comes out of the battle zone is rather scanty and paints only the army in good light. The Taliban is shown as the losing force. However, the press corps knows that had the Army been so efficient and powerful, the Taliban would have been exterminated long ago. But they are still alive and kicking. The government spokesman says that only 17 soldiers lost their life but more than 90 Taliban were killed in a fierce fire fight. Anyway, the media has no means of checking the truth or otherwise of this report.
Some refugees who came out of the dense jungles and ravines did mention that most of the residential areas have been vacated by the local tribesmen. At the same time they did not confirm any large scale movement of army officers and soldiers on footpaths or cart roads leading into the ravines and broken terrain. One may safely surmise that the fierce hand to hand battle between the army men and the tribesmen has not yet begun. It may be mentioned that in 2004 and twice thereafter the Pakistan army had closed in on the tribal people but they were beaten back by the tribal fighters. The Army Headquarters was forced to negotiate and propitiate the tribal fighters every time. Naturally, the Pakistan army officers and soldiers did not cover themselves with glory in these face offs. No wonder, the Army is still testing the waters before taking a plunge. The million dollar question is; how long?
Since the Wajiristan warfront is getting more and more opaque, we have little choice but to sign off for now. We promise to return when there is some worthwhile report to bring to our readers who are real connoisseurs of news and views.
UPVAN, 609, Sector 29, NOIDA – 201303, INDIA. Mobile 0091-9811173590.
Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com Phone ; 0091-120-2454622.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
SECOND RUNOFF INAFGHANISTAN
AUM
WHO WILL RUN AFGHANISTAN NOW
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
Hamid Karzai should not discharge the duties of president of Afghanistan, say some constitutional experts. His term of office is over. For a second term,he is not qualified in the polling of votes in August 09. Although he had polled 54 percent but some boots had reported fraudulent polling and counting. When nearly one-third of the votes polled by Karzai were declared bogus, Karzai could not claim to succeed himself for a second term. Of course, he has complained that what was his legally has now been stolen away from him. But the UN backed election commission found enough evidence to discredit polling in several booths in the southern Afghanistan.
Who will govern Afghanistan now? There is a consensus building for a coalition and power sharing between the candidate who polled the highest number of votes on 20 August and the runners up. In other words Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah would jointly govern Afghanistan until a second run off in the spring of 2010. A second round of election for presidentship is not possible now as the winter sets in and heavy snowfall would block passage. In the war ravaged country an election before a thaw may prove to be a disaster.
One may recall that in the August 09 election the Taliban had killed some afghans who went to vote. In some cases fingers of those who had voted were cut off. In winter, the law and order will be hard to enforce. The constitutional experts say that hamid Karzai must not be allowed to continue as president as it would demoralise the opposition parties and weaken the fight against the Taliban terrorists. Therefore, an honourable solution in accordance with the will of people is to let Karzai and Abdullah share power and provide a clean government to people until Afghanistan goes to polls to elect a new president. The electoral battle would be fought between karzai and Abdullah and looking at the trends it can be safely surmised that Hamid karzai would receive 21 gun salute when he is sworn in as the President of Afghanistan for a second term.
WHO WILL RUN AFGHANISTAN NOW
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
Hamid Karzai should not discharge the duties of president of Afghanistan, say some constitutional experts. His term of office is over. For a second term,he is not qualified in the polling of votes in August 09. Although he had polled 54 percent but some boots had reported fraudulent polling and counting. When nearly one-third of the votes polled by Karzai were declared bogus, Karzai could not claim to succeed himself for a second term. Of course, he has complained that what was his legally has now been stolen away from him. But the UN backed election commission found enough evidence to discredit polling in several booths in the southern Afghanistan.
Who will govern Afghanistan now? There is a consensus building for a coalition and power sharing between the candidate who polled the highest number of votes on 20 August and the runners up. In other words Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah would jointly govern Afghanistan until a second run off in the spring of 2010. A second round of election for presidentship is not possible now as the winter sets in and heavy snowfall would block passage. In the war ravaged country an election before a thaw may prove to be a disaster.
One may recall that in the August 09 election the Taliban had killed some afghans who went to vote. In some cases fingers of those who had voted were cut off. In winter, the law and order will be hard to enforce. The constitutional experts say that hamid Karzai must not be allowed to continue as president as it would demoralise the opposition parties and weaken the fight against the Taliban terrorists. Therefore, an honourable solution in accordance with the will of people is to let Karzai and Abdullah share power and provide a clean government to people until Afghanistan goes to polls to elect a new president. The electoral battle would be fought between karzai and Abdullah and looking at the trends it can be safely surmised that Hamid karzai would receive 21 gun salute when he is sworn in as the President of Afghanistan for a second term.
DEFEAT OR VICTORY IN WAZIRISTAN
AUM
WAZIRISTAN WAR : DEFEAT AND VICTORY
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
The Waziristan war has reached a virtual stalemate so soon. The Pakistan Army is neither winning nor losing. Many a doubting Thomas surmises that the officers and soldiers are not going full steam ahead because they treat the Taliban terrorists as their kith and kin. I must hasten to add that this is one view of the battle scenario. The other view is that the Army is fighting its battles professionally and while they are killing the tribesmen, they are saving their own comrades-in-arms and pulling them out of the jaws of death. In any case the military situation is not clear to scribes too. The rumour mill is working overtime because not much news is doled out in official press briefings. Will someone from the fourth estate please impress upon the Army spokesman that the Media – both print and electronic-is a force multiplier. Embrace them and shun them not.
The reports trickling from the battle front mention that the Army is using heavy gunships to pound the tribal terrorists from the sky, and also use light tanks in the frontal attack on the plain and smooth ground. There is no hitting below the belt unlike what Pakistan had done in the Kargil war. The battle is a kind of modern Mahabharat where the righteous have to kill the wayward ones to uphold the DHARMA – the sacred duty to the State. The Army is tasked to do that against the Taliban. Not doing so will be ADHARMA.
NO WIN-WIN SITUATION
In the plains and later in the rugged hills or jungles of Waziristan an outright win is next to impossible. One knows that the Army has big guns and can effectively neutralise long distance targets. What will they do thereafter? It is holding the ground by the infantry or the Special Forces where the problem comes. The local tribesmen who have resolutely refused to support the central forces or provide a back-up to the Army will start harassing soldiers and not let them plan anything anytime. It was a similar situation in the 19th century during the Anglo-Afghan wars. The Soviets in 1980s fared no better. The tanks then and the heavy tanks now will do no better facing anti-tank rockets or rifle propelled grenades. Seeing a burning tank with the crew inside is very demoralising for regular army soldiers.
General Winter will soon usher in his forces to browbeat the army sepoys who are mostly from the plains of the Punjab. The snowfall in Waziristan is a phenomenon not witnessed by an average Punjabi from Lahore or Multan and he is likely to get unnerved. Assessing the terrible winter situation, the Pakistan Army is racing against time. The present fight to finish must be really finished before the first fall of snow. The military historians may recall the sad plight of the Napoleonic army in Moscow and that of the German soldiers in Stalingrad after the heavy snowfall in severe winter. The battle hardened French and German soldiers could not take it then, will the Pakistan army sepoys be able to bear it now? The generals from Pakistan’s Punjab see no light at the end of the tunnel in Waziristan.
Unable to face the heavy weapon system and terrible fire power of an organised Army, the Taliban terrorists will melt away and merge into the common crowd as they did in Afghanistan in 2001. But they will resurface and bring down harassing fire on soldiers every now and then, be it bath time or meal time or time to enjoy forty winks of post-lunch siesta. No rest, no relaxation and no peace of mind for soldiers who will suffer from battle fatigue and Taliban will tire them out paving the path of their exit from the battle zone. The writing is on the wall. It is for the Pakistan army Generals to read it.
The Pakistan government may (not -will) win the limited war but they are bound to lose the unlimited peace. As it is the people of the tribal areas of Pakistan feel alienated from the people of Pakistan and a shooting war will make matters worse. Residents of FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) feel that they are second class citizens of Pakistan. No serious effort was ever made by the govt in Islamabad to emotionally integrate them with the rest of Pakistan. Now a military action will further alienate them. If the army is asked to launch a campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Mehsud tribe of South Waziristan, in 4 cases out of five it may end up in a fiasco.
As the war in South Waziristan prolongs the eternal anti-army factors – cold weather, rugged terrain and emotionally hostile local tribesmen – will come into play. The army generals and the Taliban terrorists will perhaps have no alternative but to sit at a round table and negotiate peace leading to possibly a second dismemberment of Pakistan.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA – 201303. INDIA. 0091-9811173590.
Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com upvanom@yahoo.com
WAZIRISTAN WAR : DEFEAT AND VICTORY
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
The Waziristan war has reached a virtual stalemate so soon. The Pakistan Army is neither winning nor losing. Many a doubting Thomas surmises that the officers and soldiers are not going full steam ahead because they treat the Taliban terrorists as their kith and kin. I must hasten to add that this is one view of the battle scenario. The other view is that the Army is fighting its battles professionally and while they are killing the tribesmen, they are saving their own comrades-in-arms and pulling them out of the jaws of death. In any case the military situation is not clear to scribes too. The rumour mill is working overtime because not much news is doled out in official press briefings. Will someone from the fourth estate please impress upon the Army spokesman that the Media – both print and electronic-is a force multiplier. Embrace them and shun them not.
The reports trickling from the battle front mention that the Army is using heavy gunships to pound the tribal terrorists from the sky, and also use light tanks in the frontal attack on the plain and smooth ground. There is no hitting below the belt unlike what Pakistan had done in the Kargil war. The battle is a kind of modern Mahabharat where the righteous have to kill the wayward ones to uphold the DHARMA – the sacred duty to the State. The Army is tasked to do that against the Taliban. Not doing so will be ADHARMA.
NO WIN-WIN SITUATION
In the plains and later in the rugged hills or jungles of Waziristan an outright win is next to impossible. One knows that the Army has big guns and can effectively neutralise long distance targets. What will they do thereafter? It is holding the ground by the infantry or the Special Forces where the problem comes. The local tribesmen who have resolutely refused to support the central forces or provide a back-up to the Army will start harassing soldiers and not let them plan anything anytime. It was a similar situation in the 19th century during the Anglo-Afghan wars. The Soviets in 1980s fared no better. The tanks then and the heavy tanks now will do no better facing anti-tank rockets or rifle propelled grenades. Seeing a burning tank with the crew inside is very demoralising for regular army soldiers.
General Winter will soon usher in his forces to browbeat the army sepoys who are mostly from the plains of the Punjab. The snowfall in Waziristan is a phenomenon not witnessed by an average Punjabi from Lahore or Multan and he is likely to get unnerved. Assessing the terrible winter situation, the Pakistan Army is racing against time. The present fight to finish must be really finished before the first fall of snow. The military historians may recall the sad plight of the Napoleonic army in Moscow and that of the German soldiers in Stalingrad after the heavy snowfall in severe winter. The battle hardened French and German soldiers could not take it then, will the Pakistan army sepoys be able to bear it now? The generals from Pakistan’s Punjab see no light at the end of the tunnel in Waziristan.
Unable to face the heavy weapon system and terrible fire power of an organised Army, the Taliban terrorists will melt away and merge into the common crowd as they did in Afghanistan in 2001. But they will resurface and bring down harassing fire on soldiers every now and then, be it bath time or meal time or time to enjoy forty winks of post-lunch siesta. No rest, no relaxation and no peace of mind for soldiers who will suffer from battle fatigue and Taliban will tire them out paving the path of their exit from the battle zone. The writing is on the wall. It is for the Pakistan army Generals to read it.
The Pakistan government may (not -will) win the limited war but they are bound to lose the unlimited peace. As it is the people of the tribal areas of Pakistan feel alienated from the people of Pakistan and a shooting war will make matters worse. Residents of FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) feel that they are second class citizens of Pakistan. No serious effort was ever made by the govt in Islamabad to emotionally integrate them with the rest of Pakistan. Now a military action will further alienate them. If the army is asked to launch a campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Mehsud tribe of South Waziristan, in 4 cases out of five it may end up in a fiasco.
As the war in South Waziristan prolongs the eternal anti-army factors – cold weather, rugged terrain and emotionally hostile local tribesmen – will come into play. The army generals and the Taliban terrorists will perhaps have no alternative but to sit at a round table and negotiate peace leading to possibly a second dismemberment of Pakistan.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA – 201303. INDIA. 0091-9811173590.
Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com upvanom@yahoo.com
Monday, October 19, 2009
WAZIRISTAN WAR : VICTORY OR DEFEAT
AUM
WAZIRISTAN WAR : DEFEAT AND VICTORY
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
The Waziristan war has reached a virtual stalemate so soon. The Pakistan Army is neither winning nor losing. Many a doubting Thomas surmises that the officers and soldiers are not going full steam ahead because they treat the Taliban terrorists as their kith and kin. I must hasten to add that this is one view of the battle scenario. The other view is that the Army is fighting its battles professionally and while they are killing the tribesmen, they are saving their own comrades-in-arms and pulling them out of the jaws of death. In any case the military situation is not clear to scribes too. The rumour mill is working overtime because not much news is doled out in official press briefings. Will someone from the fourth estate please impress upon the Army spokesman that the Media – both print and electronic-is a force multiplier. Embrace them and shun them not.
The reports trickling from the battle front mention that the Army is using heavy gunships to pound the tribal terrorists from the sky, and also use light tanks in the frontal attack on the plain and smooth ground. There is no hitting below the belt unlike what Pakistan had done in the Kargil war. The battle is a kind of modern Mahabharat where the righteous have to kill the wayward ones to uphold the DHARMA – the sacred duty to the State. The Army is tasked to do that against the Taliban. Not doing so will be ADHARMA.
NO WIN-WIN SITUATION
In the plains and later in the rugged hills or jungles of Waziristan an outright win is next to impossible. One knows that the Army has big guns and can effectively neutralise long distance targets. What will they do thereafter? It is holding the ground by the infantry or the Special Forces where the problem comes. The local tribesmen who have resolutely refused to support the central forces or provide a back-up to the Army will start harassing soldiers and not let them plan anything anytime. It was a similar situation in the 19th century during the Anglo-Afghan wars. The Soviets in 1980s fared no better. The tanks then and the heavy tanks now will do no better facing anti-tank rockets or rifle propelled grenades. Seeing a burning tank with the crew inside is very demoralising for regular army soldiers.
General Winter will soon usher in his forces to browbeat the army sepoys who are mostly from the plains of the Punjab. The snowfall in Waziristan is a phenomenon not witnessed by an average Punjabi from Lahore or Multan and he is likely to get unnerved. Assessing the terrible winter situation, the Pakistan Army is racing against time. The present fight to finish must be really finished before the first fall of snow. The military historians may recall the sad plight of the Napoleonic army in Moscow and that of the German soldiers in Stalingrad after the heavy snowfall in severe winter. The battle hardened French and German soldiers could not take it then, will the Pakistan army sepoys be able to bear it now? The generals from Pakistan’s Punjab see no light at the end of the tunnel in Waziristan.
Unable to face the heavy weapon system and terrible fire power of an organised Army, the Taliban terrorists will melt away and merge into the common crowd as they did in Afghanistan in 2001. But they will resurface and bring down harassing fire on soldiers every now and then, be it bath time or meal time or time to enjoy forty winks of post-lunch siesta. No rest, no relaxation and no peace of mind for soldiers who will suffer from battle fatigue and Taliban will tire them out paving the path of their exit from the battle zone. The writing is on the wall. It is for the Pakistan army Generals to read it.
The Pakistan government may (not -will) win the limited war but they are bound to lose the unlimited peace. As it is the people of the tribal areas of Pakistan feel alienated from the people of Pakistan and a shooting war will make matters worse. Residents of FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) feel that they are second class citizens of Pakistan. No serious effort was ever made by the govt in Islamabad to emotionally integrate them with the rest of Pakistan. Now a military action will further alienate them. If the army is asked to launch a campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Mehsud tribe of South Waziristan, in 4 cases out of five it may end up in a fiasco.
As the war in South Waziristan prolongs the eternal anti-army factors – cold weather, rugged terrain and emotionally hostile local tribesmen – will come into play. The army generals and the Taliban terrorists will perhaps have no alternative but to sit at a round table and negotiate peace leading to possibly a second dismemberment of Pakistan.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA – 201303. INDIA. 0091-9811173590.
Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com upvanom@yahoo.com
WAZIRISTAN WAR : DEFEAT AND VICTORY
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
The Waziristan war has reached a virtual stalemate so soon. The Pakistan Army is neither winning nor losing. Many a doubting Thomas surmises that the officers and soldiers are not going full steam ahead because they treat the Taliban terrorists as their kith and kin. I must hasten to add that this is one view of the battle scenario. The other view is that the Army is fighting its battles professionally and while they are killing the tribesmen, they are saving their own comrades-in-arms and pulling them out of the jaws of death. In any case the military situation is not clear to scribes too. The rumour mill is working overtime because not much news is doled out in official press briefings. Will someone from the fourth estate please impress upon the Army spokesman that the Media – both print and electronic-is a force multiplier. Embrace them and shun them not.
The reports trickling from the battle front mention that the Army is using heavy gunships to pound the tribal terrorists from the sky, and also use light tanks in the frontal attack on the plain and smooth ground. There is no hitting below the belt unlike what Pakistan had done in the Kargil war. The battle is a kind of modern Mahabharat where the righteous have to kill the wayward ones to uphold the DHARMA – the sacred duty to the State. The Army is tasked to do that against the Taliban. Not doing so will be ADHARMA.
NO WIN-WIN SITUATION
In the plains and later in the rugged hills or jungles of Waziristan an outright win is next to impossible. One knows that the Army has big guns and can effectively neutralise long distance targets. What will they do thereafter? It is holding the ground by the infantry or the Special Forces where the problem comes. The local tribesmen who have resolutely refused to support the central forces or provide a back-up to the Army will start harassing soldiers and not let them plan anything anytime. It was a similar situation in the 19th century during the Anglo-Afghan wars. The Soviets in 1980s fared no better. The tanks then and the heavy tanks now will do no better facing anti-tank rockets or rifle propelled grenades. Seeing a burning tank with the crew inside is very demoralising for regular army soldiers.
General Winter will soon usher in his forces to browbeat the army sepoys who are mostly from the plains of the Punjab. The snowfall in Waziristan is a phenomenon not witnessed by an average Punjabi from Lahore or Multan and he is likely to get unnerved. Assessing the terrible winter situation, the Pakistan Army is racing against time. The present fight to finish must be really finished before the first fall of snow. The military historians may recall the sad plight of the Napoleonic army in Moscow and that of the German soldiers in Stalingrad after the heavy snowfall in severe winter. The battle hardened French and German soldiers could not take it then, will the Pakistan army sepoys be able to bear it now? The generals from Pakistan’s Punjab see no light at the end of the tunnel in Waziristan.
Unable to face the heavy weapon system and terrible fire power of an organised Army, the Taliban terrorists will melt away and merge into the common crowd as they did in Afghanistan in 2001. But they will resurface and bring down harassing fire on soldiers every now and then, be it bath time or meal time or time to enjoy forty winks of post-lunch siesta. No rest, no relaxation and no peace of mind for soldiers who will suffer from battle fatigue and Taliban will tire them out paving the path of their exit from the battle zone. The writing is on the wall. It is for the Pakistan army Generals to read it.
The Pakistan government may (not -will) win the limited war but they are bound to lose the unlimited peace. As it is the people of the tribal areas of Pakistan feel alienated from the people of Pakistan and a shooting war will make matters worse. Residents of FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) feel that they are second class citizens of Pakistan. No serious effort was ever made by the govt in Islamabad to emotionally integrate them with the rest of Pakistan. Now a military action will further alienate them. If the army is asked to launch a campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Mehsud tribe of South Waziristan, in 4 cases out of five it may end up in a fiasco.
As the war in South Waziristan prolongs the eternal anti-army factors – cold weather, rugged terrain and emotionally hostile local tribesmen – will come into play. The army generals and the Taliban terrorists will perhaps have no alternative but to sit at a round table and negotiate peace leading to possibly a second dismemberment of Pakistan.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA – 201303. INDIA. 0091-9811173590.
Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com upvanom@yahoo.com
PAKISTAN WAGING WAR - PHONEY OR REAL
AUM
WAR IN WAZIRISTAN IN LAST TWO DAYS
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
It is the fag end of the battle on the second day in South Waziristan. The Pakistan Army wishes to show to the world that it had the better of the Taliban terrorists. On the other hand the Taliban terrorists are equally keen to exhibit their political prowess and military acumen by pinning down the leading elements of the advancing troops. At the end of the first forty eight hours, there is not much to show on the report card. The Army claims it killed 60 terrorists but does not show any dead bodies of the terrorists. The Army says it lost five soldiers but no body bags have been sent to the native places of the deceased. It is hard to believe that there is Truth in the Army's claim.
Truth is always a casualty in battle. In any case this is not the first time that the credibility of the Pakistan Army has taken a beating.
An independent military analyst will take with a pinch of salt the claim of the army top brass that eliminating the bad Taliban from South Waziristan has all ingredients of a successful military operation. Let us concede the point that a large body of troops, 28,000, is on the offensive and the general officer commanding XI Corps based in Peshawar, Lieut General Masud Alam has been put in command to plan and execute the battles. The army has an experience of combat against terrorists in Bajaur and Swat valley and their weapons, including heavy artillery, are modern; the fire power is effective and demoralising for the enemy. However, the most important factor not to be lost sight of is the fiercely independent spirit of tribesmen of South Waziristan. Right from the days of Alexander no outsider has succeeded in subjugating them after a win in battle. To the tribesmen of the area, the Pakistan Army is not only an outsider, being from the Punjab, but comprises infidels as they are lackeys of America.
Morale is to physical as ten to one; an axiom of the army all over the world. The morale of the terrorists is high as the Mullahs in the mosques exhort them day in and day out to defeat the army soldiers who are servants of an infidel state named the United States. The average soldier is also given lectures in morale but he is not convinced in his mind that the cause he is fighting for is Islamic and will take him to the heaven on attaining martyrdom. No wonder on the three occasions in the past that the army went into action in Waziristan, it lost men and material and per force had to retreat. Generals at higher levels were forced to sit at the negotiating table with the Taliban adversary who are not terrorists in the eye of even some army sympathisers.
Considering these important factors cited above, one will have to take the claims of serious fighting and victory of the army against the Taliban with a pinch of salt. No wonder the foreign news agencies writing about claims of killing terrorists in battle also write that there was no way to confirm the claim. Time alone will tell what is true and what is false. Will the Army run over South Waziristan or will the combine of tribesmen and terrorists vanquish the army that is fighting half-heartedly.
____________________________________________________________________________
Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com
WAR IN WAZIRISTAN IN LAST TWO DAYS
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
It is the fag end of the battle on the second day in South Waziristan. The Pakistan Army wishes to show to the world that it had the better of the Taliban terrorists. On the other hand the Taliban terrorists are equally keen to exhibit their political prowess and military acumen by pinning down the leading elements of the advancing troops. At the end of the first forty eight hours, there is not much to show on the report card. The Army claims it killed 60 terrorists but does not show any dead bodies of the terrorists. The Army says it lost five soldiers but no body bags have been sent to the native places of the deceased. It is hard to believe that there is Truth in the Army's claim.
Truth is always a casualty in battle. In any case this is not the first time that the credibility of the Pakistan Army has taken a beating.
An independent military analyst will take with a pinch of salt the claim of the army top brass that eliminating the bad Taliban from South Waziristan has all ingredients of a successful military operation. Let us concede the point that a large body of troops, 28,000, is on the offensive and the general officer commanding XI Corps based in Peshawar, Lieut General Masud Alam has been put in command to plan and execute the battles. The army has an experience of combat against terrorists in Bajaur and Swat valley and their weapons, including heavy artillery, are modern; the fire power is effective and demoralising for the enemy. However, the most important factor not to be lost sight of is the fiercely independent spirit of tribesmen of South Waziristan. Right from the days of Alexander no outsider has succeeded in subjugating them after a win in battle. To the tribesmen of the area, the Pakistan Army is not only an outsider, being from the Punjab, but comprises infidels as they are lackeys of America.
Morale is to physical as ten to one; an axiom of the army all over the world. The morale of the terrorists is high as the Mullahs in the mosques exhort them day in and day out to defeat the army soldiers who are servants of an infidel state named the United States. The average soldier is also given lectures in morale but he is not convinced in his mind that the cause he is fighting for is Islamic and will take him to the heaven on attaining martyrdom. No wonder on the three occasions in the past that the army went into action in Waziristan, it lost men and material and per force had to retreat. Generals at higher levels were forced to sit at the negotiating table with the Taliban adversary who are not terrorists in the eye of even some army sympathisers.
Considering these important factors cited above, one will have to take the claims of serious fighting and victory of the army against the Taliban with a pinch of salt. No wonder the foreign news agencies writing about claims of killing terrorists in battle also write that there was no way to confirm the claim. Time alone will tell what is true and what is false. Will the Army run over South Waziristan or will the combine of tribesmen and terrorists vanquish the army that is fighting half-heartedly.
____________________________________________________________________________
Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com
Sunday, October 18, 2009
FRONTAL ATTACK ON TALIBAN BY ARMY
AUM
Pakistan Army Attacks Taliban
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
THE DOOMS day for the Taliban terrorists in South Waziristan in Pakistan arrived on 16 October, 2009 when the Pakistan Army launched a full scale attack from the air and on the ground. When the reports last came in, a fierce fire fight was going on. Under orders of the Army Chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani 28,000 troops were mobilised and a massive attack launched. The helicopter gunships pounded the Taliban positions from the air and destroyed their training camps.
It is a fight to finish, said an Army spokesman who declined to be identified. The point of no return for the Army came when the Taliban laid a seize to the general Headquarters of the Army in Rawalpindi and killed some senior officers including a brigadier and a colonel. Moreover, for more than a week the Taliban terrorists mounted attacks on the security forces and police outfits killing and maiming many to prove to the Pakistan civilian population that the Taliban was in control and not the army or the civil administration. Enough was enough, said the Army and launched a massive hunt for the Taliban in their citadel, South Waziristan.
The new Taliban chief,Hakimullah said that the taliban would not take the assault lying down. A fitting response will be given to the Army. it may be mentioned that the Taliban terrorists have quite a few sympathisers in the Army and the Administration. Further , there are dissensions between the army and the civil administration. It is public knowledge that the Army did not allow the Interior Minister to enter the GHQ to lay a wreath on the martyrs memorial on behalf of the president of pakistan. The point proved was that the Army is supreme in its own domain.
In South Waziristan the civilian population is leaving its home and hearth and fleeing to safer areas. More than 2 million families are likely to be displaced. Many of them have arrived in dera Ismail Khan. The situation is quite chaotic.
The Razmak base of the Army saw a road side bomb burst and killing 4 soldiers and injuring 11 of them. The number of Taliban terrorists killed in air and ground attack has touched double digits.
The Pakistan Army was left with little option but to take a hard line and do what it should have done long ago. The dilly dallying of the generals and terror sympathisers cost many lives of their compatriots. A statement of the Army Chief that the Taliban would fight shoulder to shoulder with the Pak army against India and protect Pakistan's flank had emboldened the taliban. What the army had sown it is reaping. Anyway, an attack now is better than no attack at all on the terroists.
Pakistan Army Attacks Taliban
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
THE DOOMS day for the Taliban terrorists in South Waziristan in Pakistan arrived on 16 October, 2009 when the Pakistan Army launched a full scale attack from the air and on the ground. When the reports last came in, a fierce fire fight was going on. Under orders of the Army Chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani 28,000 troops were mobilised and a massive attack launched. The helicopter gunships pounded the Taliban positions from the air and destroyed their training camps.
It is a fight to finish, said an Army spokesman who declined to be identified. The point of no return for the Army came when the Taliban laid a seize to the general Headquarters of the Army in Rawalpindi and killed some senior officers including a brigadier and a colonel. Moreover, for more than a week the Taliban terrorists mounted attacks on the security forces and police outfits killing and maiming many to prove to the Pakistan civilian population that the Taliban was in control and not the army or the civil administration. Enough was enough, said the Army and launched a massive hunt for the Taliban in their citadel, South Waziristan.
The new Taliban chief,Hakimullah said that the taliban would not take the assault lying down. A fitting response will be given to the Army. it may be mentioned that the Taliban terrorists have quite a few sympathisers in the Army and the Administration. Further , there are dissensions between the army and the civil administration. It is public knowledge that the Army did not allow the Interior Minister to enter the GHQ to lay a wreath on the martyrs memorial on behalf of the president of pakistan. The point proved was that the Army is supreme in its own domain.
In South Waziristan the civilian population is leaving its home and hearth and fleeing to safer areas. More than 2 million families are likely to be displaced. Many of them have arrived in dera Ismail Khan. The situation is quite chaotic.
The Razmak base of the Army saw a road side bomb burst and killing 4 soldiers and injuring 11 of them. The number of Taliban terrorists killed in air and ground attack has touched double digits.
The Pakistan Army was left with little option but to take a hard line and do what it should have done long ago. The dilly dallying of the generals and terror sympathisers cost many lives of their compatriots. A statement of the Army Chief that the Taliban would fight shoulder to shoulder with the Pak army against India and protect Pakistan's flank had emboldened the taliban. What the army had sown it is reaping. Anyway, an attack now is better than no attack at all on the terroists.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
NEW RAILWAYS NEW DIPLOMACY
AUM
NEW RAILWAYS NEW GAME
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
The name of the game is: open new railways and play new game of diplomacy. Diplomacy is the art of the impossible. A diplomat never clogs his line of communication even with the bitterest of the enemies because there is always a kind of hope of getting information that might help the home country in winning the cold war. Railways in India and elsewhere in the world have been a good means of communication. Espionage and pumping of fake currency in the adversary’s country are aims plus of running new railways. Now a piece of news emanating from Nepal has unnerved some greenhorn diplomats, albeit there is nothing to worry about.
The government of Nepal has requested the government of the People’s Republic of China to extend the Beijing-Lhasa railway line to Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. Nothing wrong with that request nor with the response that is likely to be a positive one. China might launch another adventurous project of building the new railway line from Lhasa, capital of Tibet to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The railway engineers will be adequately employed and their skills will be tested day in and day out in that rugged Himalayan terrain where the crust of earth is yet to settle down. No wonder there are landslides every now and then. This valuable experience will help the Chinese engineers in advising military engineers if the PLA has to fight a war in that inhospitable region.
SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS
There has been a flurry of intellectual activity in the strategic study circles to assess the impact of this project on the future military planning. Will the new railway line bring the People’s Liberation Army(PLA) of China too close to be comfortable. A cool headed assessment will reassure the panicky fellows that there is nothing to be afraid of. If the Chinese forces come to Kathmandu, so what? Aren’t they so close to the Indian Army troops across the Nathula pass in Sikkim? Aren’t they so close to the Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh at the Bumla pass? Rest assured, heavens won’t fall if the Beijing-Lhasa railway line is extended to Kathmandu. It may benefit Nepal economically and we Indians, as neighbours of Nepal, should be happy about it.
A STUDENT OF HISTORY WILL BE REMINDED OF ANOTHER SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEF ABOUT A NEW RAILWAY LINE BEING LAID CLOSE TO THE Red Fort in New Delhi. King Bahadur Shah Zafar, a pensioner of the East India Company represented to the Company Bahadur that the railway line running so close to the Red Fort and palaces inside may induce miscarriage among the pregnant queens. He was assured that the new railway line would bring joy and not sorrow to one and all.
The Red Indians of America had also opposed laying of new railway lines through their reservations but eventually were convinced that the new fangled thing is an instrument of economic progress.
One may recall that the very first railway line laid and used to run a train was from Bori Bunder in Bombay (now Mumbai) to Thane, a princely distance of 34 kilometers. On April 16, 1853 as many as 14 carriages pulled by three locomotives had carried 400 guests. A 21 gun salute was given to the train and the Governor’s band was in attendance. No superstitious beliefs plagued the people and the journey was a grand success.
One should take the Chinese effort in helping Nepal with the same smoothness as the Marathas took the inaugural run of the Bori Bunder-Thane railway. A step forward in any direction means progress for the Mankind. Peace brings prosperity in the region. Where prosperity prevails, poverty retreats and fades into the pages of history. A prosperous country hates to go to war with a neighbouring country because a war spells economic disaster for all concerned. Let us hope and trust that the new railway line, as and when made operational, will bring an economic boom to our kith and kin in Nepal.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA-201303, INDIA. Mobile : 0091-9811173590.
Email : upvanom@yahoo.com
NEW RAILWAYS NEW GAME
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
The name of the game is: open new railways and play new game of diplomacy. Diplomacy is the art of the impossible. A diplomat never clogs his line of communication even with the bitterest of the enemies because there is always a kind of hope of getting information that might help the home country in winning the cold war. Railways in India and elsewhere in the world have been a good means of communication. Espionage and pumping of fake currency in the adversary’s country are aims plus of running new railways. Now a piece of news emanating from Nepal has unnerved some greenhorn diplomats, albeit there is nothing to worry about.
The government of Nepal has requested the government of the People’s Republic of China to extend the Beijing-Lhasa railway line to Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. Nothing wrong with that request nor with the response that is likely to be a positive one. China might launch another adventurous project of building the new railway line from Lhasa, capital of Tibet to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The railway engineers will be adequately employed and their skills will be tested day in and day out in that rugged Himalayan terrain where the crust of earth is yet to settle down. No wonder there are landslides every now and then. This valuable experience will help the Chinese engineers in advising military engineers if the PLA has to fight a war in that inhospitable region.
SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS
There has been a flurry of intellectual activity in the strategic study circles to assess the impact of this project on the future military planning. Will the new railway line bring the People’s Liberation Army(PLA) of China too close to be comfortable. A cool headed assessment will reassure the panicky fellows that there is nothing to be afraid of. If the Chinese forces come to Kathmandu, so what? Aren’t they so close to the Indian Army troops across the Nathula pass in Sikkim? Aren’t they so close to the Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh at the Bumla pass? Rest assured, heavens won’t fall if the Beijing-Lhasa railway line is extended to Kathmandu. It may benefit Nepal economically and we Indians, as neighbours of Nepal, should be happy about it.
A STUDENT OF HISTORY WILL BE REMINDED OF ANOTHER SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEF ABOUT A NEW RAILWAY LINE BEING LAID CLOSE TO THE Red Fort in New Delhi. King Bahadur Shah Zafar, a pensioner of the East India Company represented to the Company Bahadur that the railway line running so close to the Red Fort and palaces inside may induce miscarriage among the pregnant queens. He was assured that the new railway line would bring joy and not sorrow to one and all.
The Red Indians of America had also opposed laying of new railway lines through their reservations but eventually were convinced that the new fangled thing is an instrument of economic progress.
One may recall that the very first railway line laid and used to run a train was from Bori Bunder in Bombay (now Mumbai) to Thane, a princely distance of 34 kilometers. On April 16, 1853 as many as 14 carriages pulled by three locomotives had carried 400 guests. A 21 gun salute was given to the train and the Governor’s band was in attendance. No superstitious beliefs plagued the people and the journey was a grand success.
One should take the Chinese effort in helping Nepal with the same smoothness as the Marathas took the inaugural run of the Bori Bunder-Thane railway. A step forward in any direction means progress for the Mankind. Peace brings prosperity in the region. Where prosperity prevails, poverty retreats and fades into the pages of history. A prosperous country hates to go to war with a neighbouring country because a war spells economic disaster for all concerned. Let us hope and trust that the new railway line, as and when made operational, will bring an economic boom to our kith and kin in Nepal.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA-201303, INDIA. Mobile : 0091-9811173590.
Email : upvanom@yahoo.com
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
DESPERATE FOR DIRTY BOMB
AUM
DESPERATE FOR THE DIRTY BOMB
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
The dirty bomb is being desperately sought for by the Al Qaida to destroy the civilised world. The civilised world is desperately keeping the nuclear weapon system out of the reach of the Islamic terror groups. A decade and a half ago Osama bin-Laden was prepared to pay 1.5 billion US dollars to acquire enriched uranium but could not find a reliable seller not dealing in spurious goods. Meanwhile Pakistan made the bomb but the American control was so tight that nuclear proliferation to Osama and his tribe was not feasible. Thanks to AQ Khan of Pakistan nuclear arsenal, some nuclear proliferation did take place and some third world countries were the beneficiaries.
The Islamic terror groups per force changed their strategy for spreading their tentacles. Now they cast their net far and wide to catch big and important fish that would be helpful in acquiring the dirty bomb. The desperation for the dirty bomb grew more and more as the terror leaders wanted it as a weapon for brow beating the western world and cause mass destruction. The theory and practice of the suicide bombing in crowded places and government posts and buildings proved effective for a limited period and purpose only. Tactically it was fine but strategically speaking, they needed something that would give spectacular results and shock the civilised world into stunning stupor leading to mental paralysis. The nuclear weapon system, especially the bomb would ideally fit into the new scenario. A committed group of specialised scientists converted to the philosophy of terror was needed by Al Qaeda to put this ideology into practice.
PATH TO PROSPERITY
A team of top notch scientists, doctors, engineers and intellectuals who would wield influence on the civil society was drafted for the purpose. The arrest this week in France by the French police of a distinguished physicist of Algerian descent living in France, blew off the lid and exposed the aforesaid plot. Dr Adlene Hicheur, an Algeria born naturalised Frenchman with deep sympathy for the cause of the Islamic terror, was arrested on charges of indulging in a criminal activity that could endanger the life and limbs of citizens leading to mass destruction. He was convinced that a total destruction of the present administrative and social set up was the only way to come out of the present logjam. Thereafter a new social order will take shape that would lead Mankind of the Islamic world on to the path of prosperity. The French physicist was so possessed by the idea of destroying the western world that he commenced his research on the “Anti-Matter Bomb” that would be more powerful than the known nuclear devices at present. Further, there will be no radiation and the terrorists using the device would be safe.
Indeed the idea was fine on paper and in principle. But it was a costly proposition. It sounded like science fiction. Therefore, the donors to the concept and making of the Anti-Matter bomb had to be convinced that their money would not go down the drain. The fabulous amount of money was withdrawn from the banks in North Africa, Maghreb and transferred to France to be handed over to Dr Adlene Hicheur. However, the French police that had been keeping track of the uncommon and unusual activities of the Doctor of Destruction swooped over his laboratory and residence to seize the objectionable material and arrest him for unlawful activity leading to mass destruction. The eminent soft spoken Physicist confessed to his links to and sympathy for Al Qaida. The French police had even arrested his brother, a chemist, but let him off without a charge as there was no evidence of his involvement in the devilish design. Before long the doctor started singing and spilled the beans exposing sinister designs of Islamic terrorists. The names of other eminent scientists are likely to come up in the course of a though investigation. It will then be revealed how deep the roots of Al Qaida have gone into the European soil.
Algeria was a French colony before it gained independence after a long and violent struggle. Right from the colonial days through the present times many Algerian Muslims have chosen to settle down in France for a better standard of living and a civilised lifestyle. Since most of the Algerians are born Muslims , they have their sympathy for men like Osama and outfits like Al Qaida. The eminent Physicist was a part of the sympathisers of the Islamic terror group planning mass destruction of the western world.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA – 201303, INDIA. Mobile : 0091-9811173590.
Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com
DESPERATE FOR THE DIRTY BOMB
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
The dirty bomb is being desperately sought for by the Al Qaida to destroy the civilised world. The civilised world is desperately keeping the nuclear weapon system out of the reach of the Islamic terror groups. A decade and a half ago Osama bin-Laden was prepared to pay 1.5 billion US dollars to acquire enriched uranium but could not find a reliable seller not dealing in spurious goods. Meanwhile Pakistan made the bomb but the American control was so tight that nuclear proliferation to Osama and his tribe was not feasible. Thanks to AQ Khan of Pakistan nuclear arsenal, some nuclear proliferation did take place and some third world countries were the beneficiaries.
The Islamic terror groups per force changed their strategy for spreading their tentacles. Now they cast their net far and wide to catch big and important fish that would be helpful in acquiring the dirty bomb. The desperation for the dirty bomb grew more and more as the terror leaders wanted it as a weapon for brow beating the western world and cause mass destruction. The theory and practice of the suicide bombing in crowded places and government posts and buildings proved effective for a limited period and purpose only. Tactically it was fine but strategically speaking, they needed something that would give spectacular results and shock the civilised world into stunning stupor leading to mental paralysis. The nuclear weapon system, especially the bomb would ideally fit into the new scenario. A committed group of specialised scientists converted to the philosophy of terror was needed by Al Qaeda to put this ideology into practice.
PATH TO PROSPERITY
A team of top notch scientists, doctors, engineers and intellectuals who would wield influence on the civil society was drafted for the purpose. The arrest this week in France by the French police of a distinguished physicist of Algerian descent living in France, blew off the lid and exposed the aforesaid plot. Dr Adlene Hicheur, an Algeria born naturalised Frenchman with deep sympathy for the cause of the Islamic terror, was arrested on charges of indulging in a criminal activity that could endanger the life and limbs of citizens leading to mass destruction. He was convinced that a total destruction of the present administrative and social set up was the only way to come out of the present logjam. Thereafter a new social order will take shape that would lead Mankind of the Islamic world on to the path of prosperity. The French physicist was so possessed by the idea of destroying the western world that he commenced his research on the “Anti-Matter Bomb” that would be more powerful than the known nuclear devices at present. Further, there will be no radiation and the terrorists using the device would be safe.
Indeed the idea was fine on paper and in principle. But it was a costly proposition. It sounded like science fiction. Therefore, the donors to the concept and making of the Anti-Matter bomb had to be convinced that their money would not go down the drain. The fabulous amount of money was withdrawn from the banks in North Africa, Maghreb and transferred to France to be handed over to Dr Adlene Hicheur. However, the French police that had been keeping track of the uncommon and unusual activities of the Doctor of Destruction swooped over his laboratory and residence to seize the objectionable material and arrest him for unlawful activity leading to mass destruction. The eminent soft spoken Physicist confessed to his links to and sympathy for Al Qaida. The French police had even arrested his brother, a chemist, but let him off without a charge as there was no evidence of his involvement in the devilish design. Before long the doctor started singing and spilled the beans exposing sinister designs of Islamic terrorists. The names of other eminent scientists are likely to come up in the course of a though investigation. It will then be revealed how deep the roots of Al Qaida have gone into the European soil.
Algeria was a French colony before it gained independence after a long and violent struggle. Right from the colonial days through the present times many Algerian Muslims have chosen to settle down in France for a better standard of living and a civilised lifestyle. Since most of the Algerians are born Muslims , they have their sympathy for men like Osama and outfits like Al Qaida. The eminent Physicist was a part of the sympathisers of the Islamic terror group planning mass destruction of the western world.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA – 201303, INDIA. Mobile : 0091-9811173590.
Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com
Monday, October 12, 2009
EQUALITY BEFORE LAW
AUM
LAW IS ABOVE YOU
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
When I passed the examination for the degree of Bachelor of Laws and obtained a First Division from the University of Allahabad in the year 1954, the soothsayers predicted that I would be a judge of the High Court or a successful lawyer in due course of time. Nothing of that sort happened. The astrologer was wrong. Our hopes were dashed when I became a lawyer without a brief in a district court. My gift of the gab helped me in arguing a case or two that I got from our native village where the litigants were in penury and could not pay a reasonable fee to an established lawyer. Notwithstanding my logical legal arguments and acquittal of the accused in an Arms Act case, my hopes of a flooded flow of new legal briefs were belied. I had no touts to go round singing my praise and hooking new clients. I learnt a lesson: honesty is not always the best policy, certainly not in the domain of law.
BIG FISH AND SMALL FISH
The courts of law in India follow the British jurisprudence and administration of justice is done exactly as it is done in the United Kingdom. In that country the language of the court is English and so is the case with the litigants. On the contrary, in India while the language of courts is, by and large, English, that of the litigants it is their mother tongue which is not English. The litigants do not follow a word of what is said by the lawyers or the judge and they depend solely on the briefing done by the clerk of the counsel at the end of the day. The higher you go in judiciary, the more removed you are from the litigating people. Generally speaking, the judges in their judgements delivered in the Indian courts quote observations of learned legal luminaries from the UK or USA that do not have much in common with the situation obtaining in India. It is said that there may be miscarriage of justice because of this communication gap between the bench and the bar on one side and our hapless litigants on the other side. It is the poor people who suffer. The people find no remedy for this perennial malady of communication gap in legal language and commoner’s rustic language.
Carrying the above point forward, one finds that the rich who engage high profile counsels on paying a fabulous amount as a legal fee go scot free whatever the charge against them might have been. It is the poor who becomes voiceless because his counsel is not as articulate as the rich man’s is. Many a time one finds that the big fish goes unpunished despite being a criminal in the eye of law and it is the small fish that gets caught despite its innocence or a relatively minor crime. In such cases one finds a travesty of truth that results in miscarriage of justice. This has been happening since the time when the Anglo-Roman jurisprudence was introduced in India by the East India Company to administer justice. One comes across a case here or a case there when an individual is found guilty of murder of a person who is actually alive and kicking. Collusion of the police plays a major role in derailing justice.
EQUALITY BEFORE LAW
I had learnt by heart an axiom of jurisprudence in my law class that I recall time and again.
“However high one may ever be, the Law is above him”.
It saddens me to see that this high principle is observed more in breach than any other law of the land. The high and the mighty announce from house tops that they have good connections in the higher echelons of the society and no one dares lay his hand on the mighty wrong doer. The politicians perhaps are the worst law breakers because they have the wherewithal to get away with it. I must hasten to add that with the advent of the electronic media, the cases that are covered by reporters in depth are per force being dealt with as per law. It is the media pressure that sees the sons of politicians, who infringe laws, behind bars. Such cases are indeed few and far between. It must be stated that the principle of equality before law is flouted flagrantly now more than ever before. Perhaps the higher judiciary is not strong enough to ensure that there is equality before law.
Let us take judges of the higher judiciary. Many of them, including sitting judges of the apex court are reluctant to disclose their assets and sources of income. Further, there have been accusations by eminent jurists that some judges of the higher judiciary, including a chief justice or two, have amassed wealth and immoveable property worth more than their known sources of income. There is corruption in the higher judiciary too but the big fish goes unpunished. The case of Justice Dinakaran, Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, for buying a lot of land at throw away price, has been hanging fire for a long time. The decision of the Chief Justice of India is still awaited in the matter. Another glaring example is that of Justice Ramaswamy of the Supreme Court against whom the impeachment proceedings were started for corruption but he survived because of his political connections. On the other hand many a time a petty clerk is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for varying periods for accepting illegal gratification of a princely sum of five rupees. Is it equality before law? Both the lawmakers and the interpreters of law must think hard on the issue and come up with a rational solution lest the society erupts in a socio-legal upheaval.
Thanks to my first class law degree, I am able to delve deep into legal issues and call a spade a spade. I thank the Almighty for saving me from serving a system of jurisprudence where the common man is most uncared for. I also thank Him for saving me from corrupt practices in and out of courts of law where they all conspire, knowingly or unknowingly, to make a hash of law of the land. Long ago someone had said” Law is an ass”, now one may be tempted to say that those who implement the law of the land make an ass of one and all.
Upvan 609, Sector 29, NOIDA – 201303 INDIA. 0091-9811173590.
Phone : 0091-120-2454622.
Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com
upvanom@yahoo.com
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
RED TALIBAN IN INDIAN RED CORRIDOR
THE RED TALIBAN IN THE INDIAN RED CORRIDOR
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
The Maoists in the eastern India are not only ferocious but also brutally cruel. On 30 Sep 09 they kidnapped Shri Francis Induvar, a police Inspector of the Jharkhand Police on intelligence duty from the market place, held him hostage, demanded a swap over with their top leaders like Ghandy, yadav and one more person who were in police custody . No interaction with the state government took place and the Maoists then beheaded him on 5th october. His torso was left lying across the road and the severed head was thrown away at a little distance. The Jharkhand state government says that no offer of a swap over was received by them from the Maoists. The beheading is a barbaric act and sends shock waves down the rank and file. The morale of the police jawans may be adversely affected.
The silver lining in this dark cloud has been the brave response of the late Inspector's wife, Sunita Induvar and his two teenage sons Animesh and Aniket who expressed their firm resolve not to ask the state govt to swap over their head of the family with the top Maoists. It is good that the Jharkhand government has announced a compensation of Rs ten lakh to the family of the deceased police Inspector.When the children grow up they may be offered a job in the police force.
What an irony of fate that the police personnel whom the Maoists are killing belong to the tribes and weaker sections of the society whom the Maoists profess to protect. One may recall that sometime back the Maoists had killed as many as nine women constables on duty in Garh Ciroli in Maharashtra. A very upsetting barbaric act indeed.
The Maoists have made a Red corridor from Nepal to Kerala via states like Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. They are now trying to gain a foothold in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana too. Over a period of time they have gained the sympathy and support of the neglected and ignored sections of the society. The poor people look upon the Maoists as their friends and support them in more ways than one.The Maoists have acquired sufficient number of fire arms and improvised explosive devices to deter the civil police from hunting for them in the thick forests of the states concerned.
The Central government has to lead in forming an anti-Maoist Task Force and coordinate their police action against the Maoist rebels who are now called the Red Taliban because of their barbarity. The local people must be weaned away from Maoists and motivated to support the State. Economic reforms in the region will be urgently required to be implemented.
The Police Task Force should be well trained and well armed with sophisticated weapons to be used in jungles and close quarter battles. The motivation to fight against and eliminate Maoists has to be of a high order. The police personnel should be a committed group of people who believe in fighting for and even dying for the cause of the motherland. MATRIBHOOMI before self should be their ideal and there should be a role model for them to follow. Who can be a better role model than the officers selected to lead them from the front in fighting the Red Terror.
It is well known that a force that is mercenary can never fight against and defeat highly motivated guerrillas. Last but not the least, the people's support to the Maoists must be withdrawn by the local people themselves if they are economically and emotionally integrated with the main stream of the society.
Guerrilla fighters are like fish and the people are like water. If the fish is separated from water it dies. Let the Maoists be brought to that stage where they cannot survive for lack of people's support.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA -201303, INDIA 0091-9811173590. Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com
Virginity of bride and the groom
AUM
FAKING VIRGINITY TO FOOL HUSBANDS
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
The Chinese people enjoy a good reputation as inventors of the newest of the new. The invention of gun powder and the paper, among other things, goes to their credit. The famous Chinese silk adorned the body and the bedroom of the high and the mighty like Julius Caesar and his successors in Rome and the pretty women like Cleopatra in Egypt who travelled to Rome to display her best and win hearts of Romans. Now in the 21st century the Chinese have come out with a new fangled device dear to hearts of girls who enjoy pre-marital sex and yet gladden their husbands on nuptial night with an intact hymen. The Chinese invented device costs just thirty US dollars. It is indeed worth buying it.
The artificial virginity kit is marketed by Gigimo, a Chinese company. When inserted it emits a blood like fluid that the gullible husbands believe to be blood coming out of the torn hymen that was intact prior to the groom copulating with the bride. In a conservative society like the ones in the Orient and the Middle-East, the artificial virginity kit is likely to be sold like hot cakes among the fair sex who now feel sexually liberated. The women’s lib movements in various parts of the world, not excluding the Arab world, have given girls mental and physical, read sexual, freedom. The end result is their ending up in bed with a boy friend for experiments in sex. In some cases it may be just a one-evening stand. The virginity, however, is lost and the broken hymen bears testimony to it. The conservative males are not yet prepared to accept a bride on a nuptial night who had had pre-marital sex. The new kit is an answer to this vexing question.
The male-dominated society in the Middle-east has, however, raised a hue and cry against the Chinese invented artificial hymen kit. The opinions expressed by them and carried by the Arabic press pointedly say that the new device will increase promiscuity in the conservative society. Thus the traditional values will go down the drain. Wives who get used to playing deception on husbands may enlarge the area of cheating on their husbands. Where will the moral values go? The female lobby has not yet openly favoured the freedom to buy or not to buy the aforesaid kit. Should they do so, they are likely to be exposed as women of loose morals. The stigma may stay on for life. To quote Shakespeare “All the perfumes of Arabia may will not sweeten the hand ”that committed the sexual sin. Generally speaking the male lobby is vociferous and the female defence is too feeble to withstand this male onslaught.
Is the male who becomes the bridegroom as pure as fresh snow? You never can tell. In this respect our Lord and our Maker did not put a physical device to test the virginity of a man. Thus the male, after committing a thousand sins goes scot free. No stigma is attached to him and no proof lingers on to bother him except his own conscience, if he has one. The male society may be educated on the subject so that they practise perfect equality between male and female in matter of pre-marital sex. It will be dream come true. The Chinese inventors will, however, lament the thought of equality of this kind permeating the fabric of a conservative society. Then their business of artificial hymen kit will bomb and the conservative world will laugh at them.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA – 201303, INDIA. 0091-9811173590.
Email – sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com
FAKING VIRGINITY TO FOOL HUSBANDS
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
The Chinese people enjoy a good reputation as inventors of the newest of the new. The invention of gun powder and the paper, among other things, goes to their credit. The famous Chinese silk adorned the body and the bedroom of the high and the mighty like Julius Caesar and his successors in Rome and the pretty women like Cleopatra in Egypt who travelled to Rome to display her best and win hearts of Romans. Now in the 21st century the Chinese have come out with a new fangled device dear to hearts of girls who enjoy pre-marital sex and yet gladden their husbands on nuptial night with an intact hymen. The Chinese invented device costs just thirty US dollars. It is indeed worth buying it.
The artificial virginity kit is marketed by Gigimo, a Chinese company. When inserted it emits a blood like fluid that the gullible husbands believe to be blood coming out of the torn hymen that was intact prior to the groom copulating with the bride. In a conservative society like the ones in the Orient and the Middle-East, the artificial virginity kit is likely to be sold like hot cakes among the fair sex who now feel sexually liberated. The women’s lib movements in various parts of the world, not excluding the Arab world, have given girls mental and physical, read sexual, freedom. The end result is their ending up in bed with a boy friend for experiments in sex. In some cases it may be just a one-evening stand. The virginity, however, is lost and the broken hymen bears testimony to it. The conservative males are not yet prepared to accept a bride on a nuptial night who had had pre-marital sex. The new kit is an answer to this vexing question.
The male-dominated society in the Middle-east has, however, raised a hue and cry against the Chinese invented artificial hymen kit. The opinions expressed by them and carried by the Arabic press pointedly say that the new device will increase promiscuity in the conservative society. Thus the traditional values will go down the drain. Wives who get used to playing deception on husbands may enlarge the area of cheating on their husbands. Where will the moral values go? The female lobby has not yet openly favoured the freedom to buy or not to buy the aforesaid kit. Should they do so, they are likely to be exposed as women of loose morals. The stigma may stay on for life. To quote Shakespeare “All the perfumes of Arabia may will not sweeten the hand ”that committed the sexual sin. Generally speaking the male lobby is vociferous and the female defence is too feeble to withstand this male onslaught.
Is the male who becomes the bridegroom as pure as fresh snow? You never can tell. In this respect our Lord and our Maker did not put a physical device to test the virginity of a man. Thus the male, after committing a thousand sins goes scot free. No stigma is attached to him and no proof lingers on to bother him except his own conscience, if he has one. The male society may be educated on the subject so that they practise perfect equality between male and female in matter of pre-marital sex. It will be dream come true. The Chinese inventors will, however, lament the thought of equality of this kind permeating the fabric of a conservative society. Then their business of artificial hymen kit will bomb and the conservative world will laugh at them.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA – 201303, INDIA. 0091-9811173590.
Email – sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com
Thursday, October 1, 2009
COSMETIC LOVE FOR CONVERSION
AUM
COSMETIC LOVE FOR CONVERSION
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
The High Court of Kerala has found out that some organisations may be active in the state to entice nubile girls in the name of love and later convert them to Islam by dubious methods. There have been cases where intelligent Hindu girls with a strong will power resisted conversion to Islam but they were abducted and forced to convert. In some such cases the parental families reported the criminal offence of abduction and forced conversion to the police. The police investigated and found clues that led to sinister designs of the bigots.
Fearing imminent arrest two men of the dubious activity outfit approached the High Court for anticipatory bail as they were allegedly involved in abducting and compelling girls to convert to Islam. The Hon’ble Judge, Mr Justice K.T. Shankaran while hearing the anticipatory bail application went through the police diary and found that there were indications that there had been several similar instances of abduction and forcible conversions. The Judge observed there was a movement called “Love Jihad” or “Romeo Jihad’ conceived by some Muslims in Kerala. It may be the handiwork of such dubious persons to promote fake love to entice girls and achieve personal gratification.
The Hon’ble High Court has asked for the views of the Government of India on the issue of fake love leading to forcible religious conversions. The High Court has also directed the Union Home Ministry to file a report on action contemplated or taken to combat activities leading to forced religious conversions.
The High Court has directed the State Government of kerala to provide information within three weeks on plans and projects of “Love Jihad”.
The High Court has gone into the case in depth and has taken appropriate action. It is indeed the duty of socio-religious organisations to go round towns and cities where such cases of cosmetic love to cheat have taken place and assure the affected girls and their families of support of society. It is the social support cutting across party lines that will boost the morale of exploited girls and their families to fight against strong arm tactics of the Islamic mafia. As a matter of fact the right thinking leaders of the Islamic community should rise and put a stop to such un-Islamic nefarious activities being perpetrated in the name of Islam. Abduction, rape and other sexual offences committed in the name of religion must be condemned, never condoned, by leaders of society and dharmacharyas who preach the word of the Almighty for the happiness of the common man.
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