World Environment Day - What can Each of US do to Save the World

World Environment Day - What can each of us do to save Mother Earth

This Year the Theme is Time for Nature

An academician friend of mine posed the question to one of our industry groups what an individual could do to save the environment.

My first reservation is to Man's arrogance in thinking how he should save the environment or the earth. Quite simply, man will do whatever he does to save his own race. Earth is not threatened. It is not going anywhere for a long time, and it will take considerable cooling down and weight loss for the Sun to finish it. Environment isn't going anywhere either. It just keeps changing according to what happens on earth. For example, a meteor changed it in a way that the dinosaurs perished. Environment is still around. So, come on people, wake up. Let us be honest and admit we need to just save ourselves.

The question is that with all the lip service that is paid to environment, we should ask first and foremost what we, as individuals are doing to change the things for the better. Here are some thoughts;

Let us first understand WHAT pollutes the planet most. What exactly is endangering the most lives and species. If you ask a lay person this question, the reply will come before you finished the question and it will be; Plastics. Most advocates of banning plastics talk about bio-degradability, not about the load on environment, which comprises energy or carbon footprint, water and chemicals. These people will typically suggest you to use paper. The problem is that on all the three counts paper creates a huge environmental load compared to plastics. Paper is also not infinitely recyclable like some commonly used plastics as the fibre length is lost on each recycle. I am not against paper. It should be reserved for the highest of human pursuits, which to my mind is knowledge and education.

Plastics pollution largely happens by littering, mainly because of man’s bad habits, indiscipline and poor civic sense. Stock pictures show a fish entangled in carelessly disposed fishnets, and a few other things. How many animals die annually from plastics? No one really knows. Contrast this with the fact that each degree rise in ocean temperatures destroys several species representing millions of creatures. Those are big numbers. And, that is eroding our bio-diversity much faster.

But plastics in not my subject in this blog. It is environment. The example became necessary because there is a need to have the proper perspective and to have the right understanding of the underlying issues.

The biggest pollutant without doubt is energy, followed by Green House Gases. We spew energy into earth’s atmosphere at unprecedented rates and then even trap the little that could escape by a shroud if GHG over the earth. Sometimes I wonder why a human should have to use an engine of say 350 bhp to carry a person weighing say 50-70 kg. But that’s what happens with motor vehicles. Sometimes I also wonder whether mankind signed its own death warrant when it adopted IC engines for individual transportation. That a question demanding an answer, but there is none. In the meantime, the world economy has become heavily dependent on automotive industry and on consumption.

We can talk about the much lower emissions with Euro 6. We consume electricity also in a big way. We can then talk about LED lighting. Even so, each of consumes much more than we need to live comfortably. Most energy is produced through heat in some form. Even if we talk about the clean energy, say nuclear power with no emissions to talk of. Even brushing aside the concomitant disposal and safety issues, the heat locked up in the fuels, whether fossil or nuclear gets dissipated within the environment and has little chance to escape. How can then we reduce global warming?

GHG’s two major sources are fossil fuels and cattle/ dairy farming for meat. Together they contribute over 35%, perhaps more like 40% GHG to the atmosphere. Let us not cut the figures too fine, but get the general sense of it.

The ONLY safe way is to have no source of electricity other than sun and moon, which means water, wind, photovoltaics, ocean/ tidal etc. Because those are the ONLY energy sources that can keep earth GHG and thermal neutral.

Okay, all those are big things, so what can we do as individuals to make our contribution to reducing the damage, if not really eliminate it? Here are some very simple solutions, which probable all of us know;

Here are some little steps we as individuals can take for reducing our environmental load. You can go on adding all the small steps you can recognise, Remember every small step becomes big when seven billion people adopt it.

Reducing energy consumption;

1. Setting the Air conditioners to the highest acceptable temperatures, or rather adaptable temperatures. How does 25 - 26 degrees Celsius sound? If 27 is good at night, keep that. Each degree reduces the electricity consumption by up to 7%

2. If necessary, use smaller cars for regular commuting. Let the big machines wait for other occasions

3. Use Metro when you can

4. Carpool as far as possible

5. Walk or use bicycles for small errands

6. Reduce energy consumption in cooking

7. Stop central air conditioning. Make it sectional. Stop it when you don’t need it. The room will cool down in a few minutes when you return

8. Reduce overall consumption of energy by avoiding any unnecessary consumption including and all the little things that consume even the tiniest amounts of energy. That little LED on your power switch also consumes power continuously

To reduce the GHGs;

1. Reduce cattle and animal farming by reducing or eliminating meat consumption.

2. Use less paper

3. Reduce wastage of electricity

Reduce wastage and consumption of water;

1. Conserve every drop

2. Use waste water for secondary uses wherever possible

3. Don’t run small laundry and dishwasher loads at home. Full loads save water

4. Install toilets that consume the least water

5. Install water saving devices and drip irrigation in your lawns and gardens as far as possible

Reduce Chemicals that leach into the ground

Cut down as far as possible the waste laundry water, surfactants and any other chemicals you may need to use.

Add your own environment friendly ideas. Follow them.

The BIG question is how many of us will agree to these positive actions, including those who pay lip service to the cause of environment?

It is Time for Nature.

Give it to her! Let nature heal itself. That is what will ensure our own survival,

Demise of Decency

AIB Roast controversy has kicked up once again the issue of where to draw a line in the context of expression of freedom and decency in public discourse. Where does it begin to hurt? Whom, and why, and most of all - who cares! The debate on electronic media on issues has reached nauseating proportions. I happened to see some clips of the AIB Roast where men and women, all adults were sitting and the most disgusting language was being used with often filthy actions frequently accentuated by dirtiest gesticulations. And a lot of these men and women, many of whom are well known celebrities were laughing and 'enjoying' the perversions. It is indeed appalling where the language has gone.

They were using crude words for men's and women's genitals and explicit language describing sexual acts and aberrations alike on the microphones in full public view with no compunctions about the fact that many of these figure were followed and emulated by a large number of impressionable young people.

Cuss words and double meaning words and phrases are becoming the order of the day in the movies and advertisements. Now how does one explain to little children if the ask during an advert or movie dialogue ki kisi ki kya 'Phat Gayi'? I am sure Rani Mukherji will be happy to tell her own children when they are 3/4 or 5 year old what that means and how exactly it happens.

Hindus 'willingly' embracing Islam to avoid discrimination - TOI Headline

The Times of India reported today that Hindus are converting to Islam in Pakistan to protect themselves. This is something that has been happening for a long time in Pakistan, and has already been successfully accomplished in Bangladesh since independence, because someone said it now.

The so called 'Hinduism' is actually Vedism ( The invaders from the North African areas termed all people living to the west of Indus Valley as Hindus), and by this token all people living on this subcontinental land mass were Hindus. They may have had and may have now different religions. This is also demonstrated by the many commonalities in the cultures of people of India as also by the influence the original culture has had on invading religions. Having said that, I must concede that the people who are called Vedists including the major sect of Sanatan Dharmis are converting at a very high rate even in India.

I have said before and it is my firm belief that the the aggressively converting religions today in India are Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, probably in the same order. The only donors are Vedists. The reasons will have to be found by the followers of the numerous sects of Vedic subscription themselves but the result certainly is that in not-too-distant future they may be reduced to a minority. This will change the demography of India once again. 'Again' because Ashoka Changed it before, then Shankaracharya restored Bharatvarsh to Vedism, then the the Muslim rulers changed it again, and now the change is happening again at a rapid pace. After the conversions gain the critical mass, the change will become a tornado.

Mr. Kasuri of Pakistan said in the Newshour debate on Times Now on August 20, 2012 that the Buddhists who claim to be Ahimsak and claim to scorn even hurting someone, and their Bhikshus, are killing Muslims hand in glove with killers in Myanmar. The converse, however, is also true; the Muslim terror has shaken the world whereas Islam itself means 'Peace'.

The point finally is that the demographic changes that will happen in the next 100 years will probably marginalise Hindus completely, if not eliminated them altogether, and the next big wars may be between the Budhists and the Muslims. Interestingly, neither the Hindus (tolerance?) nor the government of India(secular?) seem to want to do anything about it. The government is afraid to raise the issue of Hindus in Pakistan and those displaced from Kashmir due to Votebank politics. The government thus is not secular at all. It is best to stop writing and reading these news.

Has the Indian State Failed?

We always seem to rejoice at the propaganda by the Indian media that Pakistan is a failed country. We Indians also love to read juicy stories of insurgency in Pakistan and how their policy of feeding snakes has rebounded on them, now that the terror groups are biting their keepers. But do we pause to consider where Indian State is standing. Is India a successful state? have we not failed on almost all fronts? let us start with the less discussed issues first. Let us look at the sovereign governments sovereignty on the India land mass. The following headlines in the news from the last about two years will demonstrate that the India government, playing the blame game against states has lost the control of large tracts of land where its writ does not run. we are not sovereign in the true sense in these large tracts of the country. sample these;

How much of India is naxal affected – Mid Day
http://www.mid-day.com/opinion/2011/nov/081111-opinion-How-much-of-India-is-Maoist-affected.htm

Naxal affected area in India – Map – Wikipedia - 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:India_Naxal_affected_districts_map.svg

List by MHA, Govt. Of India – 37 districts on website

http://tribal.nic.in/index2.asp?sublinkid=480&langid=1

Govt brings four more Naxal-hit districts under IAP, IBN Live News
ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/...naxalhit-districts.../1011795.html

14 Jun 2012 – New Delhi, Jun 14 (PTI) With the aim to carrying out speedy development, the government today brought four more Naxal-affected districts ...

Madhya Pradesh asks Centre to declare nine more districts as Naxal affected
Joseph John, TNN Jun 5, 2012, 03.45PM IST

Centre grants Rs 120 crore to Naxal-hit states - India Today - InToday
indiatoday.intoday.in/story/naxal-hit-states-centre.../175410.html

26 Feb 2012 – Centre grants Rs 120 crore to Naxal-hit states ... 83 worst Naxal-hit districts to construct or strengthen 400 fortified police stations at a cost of Rs ….

People in Naxal areas not with us, says PC
www.deccanherald.com › National

13 Sep 2011 – Maintaining that the burden of governance in the Naxal-hit districts must rest with the states, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram told a

20 more Naxal-affected districts to be brought under central action plan
Published: Tuesday, Sep 13, 2011, 18:37 IST
Updated: Tuesday, Sep 13, 2011, 18:41 IST
Place: New Delhi
Agency: PTI

Centre to declare more districts Naxal-hit - Indian Express
www.indianexpress.com/news/centre-to...districts-naxalhit/812671/

5 Jul 2011 – Centre to declare more districts Naxal-hit - The Centre is learnt to have decided to clear the request of Naxal-hit states for declaring more ...

Cabinet approves special plan for Naxal-hit districts
NDTV.com
www.ndtv.com › All India

25 Nov 2010 – The Union Cabinet tonight approved a special plan for development of 35 districts affected by Naxalism to address issues like healthcare, ...

So you would easily note the performance of MHA under Mr. Chidambaram. The MHA site shows even today only 37 Naxal affected districts. But after the cabinet approved the special plan in November 2012, by 5 July 2011 Center declared more districts. 20 more districts by Sep.13and totalling even by Government reckoning 83 districts were under Naxals by 26 Feb. 2012. It did not end there. On June 05, 2012 Madhya Pradesh asked for 9 more districts to be declared naxal affected and by mid-June 2012 the government accepted 4 more as naxal affected. So much for PC's action plan!

Interestingly, at some point the central government has accepted that its writ did not run in some areas. Home Minister was reported by Deccan Herald on Sep. 13, 2011 to have said that the people in Naxal areas are not with us.

If you see the following map of 2007 you would find that almost 20 % or more of India was under Naxal domination. So much for our Sovereignty.

Another map from 2009 shows similar occupation and the helplessness of the government of India, or as it says in its defence; the State governments of India.


Add caption



The picture may actually be much worse. A district collector was kidnapped in Dantewada recently. Our police personnel and other operatives in the area regularly suffer loss of life in the naxal areas when the helpless government watches. I have the feeling that we would have lost more personnel to Naxals and insurgents in the country during 'Peacetime' than in all the wars we fought since independence put together. I may be wrong but my hunch is otherwise.

When we look at Kashmir, of course we can not any more discuss the POK because we are having enough problems in the Kashmir that we still have. This is besides the cost at which we have it which is enormous and senseless. A policy of hot pursuit in the days when we had decided military superiority over Pakistan and China was not yet a superpower. There have been times when India's foreign policy has softened on Pakistan and on terrorists due to the 'sentiments' of Indian Muslims. How can a Muslim who would be hurt by our harshness against the enemy be Indian? This is the same as for Hindu or other officers of the navy and other arms of defence who have spied for Pakistan. They are traitors and not 'Indian'.

So Kashmir is an old story. Who is concerned? I like Omar Abdulla. He is gutsy and dynamic. He has taken a lot of positive action. He was the first head of that state who wanted to build bus stands in the areas on Tibetan border. According to newspaper/ TV accounts, the Chinese drove away our workers and contractors. Again according to the same accounts the are commander of the army had asked the state government not to do such civil activity at least up to 50 km inland from the line of control. Well, that is some control! This when the Chinese build roads and try to bring railways next to the LOC. The state however has not been better for decades compared to his rule. He could create the confidence amongst the people to start touring Kashmir again as tourists.

Forget Aksai Chin and the road connecting China to Pakistan there.

Then comes Arunachal. According to numerous TV video reports and newspaper accounts the Chinese are making incursions into Arunachal at an unprecedented frequency, I think now running into tens a month. The depth of these incursions has also been gradually increasing. They have been leaving leaving stones painted with their PLA slogans. We can't stop them. Why? There are even more incriminating accounts whence the Chinese soldiers have taken away women from Arunachal, on pretext of marriage, to an unknown future. sample these;

Secret note to MEA says Chinese troops made 50 incursions into ...indiatoday.intoday.in/story/...to...chinese-incursion.../153086.htmlCached

There has been a sharp rise in the cases of Chinese incursion into the Indian territory even as New Delhi continues to deny the fact.

A secret note to the ministry of external affairs (MEA) reveals that the personnel of People's Liberation Army (PLA) have been violating Indian borders almost at will.

The secret report says that there were as many as 50 incursions by the Chinese troops in the last three months. In some instances, Chinese troops even intruded as much as 7 km inside the Indian territory.

On September 16, 2011, there was a face-off at the Demchok post when the Chinese came close to Indian patrol. The Indians disengaged and performed a banner drill, but the Chinese did not withdraw.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/secret-note-to-mea-corroborates-chinese-incursion-claims/1/153086.html29 Sep 2011 – There has been a sharp rise in the cases of Chinese incursion into the ... 3 km inside the Indian territory in Asaphila area of Arunachal Pradesh

Recently we saw TV reports of the construction of bunkers and even a base hospital just across from Tso mo Riri or Tso Pangyong. We hardly ahve a presence there and the Chinese dragon is breathing fire on  our collars.

Chinese troops enter Leh, dismantle bunkersWednesday, 14 Sep 2011 at 11:20Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailShare on printMore Sharing Services0

Press Trust of India

Leh, Sept 14: Chinese troops are reported to have entered into Indian territory and destroyed some old army bunkers and tents in Chumar division of Nyoma sector, about 300 kilometres from in Leh.

While some reports suggested that the Chinese troops in helicopters entered one-and-a-half kilometres into Indian airspace, other reports said that the helicopters landed in Chinese territory and then the troops marched into the area to dismantle the bunkers, a move aimed at displaying that the area belonged to them.

The Army denied that any such incident had taken place. However, sources said two Chinese helicopters had entered into air space and landed one-and-half kilometres into Chumar in Chingthang area of Tehsil Nyoma.

“The Chinese troops attempted to dismantle an old army bunker, which was not used by the troops for long,” sources said.


What is happening to this nation? Why people do not see this unflattering, painful and dangerous news? Why do we want to live in a fool's paradise? When will we give up our Ostrich approach and think straight? How sovereign are we? How successful a state are we? Why does the parliament not debate theses burning issues instead of quotas, more quotas, more division of society, more scams? What is happening to us, our country?

When I talk to the perfectly suited and booted, educated, well heeled and well travelled English speaking people of the country I find that most of them have no clue to what I am talking about. Some think I am merely and alarmist. Some others reject all this as just 'propaganda' by 'opposition'. Which opposition, nobody knows. Many others wonder what is my concern with theses matters of the state. Some just shrug their shoulders and dismiss me as outdated, maybe unpolished. This all shows the utter disdain we have for the security and sovereignty of the nation as people. And the youth is not interested in anything except finding a job with an IT company or going to the US or Australia. The less educated or the uneducated from poorer sections of the society have neither the awareness nor the time to think about all these 'heavy' matters. For them procuring the daily bread is the the life's main objective when as of today in Ghaziabad the lowly Tinda costs Rs. 100/- per kg and the Torai, a lowly gourd Rs 60/- a kg, Okra/ lady's fingers Rs 40 to 50 a kg. The price of a 380 g bread have gone from Rs. 16 to Rs. 20 within the last two weeks. We have low rates of inflation, after all. The government said that!

Assam Violence

Violence was just waiting to happen in Assam. It happened now; it could be anytime. The violence had its wake that extended to Mumbai and there has been reported exodus of all North-Easterners from Hyderabad which was heretofore a great place for them to work and to integrate into this country where prejudices against them run high. A Tibetan has been stabbed in Mysore which may even be the consequence of the same communal hatred that began to rise from the otherwise quiet Assam.

The country has been divided on religious and caste lines due to its policies of differentiating between them for all discourse in the Parliament, legislatures and public domain, fossilising the division through unending lists, schedule if you like of a great variety. The division is between the followers of different religions such as the Hindus (which is wrongly used by the government to cover many non-Hindus such as Jains), Muslims, Sikhs, Christians etc. Within them they have sectarian divide, not spurred in small measure by the reservation policies and religious bigotry which together form the most lethal social poison. The polls happen on the basis pf caste and religion. Gangs of Wasseypur has shown how even the Muslims known for their solidarity in all matters of state are divided. There are Syeds, julahas, kasais, and I do not how many others. Hindus of course are the most divided of all. The castes were originally defined according to the occupation of different social groups and thus their was division of labour that resulted in ensuring all people could earn their livelihood without encroaching the specific terrain of each other. This became a burden instead of a boon due to the persecution of the weaker by the powerful and the rich of India for generations.

One must stop here and ask whether the mentality of the Indian of exploiting the weak is merely caste based, or is it all pervading. I think the latter is true. The average Indian tends to exploit the weaker and suppress the weak through his economic, political or brute power. burgeoning numbers of rapes are but a small indicator that brings the extreme of this malaise of the Indian on shameful display. But you will see this even starting from a petty Constable to the Minister and their behaviour towards a Rickshaw puller or a beggar to the IAS secretary in the ministry. The streak of this malicious mentality is all pervading and starkly visible at all times. What is happening to our temper? What makes us so impatient and tense? fear of each other? Fear of losing something? Unsafety we feel? Arrogance that is ingrained in us from childhood without any sense of fairness? Perhaps all of it.

But I want to write about the riots. And I have gone to the lengthy explanation and cursory exploration of the divide in Indian society that leads to the riots. the division breeds competitiveness, often unfair, which in turn leads to exploitation and usurpation by the powerful groups whether they are the so called 'minorities' or otherwise, and then finally frustrations, jealousies and lastly the violence encouraged by the desire to grab what one can't get by fair effort. This is also at the root of Assam violence. It will be found at the root of violence almost anywhere. The false sense of usurpation by Jews trumpeted by Hitler led to the WW II and to holocaust. The story is the same everywhere. The migrants from Bangladesh have flooded not only Assam but the entire country. It is believed that around Mrs. Gandhi's declaration of war on East Pakistan there were about 10 million Chakma rebels that crossed into India. Where have they gone? And during all theses years more Bangladeshis have been coming into India and vanishing, working as labour, household help or whatever all across the country using not infrequently Hindu names and claiming to be Bengalis or East Biharis. I suspect that in Ghaziabad there were plenty of them before the UP Police built pressure on them during Mayawati's regime. On one hand it is hard to understand why Indian Muslims do not oppose them and why consecutive governments have done nothing to send them back to Bangladesh. The political parties want their votes, but what about India Muslims? The foreigners come and take their jobs too among those of others. And no Muslim country would allow the refugee Muslims to come and settle in large numbers, not Saudi Arabia even which is the topmost seat of Islam. This means no country brooks any incomers irrespective of their religion. Our boundaries are our boundaries and we have got them to live within and to survive or thrive on what nature gives us within those boundaries and what we can make of it.

Our intolerance is at all time high and it is appalling that today we are discussing cartoons in text books, simple jokes that have been humour without malice, ordinary caste references all inflame us no end. And we have demonstrations, acrimony, violence - anything that is far from civility at the bat of an eyelid.

Assam violence happened because the demography changed there. the infiltrators are usurping the scarce resources of the Bodos and this is not a situation that can be accepted for long by any community that has lived there for ever and has nowhere else to go.

There are rumours that the strife is between the Budhhists and Muslims in that area. I prefer to think it is between the owners of the place and the infiltrators. If we eventually did find that that there were religious undertones to the strife, indeed this will throw open the bigger question for future of the nation. The three aggressively converting religious active in India are Buddhism, Christianity and Islam in the same order. It would seem that Hindus would become a minority ceding a large chunk to these religions, being the sole donors. This major demographic change will bring about unprecedented strife as a failing group will make its last ditch, desperate attempts to survive. Things can not be stopped but we should not underestimate or brush aside the forebodings of utter chaos that may one day grip the country. We must initiate steps now to avoid the possible strife that will inevitably occur if foreigners of any religion, caste, nationality or identity will continue to infest our land.

Where are we going?

India is a democracy wherein a huge number of parliamentarians or legislators are known to have criminal background or connections. One may say that crime is after all their 'private' life. The same can be said of a lot of graft and sleeze that goes on in high places but no one ever wants to investigate and put an end to.

China is our second most important national obsession at the moment, next only to; no not cricket, Pakistan. On the television I believe that the most spoken single word theses days is Pakistan followed by perhaps 'Atank...'.

We hear all the time about the threat from Pakistan and how it is not acting against terrorists working across our borders from its soil. Do we ever ask what WE are doing about the terrorists here and the providers of shelter and the sleeping cells. Digvijay Singh would say that is an atrocity against Muslims. But these are not only Muslims and the law should be equally tough and proactive irrespective of their religious affiliation. Rather, the religious affiliation, minority tag or whatever other badge of Maulana, Sant or Pandit should not provide the subverters of India licence.

The United States has already delivered punishment to Headley for crimes including terrorism (India) and we are still nowhere near doing anything about Kasab, much less hanging Afzal Guru of the parliament attack case. India is indeed Mahaan!

Chinese are making incursions into our terrirtory at will. We are silently bearing it. We have no wherewithal or the will to fight a mighty enemy. Our foreign policy is an abject failure. The country is in disarray which is only thinly camouflaged by the recent economic glitter and deceptive growth rate data. The communal and caste rivalries and the suspicion amongst them are at an unprecedented level, mutual tolerance amongst various parts of society is at an all time low, sense of humour has been replaced by caution even in a joke, honesty has been thrown away for political correctness - we are sitting on a veritable tinder box. In the name of elimination of the caste divide we have widened it to a point where reconnection is now impossible.

Why is the country going where it is? If you see carefully at out parliament and legislatures you would be appalled at the total absence of discussion and healthy argument on any matter of national security, finance, education and allocation of revenue. The discussion and discourse is mainly about caste, reservations, provisions for pilgrimages, minorities, dalits and  so on. Indeed all these need attention but won't for long if the state itself fails, and risks its very existence.

Is India safe?

India is a democracy that is lionised by the whole 'free' world as the largest 'functioning' democracy. There is of course the moot question whether the 'free' world is really free. But that is another topic.

India is being seen as a major emerging market and the interest of the west is very much focused on the possible economic success of this behemoth. The big IF  in 'If India becomes economically powerful' is the problem. We notice that India has failed to sell itself to the west as a strong ally and the military interests of the US continue to weigh heavily in favour of Pakistan. India's economic growth has not yet reached the magic triple point where the interests of the west, India and world peace might converge.

China is far more successful than India on the three fronts; economic, military and world standing. There are no moralities in international politics, only self centered moves. China far outweighs India. Actually even Pakistan is far more successful in selling itself to the world community; first - in the old times as a great miltary ally and base for the US/ Allieds against the Iron and Bamboo curtain nations, second - as the rogue state that MUST be nurtured so it does not fall apart lest any last vestiges of organisation in this part of the world vanish, third - as the merchant of terror playing a hapless victim of it itself and fourth, in the context of South Asia - as the right ally to India's traditional adversary China; following the old maxim of an enemy's enemy being a friend. India has miserably failed to place itself in the position of a good neighbour and influencer. Even Nepal and Bangladesh, India's old military proctorate of the yore and the child of India's toil to help it be born respectively are bitter critics of India and are ever willing to allow anti-Indian activities on their soils. I feel that they are certainly much closer to China than to India.

I think it calls for serious introspection on the part of Indian leadership. Why is it that we always fail to convince others? Are we not seen as sincere by the world? Could it be that our policy interlocuters are unable to call a spade a spade for the sake of political correctness or crass vote bank politics at home? Are we sermonising others to the point of causing an affront? Are we inept in stating our point and inarticulate in convincing the world of our problems? Are we trying to impress the world with our philosophical, large hearted world view instead of beeing seen as winners, driving hard bargains even if they are self-centered? Or, is it all of it?

By what authority can we call Pakistan a failed state when huge tracts of our territory are under the control of Naxals and assorted non-government forces? All the big threats of direct action made by Chidambaram some months ago are still just that - empty threats. We are the proverbial soft state where the killer of Inspector Sharma of Batla House episode admits to have shot him, may be with even a bit of pride, but Digvijay Singh sees every investigation as atrocity on a particular community. Does India have a chance?

Hafiz saeed was shouting hoarse on the streets of Lahore two weeks back exhorting people to invade India and to fight for their 'Brethren' on this side. The question is how come not a single Muslim opinion builder (barring the exceptions like M.J. Akbar and Arif Mohammad Khan) never tells these people that Indian Muslims are not their brethren but enemies if they as much as think of harming India, far from invade it? Why are the likes of Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Dilip Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Nawab of Pataudi and his son, Mohd. Azam Khan and Mahesh Bhatt sitting in mysterious silence while many of them shout at the top of their voices when Pakistani players are not bought in an auction (SRK should have bought but didn't) or Maqbool Fida has to go in self-exile. Why don't the Indian Muslim leaders tell pakistan that it would be punished for casting an evil eye on India? I know why. When the late Firoze Khan spoke for India in Pakistan and risked his life and limb, people like them and their cronies like Rajeev Shukla and Mahesh Bhatt were trying to fault Firoze Khan, or busy distancing themselves from the episode. So a devoted Indian Muslim may be afraid of his Hindu counterparts - citizens like these and Digvijay and a plethora of others.

Time to think for all Indians. Let all of us unite against the enemy. If religion were the reason for this kind of dangerous political correctness, let me remind the pseudos that if it were so the Middle East would be one country.