Clear & Present Danger.........OR........... Is It Really?

I know many of you guys would have seen the report by Ibnlive about army officers quitting (If not, click here). The stats are staggering if you have look at it.

2007
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Applied for early retirement : 1100
Approved Applicants : 550 (50% approval)

2008
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Applied for early retirement : 800(already)
Approved Applicants : 300

Most of the these can be directly linked to the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations which was not approved by the political class. Army has made it point and expressed its disappointment over this unfortunate turn of events. Soldiers cannot live with just respect; they need money too, just like us.

But, is it really that bad. I mean, seriously think about this. I know not being able to support our own troops is a disgrace. But, do we really need such a high number of troops. We have the third largest standing army in the world and though we are in a constant state of alert with threats everyday, can we justify our numbers? We are not involved in a conflict, not in a state of emergency, not actively participating in a war and the only major engagement in recent history is Kargil(1999).

If we could reduce our troop numbers substantially, maybe, we can then consider paying them what's acceptable. Think about it. We can also streamline our training programs to be more efficient and incorporate more technology which will help reduce our battle causalities. I can think of one immediate unfavorable outcome of this which is the temporary weakening of our army. Most of the officers leaving are mid-level ranking officers who command individual units and execute different battle plans. For a while, this could reduce our ability to properly defend our country., but only a bit and a risk that can be accepted since we are not in a state of war.
I may take some heat for my remarks, but, it's my honest opinion and maybe the right now too.

I welcome your thoughts on this.

Back to the present

Well, I am back after a really really long hibernation. This time around, I will try to stay on with posts everyday. usually, it will be either tech realted (admin stuff & gadgets) or social causes(You should know it by now). Well, see tomorrow then in back to the present style

Dead on the 4th of July

Well, today is the independence day of US of A and I see its people celebrating their freedom like never. However, today marks an another fatal insult to the people of India and its constitution.

The government of Andhara Pradesh has passed an ordinance on reservations for Muslims, whereby they will have a 4% percent reservation in jobs and education. This was nothing, but a downscale of 1% from the government's previous attempt of 5% in 2004(just 2 months after it came to power). However, that move was blocked by a stay order from the high court in November 2005. That was one of my happiest moments I can remember. Alas, my happiness is short-lived and the bloody politicians have once again sneaked in the ordinance with 4% reservations.

With this, the total reservations in the state is 50%(BC-A,B,C,D has 25%, SC 14%, SC 7% and now 4% for Muslims). Add to this, the women's reservation of 33.33% which leaves the guys from the so-called upper caste competing for the 16.66% which is open to all including the reserved castes and women(I have not considered the sports quota and stuff yet). No wonder, I could not get into a good college for my undergrad studies.

If you stay with me a bit long, you can get to know how our (beloved) politicians have manipulated everything and anything that has come in their way to implement reservations in our country.

Year	Judgement	Implementation Details
1951	Court has pronounced that caste based reservations to backward classes violate equality for all principle under article 14.	1st constitutional amendment introduced to make judgement invalid.
1963	Court has put 50% cap on reservations in Balaji vs State of Mysore case	Almost all states except Tamilnadu has not exceeded 50% limit. Tamilnadu exceeded limit in 1980. Andhra Pradesh tried to exceed limit in 2005 which was again stalled by high court.
1992	Supreme court in Indra Sawhney case
	Upheld Implementation of separate reservation for other backward classes in central government jobs.	Judgement implemented
	Ordered to exclude Creamy layer of other backward classes from enjoying reservation facilities.	All states except Tamilnadu implemented. Recent Reservation bill for providing reservations to other backward classes in educational institutions also has not excluded creamy layer. (Still under the consideration of Standing committee).
	Ordered to restrict reservations within 50% limit.	All states except Tamilnadu followed.
	Declared separate reservations for economically poor among forward castes as invalid.	Judgement implemented
	Reservations cannot be applied in promotions.	77th Constitution amendment introduced to make judgement as invalid.
1994	Supreme court advised Tamilnadu to follow 50% limit	Tamilnadu Reservations put under 9th Schedule of the constitution
2005	Supreme court ruled that caste based reservations cannot be enforced on Unaided private educational institutions.	93rd constitutional amendment introduced

Since the supreme court ordered the percentage of reservation should not be greater than 50%, the government cunningly scaled it such that the total percent is exactly 50% and hence, it cannot be challenged in the cour of law. Even, if it is challenged on any other grounds, as we have seen in the above table, the government just makes changes to the constitution as if it is their scrapbook. Judging by the actions of the government and the inability of the judiciary system to successfully challenge that, it may well be the case.

In fact, the government is so belligerent to provide reservations to Muslims that it is recklessly dividing the Muslim community too by classifying it into different castes. Realizing what the government is upto, six famous seminaries in Hyderabad have issued a fatwa(religious edict) warning the government against the segregation. Not withstanding the fatwa, the government went ahead with its plans, hoping to appease anyone who is benefiting from this ploy. What they are overlooking it that at the same time, they will also face the wrath of the people who are further thrown into the abyss of the reservation.............people like me

The Breach

If you are thinking this to be about the Hollywood flick, you cannot be any further from truth. This is about the security breach in our external intelligence wing RAW(Research & Analysis Wing). For many a years now, different countries/organizations tried to break into RAW and to give them some credit, were successful to an extent. However, this was a breach of altogether a different level. Imagine a Bangladeshi national faking his documents and making his way into RAW. This is the outrageous true story of Dewanchand Malik, who was recruited into RAW's Aviation Research Centre (ARC) in 1999.

Malik handled the Northeast desk between 1999 and 2003. From 2003 - 2005, he worked with PMO's Cabinet Secretariat as the deputy director of RAW. Sources in the intelligence agency say that they were alerted about Malik's identity after his wife wrote a letter to the ARC in 2005, revealing that he was indeed a Bangladeshi national. Malik disappeared sometime around April-May 2005 and is said to be in Bangladesh at present.

It does not give any reason or respite that he has been living in India since he was a child and completed his schooling in India. Intelligence sources say that any individual who is recruited in RAW, or even its branch ARC, has to undergo a three-tier verification process. The antecedents of not just the individual but also his entire family - on the paternal and maternal side - are thoroughly checked by RAW, Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the local Criminal Intelligence Department (CID).

Any aspirant can be rejected even on a slightest doubt, whether it is about his/her past or about any family member. The biggest question then is that how did Malik escape the attention of RAW or even any other agency when he was not an Indian citizen. This shows the lapses in the recruitment procedures followed by the agencies. It could also be the ploy of a more senior spy making Malik's way easier in the recruitment process. This is mere speculation; however, it is a possibility.

RAW is and has been our own CIA, starting out with Pakistan as its main interest in 1968 under Indira Gandhi rule. It was asked to develop clandestine relations with Israel(Mossad) as India still supported the Palestinian cause and could not afford an open diplomacy. RAW and Mossad were on the common ground with Pakistan as a security concern for both communities. However, this secret did not remain so for ever. In 1977, the then prime minister Morarji Desai revealed compromising information to Pakistan which enabled them to guess Mossad's relation with RAW. This was a serious and irreparable damage done to RAW and Indian intelligence at large. What started like this continued to have breaches such as the ones in 1985 spy racket bust, the defection of Rabinder singh to USA in 2004(allegedly working for the CIA),S S Paul and Ujja Dasgupta in 2006 and may be more which are not revealed to the general public either due to the depth of the breach or the mediocrity of the breach.

Whatever the breach is or how much of the information is compromised, things like these put the whole nation at risk and especially the soldiers who monitor our borders in perilous danger.

Cursed: To be born a Hindu Indian

Every individual has the right to self respect and dignity, especially from his fellow countrymen. Irrespective of the religion, caste, creed and all other secular lingo, we all should be treated fairly. However, somewhere down the line, in the present modern setup of India, self respect of the Hindus has been taken for a ride by media and politicians alike. We have been considered harmless and so nobody cares if there is any sort of infliction on us. For them, it is more important to concentrate on issues which aim at pleasing the minorities. And make no mistake, minorities not only include Muslims, but also Christians and other non-Hindu religions. I have nothing against my fellow "minority" countrymen, for in all fairness I have never even thought of them as "minorities". For me they are as Indian as I am. They definitely need a change in their socio-economic conditions and we all should support the cause. Infact, we have mutual respect for each other and if not for petty politics, there wouldn't be an iota of doubt on our camaraderie.

Honestly, I do not expect the politicians to wake up one morning and do the right thing. The right thing being, analyzing the possible reasons for the backwardness of not only minorities, but also the poor in the "upper castes", the geographic location of these people(village/cities or any specific state or region) and then providing proper infrastructure to develop these people. They have long closed their eyes on Hindus and concentrate on their "Minority Vote Bank", as if Hindus doesn't matter anymore in this nation.

I can go on for ever on this. But, I have to stop and hope that someday in the future, some politician or party will have the political will to stop this injustice and risk his/their "Minority Vote Bank" for the good of the nation. Until that day, I cannot think of a future for me in India.

Providing reservations in any area is not going to be a viable solution for this problem. It may lighten up a poor minority guy's life or his family's, but remember it comes at the cost of the shattered dreams of a hard working, dedicated, middle class citizen of our nation whose only wrong doing is being born as a Hindu in this country......The curse of being born as a HINDU.