Friday, 2 April 2004

GERMANY AND INVENTIONS

Germany – a country with rich history.

This article is a tribute to the Germans who against all logic and trends emerged from dust at the dawn of year 1944 (end of Second World War) to one of the prosperous nations today.

I would like to bring to your notice some of the contributions made by Germans to the society as a whole. I am sure you will be amazed by the time this article gets over that most of the inventions (in the period before 1940) made in the field of science and medicine were by Germans. They had the scientific temper and superior technological knowledge to achieve greater heights. The massive defeat in the Second World War, which eventually destroyed the scientific fabric of this nation – has been, according to me the biggest loss to the world.

As Winston Churchill would have said – Never have so many owed so much to so few. Well – we will see why!

To substantiate – let us look at this brief list of major inventions made by the German Scientists.

1)      Solar system, universe and Planetary motion laws by Johannes Kepler: The Kepler Laws accurately describe the revolutions of the planets around the sun.
2)      Continental drift theory by Wegener, Alfred Lothar: According to Wegener, the present continents on earth were originally one large landmass he called Pangaea that gradually separated and drifted apart. He argued that the continents were still in the process of change and are still altering.
3)      Airship by Zeppelin Ferdinand, Graf von: An aircraft that consists of a cigar-shaped gas bag, or envelope, filled with a lighter-than-air gas to provide lift, a propulsion system, a steering mechanism, and a gondola accommodating passengers, crew, and cargo.
4)      Nuclear fission by Otto Hahn: The development of the atomic bomb was based on this work.
5)      Radioactivity by Wilhelm K. Roentgen: The man who defined X-Rays!
6)      Aspirin by Dr. Felix Hoffman.
7)      Automobile by Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler: The first automobile powered by an internal-combustion engine. Benz's company became Daimler-Benz AG, the manufacturer of the Mercedes-Benz automobile.
8)      Engine, internal combustion by Rudolf Diesel: The man who invented Diesel.
9)      Helicopter by Heinrich Focke.
10)  Radio by Heinrich Hertz: Radio set using spark coil, generator of electromagnetic waves for reception.
11)  Thermometer by Galileo Galilei: First ever Thermometer to measure Temperature.
12)  Printing by Gutenberg, Johann: Method of printing from movable type.
13)  Motorcycle by Gottlieb Daimler: Improvements in the internal-combustion engine, made in the 1880s, contributed largely to the development of the automobile industry
14)  Cholera bacterium, Tuberculosis bacterium by Robert Koch: Established the bacterial cause of many infectious diseases and discovered the microorganisms causing anthrax (1876), wound infections (1878), tuberculosis (1882), conjunctivitis (1883), cholera (1884), and other diseases
15)  DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) by Friedrich Meischer.
16)  Quantum theory by Planck, Max: The hypothesis that oscillating atoms absorb and emit energy only in discrete bundles (called quanta) instead of continuously, as assumed in classical physics. The success of his work and subsequent developments by Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, and others established the revolutionary quantum theory.
17)  Ohm's law by Georg S. Ohm: His study of electric current led to his formulation of the law now known as Ohm's law
18)  Uncertainty principle by Werner Heisenberg: he defined that position and velocity of an object cannot both be measured exactly, at the same time.

And the biggest Gift of Germany to this world has been Albert Einstein. Einstein published his special theory of relativity. This resulted in the shocking conclusion that time is not constant. Neither is weight or mass. When moving at high speeds, all of these things get compressed; only the speed of light remains the same. That happens because, said Einstein, energy is equal to mass times the speed of light squared, or E = mc2!!

That is an amazing list of achievement for one single country!

It is interesting to note here that all the inventions listed above have come about in the period between 1800 and 1940 AD! It shows very clearly that Germans were way ahead of the other countries in the field of science, aviation and medicine. But for the Second World War - things would have been different. Well who knows?

Air of superiority leads to arrogance – they say. Superiority leads to the pernicious doctrine of superior and inferior nations and races. That Germany succumbed to this trap of superiority complex – lead to its fall from glory. The result was the shifting of focal point of scientific activity from Germany to other Axis Western powers. Only time will tell – whether the world’s scientific community would have gained, had Germany held on to its scientific brilliance.

I, with your permission dear readers would like to take this opportunity to salute these great men with great adventurous vision, who once belonged to this great country – GERMANY.

As Germans would say – HAIL GERMANY!

Its Montoo..


Monday, 2 February 2004

INTERVIEW

An interview with a Minister (of the Ruling Party) in Central Government
This is being telecast live on a private news channel. This is year 2002.

Interviewer: Namashkar Mantri ji. Welcome to our show of FINDING FACTS
Mantri ji: Namashkar hai ji. How are you?

Interviewer: I am fine Mantri ji. So tell me how do you judge the current situation in the country?
Mantri ji: Oh Kamaal ki baat pooch li aapney (O! you have asked a funny question). O ji – Country is fine. It is prospering, it is growing, it is… mmmmm… it is… it is…Shining! Yes – India is Shining! Can’t you see?

Interviewer: Shining? But where?
Mantri ji: Oh that is why I say you should look properly. You reporters always look at all the wrong places. India is shining everywhere

Interviewer: But if it is everywhere then why are we not able to see it?
Mantri ji: O yaar – yahi to. When I am saying it is shining means it is.

Interviewer: Ok Mantriji if you are so adamant let us get on to the fact-finding mission with you one by one.
Mantri ji: Ok (getting up from his seat) Chalo (Lets go).

Interviewer: No No – I mean I will take you through some major states of the country and you tell me what is shining there.
Mantri ji: Arre Kamaal kar diya tumney (Very funny) – Ok – I am a Mantri – I am supposed to know everything. You ask.

Interviewer: Mantri Ji, you say India is Shining – how is it shining if there are people dying in Kashmir everyday and they don’t have any security in that state?
Mantri ji: Lo kar lo baat – Bhai, Kashmir is a separate issue. It is our part of land and we will not allow Pakistan to keep the Land with them. We will take back whatever they have and will route out terrorism from its root. Terrorism is the bane of our society. After September the 11th the Al-Quaeda is on the run. Bin Laden is hiding – but he will be caught because American, England, and western countries….

Interviewer: Mantri ji Mantri ji – just a minute. I had asked about Kashmir and your claim about India is Shining…
Mantri ji: Wohi to bata raha hoon (that is what I am trying to tell)… Since the whole world is after the terrorists and fighting terrorism, the terrorists will be routed out some day and Kashmir problem will be automatically resolved.

Interviewer: But Mantri ji – what is the relation…
Mantri ji: Oh Yaar you all will never understand. See these other countries will run after terrorists and destroy them. Our Problem of Kashmir will automatically get resolved. Imagine solving such a big problem without even doing the dirty work of clearing the world off the terrorists. This is called Intellectual shining of India. (Pointing his finger towards his forehead Mantriji asked…) Samjhe?

Interviewer: (By this time a totally confused Interviewer gets to another State) Ok Mantri ji I am sure our viewers will understand your logic. So you say India is Shining.
Mantri ji: Bilkul (Ofcourse) – 200%

Interviewer: But tell me where is it shining in the state of Uttar Pradesh?
Mantri ji: That is an internal shining. Not everyone understands it.

Interviewer: (Baffled) How? There is no Road, no electricity, increasing number of poor people, increasing criminalization, no power and electricity, no water, people die in all seasons – be it summer, winter or in monsoons, not one Chief Minister stays for more than 1-2 years. How can you say it is shining that too “Internally”?
Mantri ji: Ha Ha Ha – that is why I say you don’t look at correct places. Do you know that the largest number of Agricultural land is available in this state of Uttar Pradesh? Do you know that our Agricultural exports have gone up in the last few years? What are you talking I say? This is one state that has been the symbol of all the good things that we have achieved! We have not been in power for long and hence the pace is slow – but the core of the state is shining. Mantriji is getting worked up…

Interviewer: Baffled…Mantri ji but what is the use if the general Public is not able to enjoy the fruits of the shine that you talk? If they remain poor how will the country shine?
Mantri ji: Getting angry…This is propaganda of the opposition. No body is poor in UP.

Interviewer: But…?
Mantri ji: You seem to be an Opposition Reporter. Uttar Pradesh has given this country so many great leaders. How can you say it has not progressed? It is all wrong.

Interviewer: Ok Ok as is very clear this part of India is not shining.
Mantri ji: You say that. Not we.

Interviewer: Ok lets go to another big state of Gujarat. Do you…
Mantri ji: Oh Gujarat! Well that is the biggest example of India Shining.

Interviewer: What?
Mantri ji: Yes. Look at the Chief Minister of that state. He is the biggest example of a great leader. He has single handedly brought Gujarat into the world map.

Interviewer: Yes – but for all the wrong reasons and moreover…
Mantri ji: What moreover? Who knew Gujarat earlier? Now even if our Narendra bhai goes to UK – there the local newspapers print the schedule of his trip. Cover his trip and so on. Isn’t it an example of the state shining?

Interviewer: Yes – but they cover the event because of the protests by the Resident Indians there who want to protest against the gruesome brutality of the riots that took place in the state of Gujarat.
Mantri ji: Sab bakwaas hai (Its all fabricated). Godhra was not our creation. We only reacted to a gruesome act and as Einstein said every action has…

Interviewer: Mantriji, we are digressing …
Mantri ji: Digrrrresssing? Yeh kya hota hai? (What does this word mean?)

Interviewer: Mantriji, “Digressing” means going off the point.
Mantri ji:  Who said I am going off the point. I was referring to the Godhra kand. So as I was saying Einstein said…

Interviewer: But Mantriji we were talking about how has Gujarat contributed to the Shining of India.
Mantri ji: It is one the biggest reason why India is Shining. Look, let me explain it in a different way since you are not interested in Einstein theory, which says that Every Action has equal and opposite reaction. (Mantriji finally looks happy to complete his knowledgeable quote)…

Interviewer: But I think that is Newton’s 3rd Law?
Mantri ji: Mantriji looking annoyed. Looks at his secretary…Newton? Yeh kaun hai? (Who is he?)

Interviewer: Newton Mantriji, the famous scientist.
Mantri ji: Oh haan haan. Maloom hai Maloom hai (I Know I Know). Modiji took his name only. Arre - how does it matter – whoever said it. But the fact remains that Godhra was master minded…

Interviewer: Finally looking frustrated and confused the reporter proceeds…Ok Mantriji, I don’t think there is any way you can prove that Gujarat has helped India Shine. So we will move on to the next…
Mantri ji:  Arre ruko ruko aise kaise…(Wait Wait – how can you say that?) Do you know that all the world leaders called up our Prime Minister to talk about Gujarat. Huh! Can it happen without Gujarat getting a name in the world? Is it not a proof that India became popular due to Gujarat? Is it not proof enough of its importance in the Shine that we have?

Interviewer: But World Leaders called PM to express their anguish…
Mantri ji: This is all opposition crap. I know that they called and they called because Gujarat became famous and that is proof of Shining India. Huh! Baat karta hai. (Silly man)

Interviewer: Seeing no way out of this impasse – reporter moves on… Ok Mantriji, Country will decide in the elections whether Gujarat helped India Shine or not…
Mantri ji: Country has already decided. Under the able leadership of our beloved Leader Atal ji we are gong to form the government. In fact – and this is off the record – I have already been promised a Mantralaya!

Interviewer: Shhhhh… Matriji – we are on Camera…
Mantri ji: O Teri…

Interviewer: Never Mind, It is pleasing to see the confidence Mantriji – but as we all know elections are a different ball game altogether. So let us move on to other states. How do you say states like Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu have contributed to the India Shining?
Mantri ji: Good Question… Next please…

Interviewer: What?
Mantri ji:  Hey hey hey! Just joking. Well MP as a state was going down for the last 10 years. We have now come back to power in that state and brought the shine back to that state.

Interviewer: But you won only 3-4 months back. Has the Power and electricity problem been solved in MP?
Mantri ji: Arre… it is not easy. It will take time. But the shine is back on the people’s face.

Interviewer: Can you prove that?
Mantri ji: What is there to prove Baba? It is known – Diggy Raja is out and hence the shine is back.

Interviewer: But Digvijay Singh says that your Centre government did not provide funds to rectify roads or improve power etc.
Mantri ji: Sab bakwaas karta hai Diggy. (This is loose talk by Diggy) We have provided all the support we could. But he was only interested in opening schools in Villages. He never cared about the urban society. So he lost.

Interviewer: But Rural part of the country also requires schools. How can you say it is his fault that he was trying to spread education around his state?
Mantri ji: Yeh Rajiniti hai (This is Politics) – U will not understand I say. For India to Shine – your urban cities should shine. Haar gaya na election mein Diggy? (He managed to lose the election – isn’t it) Ha Ha Ha. Don’t worry – state of MP will shine more in coming days with Uma Didi at the helm of the affairs – God will make the state shine.

Interviewer: Getting totally out of control – Oh yes - God! Hmmm…Ok and what about Tamil Nadu?
Mantri ji: Why don’t you ask about Andhra Pradesh?

Interviewer: Oh ok so tell us about how AP has helped shine India?
Mantri ji: Simple – by getting Microsoft in Hyderabad-Secunderabad region. By installing computers in District level offices. 

Interviewer: How does this help the poor farmers committing suicide?
Mantri ji: Oh let us not talk about those people. People die everywhere and so in AP.

Interviewer: Aghast… what? So you don’t care about the farmers who have committed suicide in AP or Karnataka? Now you will say you don’t care about the Peoples’ War Group committing atrocities in AP too?
Mantri ji: In a Fix – No No – yaar you reporters na – you quote people wrongly. What I meant was that we do care but you cannot keep vigilance at every farmer’s house. Some people do commit mistake. And PWG is a militant organization, which is creating havoc with the lives of people. Chandra Babu ji is dealing with them with a firm hand.

Interviewer: Yes but that problem is still not solved and it is affecting the whole region of AP. So how is India Shining there?
Mantri ji: Getting Frustrated… Are you an opposition reporter?

Interviewer: No I ask questions that people want answers for.
Mantri ji: No No I am sure you are an opposition reporter. India is shining since we say so.

Interviewer: But nobody seems to understand where is it shining. And that is why we are trying to do this fact-finding interview.
Mantri ji: You all will never understand. Finally seeing no other way out…Pramod Mahajanji says that this is correct and hence it has to be correct.

Interviewer: But Promod Mahajan himself lost the last elections. How can we trust him with this analysis?
Mantri ji: I am not going to answer any more questions. I know that India is Shining. You reporters don’t know a thing about how to measure the shine. Can’t you see it on TV? All the advertisements show that India is shining.

Interviewer: But Mantriji, those are sponsored advertisements for which you are using public money to spend
Mantri ji: Seeing no other way to end this unfortunate interview – Mantriji tries the last option left. You will see the results of elections. The whole country believes and knows that we are shining. Only you opposition reporters don’t understand.

Interviewer: Mantriji, Kashmir is not shining, UP is not shining, Contrary to what you say – Gujarat is not shining, MP is not shining, AP is not shining, Tamil Nadu is facing water problems all across the state, Bihar is still as backward as ever, Major part of North-east is engulfed in militancy of one kind or the other. We as people of India want to know once and for all – where exactly is India Shining? Can you be more precise this last time?
Mantri ji: Arre bhai India is shining in our heart.

Interviewer: Heart? (Thinking it is getting weird now…) But I thought we were talking about the country here.
Mantri ji: Once our heart shines our country will also shine.

Interviewer: Seeing this interview going nowhere he finally starts to end this interview… Ok Mantriji I am sure people listening to this will somehow understand how India is Shining. I would like to thank you for the time spent with us for the interview…
Mantri ji: Hello Mr. How can you end this interview without asking about that… that… Ahem… I mean… Looking at his secretary standing behind the camera in search of the word. Finally the secretary prompts… Yes – how can you end this interview without asking about the FEEL GOOD FACTOR? The “Bharat Gaurav Yatra” taken out by Advaniji?

Interviewer: Mantriji, I am sure people will understand “Feel Good” and “Gaurav Yatra” the same way as they will understand the India Shining factor. Thank you.
Mantri ji: Oh! So finally you understood the India Shining Factor. See I was telling you – you will understand. I am sure people are intelligent enough to understand how India is shining. From the time we came back to power in 1999 we ensured that India shines. We have been working hard under the able leadership of beloved Atalji. He has taken India to greater heights. The Congress and the United Front had destroyed India. They created Bofors scam, They created Hawala scam, They created Telecom Scam. They destroyed the country. They also…

Interviewer: Mantriji Mantriji… The interview is over and the Camera is off. There is no one watching.
Mantri ji: Kya? Tumne bataya nahi? (You did not tell?) I will never come to give interview to your channel again. This is an insult….

The Mantriji kept rambling and went out of the studio.

Its Montoo..

Monday, 1 December 2003

I shall not Vote

Lok Sabha elections are round the corner and we are going to have to witness a huge propaganda drive all over again. We all shall be asked to vote. Vote for our future. Vote for our country. Vote for expressing our support the institution of democracy. Vote for the best candidate. We will be told to vote – why (?) because it is our right.

So – will you vote? I can’t say about you. But no Sir – I won’t. I never have and neither will I vote in the foreseeable future.

Have you ever thought about the harm that you do to this country by using your Oh (!) such precious vote? Most of you would have voted in some of the Assembly and Parliament elections. You would have voted for the best of the candidates in the fray. I mean the one who you think would do all the best things in life and would develop your region or area or for that matter your country as a whole – isn’t it? Good. You did your part of the destruction. Allow me to show you how. Allow me – to tell you how you all have allowed systematic decimation of the fabric of this country by using your vote to elect our representatives.

We are asked to vote for one of the several candidates that are in the fray. More often than not (if not in all the cases) we are asked to select the lesser of the evils and vote for him or her. And you dutifully cast our votes in favor of the lesser of the devils. Have you ever thought of how this same smaller elected devil takes your precious vote and makes a mockery of your trust? This is the same small devil that goes up to represent you in the Parliament and then uses his power to do everything that goes against our basic ethos Any scam or scandal, a murder or a loot – you will find that your beloved representative is involved in some or the other way. He is involved in the scams, He is involved in the bribery cases, he is involved in Rapes, in Murders and worst of all – he is involved in looting the money of the same people that perhaps got him or her elected. You chose him and he loots you in turn. Some justice that! Huh.

And no – That is not all – wait till I finish this off.

Look further – You vote a Devil to represent you and that person in turn rules you or rather thrusts his will on you. You elect this sick person to rule you and he ends up making abnormal laws to govern you! A candidate who does not have the basic minimum educational qualification gets to make laws for you and me. That’s some democracy I say! An uneducated person with dubious intention and a criminal background makes laws for you and forces you to follow them too. He who does not know a right from wrong is supposed to debate and tell what is right or wrong for us? I mean have you ever heard of it? Can you justify it? He who does not adhere to any law himself is telling we educated and proportionately more law abiding people what laws we should follow? C’mon is there any sense left in this world?

And hey – he does not stop there – now does he? You have given him powers and he uses it to its optimum capacity. Who cares if he makes wrong use of the powers? He does all that wrong things and then expects you to fall all over him – to praise him and vote for him – again and again. And boy – don’t you stand in long queues to do exactly that! But he is not at fault. Now is he? He is not at fault because you my dear friends have made him feel like a God. And you make him invincible by electing him again. And how? Yep – by using your vote. You all do want this country to fall on its knees. I have no doubt about it. I mean how can you digest that? We see everyday how MPs and MLAs are sold. We see how they take bribes – thanks to Tehelka – we now know the modus operandi. We hear them talk on phone offering money to switch over parties. We see how they are involved in so many scandals. But then we are not bothered since it is all a political game we are told. Huh! And we do believe them. Matters have come to such a state where Corruption does not even raise an eyebrow. A Harshad Mehta becomes a hero. A Charles Shobhraj is looked up in awe. We tell our kids – our younger ones to shun lying and avoid corruption – but we ourselves don’t have the conviction to stand against the corrupt.

Look at the chain of reactions/events that you trigger by casting your precious twin votes. You elect a representative for you in both State Assembly and in the Parliament. And by casting your vote you have:

·   Given the power of representation of your own self and your problems to a man/woman whose integrity is in question.
·   You have given power to the elected representative to make laws and govern you. A person who wastes no opportunity to fall on others feat to get his way out of trouble with utmost indignity. A person who wastes no opportunity to frisk away taxpayers money (Your Money) for his ulterior ends. A person who himself has a dark and shady background makes laws for you. And you expect justice to be done? No wonder you get acts like TADA and POTA to contend with. You are made to believe that it is best for the country. Country? Do they really care about the welfare of the country?
·   You have given this person the rights to elect the constitutional head of the country – The President himself! You expect the best person to become President in such scenarios? You should be thankful that President does not have major play in the politics and the policies designed by these people – or else you would not have seen some brilliant men getting elected. Still, the election of President as you must be aware is not on merits but on whether he is a troublemaker or not. Everybody knows why people like T.N.Seshan can never become the President of the country – because he will not take the games of our elected Representative lying down. He will react. And as you must be aware a President in our constitutional system has immense individual powers. So your elected representatives would rather have a puppet than a man who has his conscience in place. To the credit of some past Presidents though they have proved to be any thing but Puppets – at least in some instances.
·   You have given the person the right to elect the Head of our Parliamentary Democracy – The Prime Minister! You expect a noble and an honest guy to become a Prime Minister? Hmmm… your expectations are pretty high.
·   You have given him the power to decide who will be our representative in the Upper House i.e. Rajya Sabha. He uses his right to vote in the parliament to elect the Rajya Sabha members. So what? Well – here’s what you have done. By electing a corrupt man or a woman you have ensured that another corrupt person (in all likelihood a corrupt man will not chose an honest person – it would defy logic) sits in the Rajya Sabha too. Which again means that these people in Lok Sabha pass a Bill or a constitution amendment to suit their own interests and the same corrupt Rajya Sabha members pass it to the President for signature! Nothing wrong – except that the Bill actually affects you and me as the normal law abiding citizens.
·   You have given him powers through your vote to disburse the funds, provided by the Government of India, for welfare and development of the country. You expect them to disburse the money in a just manner? They are the lesser of the Evils – remember? Now c’mon – you only elected him. You expect him to be at the height of his honesty and use the fund to raise the standards of living of the public? Has anybody ever done it? Even Rajiv Gandhi had to comment that out of every Rupee that is given for development to your elected representative – only 15 paise reaches the actual beneficiary. Welfare? Huh.
·   You have voted a person because he/she may be representing a particular political party. But does he/she honor that commitment or trust shown by you. It takes but a moment for him/her to switch their loyalty to the opposing party and that too by accepting huge bribes. Remember the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MPs accepting money and voting to save the Government of the day? Surprisingly no one talked about whether giving or taking money was wrong in that case. What everybody especially the politicians talked about were whether the money was given inside or outside the Parliament! And since it was given inside the Parliament – the act could not be punished as MPs have immunity for an act inside the Parliament! These people are still your representatives in the Parliament/ State Assemblies. And how? Oh! You elected them dear readers – remember?
·   You by casting your vote to this person again and again have given him/her such powers that he/she becomes difficult to dislodge. The Raja Bhaiyyas, The Jayalalithas, The Shahabuddins, The Laloos, and so many more are but a few examples of the same. They come to your home initially to ask for vote. Later they kick you to the polling stations to make you vote. And you poor powerless citizens of the country feel entirely helpless. And who gives them so much of power? You using your… remember?
·   You have given them powers to control the executive administrators. You cry and shout foul when you see an honest Director of General or a Collector being removed or transferred. But did you expect any thing else? Did you expect the criminal – the devil you have elected to keep an honest Administrator in his/her region? You must be dreaming I say.
·   You give this person power and immunity from every act of corruption that he/she indulges in. No wonder it is not The Bangaru Laxmans or The Jaya Jaitleys who are behind the bars or in the court. It is the Tehelka news portal employees and the owners who are harassed and brought to court, It is not The Fernandes of the political group who are out of power for Coffin Scam – it is some Army Personnel who have had to face the Court Martial. And similarly it is not the Kuntes, The Naidus who are removed from the respective political parties for the Telgi Stamp paper scam. It is Mumbai Police Commissioner who is behind bars. Why? Because he could not fight and election and become your leader. It is not The Judeos, The Jogis who are being prosecuted for accepting unlawful money. It is the people who planned and gave them the money. It is not the Jayalalithas and Mayawatis or the Thakreys who are behind bars for corruption or incitement of communal passion. How can they be arrested? They have YOU and your lifetime vote with them. Can anybody touch them? C’mon they can’t be brought to book? Isn’t it? Boy – you all do need some doze of rightful thinking.

You don’t need to be brilliant to understand how you have been systematically destroying the country. The corrupt have become so powerful that you are not able to dislodge them now. And who has made them into such powerful power brokers? It is you and only you. You have given them reason to believe that politics is not only for scoundrels but a safe heaven for Criminals too.

Strange are your ways. You - who consider yourself to be fair and efficient, actually elect these people to create such havoc. Times are such that if someone comes up to you and says that he/she is an honest person – you give him/her your most crooked wry and a sly smile and end up doubting his/her own judgment. Honest? Huh. It has become a rarity today to find an honest man. In the chain of corrupt system, if you are being honest – you can be sure of being thrown out. That’s how the system works these days and that is because of your adamant nature of voting the lesser of the evils to power. Remember  -Corruption does not start at the bottom. It is one of the rare things that grows at the top and then spills down to the lower echelons.

Wake up friends – because there isn’t much left. Don’t wait for something dramatic to happen – because it won’t happen on its own. You have helped in creating this damage. Only you can bring it in order by taking stern corrective action. You have voted too many times now. It’s enough. Stop it. You have no right to give this country a corrupt administrator just because someone asks you to vote. You have no right to handover a corrupt system to the next generation to come. You have no right to preach honesty and support the corrupt. And hey – You have no business to stand silently in a corner and vote and allow these buggers to loot and destroy my country.

We have to uproot this bane of society from its root. The only way of destroying it is to cut the tree from the top itself. You can nurture the root and get a fresh tree later. It is the only way you can rectify your follies. Democracy may not be the best form of governance – but in the situation you don’t have anything better. So stand up and be counted. Corruption has become multi hydra and we need to come together to fight it.

I ask you – Not to vote. Ask your Parents, Your Sisters, Your Brothers, Cousins, Friends, colleagues and who ever you can talk to – not to vote. Let us bring the voting percentage down by as much as possible. Let us make every one of the representatives realize that the majority of the eligible voters have not elected them. Let us make the Election Commission think on the reasons of low voter turnout. Let us create an atmosphere for a debate on the same in all the TV channels, in newspapers and any electronic or print media. If we can achieve a lower voting percentage in elections to the tune of 10-15 percent – you think it will go unnoticed? It will create uproar. Our Fourth Estate is very agile and they shout about every other thing. They cannot possibly stay quite on this. Can they? Let us force the Parliamentarians, the lawmakers to think on the ways to bring the people back to the polling booth to vote. Let them make laws for the minimum qualification required for a candidate to file his or her papers to start with. Let them make rules on the minimum percentage required for a candidate to be declared victorious. Let us force them to make laws for themselves for a change. Let us not make it easier for them to live peacefully while we suffer. Let us make them earn their seat in the esteemed and august house of Parliament and Assembly. Let us make them earn the victory with their deeds and behavior – the way we earn our respect and life. Make them earn the right to take oath on our behalf in the Parliament. Let us make them realize the truth – and the truth is – if not for us they would not be sitting in the Parliament. The truth is that they have to work for the constituency they represent. The truth is that we have given them a responsibility and they will have to deliver the goods if they wish to get re-elected. The truth is that we elect them to serve us and not to rule us. The days of being ruled are gone. Sadly we – the citizens of this country – have still not realized that. Remember if you are ready to be ruled – well – rulers will find you and crush you. Democracy makes the Common Man the Ruler and all the elected representatives of the country as servants. Till we get this equation right – we won’t benefit from this institution everyone calls as DEMOCRACY.

Let us bring a revolution – A revolution of its own kind. Together we can achieve it. I won’t rest till I achieve it.

And till I achieve it – I will not Vote.

Its Montoo..

Sunday, 23 November 2003

The Nines Theory

Number ‘9’ is a mystical number. It is a Magical, Universal, Complete, and Sacred number. Number ‘9’ is seen as the number of completeness. It marks the end of the human gestation period and the end of a series of numbers (1-10), as well as a complete circle (360 degrees = 3 + 6 + 0 = 9). It is also believed that ‘9’ is the Universal Number, present within every other number. Number ‘9’ rules all life & electrical energy. Add 9 to any other number & 9 will be absorbed. Multiply 9 by any number and it can’t be destroyed. Add it to its own multiple & it always comes back. In Numerology it stands for complete cycle of growth. It is THE most important number in the chronological order of number system - I mean the single digit numbers from 0-9.

Hoof! That is too much of theory. Well you ain’t heard even half of them! There are many more magical and mystical reasoning to number ‘9’. I am not here to lecture you with all of these, which many of you would know in some or the other form anyways. I am here to share with you a realization that has hit me recently and hit me hard. And it also concerns this number – yes – our very own – number ‘9’.

Before I get into the specifics and concept of what I have found, let me share the abstract of the theory that drives this concept.

Carefully observe – since your birth – every ninth year (9th, 18th, 27th, 36th and so on) of your life would have been significant years. These years would have had profound effect on you – Incidents or events that would have defined your personality, your thought process, your career and things of that kind. Good or bad – these years would have been path-defining year for you.

Allow me to demonstrate this with the history of our country since independence. I am sure you will appreciate this theory before you reach the end of this article

India was born when the whole world “Slept”. As Jawaharlal Nehru said on that fateful night of 14th August 1947 – and I quote – “At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom”. Yes, a new India was born at that stroke of that midnight. Our dream had taken the shape of reality. And this nation has never been the same since!

I wish to prove my point with the example of the history of India from the year of her Inception (i.e. 1947). I will highlight only the most significant incidents of every ninth year of our Independent history. I won’t go into too much of detail lest we lose focus of the scope of this article.

Year 1947: We got Independence and symbolically at-least we were born. So we will take this year as the start of our Great history to prove my point.
Year 1956: First significant event of this year was the declaration of Naga resistance/ Movement by the feared Naga Militants. We are still struggling to bring peace in that region of the state of Nagaland. Second significant event of this year was the much-hyped visit of the Chinese Chairman of Communist Party and Premier, Zhou Enlai to India. The message that he brought was of peace and friendship. India was truly foxed by his visit. Now, China had always had aggressive intents in those times and the Indo-China border was anything but peaceful. It is widely believed that we went easy on the borders against China after the Premier’s visit and lost the war that ensued, much sooner than we should have. That is the only war we have lost since. It was a master political move by Zhou Enlai though and his visit of 1956 is thus considered as one of the major events of Indian history.
Year 1965: Pakistan attacked India. We fought back ferociously and won the war. This is the first victory of Indian Armed Forces in any direct war. And since it was against Pakistan – it was all the more sweeter and memorable.
Year 1974: First significant event of this year was India’s first successful test of nuclear bomb in Pokharan. More formally dubbed the "Peaceful Nuclear Explosive" or PNE, but commonly called “Smiling Buddha”, this test made India a major player in the world affairs. We were only the sixth nation in the world to have successfully developed and tested a nuclear bomb. The Second most significant decision taken in this year was the proclamation of a National “Emergency” for the first time in our democratic history. Most of the members of our ruling elite today, were put behind bars during that phase. That was the first and fortunately the last time an Emergency was proclaimed in India. Though it was a disaster for Congress (I) – it nevertheless is an important event in our independent political history.
Year 1983: First significant achievement of this year was the victory of Indian cricket team in “Prudential World Cup”. An unsuspecting team from India, popularly known as “Kapil’s Devils” now, won the world championship of cricket! We had never before, and have never since, got this honor in cricket arena. The popularity of this game rose to such heights that today cricket is considered to be THE only religion that binds India! And that speaks volumes about that achievement. The second most significant event was the imposition of President’s rule in the state of Punjab (to curb the secessionist movement spreading rapidly in the state). Article 356 of the constitution (Imposition of President’s Rule) was used for the first time against any state in India. Since then, many state governments have been dismissed using Article 356. The imposition of the State of Emergency in Punjab worsened the situation in the state. This eventually led to “Operation Blue Star” (planned by the political elite and executed by the Indian Army in the famous Golden Temple of Amritsar). And it would not be wrong to say that the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, had to eventually pay with her life for the unfortunate act.
Year 1992: Babri Masjid was demolished in this historic year. Well – The lesser said the better on this shameful event. We are a declared secular state and a permanent damage has been made to the secular fabric of this country due to this one incident. The people of this nation we all love have never been the same since. The country is yet to see the end of this demoralizing saga. Only time will tell how this incident is judged by the future generation.
Year 2001: A thunderous earthquake hit Bhuj (Gujarat) in this fateful year. Bhuj was the epicenter of the biggest earthquake India has ever witnessed in its own land. It killed more than 100,000 people - and I am only talking of official figures here.
Year 2010: Hmmm…we will see. Now - Won’t we?

Isn’t it amazing?

Critics of this logic may say that sometimes we are so intent on seeing things that we
see them even when they are not there. They may argue that all these are huge coincidences. Well – yes – that may also be true. But here the facts are there for us to see and fathom. And remember, a “Coincident” event, occurring more than once, simply cannot be a coincidence. Period. It has to have a theory or a law governing it and this theory can be defined.

I call this my “Nines Theory”. And I say:

An Object undergoes huge changes in its property on every consecutive Ninth year of its inception.

Well…I would have been able to define my theory in more powerful words, if only I had the Einsteins and the Darwins as my advisors or assistants. Since they are no more with us – this possibility is unfortunately ruled out. You all will have to live with my way of defining the “Nines” Theory! The events (as mentioned in the above example of Indian Independent History) do prove that “Nines” theory is more than what I have put in words here. It is hugely significant and worth taking note of.

As I like saying my dear friends – “The evidence as we see is – Overwhelming!

Any Questions?

Mantosh Singh..
23rd Nov 2003’

Tuesday, 1 July 2003

Is it possible?

So the Lok Sabha elections are going to happen next year. I guess it is time for some analysis to be done on what could be the strategy, adopted by the party in power, to save their seats. All the parties would already have started the process of deriving the strategies. As we all know, BJP is at the helm of affairs with the conglomerate of 16 other parties. It is perhaps the only party with the toughest task. The question that they would be asking themselves is – Should they go alone in the elections or with all their NDA partners? All parties would like to win maximum number of seats and grab power. But for BJP it is a matter of existence. And whether we like it or not BJP will do everything possible in their powers to ensure that they remain firmly seated to their positions in the government. Well – that holds true for all the parties trying to get majority in elections. As you will observe – I said – BJP will do everything possible. And their lies the catch!

Looking at the present situation it hardly seems that BJP will regain the number of seats that they presently have in the parliament. That the BJP is fed up with its coalition partners is a known fact. BJP is one party that never believed in compromises. But because the common minimum agenda of the NDA their hands are tied. In elections, getting a simple majority in the current political scenario is near to impossible for any single party, especially with so many regional parties also in the fray. For BJP it is becoming difficult by the day.

So what can they do to at least try to get that majority?

Before we get into the specifics I believe it is important to keep certain facts in mind.  Starting with the disadvantages for BJP – as it is in power for last six years:
Ø      It is the party in power – so the famous “incumbency factor” will play its part.
Ø      They have not had any major successes in any of the Assembly elections in last 3-4 years – except Gujarat. In fact they have had reverses in most of the Assembly elections held till date. That will play its part. Though it should be stressed here that the results of coming Assembly elections in 6-7 states will play a crucial part in deciding the look of the next Parliament elections.
Ø      Next, They have had too many scams and scandals in this term to answer for.
Ø      Irritatingly, the coalition partners are in too fragile a condition to fight alongside BJP
Ø      One of the most important factors that spoils the party is perhaps the loss of support in their own backyard – the northern belt of the country. States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan have all ceased to be the sole domain of BJP – which they were once. These are the places from where they used to get maximum seats till the last elections.
Ø      And last and perhaps THE biggest headache for them is – Atal Bihari Vajpayee has declared time and again that he will not fight next elections.

Again, before we go ahead – Here is an interesting step-by-step analysis of the rise and rise of BJP to its current state.

BJP as a party came into being in 1980 with initial members coming from the broken Janata Party and all die hard members of Bhartiya Jan Sangh. This party fought its first Parliamentary elections in 1984 and I will start from there:
Ø      1984: They opened their account! BJP won two seats in these elections.
Ø      1989: It went from 2 seats to 89 seats in 1989. A phenomenal jump I must say. This was achieved because of the huge wave of Hindutva and the nascent Ayodhya movement. They extended support to the Janata Dal party to form the new government. The only promise they wanted from the new PM – V. P. Singh – was that his government would not become a hindrance in BJP’s Ram Mandir movement in Ayodhya. This promise was too dangerous and was bound to be broken. Well finally it did break when L.K. Advani was arrested in Bihar (by the then Janata Dal Chief Minister – Lallo Prasad Yadav) during his now infamous Rath Yatra in 1990. All hell broke loose. BJP withdrew support from the Government and the government fell. Though Mandal Issue was also one of the reasons for the fall. Lot of human life was lost in the aftermath of L.K. Advani’s arrest across the country, especially in northern belt during this period. This led to the mid term poll in 1991.
Ø      1991: At this height of the Ram Mandir movement BJP increased its strength to 119 seats. As expected – 2/3rd of the seats came from the state of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Just for the record, Congress lost all its seats from Delhi. Such was the impact of the movement. In this mood of success – BJP I think made the biggest mistake they could have made. They helped in bringing the Babri Masjid down. Some call it the blackest day in the history of this country. How will the history judge them for this? Well time will tell. Having said that, BJP did gain one thing out of this incident: They were termed as a party, which delivers on its promise. A party with a difference! They had promised to demolish the Masjid and make a Ram Temple in its place. They almost did it – against all odds.
Ø      1996: BJP went into this election with huge confidence. The confidence showed in the results. They got 161 seats in this 13th Lok Sahba election. Only Nazis in Germany had been able to get such amount of power in short span. Hitler’s Nazi party got 107 Seats in the Reichstag in 1930 and finally after 2-3 elections between 1930 and 1934 garnered 444 seats! It is also a fact that once they got the majority vote they never allowed another elections to be held – Till finally in 1948 when West Germany voted again in an election! Coming back to the present era, BJP with 161 seats did form the government with the help of like-minded parties. This experiment ironically lasted for just 13 days. (Interestingly even Nazis also supported the Socialist Party of Germany in 1930 from outside and finally ended up getting majority of seats in Reichstag by 1934!). BJP knew right from start that they wouldn’t be able to survive for long without a clear-cut majority in parliament. They also realized that mid-term polls would have to be held soon. To make matters worse they did not have any issue to fight an election incase a mid term poll was called for! They had already lost their biggest rider – the Ayodhya issue. In this moment of despair they coined a new phrase – a new mantra – National Pride! They very smartly linked National pride to testing of Nuclear Weapons. They then secretly made all the preparations for the nuclear tests to happen in 1996. Before they could do it – well – the government fell. A mid term poll was called for within a year.
Ø      1998: The mantra of National Pride with the usual Kashmir, Pakistan, Nuclear Weapons was the main topic of discussion for BJP. And behold – suddenly Hindutva was not one of their main poll planks! It was a remarkable change for BJP. Anyways, the result showed that BJP without the Hindutva issue does not have much appeal. They ended up getting only 179 seats. This was an increase of less than 20 seats from the last elections. Not impressive one would say. In all this, they did get a new status though. They were the second largest party in the Lok Sabha – just behind Congress. BJP put forth their stake to form the government in N-Delhi. A coalition that we now know by the famous name – NDA – was formed! The bargain was made. Each party would get a share in the cabinet depending on the number of seats they held in Lok Sabha. The result? For the first time in the history of Lok Sabha we had a mammoth Cabinet of around 50-55 Ministers!! Gone are the days when you would get a cabinet birth on your skills and experience. Now you get a cabinet birth on the number of seats that you control in the parliament! Some logic that! Anyways, BJP did not waste any time this time around. On May 11th and 13th they arranged for the Nuclear Weapons to be tested in Pokharan. Budha did smile after a gap of almost 20 years! World was seemingly shocked. A series of economic sanctions followed. BJP was unfazed though. Unfazed – till the thunder struck. This time the thunder was a beauty! Our own J. Jayalalitha delivered the head-blow and withdrew support from the government. The country was forced into another Midterm Poll. The fourth in that decade. BJP was running helter and scare looking for some issue to gather sympathy and support of the people. What followed was exactly what the doctor ordered and they did what most Nationalist party do – they went on a war. Remember the Kargil War? Remember also that the war was declared only after our JJ withdrew support and elections were supposed to be called for? Coincidence? My foot. Read Nazis History to understand what I am saying. Hitler was in the same position when he became the Chancellor. He had to win the elections of 1933/34. The biggest threat to Nazis was from Communists. Hitler with the help of his Minister for Interior Mr. Goering – burnt the Reichstag and blamed Communists for it. He arrested and killed almost all the communist leaders. Took charge of the polity and eventually declared election. That was the last election in Germany before WW-II. Ok – coming back to our own country. The war ended on an honorable note for India. And within 2 months of this war – elections were held. Just for the records – the militants and Pakistan’s Army occupied Kargil since August 1998. Shouldn’t we be curious as to why did our government sit on the intelligence report for almost 8-10 months? Huh! Anyways, Who cares to know that now?
Ø      1999: Riding high on the victory in Kargil war – BJP won 182 seats in this election. A rise of just 3 seats from the last time! Can you believe that? A party, which got us our land, back from enemy? Which got us an honorable victory in war? How can this be possible? Well – now you know why that war was necessary. Imagine the fate of this party if the war had not happened. We must give credit to BJP where it is due – it does know how to read the pulse of the public. If not for this war they would not only have lost the elections – there was a big danger of them being wiped out! BJP’s pride was dented. They got saved by their skin this time. They knew they have to survive the full tenure of the new term in the government to recoup and recharge. They needed some new issues, some new drama. For all this – they needed time. They had to wait. And wait – they did.

They have been able to survive the heat for almost 5 years now. Must say here that it did not seem possible at the outset that they would be able to survive this long. To their credit they have been able to do it by bribing the Members of Parliament with Cabinet Seats. Come to think of it – P.V. Narsimha Rao was called a cheat when he bribed 5 Members of Parliament in 1994 to save his government. Today it has become a norm to buy the same kind of support by offering Cabinet seats! Isn’t it ironical? Poor Narasimha Rao – he is still defending himself in the court of law for the act! And here we have a government in which coalition partners threaten to withdraw support if their party men are not given a particular ministry! What a shame.

Anyways, lets us move ahead. Having taken you through the exhaustive history of BJP’s rise to power. It is time we dwelled over how could BJP win the next elections? What can it do to win a simple majority in parliament? They have failed with all the issues like Hindutva, National Pride, Kashmir, Pakistan, and A tag of a Party with a difference etc. What else can they do now?

We all also know that:

Ø      BJP will at no cost leave the power. And when I say at no cost – well it means that – in those many words. They will go to any lengths to stay in power.
Ø      BJP has got fed up with the bindings of coalition partners and would like to get enough seats to make government on their own or with parties like Shiv Sena, which is predominantly pro-Hindu. 
Ø      Atal Bihari Vajpayee will not contest elections and hence will not be the Prime Ministerial candidate. L.K. Advani is not acceptable to anyone other than a handful of the people in BJP (as the PM). And if coalition politics is to be continued then BJP has to have someone like Vajpayee – which they themselves know they don’t have. The irony of BJP is that there is no other successor, other than L.K. Advani. And since he is unacceptable to majority – they have to take drastic measures to achieve absolute majority in the next elections and make him the PM. They won’t then, have to depend on any third party to decide who will be the PM.

I have my own thoughts on what could the BJP do to win. Allow me to share those with you today.

I see four scenarios that will get BJP the desired victory in the Parliamentary elections. These four scenarios will make them not only the single largest party in the parliament – they may even get absolute majority on their own. In all the cases we have to remember that BJP’s policy will be Pakistan Centric – because they know that other than cricket it is only Pakistan that gets the attention of the our countrymen and sentiments run high on both of the above! The thoughts that I am sharing with you here may be too offensive, odious, detestable and repulsive. But then future turn of events in this country will prove me either wrong or right.

So what are the options open for BJP to ensure victory? Let us see.

Option #1: Atal Bihari Vajpayee is assassinated.
Reasons: The option sounds unbelievable. Atrocious. But if you know the game of politics then you learn to understand that nothing is impossible here. If Vajpayee has to go for the over all cause of the party and nation – well – he must go. Period. Assassination is not unusual in Indian Politics. To substantiate my point let me take you through the history of Indian Politics for a moment. Mahatma Gandhi – the ideological head of Congress party, was killed in 1949. In 1966 the then PM of India Lal Bahadur Shastri died in Tashkent after signing the Tashkent agreement with Pakistan’s President Ayub Khan. His death is still shrouded in mystery and there is a very strong case of him being poisoned in his hotel room. Then in 1984 Indira Gandhi was killed at her own residence. Then again in 1991 Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. These are glaring examples of how nothing is impossible in India. And here I have only taken the cases that have occurred in Independent India. The picture looks more gruesome if you look at the last 700 years of our history. Moreover, look at the advantages of Vajpayee’s assassination. The BJP has everything to gain. Vajpayee has already said that he has grown too old for such high voltage responsibility and hence would not like to continue beyond this term. What is the use of Vajpayee if BJP loses the elections? BJP does not need an elderly statesman sitting on the sidelines with BJP in opposition. They would rather have a martyr in their ranks. And moreover even if he decides to fight the next elections – does anyone believe here that they will be able to get majority in the next Parliament? No Sir – not by any stretch of imagination. They have fought three elections with him at the helm of the party affairs – but the magic number of simple majority in Parliament has always been elusive.

Indicators to the plan: We may find a lot of praise going Vajapyee’s way from February 2004 onwards. Intention would be to portray him as a hero. A Messiah.

Plan: Get him assassinated around May/ June of 2004. Get your Spin Doctors to work overnight. Create a rumor that terrorists on instruction of Pakistanis killed our beloved PM. Judge the pulse of the public. If the feeling of revenge is at its peak and if it can be converted into votes then keep beating the drum till elections. Create hysteria all across. Move the Army on the border and put them on high alert. Keep feeling the pulse – if that targeted figure of victory still seems impossible – then attack Pakistan. Fight for a few months and eventually after all the destruction – get an honorable truce. Declare elections immediately. Keep beating the drums of how our country fights for its honor. How we will not leave anyone who has corroborated in assassination of our PM. Victory in elections will be for the taking. And here, I am talking of absolute majority in Parliament.

Possibility of Victory in elections incase of Option #1: 100%

Option #2: President Abdul Kalam Azad is assassinated
Reason: Let us assume for a moment that assassinating a much-loved PM is considered to be too big for the planners. Who then can be used as the golden goat for achieving the larger goal? It has to be someone who is much admired and respected and is held in high esteem by the public. Well? Enter APJ Kalam – Our “People’s President” Abdul Kalam. Why he – you may ask? Let us look at some of the reasons. BJP has already played its card by getting a Muslim elected as the President of the country (So no one can say that they are against the minorities). That was, without doubt, a masterstroke by them. So if something was to happen to this lovable President – imagine the public’s reaction. It will be attack on our nation’s well-established secular fabric. It will be very clear that someone does not want communal harmony to last in this country. And who else other than Pakistan, which would want that? APJ is a likeable person. We would not tolerate his assassination even if he were not our President. He has contributed a lot for upholding the high standards of our scientific temper. His killing cannot be taken lightly.

Indicators to the Plan: APJ will suddenly be more visible. That means, media will be allowed to accompany him to all the places he visits and also ensuring that full coverage is given to news related to him and his achievements in prime time news programs. APJ will become more lovable and adorable. The trick is to raise him to such levels as only great men can reach.

Plan: Assassinate APJ when he is meeting some of the kids in some function somewhere in or around April/ May 2004. The nation will be in obvious shock. Play the whole sequence on media time and again. Get the public’s anger to reach its maximum and then attack Pakistan without a second thought. Continue it to the pre- defined limit and withdraw. Demonstrate that India will not take things lying down if Pakistan or terrorists sponsored by Pakistan will try to play around with the secularism in this country. Keep talking about how BJP believes in secular values and equal rights to all citizens belonging to any religion. Declare elections in mourning and play the revenge card. Hindus will vote for BJP since BJP would have demonstrated that trait of Hindus that we all take pride in – generosity. Muslims will for the first time vote overwhelmingly in favor of BJP for the obvious reasons. And if that happens BJP will win maximum seats that it contests on.

Possibility of Victory in elections incase of Option #2: 90%

Option #3: Some of our Cricketers are killed in Pakistan during their official tour
Reason: Now this is a wild scenario but not impossible. Indian Cricket team’s tour to Pakistan is long due and pending. The tour has not happened due to political reasons. The government has put on hold all the sporting relations with Pakistan. Cricket is a passion in both the countries. It has a potential to be manipulated by the political masters. It is also a known fact that the cricketers in this country are more loved than any politician worth his salt. Imagine if something were to happen to any of the major players in this team while in Pakistan? There are two risks though in execution of this plan. One, the plan will be very difficult to hide because it will involve quite a number of people to set the ball rolling. Second, it has to be executed in some other country. Still I have included this option because of two reasons. Even though the security around the visiting cricket team is always high – we know that a bomb did explode in the premises of the hotel in Pakistan, where New Zealand cricket team was staying. This happened in 2001 tour of New Zealand to Pakistan. The security in Pakistan was at its peak in that period because of the Afghanistan’s war. The point to be noted here is that what happened to New Zealand team can happen to Indian Team too. Secondly, our intelligence wing, the Research And Development Wing – known popularly as RAW is a strong element in Pakistan. The Pakistanis fear them. If anybody here thinks that ISI is more powerful in India than RAW in Pakistan - well I say, look again. It is a known fact that we have more people operating for RAW in Pakistan than ISI has in India. We do manage and execute coercive operations in Pakistan too. And if the government so desires – it can get things arranged for this operation also. Though this will be more risky since it will be hard to hide it from the public for long. But it’s a chance never the less. Considering that it is planned well to the minutest detail – it is not impossible to cause harm to our cricketers in Pakistan.

Indicators to the Plan: The government will give clearance to the Cricket Tour of Indian team to Pakistan. Hype will be created w.r.t. the security aspects of our players on the tour.

Plan: The government can allow the team to travel around February/March of 2004 for a two-month full tour. The trip will draw a lot of attention. The sentiments are bound to run high. The whole nation will be watching every match with lot of interest. That’s it. Arrange for a bomb blast in the hotel where Indians will be staying. Create the shock. The nation will dumb with shock. Take advantage. Cancel the tour and call the remaining team back. Move the troops to borders and attack Pakistan. Gain some sort of victory and make a truce. BJP can then shout from all nook and corner as to how they saved the country and brought them the honor of revenge. Declare elections. BJP can then ask votes in the name of the Honor of the Country. People will definitely vote in huge numbers and even the staunchest opponent of BJP will vote for them. If the plan is executed properly this plan will be a sure short way of ensuring victory in elections – And remember that is more important than some cricketers life.

Possibility of Victory in elections incase of Option #3: 100%

Option #4: Sonia Gandhi is killed
Reasons: Considering that the planners may get cold feet on both of the above since the persons mentioned above are very powerful and possibly have the highest category of security. To eliminate them will involve high risks. There is one more likely target. Though low on count but of a high potential never the less. Yes. Sonia Gandhi.  She is currently the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and also Head of the Congress party. There are quite a few advantages if she is assassinated. To start with – the BJP can claim that it was an act of terrorism and is inclined to spread communal tension in the country – because she is a Christian! They can then blame and attack Pakistan and get all the credit for the revenge. As usual the evergreen Pakistan Drum, which is ready to be beaten anytime, can be used here too! There is one more inherent advantage. Once she is gone – there will be no one in the Gandhi family to take over the reins of Congress party and that will be to the advantage of BJP! Will be a masterstroke if you ask me.

Indicators to the Plan: There will be a lot of leakages into the press and media about how BJP respects and has considered the views of Sonia Gandhi in some critical/crucial matters. Sonia will be praised for the struggle she has had to undergo to keep an old party alive. Praise will be showered on her organizational skills. Finally she may get facilitated with the Parliamentarian of the Year award or some other prestigious award. In short – everything would be done to increase her stature in the eyes of the public.

Plan:  Assassinate Sonia Gandhi around April of 2004. The sympathy will definitely be with Sonia and Congress. BJP can mourn the death of great leader like Sonia and promise revenge for the terrorist attack. Bring Pakistan’s name in the whole thing. Beat the drums of revenge and attack Pakistan without blinking! Stop the war after all the killings and all the destructions. Go back to public with a victorious smile and tell them that BJP’s Government has taken revenge for the assassination of one of Mother India’s most loved Daughter-in-Law! Public will forget that this is the same party who was calling Sonia an Italian till very recently! Declare elections and talk only about honor. Praise Sonia as much as possible. I am sure they will eat into the traditional votes of Congress itself. This plan does not have much potential compared to others – but if used in a planned way – it can fetch rich dividends for BJP. And as I said – Congress Party will disintegrate without a Gandhi clan to lead them!

Possibility of Victory in elections incase of Option #4: 70%

Remember that Public’s sentiments are of paramount importance in any election. This sentiment has to be played with and eventually be tilted towards the intended direction. That is the key. All parties do it. Some do it in the parameters of undefined ethical political rules. Some do it without caring a damn about anything. Well – BJP does fall in the second category.

Even otherwise - look at the times when they have had major gains in the elections – first during 1991, next during 1996 elections and again during 1999 (when they would have been rooted out because of their not so impressive one year performance). And in all these times they had major blood bath to back them up. In 1991 elections – it was the Rath Yatra and subsequent movement in Ayodhya in which thousands were killed in UP. In 1996 elections – they were backed up by the Bloody sequences that followed (in states like UP, Gujarat and Maharashtra) after the Babri Masjid was broken. And again in 1999 – they benefited from a war where thousands were killed in Kargil. All three have been major turning points for them. And since we are on this topic – it will not be out of the place to mention the recent Gujarat Elections where BJP won handsomely! Have we ever thought – why did Godhra massacre happen just 3-4 months before elections? Hmmm… There is much more than what meets the eye here. Anyways –here again BJP benefited from all the Blood Bath! Now that Ayodhya as an issue is almost over and National Security drama has been played umpteen numbers of times – it is time for some new mantra. And I have a feeling that the name of the game will now be “Honor of the Country”. And whatever they do, will be in the name of Honor of the Country. Wait and watch.

For this party life of a human being is not important. Ask them and they will possibly say – that some lives will be lost for the cause of the nation (!!). It is of a cheap value and so is expendable anyways.  Huh. Anything that would help them in retaining the power is fine with them. And if the cost is Human Lives – then so be it. If anybody here thinks that BJP believes in democracy and democratic values – I suggest you sit back and think again.

I will leave you with certain questions to ponder.

  • How many bills have been passed in all the parliament sessions that we have had in last 5 years? Has anybody noticed that in BJP’s rule there has been more number of Ordinances than actual Bills passed by the parliament?
  • If POTA was supposed to be used for people working against the national interests, people contributing to terrorist activities and also against people trying to create unrest in the country – then why has POTA not used to ban RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal? Why was VHP or Bajrang Dal not banned for their role in Gujarat Riots and Violence?
  • If this party ever believed in democratic values – why was there never a discussion in Parliament on the Tehelka Scandal, Coffin scandal, Kargil war? Why does BJP always relate all the issues with national security and avoid discussions in Parliament? Are they afraid or they just don’t think that they need to discuss this with anyone?
  • Narendra Modi (Chief Minister of Gujarat) compared the riots and violence after Godhra incident with the Newton’s Law – which says every action has an equal and opposite reaction! And he gets away with it? Why? Because he is from BJP? What more - he is praised for all the violence in his party! And this is the same party, which wanted to bump off Laloo Prasad Yadav because he was not able to maintain law and order in his state of Bihar?

Do you think a party with such a record believes in democracy? And I am quoting only a few instances here. For all of you who think they believe in democracy – I say – better watch out. You are in for some real eye opener in the coming year.

I would back myself on these options. I don’t know whether you are with me on this.

Think about it.

Its Montoo..