I fear what future holds for India. First it was the Mitrokhin archives and now the Paul Volcker report. While corruption in arms and petrol pump deals have are as frequent as the deals themselves, these take the country to a new low. Never before has the saleability of Indian foreign policy (which till recently was said to be 'independent') been so publicly displayed. As if these dealings with the likes of Saddam Hussein were not enough, we have been witness to desperate, embarrassing attempts by the said the foreign minister to save his chair. First Natwar Singh(NS) questions the integrity of the head of the UN commission, Mr. Paul Volcker. Its strange that Manmohan Singh(MS) didn't comment, being the RBI head when Volcker was Fed Reserve head he should know better. Then NS goes on to talk about American imperialistic designs and their hatred for NS the anti-imperialist crusader. When someone spoke about the contradiction between this stand of his and the support his government has given to the Iraqi govn propped up by the US 'imperialists', he goes on to dismiss the new Iraqi govn as one 'without credibility'. To endear himself to the left, he mourns the 'unfortunate' collapse of the Soviet Union. I am sure the Czech president (who is in Delhi as of today) will have a lot to say about how 'unfortunate' his countrymen think the loss of Soviet control over the Czechs is. He goes on to say that India should reverse its vote on Iran in the IEAE. Wasn't this same minister gloating over how India's vote had actually saved Iran. He proposes a India-Africa axis to contain American imperialism. Whatever happened to the nuclear deal we signed with the US? Consigned to the flames of NS's whims?

What should a PM do to a minister who uses something as sacred and crucial to a nation as its foreign policy as a weapon to fight his personal battles. He should dismiss him. And what does MS do? Takes away his portfolio to make him a Minister-without-portfolio(MWP)! Why? Of what use is a MWP? How much salary does he get paid, how many secretaries does he get and how much do his perks cost the national exchequer? And why is this money gonna be payed at all, when he is not gonna do any work? To top it all MS's aides 'leak' his thoughts to us. We are told that the PM wanted NS out, that he is outraged, that he would have preferred a CBI inquiry to the judicial one ordered. What is expected from us? Should we celebrate the fact that our PM cannot even dismiss a minister from his own party? Are we expected to sympathize with MS for his complete lack of spine?

To add to all this, this self-confessed Nehruvian relic keeps harping about the support he has from Sonia Gandhi. Really? Has Mrs. Gandhi's 'inner voice' abandoned her? Does this oil deal go down deeper than NS? Hopefully, former Chief Justice of India RS Pathak will have the answers within my lifetime.

Yesterday I crossed an important milestone in my life. I rode a bike on a busy road for the very first time! OK, it was just mama's scooty, not a hayabusa or anything, but using even that to go to Bhatar Road is a big thing! I was, as should be expected of a person like me, scared that I may not come back to the hostel in one piece. Rather I was confident that bhaiyaa aaj to ram naam sat hona hai. Decided that I won't 'pass away' alone. Ayan was the perfect bakra, he agreed to come with me. Of course, that he thought I was a pro-motorist helped him make his decision. I encountered many hitches. Firstly the scooty would not start. The push-button was not working, and I had never kicked a two-wheeler to life. After lots of pathetic attempts at starting that monster, Ayan showered me with his mercy and kick-started it (Let me make it very clear, that's all he knows about driving a two-wheeler). I started out well, slowly Ayan started smelling something fishy. Mama wanted me to fill 10 bucks worth of petrol. I took it to a pump and tried to lift the seat-lid without inserting a key. The incredulous look on Ayan's face was worth seeing. Then we started off towards parle point. Phir aaya bloody right turn. I've been scared of those! To top it all the road was full of vehicles, the holiday crowd swarming from all over. How I took the right turn no one knows, but it was done. Every vice of the average Surti motorist, driving on the wrong side of the road, overtaking from the left, parking in the middle of the road was troubling me that night. I somehow reached Maakhan Bhog, purchased the sweets and came back in on piece. The best part of this great adventure was when Ayan remarked that I was a somewhat rash driver. He has no idea!

Day 1: Terror strikes Delhi!
Day 2: Resilient Delhi returns to normal; people flock to markets that were attacked.

Many people, Indian and world leaders included, have praised Indians for maintaining calm and showing restraint. Many talk about how the India has shown to the world how response to terror attacks should be, defiant, one that tells the terrorists that they will not succeed in their devious plans.
Is it really so? Are we resilient or are we complacent? Is is our defiance or our lack of value for lives that causes us to return to normal? In a country of our size, the value of life is little. For many sixty five dead is not a big deal, more die in road accidents. Terrorists attacks are viewed as an ordinary happening and as long as its not happening in one's own backyard, it is not too much of a problem. The PM says that terror will not defeat us. But with the kind of 'mature' response which both the government and the people have given what needs to be asked is whether we will ever defeat terror. It is said that a stronger response will derail the peace process, but of what use is a 'peace process' when such attacks continue to take place. When the source of this attack is well known, why does the Indian government hesitate to name its aiders and abbetors. Why does embarrassment about the identity of the attackers emerge from the government when outrage about their continuance and support should be expressed?
Maybe I've asked too many questions, may be I've left most unanswered. But in this world when everyone is praising the passivity that's being passed off for calm and restraint, one has to speak out. That we are viewed as a soft state is a known fact, but to celebrate it, that too when such dastardly acts take place is untenable. If we want to change things, we need to change ourselves first.

The biggest problem I faced when starting this blog is what my first post should contain! Have decided that a short story (a fable of sorts) should be good enough.

Destiny and Chance have intimate discussions over green tea. Destiny jokes about how foolish people take his name in vain, much like that of God, and they laugh together. Chance whispers takes credit for 90% of the goings-on of human life, death, love, loss and discovery and says "You see what we fail to realize is that life is like a game of chess, played by two opposing forces each wanting to undo the other and come out as the victor. Instead of 'Thank God' falling from the lips of people; I would love to hear 'Thank Chance', for it is due to merely chance, that everything that happens in life. Reflect upon this story for a moment.
A boy drops his keys and stops to pick then up, in the process bumping heads with a girl picking them up for him. Their eyes meet and he stammers hello and she smiles softly and says hello in return. Two years later we see this same man/boy, nervously picking out a ring for the girl he feels has been the 'one' and he finally found her."

Chance nods her head and whispers "Yes i did that!"
Destiny muses and raises a question, "Suppose that same boy dropped his keys further along the sidewalk, thus in turn missing the girl completely. He walks on and goes about his day completely oblivious to the fact that miss right just passed him by. 2 months later on a blind date gone wrong, he smiles up at the pretty hostess and sheepishly grins, not knowingwhy but divulging the details of his date to her, she slips her number to him on the receipt. They go out hit it off and once again two years letter the scene above replays."

Destiny laces his fingers behind his head and happily sighs, breathing out and saying "See it was me all along".
Now it is chance's turn to disagree, as she changes the scenario. "A middle-aged man, the father of 3, devoutly religious, faithful to his wife of 25 years, is driving home. he stops at a stop sign and continues his daily trek towards his house. John is a heavily intoxicated person, perturbed by daily life, and convinced that 'the man' is out to get him. The man glances down to change the radio station and doesn't see the vehicle in front of him, nor does he notice the fact he is in the path of oncoming traffic, until he hears the crash. The middle-aged man dies immediately from the force of impact, his head hitting the steering wheel, while John walks away unscathed. Was it chance... or was it his destiny?" she smiles and stares up at him.
Another voice cuts in, and startles the two. "You're both wrong, it isn't chance or destiny, it was simply a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, they were victims of Circumstance." Chance and Destiny frown and say stoutly nearly in unison "I don't recall inviting you to this tea, Circumstance." He smiles a crooked, sideways smile and replies, "As in life, i just insert myself". He tips his hat and says "Good day lady and gentleman."