Siriusblogs

Double standards in India

2009-01-30T02:33:00.001-08:00

Double standards in India are not a new thing. They existed before partition, they exist today.Take alcohol for example. Hindus are different from Muslims here because of their double standards on Alcohol consumption and sale.In fact some Hindus are minting money by selling alcohol, to name a few - Kingfisher's Vijay Mallya, and owners of Mohan Meakin, India's two top brands.Alcohol is not acceptable in practical hinduism, nor does it form a part of any spiritual development process as claimed by many psuedo religionists and tantrics, but as no one represents Hinduism in its true form strongly enough today,people like Vijay Mallya are making profit from the weakness of Indians to drink.Hindus are not drunkards either, you might find more drunkards in the christian world, and many in the muslim world, especially where money flows.The average Hindu is neither too rich, nor has time for Alcohol.

It is the posession of wealth that encourages drinking.The poorer class of people satisfy themselves with toddy and cheap liqour, often endangering their lives and at times they even die due to some poisoned liqour. Both cases, rich drinkers or poor drinkers, are heading for disasters.Some might say a little of it, a peg a day will not be harmful. Are you being honest when you say that? Don't you wake up with a hangover next day? Alcohol damages your brain in instalments,and the hangover is a result of such a payback.Try not to drink even that peg, and see next day you will wake up feeling brighter.

Yet our politicians sleeep peacefully and some even actively promote pubs and bars (Sheila Dixit-I am sure she drinks, her eyes show it, is the Cheif Minister of New Delhi).Recently some social activists in Karnataka took upon themselves the liberty to attack a pub,and its customers. This again shows a double standard in our society which is constantly being challenged by groups like these. This seems to give a feeling that India might become "Talebanised" soon, and if this is not a genuine fear, it surely is a possibility, because the inevitable does happen.

This double standard has reflections in every state. Some states pretend to be dry, while some are wet, and some remain dry on special days like Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. All this merely speaks of our double standards and nothing else. Overall, India has no clear vision about Alcohol. India also does not have a clear vision about how to tackle terrorism (homegrown or imported).These grey areas are showing up as weaknesses, and forces outside our country are waiting to exploit these weaknesses. Drug mafia is always waitingto push in heroine into India from its borders.

In this front India has been trying hard to expose the druglord nexuses in Pakistan that use India as a route. A recent IPS officer has been found guilty of carrying a large quantity of heroine.Ironically this man was behind a crusade against Drug trafficking, and had exposes many dishonest cops.Now thecourts will decide if he is a Hero or a Zero.

So be it Drugs, Alcohol or Terrorism, they all represent our double standards, our ineffectiveness in dealing with these issues, and our failure in reaching a decision on whether this is good for us or bad for us.

I do not see what it is good for us at all in these drugs alcohol and weapons.

Alcohol sellers, drug peddlers and weapon dealers will definitely disagree with me. however their earnings are not a reason that our future generations should suffer,this is not good for young India.Alcohol,Drugs and Weapon Manufacturers should look for other businesses, diversify and manufacture only Medical Grade Alcohol for use in medicine and hospitals, manufacture medical grade drugs for use in Hospitals, and High quality weapons for use by Military, not the public.

Without bringing religion into this, we can at least try for a consensus through votes, to allow on a national scale, the production and use of Alcohol,Drugs and Weapons. Once a law is enacted, it should be then enforced immediately as it is already too late.This is also to ensure that we do not end up as a fractured society with a "Talebanised Hindu faction" as that would disintegrate India totally.Such factions will only grow faster and faster, if this issue is not addressed immediately by the government of India.

Once again, summarising the issue of double standards in the use of Alcohol, Drugs and Weapons, let me say with conviction that a healthy society which wants lasting peace, should do away with these double standards totally.It is upto us to decide which way we want to go, yet the way some politicians are actually supporting bars and pubs, it appears that the fight will be long and protracted. Yet this darkness caused by drugs,alcohol and weapons must leave our country, or we will be back into a past which we will not relish.

India is not Israel

2009-01-06T07:55:00.000-08:00

It is sad to read about the mayhem created by Israel in Gaza.Over 90 children have died in this war.This is Israel's way of making sure their own future is not secure, because they will only invite more enemity by such an action. Punitive strikes against Hamas are not the same as strikes against the entire state of Palestine. Sadly some people in Palestine itself are in agreement with this.Where will they hide their faces when the truth is out.
Israel should have learned forbearance from India, which did not strike back even after the Mumbai Attacks, waiting for Pakistan to act on the terorist groups on their own soil.

Violence in the minds.............

2008-07-28T06:41:00.000-07:00

Whatever we see as acts of violence in various forms today,are expressed from minds of people.Imagine the amount of violence stored up in minds of people.Why are they not able to manage their hatred and anger? Why are the youth burning with revenge and all set out to hurt the other person,be it through a verbal attack or through a physical attack? Everything is wrong right from the start, from our education.From the books that lie to us, from the newspapers and magazines to the films and television, all is full of matter that somehow or the other arouses violence.Moderation has been forgotten, people are indulging in too much of everything, ignoring peace,ignoring good things,ignoring nature,and falling prey to media created populist notions of revenge,hatred,violence, the urge to destroy whatever good remains.Unleashing this violence is what we see, the effect of all this pent up violence is what we see in the papers and in the magazines, on TV and on the big screen, and all this pent-up violence is taking a toll.Minds that are uncontrolled will definitely become instruments in the hands of these evil men who spend a lifetime making weapons to harm others,distributing weapons to harm others,manufacturing gadgets that blow up life.The very root of these minds is rotting.They do blow themselves up, which is so as not to leave a trace,but do they know what happens thereafter? No they do not, because no one came back to tell.So they think it is a game, of honor,of valour,not realising it is the most cowardly act they are going to do.In a war,if one is forced to do such an act it can be looked upon as honorable. Attacking unprovoked, attacking innocent bystanders in hospitals,killing nurses and doctors, all this is not brave,this is cowardly.Attacking unarmed people is total cowardice.Such people need their minds freed so that they take time out to re-consider what they are going to do.Even if one person reads this and gives up violence,I would consider it a step towards world peace.

Whoa! Hold yer Horses Mr PM!

2007-12-20T02:28:00.000-08:00

Before I add my lines, here's the full excerpt from this website (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c_online.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=31544)

New force must to tackle Naxal menace: PM

BS Reporter / New Delhi December 20, 2007

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today raised the strongest possible alarm on the proliferation of naxalites in India saying "not a day goes by without an incident of Left wing extremism."Speaking at a Chief Ministers conference on internal security, the Prime Minister urged states to develop a police force solely dedicated to combating the Maoist menace. Observing that the activities of the naxal groups have revealed new aspects, targeting vital economic establishments and eliminating important political leaders, Singh said: "We cannot rest in peace till we have eliminated this virus." "We need to cripple Naxalite forces with all the means at our command," he said and asked the states to set up specialised and dedicated forces to combat extremism.The conference, which was barred for media coverage, is being organised by the home ministry and is also being attended by Chief Secretaries, Directors General of Police, chiefs of para-military forces and intelligence agencies. Stressing on improved policing capabilities and better training facilities, the Prime Minister said: "I hear that there were only three staff in the Dantewada jail where the jail break took place. Inadequate, ill-equipped, ill-trained, poorly-motivated personnel cannot take on the naxal extremists who are increasingly better equipped and organised," he said. The Prime Minister assured full co-operation from the union home ministry in setting up the dedicated forces for countering naxalism. "The states also need to consider joint operations and joint mechanism for effective police operations," he said. While the Left-wing extremism might be restricted to some regions, Singh said terrorism was becoming a larger problem affecting all states. "In the current year, we have had high profile terror attacks in Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. They are able to network across states and even international boundaries. While the actual perpetrators of terrorist violence may belong to a few known organisations, we need to guard against their attempts to recruit local sympathy and support," Singh said.

How exactly will a violent approach solve the Naxal problem? Our dear Prime Minister has made his views clear, but his views are not necessarily right, or practical even. Gandhi would have said: An Eye for an Eye will make the whole nation blind" and Nehru might have okayed the proposal to stop naxalism by violent opposition, but the fact remains that violence will result in more violence. Whenever someone dies due to state violence, the hatred for the state grows, and it eventually turns the sympathies towards the other side.You cannot defeat a violent force by more violence, but only by careful and meaning ful dialogues. It depends upon you to create an atmosphere for the dialogue. Immature advisors of our PM are advising him to take up a violent stand against Naxals.This also shows his immaturity. It also reflects the immature state of the Congress. What do the younger ones in Congress say to this? Are they also in full agreement? I think not. it is time some young Congress members spoke out on these issues, rather than old lions roaring into the wilderness like this. Let us hear what Rajiv's and Sonia's son has to say in this. I am sure violence will not bear any fruit. Why doesnt the Congress identify and locate the Naxal leaders and talk to them? This is not a virus, this is the state of the poor today.They have taken up violence as they see no ohter solution. Replying with violence will breed more violence, as those who die leave behind families who take up the mission of revenge, and there is no end to this cycle of violence till someone decides to pardon the other side.Why pit the poor Indian soldiers (seciruty forces, police, RAF etc) against other poor Indian men and women who form the Naxal opposition? This is our internal problem which we have ignored since the times of Nehru.The thinking must change. We have to shed the idea that Congress is ruling India. It is not. God is ruling India through the hard working people, and if these hard working people do not get their rights, you cannot blame them when they take up guns. Naxal violence is nothing new for the world, it has always been going on, this struggle against the rich rulers, only the rulers are not the same all the time. India is on the edge of a steep cliff, which falls down into the deep ocean. Do not make the foolish choice between the devil and the deep blue sea, Mr Prime Minister. Just look for Gandhian answers to this situation.

How safe are citizens?

2007-10-31T01:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a reprint from an article from a newspaper recently:-

Stray bullet hits software engineer near Iblur
Staff Reporter
Doctors remove slug from her pelvis in fourth such case

BANGALORE: Imagine going home at the end of a tiring day and end up with a bullet in your pelvis. This is what happened to Niharika Jeena (27), a software engineer, who was seriously injured after she was hit by a stray bullet, suspected to have been fired from the Iblur firing range of the Army Service Corps (ASC) in Viveknagar police station limits.
The shocking incident took place on Friday night and Ms. Jeena is treated at St. John’s Hospital. She is out of danger, the police said.
Ms. Jeena, a software engineer with Cognizant Technologies in Murugeshpalya, was riding home on her moped. Around 7.30 p.m. when she had stopped at the Ejipura junction on Koramangala Outer Ring Road, she suddenly experienced a terrible pain and collapsed, bleeding. Passers-by rushed her to the hospital. After radiogram, the doctors found that she was hit by a bullet and it was stuck near the pelvic bone. Doctors removed the bullet, which is similar to AK-47 rounds. The bullet would be sent to Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic examination, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Ulsoor Gate) B.B. Ashok Kumar told The Hindu on Tuesday.
“We strongly suspect it was fired from the Army’s Iblur firing range. A case has been registered in Viveknagar police station,” Mr. Kumar said.
Ms. Jeena is the daughter of Bhupinder Singh Jeena, a forest official in Uttaranchal. She and her sister live in VI Block, Koramangala, here.
Senior police officers are of the view that the Defence authorities should stop firing practice at Iblur firing range as there had been an increase in the incidents of stray bullets hitting the public.
Since 2003, four people have been seriously injured after being hit by stray bullets on the Outer Ring Road in Viveknagar police station limits. On July 6, 2003, Satyajith Kumar Singh (27), who was travelling in an autorickshaw, was hit by a bullet in his buttocks. On April 21, 2005, one pierced the waist of Thomas (32) who was riding a motorcycle. On April 22 this year, Mercy Andrew (51), a BMTC commuter, was injured after she took a bullet in her arm. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) B.N.S. Reddy said they would be writing to the Defence authorities asking them to stop firing practice at the range. Many VVIPs, including heads of foreign nations who visit Bangalore, take the Koramangala Outer Ring Road to reach the facilities of IT majors such as Infosys and Wipro on Hosur Road.
However, the defence sources said that they were unaware of the Friday night’s incident. According to the Army protocol, when ever firing practise takes place, the police are present at the range. At the end of the firing, the police officials give their clearance, the sources maintained.

How safe are we from our own people? Politicians and Military combined is the worst sort of combination possible. This incident will be brushed under the carpet by these politically well connected Military Top Brass, even though there have been many such cases. This is true for many of our Military Ranges all over India. Many an innocent villagers have lost their lives all of a sudden because of this. This does not mean the Military should not practice, but practice carefully, under strict surveillance in well enclosed ranges. Serious note should be taken of this incident, and its recurrence should be prevented at all costs. Why should innocent citizens suffer because some top brass did not organise his military exercises well?

Defeating violence

2007-10-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

Poverty is one of the main underlying cause of violence broadly termed as terrorism. Alleviation of Poverty alone can change the world scenario to a peaceful one. It is the poor, struggling for their daily bread, who get inspired by fiery speeches to take up a gun and fight for their
rights. Nothing is wrong in fighting for one's rights and thus we cannot dismiss the
word "terroism" and put it away in a black list.We cannot cutoff innocent people who
were never even armed, by labelling them as supporters of terrorism. USA has defined
things in its own sick way and labelled every non-american an enemy of their country,
and thus have begun to acquire an image they will never be able to erase from the
public mind for centuries to come, and this happened when the bomb was dropped on
Hiroshima. This image of a vengeful USA was imprinted on millions of dying people
during the WWII and these imagesof America still cause upsurges of hate against
America.
Exploiting the poor has always been a racist thing. Britishers were the world's first
colonisers, and their hunger for colonies has given rise to America, which is indeed a
free colony now, free from the Queen's rule, but it has the same seeds from which all
british colonies sprang up.

However cool the americans appear to be, they always have a "dagger in the cloak"
policy haunting them.The hatred they aroused is impossible to blame on anyone else but
Americans themselves. yet there is a way out for Americans and that is to woo the rest
of the world, and they do so in their own ways, sometimes going so wrong, that they
sink deeper into the hellhole they are creating.

After three major disasters (Japan,Vietnam and now Iraq) America has still not yet
learnt the art of non-interference. This is where India takes the lead, and India's
non-interference policies are well regarded worldwide.

The rationale behind non-interference was spun out by Gandhi, the main architect of
modern India.His logic was simple:- Until we have our own house straightened up neat
and prim, we cannot dream of fixing the neighbour's house, and thus a policy of
non-interference was adopted,promulgated and even constitutionalised.Emphasis was
given to straightening up India from within, building up India the right way, but then
the process began to be sabotaged by greedy politicians.They tried everything to rule
the masses, they tried imitating the british and failed, Nehru was the first of the
immitators.His 17 year rule ended when he died of a urinary dysfunction, the details
of which may be juicy but better avoided in this discussion.

Why I say Nehru was an immitator is that he began to promote westernisation without
realising its implications and their inbuilt pitfalls.While Hindi should have rightly
been chosen as a National Language and it was chosen,importance to Hindi was set
aside. English was given great importance.It simply caused a rift in the echelons of
power, and we have hindi speaking politicians like Laloo Prasad Yadav who are very
expert in their job, effective and successful too, and we have great English speaking
politicians like Mr P Chidambaram who cannot exist outside the system if they were
stripped of their English. We have Tamil speaking politicians who support anything
that helps them enrich their coffers, and we have Malayalam speaking politicians who
make use of the Middle-East workers to enrich their coffers.We have telugu speaking
politicians who are racing towards modernisaion under the leadership of a computer
savvy man, we have Bengali speaking politicians who are ready to die for a cause. It
is a shame some of the male politicians are not ready to die for a cause.Mamta
Bannerjee showed her mettle when she faced stones and brickbats fighting for the
people who had risen to defeat upmarket companies like the Tatas in their
landgrabbing spree. It is a shame no politician stood up by her side.

We also have bengali speaking politicians expert at covering the financial blunders of
the existing government, and we have urdu speaking politicians who love to shake hands
with pakistan.

You see we have many politicians who are great at their level, but none who can reach
out to the masses and impress the poor people, so we will eventually have a vacuum
which will be filled by terrorism and is being filled by terrorism in the form of
PWG,MAOISTS,ULFA,HUJI and a host of other organisations in Punjab and Kashmir which do
not nod their heads when the government in Delhi says so. Those of you who think India
is still safe, you better awaken...jaag jao.

Much as I would like to see Peace in India, and worldwide,the solutions are only
limited. We have to empower the poor, make them feel their existence is
worthwhile,cheer them up and help them along, we have to wean them away from taking
the gun into their hands and turn them towards taking up pen and paper,taking up
ploughs and seeders, driving their way up to a mass revolution which peacefully
expands above the petty politicians counting their votes like pountry farmers counting
eggs.

Weaning away the weaker sections is not as easy as a politician might think. (I
wonder if they can think at all)It requires years of hard work, which none of them
have put in.It requires a faith in the goodness of equality, a faith in honesty, a
faith in truthfullness, a faith in Gandhi's ideas, a faith so strong that none of the
ideologies that have influenced them and caused them to take up weapons remain in
their minds. Their minds have to be brought around, to a path of peace.Who can do this
is one question which some people are answering practically by performing actions that
will give results inthe distant future.

Pay more learn more?

2007-10-10T23:15:00.001-07:00

The recent idea floated by Arjun Singh about Higher Fee Structure for Higher Education has raised many an ante. Here is a quote from the papers:-

NEW DELHI: If parents can pay higher school fees for their children, they may as well pay higher fees in colleges and universities too. The government is working out a plan to this effect.

The Human Resource Development Ministry and University Grants Commission (UGC) are discussing the issue with vice-chancellors and state education secretaries at a two-day conference on higher education currently on in the Capital.While stressing that government's funding on education would increase substantially, the Planning Commission feels the contribution from students must also go up.

This big "IF" only pertains to rich people, not the entire nation, but if the fees are hiked for higher education, there will be less takers, and there will be aspiring students committing suicide because they cannot get what they want. This sectarian ideology of Arjun Singh is a disaster, he has always been sectarian, he has been trying to do a balancing act, as if he was the judge of the country's future. The younger generation will simply dislike this idea because it will prevent many from getting into Higher Education.

Institutions like BITS,IITs,IIMs are already charging a heavy amount for higher education, and it is creating a buffered zone amongst the educated.There are the "rich-educated" and the "poor-educated" classes today.Definitely they do not see eye to eye and India's future is at stake here. Arjun Singh maybe targetting the "rich-educated" but the education fees going high is going to affect only the "poor-educated" adversely because it is they who may not be able to pay high amounts for higher education, and thus suffer a full stop in their academic career.

Would love to hear what many of you out there think about this.

The art of Breathing

2007-10-09T20:35:00.000-07:00

This is for the total beginners who have very little experience of yogic principles, and have done nothing of such yogic practices.

About Breath
Breath is Life itself. Stop Breathing and you are as good as dead.
Therefore you can understand that if you are able to control your breathing process with your own mind.... then you can control your mind well. And since everything is in the mind.... stress, peace, anger, tension, pleasure, hate, jealousy, ignorance, compassion, and so many more qualities, it is up to you to choose what you want to be... a tense person or a relaxed person, a person full of hate or a person full of love. The opposites are what the mind is made of, and you must understand that the mind in turn is being directed by an energy called the Pranic Energy....Life Force... which causes the breath to enter the body and leave it in rhythmic cycles. You are actually a vibrating pulsating soul full of energy and you don’t know this. So start with learning how to control breath.

The process
As you inhale slowly... you will find that breath has a focal point in your body. It goes downwards. Then you hold it for a moment and watch ...it remains there..... tickling your stomach... but the other force takes over and you have to exhale.... the cycle is complete. You have taken in so many oxygen atoms that will now recharge your body!
Now notice that we always breathe so stressfully. Why? This is bad habit #1 which has to be stopped. How?
We waste a lot of time thinking and don’t really breathe properly. We waste time in useless activities at times and don’t even realize it.
We forget how to breathe! That is the problem. We must remember to breathe well again and all will be fine with us..... I guarantee that.
Sit erect on a chair, and if you can sit in the Lotus Posture, please do that.
Keep the backbone straight. Hold your neck up. Look straight at any point which is in front of you... on the wall....eyesight level. Now inhale fast repeatedly and empty out your lungs fast....as if you are running....... This hyperventilation helps a lot in refreshing your mind. As you begin to breathe consciously you will be surprised to notice that many times you don't even breathe...you stop as if waiting for something to happen. Your breath has been disrupted by years of forgetfullness.

So now you have to learn the secret of breathing again. This came to you first when you were born... with your very first breath you inhaled...you took in the secret.... it is still in your memory...your fresh childlike mind is still the same...but you are so different...you have a body that is big..... it is cumbersome....therefore now you need to learn the secret again.....
After completing Hyperventilation..... you need to start with breath control.

The first step is to learn how to take a deep breath...hold it for a few seconds...and release it slowly. This is actually simple....You breath in deeply.... hold it...count till you feel you must exhale...then release it. Don't force it to remain for too long...don’t overdo the holding breath part. it can be harmful too.
Once your rhythm is restored to normal breathing you will be so relaxed...you will say how I have missed this.....
The advanced steps in breath control demand some serious study...especially the Patanjali Yoga Sutras...., which hold the key to a good life. This is a small article for beginners..... ..............

Who will stop this

2007-10-07T07:19:00.000-07:00

"A speeding Blueline bus mowed down seven people in New Delhi on Sunday in the worst such disaster blamed on the "killer" fleet, sparking mob fury that halted all traffic on the highway to Agra and forced the police to fire tear gas. The dead included five women, a child and a man."

This is almost a daily story now and the answers, if they do exist, lie in the following suggestions.

1.Stop private buses altogether, and give the contract for buses to a single private company like TATA or BIRLA or RELIANCE to manage the show in a uniform manner, doing away with irregular traffic patterns which cause deaths of so many every day. Whoever gets the contract will have to ensure that the private bus operators they subsequently hire comply to their strict standards. The standards should be set by the government.
2.Do away with privatisation totally, and have a single government body to maintain and run Bus services all over India, just like the Railways. This way private owners will be forced to comply again with standards set by the government.

Among the standards to be set, there should be these points kept in focus :-

Speed limit adherance
No compulsion to provide a profit at the cost of a passenger's life
maintenance of the vehicle periodically monitored
Roadworthyness of the Vehicle monitored periodically
Compatability of trained drivers to be monitored
Drivers to be trained abroad so that they learn some civic sense.
Age limits for drivers ( not under 18, not over 50)
Maintenance of roads
Proper organisation of Bus Stands, with a proper and safe system for boarding buses.
Ensurance of passenger compliance with rules related to standing on the road while waiting

Both the above suggestions and the points for setting standards, hopefully will put an end to the greed of the private bus owners. It is the greed for getting customers that causes these drivers to drive so rashly, killing the very customers they serve.

How relevant are our Gandhis?

2007-09-30T03:26:00.000-07:00

I would rather ask how Gandhian are our Gandhis. Two namesakes are at the helm of the nation, and how do they really figure as Gandhians? Do they actually understand and respect the views of Mahatma Gandhi. These are the questions I am trying to find an answer to.

Gandhivaad or the recent filmi style Gandhigiri has been flouted ever since Gandhiji passed away. Why did they all speak so highly of Gandhiji and yet did not put his teachings into practice? I think gradually all the political Gandhians, including Nehru's descendents lost the focus on Gandhiji's ideology, and became entangled in ruling the country, by whatever means possible. That is one reason why the Bofors scandal did not surface properly. The desire to continue ruling has seriously affected their output, and the resolve to find the truth has weakened, instead of being strengthened.

My mother had the good fortune of being blessed by Gandhiji. Her group of friends performed a play about Ramayana, and Gandhiji suggested that next time they should perform a play about Raja Harishchandra. Gandhiji was a keen observer, always interested in arts and social culture.He ws not a ruler by any measure. He ruled our hearts, and continues to do so.

I think our politicians must go into serious introspection, get around their differences, practice what they preach, and give up desires to rule by hook or crook or by the book. People like Rahul are young blood and may take time to become truly Gandhian in their outlook, the heavy conditioning of the western education does take a toll. I hope he becomes a true Gandhian, lives upto Mahatma Gandhi's name, and leads India well, because ruling is one thing he cannot give up easily, so as long as the desire exists, he must rule well, like a true Gandhian. I think it is a hard journey for him, and here I stand wishing him well all the way.

The great war of Kabristan

2007-09-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

Soldier asks his Commander : Sir, When should we start the attack?

Commander: I am waiting for the orders from above, soldier.

Soldier: Yes Sir!

Commander asks his higher up: Sir, when do we give orders to Attack?

Area Commander: Wait till the Chief of Armed Forces signs the papers.

Commander: Yes Sir!

Area commanders visit Chief of armed Forces office one day.

They ask the Chief: Sir Have you signed the papers permitting us to attack?

Chief of Armed Forces: No I have sent them for the President's Approval,
she has yet to see them, hopefully in a week's time.

Area Commanders say: Yes Sir!

One day the President calls the Chief of army staff: Those papers
you sent about attacking the enemy. According to our politicians, a
dialogue is on with the enemy, we hope to resolve the issue
peacefully. If it doesn't get resolved peacefully, we shall take a
hard decision. Till then, keep your men ready.

Chief of Armed Forces: yes Madam! jai Hind.

He returns to his office, and calls up the Area Commanders and
asks them to be prepared in case of the orders coming from the President.
The Area commanders go to their area HQs and call their
Commanders, tell them to be prepared for the war, but wait for the orders.
The Commanders go to their units and tell the groups of soldiers to remain alert,
till the Orders come for attacking.
Meanwhile, the enemy has slithered in through secret routes,
created blasts in many small towns, and caused political havoc.
One day a politician decides to visit the order. The Chief of Armed
Forces accompany him. Enroute, a roadside bomb is exploded,
Scaring them off badly.
The Chief cancels the visit, and rushes to
the president and says: Madam, we are late, when will you sign the
papers? These people are not confronting us directly, they are
entering through leaks in the border and making covert attacks. One
of our great politicians nearly died in such an attack.

President: yes I heard the news. He is one of the negotiators. If he
dies, the war might end so our decision could have been made not
to attack at all. he did not die, so the chances of war still
exist, therefore be prepared.

The Chief of Armed forces returns. It is over two years since they
were preparing for war. His retirement is due. He has not had the
chance to fight a war as Chief of Armed Forces. So he will not be
called a Field Marshall after retirement. Only Sam Manekshaw has
that privilege. While waiting for his reirement , he visits one
Forward area one day. There he meets a soldier, who is quite
old, almost like him, nearing retirement too. He takes aside the
soldier and talks to him.
Chief: So how many wars have you fought?
Soldier: Sir, in 1961 I was nearly blown up in a grenade attack
when China came into our borders. In 1971 I
was sent to Bangladesh as a paratrooper, and we rescued a
politician from the Enemy. In 1999 I went to Kargil , and was nearly
shot, barely escaped with my life. Now I am due to retire. I want
to die in the battlefield. It is said we don't achieve liberation
after death if we soldiers die at home. So I am waiting for this war
to begin. What about you sir?

The Chief of Armed Forces replied: I was assigned to the
Bangladesh Unit too, I commanded the Paratroopers division, but
the credit was taken by one royal blooded General, who was
alongside. Then they posted me to Ladakh , where we fought the
enemy in Kargil. All the hard work was done by the ground attack
teams, many of our ranks died. I survived simply because I was in a
tent, which was missed by enemy mortar fire. They then made me
chief of Armed Forces. Now I too want to fight the last war, but
you know these politicians, they don’t want war, they are trying to
negotiate and avoid war.

Soldier: But what about the covert attacks they do on us sneaking
up from the back?

Chief of Armed Forces: yes I am worried about that. These
politicians are actually weakening us.

Soldier: Sir I have an idea, we both want to have this last war.
let us do something to cause it.I shall one day simply start
firing and shoot down enemy soldiers across the line, and when you
hear of this, declare the war, Ok?

The Chief considered this gravely, for a while, and then said, OK,
but don't tell anyone we had this discussion. Just tell them about
the general topics we talked about, family etc.

Soldier: Done sir! I am ready.

The chief returned to his HQ. One day he got the news that a
soldier had started shooting at the enemy, six enemy lay dead, and
the enemy was firing back. He immediately called up the President,
and said this has happened, and what are the orders.

The president replied: That politician who accompanied you last time, he is in
Pakistan finalizing an agreement for peace. If we attack now, we
shall lose this chance for the Peace Process.

Chief of Armed Forces (thinking to himself- and I shall lose the
chance of liberation) finally replies: Madam, with due
respect.....Bhad mein gayee naukri, bhad mein gayee tu, ab main
nahin rukunga, I am going to fight the enemy madam.
Saying this he rushed off. The President was obviously aghast.
She called up the politicians to meet her and announced that she
had ordered an attack because she knew, now there is no chance
to call back the Chief.

Thus we had this great war, also known as The great war of
Kabristan, fought between India and Pakistan, in which millions
died, both countries were nuked by each other, a Pakistani nuke
landed in front of the Presidential Lawns, destroying everything
within 20 KM radius, and an at least more then three Indian Nukes
landed at Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Karachi, destroying those
cities completely. The survivors on both sides are slowly waking up
to a new reality : there will be no future wars, as both
governments have been destroyed, and the people are left alone to
fend for themselves (as if they were not left alone to fend for
themselves while the governments were in power)

As the world woke up to the events, a cold nuclear breeze began to
affect every region of the world, with its potentially harmful
load of radiation, carried by particles that were blown up miles
into the skies. As the fall out settled over cities worldwide, a
grey pall of smoke turned eerie red in the angular sunlight,
signaling the end of the world as we knew it. Survivors were seen
trying to get their lives back together, some with permanent scars
from radiation, some without limbs, some just plain hungry without
food for many days, fearing to eat because of nuclear pollution
caused by the war. The entire region looked like a graveyard, a
Kabristan as they would say in Urdu.

No country was spared in this war, nukes were set off by Iran towards
Vatican, by USA toward the middle east, by Korea towards the USA,
by Russia towards the UK, by Germany towards Britain, by France
towards Germany, by UK towards Japan and by Japan towards US
and UK.
There was enough nuclear material collected by these powerful nations,
to have destroyed the world three times over. Eskimos found to their
surprise the land under their feet had disappeared, replaced by a
mud slick in which lay thousands of whales and sharks and seals
and sea lions. The ice had melted almost instantly, causing a flood
and a slick as the water drained off slowly.
The earth had split at one point and sea water rushed down under,
causing a fall in sea levels. There was no team of scientists to study these changes.
Nature had taken its price. The Chief of India's Armed Forces had
got his liberation though. Many other also were awarded liberation
in heaven. That politician was not to be found. From heaven the
view was of a dying world, where life had been for centuries and
now it lay desolate, cold and dark, gone were the pearly lights
that lined roadways, gone were the cities, gone were the wonderful
cars and buses and trains and planes.
A civilization had come to an end, all because a soldier and a general
decided to opt for liberation.
In heaven they all were seen hollering "yeah! yeah! at
least we got our liberation, but down below this earth we all
loved so much was now a home for a few lost survivors who were
trying to bring things back to their original state, which would
take them centuries perhaps. Who knows how many such civilizations
lay buried in the earth!