The Car Bomb that Exposed India's Sham Sovereignty - By Arun Shrivastava - Salem_News.com

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/february142012/india-israel-as.php

Feb-14-2012 04:13

The Car Bomb that Exposed India's Sham Sovereignty

  
By Arun Shrivastava Salem-News.com

A targeted move to frame Iran? Would Mossad sacrifice their own?

(DELHI, India) - The important thing about the attack on Israeli diplomat’s car [Number: 109 CD 35; blue number plate with CD meaning Diplomatic Corps] is that it happened within the square mile of sanitized Delhi that rules over 1.2 billion Indians. This is an intensely patrolled area; at every intersection you will find a fast police car with armed policemen to cordon off an entire street or several streets within seconds of any terrorist event.

Therefore, it is simply inconceivable that a lone rider on a motorbike stopped by the Israeli diplomat’s car, attached an explosive device, and scooted from the scene before the car blew up. And all of this within seconds. Either the policemen were sleeping-all of them, at the same time-at quarter past three; or something else happened. The lone eye witness who saw something being attached could have been any one, or anything, we don’t know.

On Aurangzeb Road, an address to die for, every hour 1500-2000 cars move. By counting the stately mansions on this road, you can arrive at an approximate figure of India’s current dollar billionaires.

About fifteen years ago, one of the residents of Aurangzeb Road, a well connected big industrialist, was offered several million dollars in monthly rent and a deposit of a corpus of Rs 500 million in any bank anywhere in the world. This is one of the most beautiful homes on Aurangzeb Road and the person who offered the deal was the then Israeli Ambassador to India. Some folks are extremely pushy and today the Israeli Embassy is located somewhere on Aurangzeb Road.

Within hours of the attack that injured the wife of an Israeli diplomat, the Israeli Government was spewing venom on Iranians. And within hours, an embarrassed Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna, recently back from his Tel Aviv sojourn, came out with a guarded statement that ‘investigation have started’ [whatever that means]. By evening the American Zionist lobby passed its judgment that India’s relationship with Iran is a violation of decent international behavior.

Need Indians remind the Zionist lobby that India’s relationship with its West Asian neighbors goes back six millennia [i.e. 6,000 years x 365 days=2.19 million days] if not earlier? Zionist Israel arrived in these parts about six decades ago and that too illegally. Zionist bankers bank-rolled the British occupation of large part of Asia [East, South and West] and extracted their pound of flesh by dispossessing the Palestinians. Perhaps they made an offer that the Palestinians refused, just as the Indian businessman on Aurangzeb Road; and so they acquired a prime property in West Asia by force, and by deceit on Aurangzeb Road.

How many Iranian nuclear scientists have been done in by the Mossad? Hourly, we hear that Iranians must be stopped from becoming a nuclear power. Hourly we hear that Iran is a terrorist country; switch on the neo-liberal imperialist TV channels-CNN or BBC or Fox- and the presenters are usually frothing with spittle drooling from the corner of their slavish mouths.

What was the role of Mossad in Mumbai mayhem on the night of 26th November, 2008? The killing of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg brought about a global outcry almost in unison against anti-semitism and the vicious designs of Islamic terrorists. And within hours Abraham Foxman, Director of the Anti Defamation League, came out with his own variety of venom:

“  This brutal attack once again shows that terrorists single out Jews. The attack is a reminder that the world must stand up against all terrorism, because in the end no one is safe until terrorism is combated in all its manifestations."


It never occurred to this foxy Foxman that a determined terrorist would spare Chabad House for two victims when he/she can attack thousands living illegally in the remote villages in Kullu valley and around Dharamshala [Dalai Lama’s de facto capital]. 

Over 10,000 Israelis, mostly from the armed forces, come here, live illegally, smoke pot and screw around. Very soon, Yiddish, the Ashkenazi lingo, will become the second language in these parts. I know these villages very well.

Why has the Chabad House been under investigation in India? In February this year, the Israeli couple running the Mumbai Chabad was told to leave India? 4000 Chabad Houses in 73 countries, ostensibly to provide support to visiting Israelis, perhaps to supply pure Kosher meat, in reality a huge global network of ‘Crack.’ And this is not an isolated event. Since Mumbai mayhem, many Israelis all over India have been told to leave.

Is the Delhi car bombing related to the pressures being brought on by Israelis [the tail] that wags the dog [London and DC] for India to rethink buying oil and gas from Iran violating the “international sanction” imposed by a few imperialist powers? 

Blow up a few more high profile Israelis, in the square mile of the power centre of India and world’s mainstream media would blow your TV screens, so loud would be the condemnation of Islamic Jehadists from Iran. 

Holding 1.4 trillion dollars of ill gotten gains in the Zionist banks, the Indian political class will capitulate. Or lose their cash and properties in Monaco, London, Paris, and Cayman Islands.

Hasn’t it already? When 9/11 happened, the senile PM Vajpayee wanted Baby Bush to “select” his India as a key partner in West’s sham GWOT. His Home Minister, another senile politician Lal Krishna Advani, went to Tel Aviv a year earlier to forge an alliance to fight Islamic terrorists, giving vital operational base to the Mossad in sensitive Kashmir. Headed by Eli Katzir of the Israel Counter-Terrorism Combat Unit and Israeli military intelligence officials, a new era of “cooperation” with world’s Zionism starts and with each passing year, the Indian intelligence architecture got more and more deeply penetrated by those very forces that engineer terrorist acts worldwide.

Don’t the Indian intelligence agencies know what is going on? Of course they do; just as top operatives in the CIA and FBI know what was going on; the serious ones within French, German and British intelligence also know what is going on.

And they all know that Car No 109 CD 35 has served the purpose of terrifying the political class within the square mile. But the folks who live within that square mile have stashed too many billions in Israel friendly banksters’ banks not to take it rather seriously.

Iran-Israel war in Delhi – India in a fix By Ajith Vijay Kumar - ZEE NEWS

http://zeenews.india.com/news/exclusive/iran-israel-war-in-delhi-india-in-a-fix_758411.html

Zee Exclusive

Iran-Israel war in Delhi – India in a fix

 Last Updated: Tuesday, February 14, 2012,

Ajith Vijay Kumar

The attack on an Israeli Embassy car in Delhi has sent India’s security agencies in a tizzy and the least of their worries appears to be the realisation that a terror attack can be successfully attempted in the high-security zone near to Prime Minister’s residence.

But what undoubtedly is the biggest cause of alarm is Israel’s claim that the daring attack was carried out by arch-enemies Iran and its ‘proxy’ Hezbollah - a Shia Muslim militant group and political party based in Lebanon which came into prominence after the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Inspired by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini, Hezbollah leaders have called for the destruction of Israel, which they refer to as the ‘Zionist entity’.

Tel Aviv appears to have based its assessment about perpetrators of Delhi attack on the fact that simultaneous attack was also mounted on its Embassy in Georgia and because it had come a day after the fourth anniversary of the killing of Hezbollah’s deputy leader Imad Mughniyeh. Hezbollah had vowed to avenge Mughnieyeh’s assassination in a car-bombing in Damascus.

Moreover, Israel is also locked in a wider covert war with Iran over the latter’s nuclear program. There have been apparent attempts to sabotage Tehran’s nuclear ambition, including the unclaimed killings of several Iranian nuclear scientists – all blamed on Israel by Iran.

Iran has denied involvement in yesterday’s attacks and accused Israel of carrying out the attacks itself. Hezbollah made no comment.

For India, yesterday’s event brought forth the very real possibility of being big pulled into a conflict that is not of its own making.

New Delhi is surely at crossroads and risks upsetting the delicate balance it had achieved in its Middle-East policy. On one hand is its ever-growing strategic and defence relationship with Israel and on the other is the critical economic equation with Iran.

All along, India has been able to strike a middle path between the two, but after yesterday’s attack it is close to being forced to take sides – something it has avoided all along, but now may find it difficult to go further with.

So what’s at stake?

India-Iran : India’s relationship with Iran has been a long standing one. The civilisation bonds between the two nations run deep. In recent history, the ties improved after the Cold War freeze when both countries worked together in Afghanistan, in early 1990s, to provide support to the Northern Alliance in its fight against the Taliban.

But the fulcrum around which Indo-Iranian ties revolve today is trade. Iran is India’s second biggest source of crude oil and thus plays a critical role in keeping its growth engine on track.

India can’t easily let go off Iranian crude at a time when China and Russia are aggressively making their presence felt in the region.

Pressure from the West had forced India to vote against Iran over its nuclear program at the IAEA but New Delhi has always stopped short of joining the forces looking to isolate Tehran.

India's broader position on the issue is relatively straightforward. India believes that Iran has the right to pursue civilian nuclear energy but wants clarity on the way it goes about it.

Although reports have claimed that the West has promised New Delhi of ‘alternative sources of oil’ but it is certain that the promise comes with strings attached.

Moreover, India has world’s third largest Shia population and that too concentrated in politically important Uttar Pradesh, making it very difficult for the ruling class to take a belligerent stand against Iran.

India-Israel : Traditionally India has been pro-Arab (who can forget the bear hugs between Indira Gandhi and Yasser Arafat), but that changed in 1992 when diplomatic relationship was established with Israel. Over the years Israel has emerged as one of India’s biggest strategic partners and a dependable source of high-tech weaponry.

Owing to domestic ‘concerns’, India has been vocal on the Palestine issue but that hasn’t deterred the blossoming of relationship between the two nations.

Although India has been cautious and secretive about the depth of its relationship with Tel Aviv, both nations are believed to share intelligence in view of the growing threat of terrorism in their backyards, especially after the 26/11 incident when the Mumbai Chabad House was attacked claiming lives of a Jewish Rabbi and his pregnant wife.

More importantly, India has carefully set course to be in the good books of the US – Israel’s staunchest ally – and wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side at this critical juncture in world history.

The powerful Jewish lobby in Washington is already “deeply troubled” by India's growing ties with Iran and those who know how things work on the shores of the Potomac know that their views matter.

It is clear the Israel need us, if not for anything but at least to win the battle of perceptions – at a time when there are murmurs of an impending attack on Iran by Israel - in a world that is getting increasingly polarised.

Israel’s Ambassador to India Alon Ushpiz puts it this way: “What I would like to stress is that we are both close friends. When you feel close to someone – whether a nation or a state or individuals – you care about his well-being. India is close to our hearts.”

The middle path

Although it is increasingly getting clear that the sands have shifted considerably since the last time India went to the drawing board over its ‘equidistance’ policy in the Middle East. The winds have been blowing with gusto for some time now; the Arab spring metamorphosed into an event - then defined history - but also ended up kicking a lot of dust.

India voted on the wrong side in Libya but has made amends with Syria, all in the hope that the region gets stabilised even if it meant going against its own assessment of the situation.

But the fountainhead of all that India worries about in the Middle East is the morbid fear that the bloody haze from there would travel eastwards to aggravate the situation in the Af-Pak region and eventually cross the Wagah border.

India’s hands are already full; India has too many of its own battles to fight.

What raise the level of concern even further are the reports that a local terror cell – a Lashkar-e-Toiba module as per some reports - had carried out the Delhi car bombing with active help from outside.

If that outside source turns out to be Hezbollah then it points to the forging of a working relationship between Shia groups and Sunni groups like the LeT. And no one for sure knows what its import would turn out to be, as Hezbollah, which fights Israeli armed forces - one of world’s most tech-savvy forces, certainly has evolved newer ways to neutralise the opposition. If Pak-based terror outfits were to acquire that know how, then?

First Published: Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 17:44

 

WHO BENEFITS FROM FALSE FLAG OPERATIONS IN INDIA AND GEORGIA By Niloufer Bhagwat

WHO BENEFITS FROM FALSE FLAG OPERATIONS IN INDIA AND GEORGIA

 

                                                      Niloufer Bhagwat

 

 Within a few minutes of the blast in New Delhi allegedly  on the car  of a staff member of  the Israeli embassy , it was announced that Iran and the Lebanese resistance movement  Hezbollah, were behind the attac.The incident  reveals that  American and Israeli governments among others, renowned for their false flag operations around the world on their own citizens and citizens of other countries, are from sheer exhaustion from their repetitive covert acts in so many countries, losing the touch of the ' Master's Hand' ,and every succeeding operation appears to be more and more botched , crude and a give away .A necessary  question , even as we explore the possibilities , at the very outset of  the  criminal investigation  is , who benefits? The answer in the case of the New Delhi  and  Georgia  blasts is obvious , the beneficiaries are those who have imposed sanctions on Iran as a prelude to attack .

 

Georgia is to be a part of the coalition of the willing,  for attacks on Iran and Syria after recent confabulations in Washington  . India for reasons of its own energy life line , and  not out of  any moral or legal objections ,  not  having joined in the illegal sanctions regime imposed on Iran, is sought to be  pressurized , as successive governments in India normally  bend over backwards to accommodate USA-UK-Israeli interests, ever since 'neo-liberalism' and   what is known as the 'Washington Consensus' was implemented in India . In the circumstances it  is necessary to artificially create public opinion by covert acts for propaganda, using  long time agents being  interviewed on diverse channels of  the corporate  media, or planting articles in the press , in an attempt  to influence  public opinion ,to prepare for the possibility of severing  all trade relations with Iran, though  India will lose out as much as  Iran . It cannot be ruled out that such are the pressures in the onward march to war ,with the desperation of bankers and financiers fearing an imminent collapse of the dollar and the Euro .

 

 

It is irrelevant who planted the bomb, what is material are who are the  conspirators behind the scenes .The Israeli lobby in India  is one and  the same as the lobby of the  United States of America and UK . Israel being  a creation of  Anglo-Saxon  Banking and political  interests,(  as per the communication addressed to a prominent Banker by a member of the British Cabinet when Britain planned the creation of the State of Israel )  and a military outpost of the Empire. Within Israel there is a not only apartheid practiced against Arab citizens  who are the original inhabitants , the non Ashkenazi's or Sephardic citizens of Israel from Asia and Africa , are also  lesser citizens in formulating policy . Therefore Israel's umbilical cord with NATO . It is universally known that the  financial subsidies which facilitate settlements and ongoing colonization of the region originate in Washington , with inter-connectivity between the Israeli weapons industry and major US Arms and Security Companies.

 

 It was not surprising that  the corporate and print media in India swiftly gave  reactions on TV and in the print media , of those known to be openly partisan to the cause of Israel  , without any investigation  whatsoever by any agency being completed . These propagandists echoed the  statement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who did not even have a fig leaf to cover his false propaganda  that Iran and the Hezbollah were responsible.When it is widely known in all knowledgeable circles that the Hezbollah does not operate or function beyond the borders of Lebanon  and in its vicinity,  and is primarily a resistance movement of Lebanon .The history of car bombings would reveal that from Ireland to elsewhere , including occupied countries like Iraq, countries targeted  like Libya and Syria , the killings of Chilean diplomats associated with the late  President Allende's government , among several such  incidents all over the world ,that  it is the usual suspects who plan these cowardly attacks as a part of their policy to  traumatize and terrorize the world.

 

   It is necessary to remember that car bombings have invariably been  instruments of the covert fascist extreme right wing , which is by ideology  anti-humanity , therefore the costs in terms of human lives are never calculated . The costs were not calculated in Ireland and has been the subject matter of several inquiries and investigations . We have seen the bomb blasts in occupied Iraq to kill , maim and spread fear to enable  societal control by occupation forces , deliberately   murdering  innocent citizens of all denominations to incite sectarian warfare ; the  recent murder of scientists in Iran, and the bombing of buildings with hostages inside the building by so called opposition forces in  Syria ,among other acts in several countries .We have seen bombings, killing and maiming in India , to spread an atmosphere of fear and loathing, when religious strife was attempted to be fostered in India . In every single case the question must always be ," WHO BENEFITS"?

 

   It is clear from the extension of covert acts to India and Georgia among other countries, that  the sanctions and oil embargo imposed on Iran and earlier on Libya and Iraq , had as its objectives not the economic devastation of  these countries alone,  but was  a declaration of war on the energy life line, and commercial and trade interests  of more than one country in pursuit of a currency and  financial war on Asia and other regions of the world . If this is  not understood in  all its ramifications , there is  a catastrophe ahead  not only for Asia , Africa and Latin America, but equally for the majority of  citizens of North America and Europe, bleeding through war and banking frauds.There will be no deliverance from the economic apocalypse facing North America and Europe,  unless the military machine of NATO is halted in its tracks  , as this machine has been set in motion by the bankers and fraudsters protecting themselves at the cost of the destruction of the rest of humanity ,which includes their own compatriots .

 

 The Third World War which has begun ,aims to pauperize and  bring to its knees not one country  or one region alone . This is a war on the rest of the world  by NATO on behalf of financial interests and  those financing this war and actively promoting it,  include members of the Gulf Co-operation Council .It is a sign of the times , the capitulation of practically every single organ of the United Nations , that Navi Pillay, the UN Commissioner for Human Rights has not addressed a single General Assembly on the human rights violations of countries occupied by NATO and its allies or targeted for occupation,and ignored the collective murder and destruction  perpetrated by Israel on the Palestinian people .

India-Iranian Relations: Key Security Implications - By Ronak D. Desai & Xenia Dormandy

http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/India%20Iran%20Brief-%20Final%204.pdf


PROJECT ON INDIA AND THE SUBCONTINENT

Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL

India-Iranian Relations: Key Security Implications
 

While India and the United States have embarked on a campaign to strengthen their bilateral relations, as symbolized by the proposed U.S.-India civilian nuclear deal, it appears as though New Delhi has similarly begun to pursue a more robust relationship with another major power: Iran. The two states have recently expanded cooperation in a number of key areas, including counter-terrorism, regional stability, and energy security. What are the implications of this “New Delhi-Tehran Axis” for the United States, and how should Washington respond to growing ties between India and Iran?
 
BACKGROUND
 
India and Iran speak often about the “civilization ties” that have bound the two countries for more than a millennium. The two states enjoyed strong bilateral relations following India’s independence, overcoming such obstacles as Cold War superpower politics and Iran’s relationship with India’s arch-rival, Pakistan. The 9/11 attacks on the United States, however, changed the context in which Indo-Iran ties had previously operated. South Asia was suddenly brought to the forefront of prominence within the broader context of the global war on terrorism, causing considerable concern in both India and Iran. India watched Washington resuscitate its relationship with Islamabad, while Iran witnessed the United States dramatically expand its military footprint in the region by invading Iraq and Afghanistan.
 
Already unsettled by the United States’ military strength as the world’s sole superpower, India and Iran have anxiously watched as Washington’s influence in the region has increased further. At the same time, New Delhi and Tehran have sought to strengthen their bilateral relationship: in 2003, the two signed the “New Delhi Declaration,” which set forth a vision of a bilateral “strategic partnership.”
 
CURRENT SITUATION
 
Relations between India and Iran are far-reaching and multi-dimensional. The two states have recognized that they have a lot to offer one another and have acted to expand cooperation in a number of key areas.
 

Energy Security: Given its exhaustive energy needs coupled with the lack of its own reserves, India is one of the world’s largest energy importers. New Delhi and Tehran have explored various methods to get Iran’s abundant hydrocarbon reserves to India. In 2005, the two nations unveiled ambitious plans for an Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) Gas Pipeline that would run directly from Tehran to New Delhi through Pakistan. 

Proponents of the pipeline contend that it would not only help meet India’s growing energy demands, but would also give the countries involved—especially India and Pakistan—a stake in regional peace, possibly reducing the threat of conflict between the two states. Plans to move forward with the project, however, have stalled. Iran’s insistence that the price of gas being sold to India be renegotiated every five years, coupled with a dispute with Pakistan over transit fees, has prompted India to opt out of the current round of trilateral talks on the pipeline. New Delhi has said it is still interested in pursuing the deal but is likely to wait and see how the precarious political situation in Pakistan unfolds before resuming negotiations.
 
Political & Strategic Considerations: Political considerations have also motivated stronger Indo-Iran ties. Communal tension and violence between Hindus and Muslims have risen in some areas of India over the past decade. India’s growing relationships with Israel and the United States and the domestic criticism it has engendered have prompted India to reinforce its ties with the Muslim world. Because it lies on Pakistan’s western border, Iran also presents a potential strategic advantage for India.
 
A close political relationship with New Delhi is similarly attractive, if not necessary, for Tehran. Following Iran’s designation as a member of the “axis-of-evil” in 2002, the United States has aggressively sought Iran’s international isolation. Close ties with a key regional, and increasingly global, power such as India could help Iran resist its “rogue” status and overcome Washington’s efforts in this regard. India has repeatedly urged a peaceful, diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear program and has largely resisted American pressure to reduce its ties with Tehran.
 
Counter-terrorism and Regional Stability: The New Delhi Declaration called for the two states to “broaden their strategic collaboration in third countries,” a clear reference to Afghanistan. The Taliban’s ascension to power in Kabul caused deep concern in both India and Iran. Both countries face a serious challenge from the threat of Wahhabist extremism, especially from Afghanistan. Thus, the two states welcomed the Taliban’s demise in October 2001 and made Afghanistan’s reconstruction and stability a common, critical goal. India and Iran have since established working groups on terrorism and counter-narcotics; both these initiatives focus on al-Qaeda. Additionally, the two countries have continued to work to counter Sunni militant threats in the region and have expressed a mutual preference for a comprehensive convention against international terrorism at the United Nations.
 
Defense Cooperation: One of the most significant provisions of the New Delhi Declaration sought to upgrade defense cooperation significantly between the two countries. Sea-lane control and security, as well as discomfort with the emerging presence of the United States in the Persian Gulf, were partially responsible for Indo-Iranian naval exercises in March 2003 and again in 2006. Defense cooperation beyond this, however, has been sporadic and low-level. Expectations that India would assist Iran in upgrading its Russian-made defense system have not yet come to fruition. Cooperation in this area seems to represent generally strong Indo-Iranian relations rather than a broader defense alliance.
 

POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES
 
Strengthening Indo-Iranian ties has far-reaching implications for India’s bilateral relations with the United States:
•
Growing Indo-Iranian ties may potentially complicate New Delhi’s new “strategic partnership” with Washington. Although the Bush Administration and Congress ultimately moved forward with the historic civilian nuclear deal, India’s ties with Iran have influenced how some American policymakers evaluate U.S.-India relations.
•
As Washington’s most important strategic ally in the Middle East, Israel’s safety and security remains a top U.S. priority. The cornerstone of the Indo-Israeli strategic partnership is military and defense cooperation. India’s decision to launch the Israeli Tescar spy satellite in January 2008 indicates New Delhi’s potential willingness to enhance Israel’s security vis-à-vis Iran, especially with regard to Iran’s nuclear program.
•
If the United States reaches a point at which it will engage Iran in some capacity, India could provide a helpful role. New Delhi’s close relationship with Iran, the United States, and Israel puts it in a unique position as a potential intermediary, similar to China’s role in the Six Party Talks with North Korea.
 
RECOMMENDATIONS
 
Because of Iran’s strategic importance and its own goal of ensuring a stable energy, it is difficult for New Delhi to abandon its relationship with Tehran. India should therefore pursue the following policy objective:
•
Distinguish sharply between Iran’s nuclear position and other areas of cooperation. While India will continue cooperation with Iran in pursuit of its own national interests, New Delhi should make it clear that it will continue to strongly support American efforts to bring Iran into legal compliance over its nuclear program. Voting against Iran in the IAEA for failing to satisfy its international obligations over its nuclear program, while simultaneously resisting American pressure to abandon the IPI gas pipeline project, is an effective illustration of New Delhi pursuing such a nuanced foreign policy.
 
Given that New Delhi is unlikely to totally sacrifice its energy and strategic interests with Tehran for its relationship with Washington, the United States should also adopt a more nuanced foreign policy towards India. The United States should therefore pursue the following policy priorities:
•
Refrain from publicly expressing disapproval of Indo-Iranian ties except in areas that directly impact U.S. security, such as Iran’s nuclear and military expertise and concrete defense enhancements. Such prioritizing takes into account India’s national interests and independence but at the same time fulfills principal U.S. objectives.
•
Explore the possibility of using India as a mediator between Washington and Tehran in relation to the nuclear question. Doing so would convey to New Delhi that Washington genuinely considers India a rising power with a role to play in international affairs, a recognition New Delhi has sought to secure.
 
by Ronak D. Desai & Xenia Dormandy

IS THIS AN ISRAELI SELF-GOAL TO DIVIDE INDIA AND IRAN? By Ghulam Muhammed

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Letter to the Editor:

IS THIS AN ISRAELI SELF-GOAL TO DIVIDE INDIA AND IRAN?

The first time ever use of 'limpet mine' in India, points to a foreign agency hand in the attack on an Israeli diplomatic vehicle, carrying an Israeli citizen, in the heart of Indian capital, New Delhi. As Indian Express as well as Ronen Bergman in New York Times has mentioned, 5 Iranian nuclear scientist had met their fate in the similar 'limpet mine' car blow-outs, and Iran has accused Israeli agency Mossad for the terrorist attacks on its scientists. Now Israel is blaming Iran for New Delhi terror attack. In fact, the ‘limpet mine’ has been known to be favorite Mossad instrument of assassination in the Middle East.

While as a knee-jerk reaction, Indian Government and Indian media, spearheaded by TIMES NOW and its over-smart anchor Arnab Goswami, has been widely repeating the Israeli charges, India should be very cautious in handing this very delicate situation, as its own interest in dealings with Iran, are at stake and that is the main reason, both US and Israel are pressurizing India -- without any regard or reference to an independent India' own economic and global interests.

A Times of India report, filed by its US correspondent, highlights how Israeli/American Jewish lobby in the US is building up pressure on India to force it to tow their line of antagonistic and warmongering agenda in the neighborhood of India.

India, its political analysts, its media and its people should be fully aware and vigilant about a war in our neighborhood that my cost us dearly, if things go wrong. It may be a very disastrous and damaging affair. Both  the US and Israel are hell-bent on abusing India's friendship and its vast resources, to carry on their own hegemonic agenda around the world, including the Gulf, South East and Far East --- all in the bogus pretext of their own self-serving security parameters. The canvas of their agenda is very vast and India will have to decide from very beginning, if its baby steps to humor the West and Israel may result it to desperately run a forced marathon to the last mile, that would change India for good. A hundred year struggle to free India from the clutches of foreign colonial powers may end up again in enslaving of a billion Indians.

Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai
<ghulammuhammed3@gmail.com>

BJP's 'dirty picture' - By Seema Mustafa - THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL - MUMBAI

http://freepressjournal.in/news/47720-bjp-s-dirty-picture.html

BJP's 'dirty picture'

• India
• Feb 13, 2012

FRANKLY SPEAKING BY SEEMA MUSTAFA

The filth that has crept into the party is a natural corollary of its anti- women, communal and divisive agenda
 
Is there a contradiction between an individual who insists that women should be fully clad in public, and watches pornography whenever he gets a chance? Actually not, as the first follows the second with both indicative of a dirty mind that treats women like objects and commodities to be used and discarded at will.

The three Ministers caught watching pornography in the Karnataka Assembly are all members of the Bharatiya Janata Party, clearly 'respected'by their senior colleagues.

It would have been a surprise had they been members of any other party, as the filth that has crept into the BJP is a natural corollary of its anti- women, communal, and divisive agenda. Right wing politics of the BJP kind breeds dirt that then spreads to a point where deviant criminal behaviour is accepted, and perhaps even perceived, as normal.

One would expect a political party calling itself national, and aspiring to be in government at the Centre as well, to have taken immediate action against the three Ministers - Laxman Savadi, J Krishna Palemar and C C Patil - instead of hedging bets. The resignations came only after the Opposition created a ruckus and it became very clear to the party and its government in Karanataka that the three men, close to a corrupt mining mafia in the state, were left with no choice in the matter. Even so it was really sad to see BJP spokespersons fielding questions on television, and instead of going all out to condemn the Ministers seeking refuge in the usual " let there be an enquiry, let the Speaker ( of the state Assembly) decide." The men in question claimed that they were 'working'and not watching a pornographic clip on their mobile telephones.

But the explanation made matters even worse because they said they were watching a gang rape that has the nation up in arms. The BJP remains reluctant to castigate these men, and to throw them out of the party. And even if it does so at the end of the day, the reluctance to do so has sent shock waves through the country.

BJP President Nitin Gadkari seems to be sheltering all that is criminal and deviant in the party. The mining mafia in Karnataka has a good representation in the state government, and many say these men call the shots at every level. They keep the political parties in good funds, and protect their own against any action. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is another case in point, with the BJP with support from several corporate honchos and sections of the media, insisting that he was 'innocent'of any involvement in the Gujarat violence where women were brutally raped and killed all over the state. This kind of mentality, protected and sheltered and nurtured, leads to the kind of behaviour that was captured on cameras in the Assembly.

The lack of remorse is amazing.

These men are elected representatives of the people, sworn to uphold the Indian Constitution and the rule of law.

Instead they violate the law at every step. Be it attacking young women for wearing jeans or watching pornography or as one of the Ministers had earlier gone on record to maintain that women should dress properly or they would invite rape. That comment should have been enough for the BJP to initiate action against him at the time, but then how can it when it endorses the same thinking and mindset.

It seems that all that is base and viciously anti- woman is drawn to the BJP. This is but natural as somehow right wing ideology of the kind espoused by many of our political parties and groups encourages such positions.

Fiscal growth that makes our Prime Minister very happy does not turn into mental growth at any level, as the status of women in India continues to be dismal. The murder of young women for making their own choices in Haryana and the role of Khap Panchayats in determining their fate has gone unchallenged. Both the Congress and the BJP, for the sake of votes, have kept quiet when confronted with this local form of bestiality, with the result that the killers have remained outside the law. And in fact, the mindset has been strengthened because of this support to a point where many young people have had to flee their homes to escape Khap Panchayat trials, and almost certain death.

Instead of scoring brownie points as the Congress seems to be doing, the political parties should take the lead in launching a massive movement for the true empowerment of women through the universal principles of justice and equality.

But clearly this is like asking for the moon, as these same political parties have totally failed to accommodate even 33 per cent women within their organizations as a first step to ensuring similar reservation for women in the Legislatures. Women activists are usually ignored by the political parties with only relatives of known male politicians getting nominations to fight the elections. Others who have managed to contest an election or two speak of harrowing experiences, with every political step fraught with humiliation and uncertainty.

Even while writing this one has received a mail about the dipping sex ratio in Gujarat. Of the 956 girls for every 1000 boys in the zero to six year age group in 1961, modern Gujarat under the great administrator Modi now has a ratio at 886 per 1000 boys according to the 2011 census. In other words, instead of moving ahead we are moving backwards, and instead of ensuring a place for our girls in the sun are ensuring that they are moved into the backwaters, discriminated and forgotten.

FRANKLY SPEAKING - SEEMA MUSTAFA

Comments posted on Facebook over BBC’s story on : Rashid Ghannouchi on Britain, Islam and liberal democracy By Mukul Devichand BBC Radio 4:

On his visit to India and interactions with Muslim groups, Shaikh Raashid Ghannouchi spoke positively on democratic and secular polity of India and wondered why Indian Muslims have not taken the democratic route and participated wholehearted in political field, when the choices are so open and so available. He compared and lamented how Muslims in Arab Middle East has been banned from participating in elections, by the use of so many undemocratic moves by the dictators. He felt India is ripe for Muslims to take part in its mainstream politics and contribute to its development as a just welfare society.

Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai

----------------

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-16932923

12 February 2012 Last updated at 00:57 GMT

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Rashid Ghannouchi on Britain, Islam and liberal democracy

By Mukul Devichand BBC Radio 4

 

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One of the leading ideologues of the modern Muslim world has a vision of a state where respect for Islam and other faiths exists within a secular system - and he points to the UK as a model. But can his words be taken at face value?

Woodville Road in Ealing, West London, is not necessarily the first place you would expect a new future for political Islam to be forged.
But it was partly here, in tree-lined English suburbia, that the softly-spoken Sheikh Rashid Ghannouchi developed a unique set of ideas that are are gaining traction internationally, in the wake of the Arab Spring.

The green lawns of suburban London appear to have been more than just a base for Mr Ghannouchi. He once famously declared that Britain embodied the values of his ideal Islamic state more than most Muslim-majority nations - a shocking statement at a time when many Muslim ideologues saw the West as a mortal enemy.

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“Start Quote

The state should not have anything to do with telling people what to wear, what to eat and drink, what they should believe in”

Rashid Ghannouchi

"We consider that a state is more Muslim, more Islamic, the more it has justice in it," he says.

"When people asked me why I came to Britain, I explained that I was going to a country ruled by a queen where people are not oppressed and where justice prevails."

More than 20 years ago, Mr Ghannouchi - then, as now, Tunisia's leading Islamist ideologue - sought refuge in Britain. He used the time in exile to complete a series of writings arguing that Islam and modern, secular democracy are compatible.

"His views have always been considered quite liberal," says Maha Azzam of the Chatham House think tank in London. "He was able to return after over two decades in exile… and still win the hearts and minds of the young."

In a dramatic sequence of events last year, Tunisia kick-started the Arab Spring by throwing off dictatorship, and then held elections, from which Mr Ghannouchi's party, Ennahda, emerged as the biggest winner.

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Mr Ghannouchi's writings, have already been required reading by Muslim parties competing in elections and they are now experiencing renewed popularity across large swathes of the Muslim world.

He says he sells more books in Turkey than Tunisia. He is being read in Malaysia's Islamic Party, and his writings are apparently attracting attention among younger members of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood as they grow in power.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood recently followed in Ennahda's footsteps, winning a third of the seats in parliamentary elections.

Other Brotherhood-inspired parties hope to benefit if countries elsewhere in the region, such as Yemen and Syria, eventually move towards democracy.

In a detailed interview for the BBC's ideas series, Analysis, Mr Ghannouchi was candid about his ideology and the challenges it now faces.

Tunisia is now drawing up a new constitution and one of the key questions it faces is the role of Islam in the government apparatus. Many want religion to be the basis of the country's law, while others want to see a strict division between religion and state.

"Tunisia's elite is very closely connected to French secularism - the idea that society and state have to be secular and religion has very little role to play in that society," says Maha Azzam of Chatham House.

In pre-revolutionary Tunisia, even the hijab or female headscarf was largely banned.

Mr Ghannouchi argues that Britain's version of secular democracy is more neutral and tolerant than the French, and therefore has some of the answers.

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Ennahda

• Founded in 1981 as the Islamic Tendency Movement, inspired by Muslim Brotherhood
• Changed name to Ennahda - or "Renaissance" - in 1989
• Banned by then-President Ben Ali in 1992; regained legal status in March, 2011

"The type of state we want is one that doesn't interfere in people's private lives," says Mr Ghannouchi.

"The state should not have anything to do with imposing or telling people what to wear, what to eat and drink, what they believe in, what they should believe in."

He says he has no plans to ban bikinis on the beach or the sale of alcohol, for example. "I would prefer it if people didn't do this, but it is up to them," he says.

"His vision for the model of an Islamic nation is built heavily on the idea of values," explains Anas Altikriti, a British Islamist intellectual whose father led the Muslim Brotherhood in Iraq.

Mr Ghannouchi goes back to the values of the Koran rather than a literal reading of it. He then argues that these values - such as justice, public consultation and human rights - are encapsulated in modern democratic states.

But many secular-minded people simply do not trust Rashid Ghannouchi.

"He's just playing on words," says Ibtisam, one of a group of Tunisian feminist law students.

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For the past 30 years the Muslim Brotherhood has been raising the slogan, 'Islam is the answer' - well now they really need to answer many, many tough questions”

Anas Altikriti British Islamist intellectual

"The danger is that yes, they say you can go to the beach in a bikini. But at the same time when women on the beach are attacked [by Islamists], they are doing nothing to protect them," she says.

Others in both the Arab World and the West accuse Mr Ghannouchi of double-talk when it comes to Islam and democracy.

While he encourages Islamists to work in a secular system he has also written that "secularism is turning the West into a place of selfish beasts".

He says this was meant as a criticism of how religious and moral values were fading away. "This leads to threats to family values, to values of solidarity," he explains.

Doubts are also expressed by those who worry that Islamist leaders will turn on Israel. When questioned by the BBC about Israel's right to exist, he didn't answer directly - saying instead that Israel has a duty to make peace with the Palestinians.

So is this all tactical talk - using democracy as a way to impose theocratic states by the back door?

No, says Maha Azzam. She argues that Tunisians and other Arabs have now lost their fear of tyrannical dictators, and so Islamic parties have no option but to remain democratic.

"The struggle of those that came out on to the streets of Tunisia is for accountable government," Ms Azzam says.

"Within that context, they still want respect for Islamic values, but I don't think that there is a desire for an Islamic system of government that throws away democracy."

Anas Altikriti says Mr Ghannouchi's theories are helping the Muslim Brotherhood to stop talking endlessly about ideology and instead address the tough questions - such as how to create jobs - that the electorate care about most.

"For the past 30 years the Muslim Brotherhood has been raising the slogan, 'Islam is the answer,'" he says. "Well now they really need to answer many, many tough questions."

You can listen to the full Analysis programme about Rachid Ghannouchi's ideas on the BBC Radio 4 website, or on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday 12 February 2012 at 21:30 GMT. You can also download the podcast.