The demand for the withdrawal of army from Kashmir valley is strong. The People Democratic Party chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is leading the group which strongly opposes the presence uniformed men with guns. The argument advocated for the cause is that there is quite a good improvement in the law and order of the state, so there is no need for the continued big batallions.

On the other side there is a big opposition to the army withdrawal from some quarters. The chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad sings opposite tunes to PDP which is an alliance partner in the state government. Recently he had submitted a proposal to raise 51 batallions of state police. He wants to reduce the PDP to small status. that's why he is admant to adopt different approach from his coalition partner. Despite being a senior leader of the pan Indian party, Azad sounded kiddish in his remarks. In reply to Mehbooba Mufti's demand to withdraw army from the valley, Azad said "First let them say no to their security then we will withdraw". It has become customary for the Congress leaders to take the supporting partners for a ride. It happened in Karnataka with Janata Dal (S), in Maharastra with NCP and in many other states. It is very clear that the Congress party has not yet learnt lessons to live in a coalition era. Just to say opposite to what PDP demanded Azad puts his foot. In Delhi he said that it is important to give job to the Kashmirs in police. So we will raise 51 batallions and then allow army to withdraw.

The Prime Minister too clearly stated that the time has not yet come for the complete withdrawal or troop reduction in the terrorist troubled valley. He had directed the J&K chief minister to work out the modalities with the home ministry. It will cost the state exchequer huge amount but will provide employment to 60,000 youth.

What is the reality in the state? Although the situation is better than the recent past in violent activities and killings there is a constant threat from the millitants to cross over from the PoK. If the vigillance is lowered then it will lead to massive massacres. The past experiences in the state and erstwhile shows that unless terrorists are completely uprooted the presence of troops is required. The setback in Assam, Andra Pradesh and the other problematic spots of the country after the troop reduction is a powerful reminder to keep up the vigil. The millitants want cease fire to consolidate their power. After the bulldozing of the army and police, millitants feel demoralised and cut off from the power of terrorism. Every government is keen to bring out peace. In this enthusiasm they loudly proclaim cease fire. This is taken advantage by the millitants.

Why people are afraid of the army? After all it is a prime national institutional body which is meant to protect the lives of innocent people and every other citizen of the country. This is a million dollar question. primarily the army is considered to be an alien body which is full of predators. The involvement of army men in rape, killings and law breaking activities constantly tell the people of Kashmir that there is no peace unless they vacate the state.

If the army men are devoid of anti-people attitude then the public in the Kashmir valley or elsewhere in the country will invite them to stay forever. Given the poor track record of insenstivity of the some of the army members there is no good feeling for them. Now it is upto the army to redeem its image and infuse confidence among the commoners. Till then the army will be considered as a poisonous repetile crawling in the vicinity.

You want calm, quiet, beautiful, extraordinary place on earth? Take a flight to Thimpu - the capital city of Bhutan - a mini Himalayan kingdom in south Asia. The resources of the mountainous country are very negligible. Hence there is no much noise of the industries and factories. People are very religious and easy going. Unlikely other cities of the world, here you would not find fast moving folks and vehicles. Everything is slow, steady and happy. The airport, bus stand are tiny spaces. It looks like a street of Delhi or Lahore. But that is the secret of the smiley faces of this lucky country.

One time I wanted to go by road. So took a bus to Jaigaon the India Bhutan border town. The other side is Punsoling. Just walk across to find the Bhutanese traditions and customs fluttering on the top. The Buddhist chants and flags are dotting the skyway of the Bhutan border town. Indian goods from egg to computer, cycle to gas cyliner are highly visible. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) of the Indian government has done a commendable job by putting a silk smooth to the risk mountain ranges. There are alot of hydro electric powerplants run in collaboration with the Indian companies.

There is no problem if you have the Indian currency. it goes smoothly with Bhutanese. As a friendly nation which helped the small kingdom to overcome difficulties in development, India is well acknowledged by the people here. That is why there is no visa or fee for the Indians to enter this eye catching paradise. For most nationalities $200 per day is charged as the tourist fee. But there is a permit required from the border post to enter. The permit is free on the production of national identity cards like passport, voter card or driving license. There are so many wage labourers waiting in the permit office. Amidst the crowd, I reached the office. In front of me there was an Indian who was cooly going in shorts and sleeveless t-shirt. The Bhutanese police in the gate was prompt to direct that young Indian to change his clothes and come. "This is not a dance club to come in casuals. Go and change your dress to formals and come for permit". No option for the poor India. The Bhutanese stand in que in complete traditional dress. They put their heads down and answer the questions of the permit officer. Such a horrible scene to notice. Thank God, in India there is no such cruelty and compulsion to put the heads down to government officers.

Smoothly I get my permit and get back to the hotel which is with bear minimum facilities. there are no great hotels in Phunsoling. Rounded and rounded to get mamoos but ended in big disappointment. All the Indian cuisines and chinese dishes. Even American burgers and French fries were in ample but no Bhutanese traditional dishes.

Next morning I took a mini bus to Thimpu which takes six hours from the border town of India to reach. Travelling through steepy mountain edges along side the dense trees and greeneries. Very few people on the way walking with children tied to their backs.

At six in the evening my bus reached Thimpu which is so beautiful in the outskirts and clam inside the city. Just a 50 metres gap between the two sides of the road. There are shops and hotels on both sides. Not to say about the imported items from Thailand and Philipiness in big volumes. Traditional Buddhist chants and pop music in equal ease played in the shops.

Drug abuse and the inflitration of drug traffickers have alerted the Bhutan government. So there is alot of checking during the travel. Atleast 6 places in the 6 hours journey passengers are asked to get down and produce the permit. It was most harassing and frustrating. But to see a cool country it is nothing big. Smoking is completely banned. Police stand on the rooftops to fire rubber bullets against the smokers. Moving against all these laws many people smoke and enjoy their puff.

It was mind soothing trip. With the weather playing a perfect music to the body and soul, people moving in slow motion to teach life to the big city wallahs and the perfect law and order maintance by the government all added colour to my week long stay.

Rahul Dravid sounded so confident before boarding the flight to Caribbean. Many cricket fans thought that this year there is bright chances for the men in blue. The same feeling was given by Pakistani captain Inzmam ul Haq. Although his side is handicapped by the absence of popular players, Haque promised to lift the cup. The arch rivals of cricket from south Asia entered the far land to bring home the glittering world cup 2007. If the starting is the sample to be taken for the efficiency of India and Pakistan then there is nothing left out except total disappointment.

Pakistan's early surrender to Ireland and India's clowny play with Bangladesh does not board well for both the teams. The major blunder is complete underestimation of the rival teams. There is very few in the cricketing world estimated that Ireland and Bangladesh will triumph. Even their own countrymen did not pose hope in them. With all the pressure and no confidence in the tiny teams building up, it is to their credit a thorough professional game was given by Ireland and Bangladesh.

After winning the toss, India elected to bat in the hope to score tons of runs. There is no fault in this decision. It is common to opt for batting with the weaker side in the opposition. But the crime is casual play and complete underestimation of the bowlers and fielders. The veterans as usual ditched the team and disoriented the million fans back home. Virendra Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Mahinder Dhoni all fell so quickly. The consolation was Saurav Ganguly and Yuvaraj Singh. The prince of Kolkata was disciplined by the decision of the board to chuck him out of the team. After he was thrown out of the team, even advertisers pull him out of all the deals. Saurav got frustrated and decided to concrete more in cricket. Above all the solid support of his fans from Bengal and around the country helped him to get back to cricket. Now he got the concentration in cricket than advertisement, money and merry making. The same punishment should be given to all others who are too much in modelling than cricketing. It is humanely impossible for them to concentrate in ten fields. More importantly the coach should be changed and powerful Indian cricketers like Kapil Dev or Gavaskar should be opted instead of foreigners. This will save alot of money and embrassment for BCCI. Lastly but not leastly the entire BCCI should be professionalised. Now it is a completely politicised body with ministers and MPs occupy the powerful positions. How is it possible for the ailing Sharad Pawar to manage the crucial agriculture portfoli, BCCI, his party - NCP and tens of other departments? It is high time the Govrnment of India takes a bold decision to get rid of politicians from the management of sports.

The reformation of the Indian cricket is long overdue. The earlier it is done the better for the country. This is not just a sport but it is a national passion where million of the citizens mortgage their time and soul to see India win the cup. Whereas the cricket dons spend more time in modelling, T.V interviews and merry making. It is high time they are trimmed and disciplined to save the nation from disgrace on the ground.

The revolution in technology is suppose to wake up the public representatives from the deep slumber and make them to reachout to their constituencies more efficiently. Alas! that is not happening with the Indians. The response of the MPs, MLAs and local leaders are becoming worst with the every passing day. Neither they are addressing their constituency problems nor attending the parliamentary sessions. The attedance in both the houses of parliament are sliding every session. This is despite a quality improvement in the lives of MPs in the last few years. Now they are provided with a laptop, mobile phone, Rs. 2 crores annually to spend for the constituency and many more fringe benefits. Especially the younger MPs are the most disappointing in responding to the public queries.

I asked MPs across the political spectrum about the budget presentation. Here is the response I got.

Veteran Congress MP from Kerala - "I have better work to do at home than sitting in the parliament to hear the boring budget speech"

A vociferous BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh - "Oh! budget I will watch from home"

CPI(M) MP from West Bengal - "The party expects us to be in parliament. But I can skip because of my personal work"

There is only 5% of the MPs, 3% of MLAs and 1% of the local representatives responded to our emails. Very few can reply to the postal letters and telephone calls. In comparison to the similar survey conducted 10 years back the situation is worst now. But the senior leaders like Pranab Mukherjee, Maneka Gandhi, Yashwant Sinha are better off in responding to public matters.

what are they doing with the MP post? Not attending parliament, not visiting consitutency often, no response to public queries. It seems that they are all busy in making business. In the consumer world, any amount of public support is insufficient for them to meet the dream world. Hence they resort to cheap business. Running after contracts, sealing petty deals, heading the sports clubs and other ordinary men's job. Sadly some MPs from North are engaged in kidnapping and ransom business.

Things have taken topsy turvy. Even in inner party elections the concerned leader demands bribe from his fellow party men. In Congress one of the veteran from Madhya Pradesh who is now the cabinet minister of prime portfolio used to run his money show during elections. When the party was in opposition from 1996 to 2004 he got plump states as the incharge. In Karnataka local body elections he had demanded Rs.50 lakhs from a prominent party activist and trade union leader for the chairman post. Despite the person belonging to minority community which the party is suppose to champion the cause and 30 years of hard work in the grassroot levels he was denied the seat because of his inability to pay Rs.50 lakhs as bribe to the central leader. How else can the old war horse of Congress can use the oil coupons for Iraq and indulge in crores of corruption? All the humanitarian concerns are left in the air. This is happening across the political spectrum. We are in the merry making times. Why not our public representatives too? Let all of us eat, drink, sing, dance and be merry! In order to do this let us indulge in scandals and scams without any worry!!

Fifteen innnocent lives were gunned by men in Khaki in Nandigram in West Bengal. Amidst the politicking of industralisation and development of the state, displacement of rural people are engineered by the machinery run by the Marxists. A self professed champions of poor, the red politicians of Bengal are known for high class hypocrisy. Drive one issue in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura and oppose the same in the rest of the country. This has become the DNA of the Indian Leftists. Despite experts sounding warning bells and upraising of common people against the proposed chemical complex in Nandigram, the Marxists are hell bent to bring the Indonesia based Salim group to blindly chemical industralise the state.

Having lost the control of Little Buddha in Kolkata, the politburo in Delhi thinks that singing the Bengal's CM tunes is good for the party for the time being. On the other side of the Leftist spectrum, V. Achutanandan in Kerala is professing anti-capitalist philosophy which is the baseline of the Marxists. How to ride both the veteran horses - Buddhadeb and Achutanandan in the same cart? This is a big headache for Prakash Karat sitting in the national capital. One, the Bengal Chief Minister was popular before the Nandigram episode so touching his position will back fire the young general secretary and put his political future in the dark . Two, Buddhadeb has emerged as the modern face of Marxists. Without him the industrial growth and real development is not possible. So pat him in Kolkata and abuse other politicians who do the same. What a convenient class of politics which the Marxists practise?

West Bengal which is sliding down the development graph for many years has just started to concentrate in development. With Communist goons running the state and the entire apparatus of the the government under the control of party men it is difficult for the other view people to exist in the state, leave alone taking against the policies and programmes of the Left front government. It is visible during the elections. A complete booth capturing and intimidation of the voters are normal in Bengal. Those who oppose the policies are killed mercilessly. This is called Communism under the shadow of democratic government in Kolkata.

Whether Singur or Nandigram or any other fertile land area, the public representatives should not touch it. They should know that it is disastrous for the present situations and the future generations. Industralisation is necessary but not at the cost of well grown agricultural lands. Lakhs of hectares of barren lands which are lying unused should be given to the industralist. It can be given even free of cost as long it benefits the people and the country at large. Unless this thinking comes to stay with those at the helm of governance, public protests and violence are inevitable.