The attack on Taslima Naseerin, the Bangladeshi writer in Hyderabad last week is an outright breach of Indian values. A handful of fundamentalists who are masquerading as the member of legislative assembly of Andra Pradesh are involved in this utmost incident of intolerance. When her own country’s men and women threatened to behead her, she had chosen India as the land of asylum. As a liberal Muslim who is in love with freedom of expression Taslima knows very well that India is the country which can give her security and passion to bring out her literary instincts. Unfortunately there are goons who operate to spoil the tolerant image of the nation. Whether it is the attack on M.F.Husain or against the paintings of art students, the culprits have gone scot free. Instead of targeting the attackers of Taslima, the Andra Pradesh first slapped cases against the Bangla Deshi writer for whipping up communal passions. After the uproar expressed in the media and anger vented by civil society organizations, the A.P government framed charged against the MIM MLAs and supporters.

The fundamentalists’ appeasement of the ruling establishment is crossing all the limits. Every political party and especially those who swear by secularism are in the frontline to grease the palms of Muslim bigots. Whether in Kerala or in Tamil Nadu or elsewhere in the country, the pseudo secularists are making a beeline to bail out those who raise high voltage slogans and organize attacks against the academicians, artists and writers. Abdul Naseer Madhani, the leader of PDP in Kerala was released from TADA court jail because of the political pressure applied by the Muslim vote hunting political parties. There is a stiff competition between the ruling Left front and the opposition Congress to keep Madhani in good humor. Both of them are fighting to get close to the Muslim fundamentalist politician of the state. In this appeasement gang, the DMK which is the ruling party of Tamil Nadu too joined. The funny prediction of all those parties which are singing Madhani tunes are that he will possibly align with them in the coming elections. What a secular calculation of the atheistic DMK and the communists? They are the convenient secularists who take the help of Muslim fundamentalists for winning elections. For them and to the most of the Indian academicians “Secular” means opposing Hindu identity. More importantly these kinds of politicians do not think twice before inviting the hardcore criminals into the party fold. Remember! the Phoolan Devi episode. They made her as a political mascot to win votes from her caste and community. The elephant poacher Veerapan went near the political baptism before he was shot dead by the special task force.

As long as those matter most in the governance choose to soft pedal the bigotry there is no scope for the rule of law to prevail. They will take the Indian society to further collapse and social chaos. It is essential to nip these thorns in the bud itself. The sad outcome of encouragement given by the ruling party in the centre to Bindranwale still remains the wounded heart of Punjab. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari India should be united to uproot the bigots and fundamentalists. No parochial interests should surface before the law. An equal application of justice should be in place to bury the troubleshooters in their birth itself. If the Indian community and those in the power can perform this duty meticulously then there is some space left out for itself in the comity of nations as a tolerant plural society. Then thousands of Taslimas can come to this great nation to find the right ambience to pen down their creativity flawlessly without fear or favor.

Bigorty beyond the attack on Tsalima
Translated into French by: aymen ben hassine

Born in a small town of Rameswaran

Reached Rshatrapathi Bhavan in Delhi

Through honest and integral services to the nation

Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam is a crystal clean citizen



When the entire nation was sleeping

He spoke to wake up the public

Disoriented youth got an icon

Disenchanted children saw a ray of hope

Demoralised jawans got due recognition

Careless politicians got alarmed

Defence system sharpened





Touching every agonised citizen with care

Dr.Kalam deserves every Indian's salaam

I opposed second term for him

After serving the country for decades as defence scientist and five years as people's president

I was not keen to see him insulted by petty politicians

From 2004 onwards Dr.Kalam was sidelined and his words of wisdom was ignored

His heart is in teaching students and writing poetry

Let every Indian support him to lead what he wants.



In the dirty game of presidential election

Dr.Kalam's name was unnecessarily dragged

For politicians benefits

Making the highest office in the country a mockery



Bio diesel, rural regeneration, rescue of agriculture

Medicinal plants, defence preparedness

Space technology, cyberage benefits

Now Dr. Kalam can be a full-fledged activist

Changing the country as per his wishes

All those who wanted second term for him

Should stand shoulder to shoulder with the missile man

To achieve vision 2020 on time







The ceremonial presidents post was to

Bring the scientists dream for the nation to light

Out of office he can serve India better

Away from the dummyfying attitude of politicians



Sound of twenty one guns

Bottom of the heart wishes of billion plus Indians

Sing in symphony

Farewell Mr. Peoples President and wishes you a long life to see India a social superpower

There is no dearth for communal passion stirring gangsters and politicians in India. Very often these violence creating criminals are used for winning elections and bring down governments. Jobless youth and frustrated individuals are roped into the internal war inflicting works. Whether the Gujarat riots in 2001 or the Ayodhya fiasco in 1991 or the Bombay mayhem in 1992, the religious sentiments of common people were exploited for petty political and some criminals personal benefits. Thousands have lost their lives and many more got wounded in these violences. Only the justice system can bring out the truth and prononuce punishments incommensuration with the crimes committed. Unfortunately the judiciary and the other justice dispensing systems are controlled by the whims and fancies of the power drivers in Parliament and state legislatures. There are some far sighted judges and lawyers who wanted to do justice to their profession. But the indirect clout wielded by the ministers, MPs, MLA and ruling party goons are giving nightmares to those committed to justice.


After fourteen years of trial the TADA court has announced punishments for the culprits. In fact it is one of the longest trials in the independent India’s history. Judge P.D.Kode and his team have done commendable job of scrutinising the records sufficiently. Withstanding pressures from several quarters, threats from the underworld and bribery inducements from wealthy sharks must have come on the way of TADA court holders. Finally they followed the system in letter and spirit. The most dramatic of all the pressures applied on the TADA judge is for the Bollywood actor, Sanjay Dutt. To overcome the pressure points from different corners the judge adopted a secret code. Instead of giving verdict at the one go for all, he declared punishments in installments. Once he left the court hall after pronouncing the punishment, Judge Kode called Dutt and gave motivation in ample capsules. “I had taken only six years from your 100 years”. Obviously this touching words consoled the reel hero. Now like other convicts he will undergo the jail term if there the verdict is not turned down by the supreme court.


While the justice for terror attack was given genuinely in Mumbai there was some mess up in the judicial system in the Coimbatore blast case. The plot to kill L.K.Advani, other BJP and RSS leaders during the mid term elections for Lok Sabha in 1998 killed nearly sixty people and injuring one hundred and fifty fately. The main accused in the blast case Abdul Naseer Madhani, the leader of communal PDP in Kerala was acquitted. As an influential communal leader who wielded clout with politicians in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Madhani had a chunk of political followers to demand his release. The Kerala state assembly unanimously passed resolution to let off Madhani breaking all the rules. It is to appease a particular community. The MLAs who were shouting for Madhani were not in true interests fight for the justice but for the vote bank politics. In Tamil Nadu too the ruling party and the PMK supported the communal leader from Kerala.


Just because Madhani is a Muslim with sizeable chunk votes in his kitty, the politicians in both the states are singing different tunes. The most communal consequences are triggered by the so called secular parties. How come supporting a Muslim criminal does not qualify to be a communalist act? Anything for the cause of Hindus is considered to be communal because of they do not vote on the religious line. It is a high time to save the justice system from communal appeasment engnieered by the power drivers.

Every nation wanted to be close to the United States. India is not an exception. From the day one of the independence, Jawaharlal Nehru desired to gain proximity to U.S.A. Luckily it ignored the moves of the charismatic Prime Minister of the new born nation. The erstwhile Soviet Union grabbed the opportunity to extent its golden hand to become its strategic partner. The relationship continues even today despite its break up and lost relevance. After Nehru gone, there were no strong moves on the part of the Indian state towards U.S.A. Indira Gandhi infuriated the top establishment of U.S.A by her high decibel voice against the American supremacy and her overt support to the Soviet Union. In order to thwart the American attempts to set up a naval base in the Indian Ocean in Trincomalee in the east coast of Sri Lanka to threaten India, Indira Gandhi offered arms and ammunitions to the LTTE. While this was given clandestinely, open support was offered to Sri Lanka to stop Americans intruding through the sea With the collapse of Soviet Union and the exit of J.R.Jaywardane from the Lanka’s presidency, different developments occurred. Rajiv Gandhi entered into an agreement with the Sri Lankan government to prevail upon the war mongering LTTE. Cleverly the J.R.Jaywardane government twisted Indian army and LTTE to fight it out the battle. The Sri Lankan army was watching the fight between the LTTE and the Indian army. Americans lost interest in the Indian Ocean after the end of Cold war. Then the neo liberal Prime Minister P.V.Narshimha Rao rekindled interest in getting close to the power corridors of America. But the U.S.A ignored it to prove its historical mindset.



The 9/11 episode exposed U.S.A’s vulnerability to the global network of terror groups. For the first time the Frankstein monster created by United States – Osama Bin Laden and his cohorts wreaked havoc in the heart of the New York City. By ambushing aircraft into the twin towers which showcased the power of America to the world was reduced to rubbles. When the Americans were preparing for an all out attack against the bombers, the NDA government led by Vajpayee offered unconditional and unsolicited support. This included war planes landing facility and fuel refilling in the Indian territory. Even in that hour of crisis and credibility loss, the Americans choose to accept the Pakistani hospitality and assistance in chasing the Osama’s army rather than the voluntary help of India. The Congress party invoked the slogan non alignment to oppose the appeasement policy of the Vajpayee regime. Both inside the parliament and outside, Sonia Gandhi led Congress establishment revolted against the pro American stand of the government. They gave a new twist to the strategic partnership emerging among America, Israel and India. The question of anti-Muslims attitude of these three countries came handy to the opposition Congress. At the backdrop of Godhra violence, Congress used the American shift of NDA to have a good catchment in the minority vote bank. The Left parties joined by regional forces like Samjajwadi Party opposed the new American turn of the Indian government to capitalize for the vote share increase.



In this background, what is the relevance of opposition towards the Indo-US Civil Nuclear deal which is popularly referred as 123 agreement? It is certain that no political party in India does like to deviate from the US appeasement policy when take the seat of power at the centre. Whether the high decibel Left or non alignment drum beating Congress party or the Swadesh rhetoric mongering BJP all are in the game to nullify the efforts of indigenous science and technology in the long run. It was the beggarly treatment meted out to Indians by United States which forced the latter to develop its technology on its own. If the Indian establishment is proud of its scientific achievements today it is because of its compulsions forced by US all these years. Ignoring this fact and entering into slavery signing ceremony in the name of civil nuclear cooperation is nothing but high grade ridiculousness.



Efforts were in full swing to get the stamp of U.S.A to announce to the world India is a nuclear power. Is it not a kiddish behavior of the Indian government to seek the approval of the Americans? Anyway there is Pakistan to checkmate India’s growing nuclear clout. For every nuclear explosion New Delhi conducts there is an immediate bomb response from Islamabad. How does it matter if the U.S.A and other developed countries did not recognize India as the nuclear power? North Korea and Iran are positioning strategically well without getting anyone’s stamp.



A crucial benefit which the 123 agreement declares is the continuous supply of Uranium for the power plants in India. Why should the poor country import Uranium when it can tap its own Thorium for the same purpose? In the olden days, the clever Britishers smuggled Thorium from the shores of Kerala in the name of coir import. Now the vast amount of Thorium resources lying across the country can be used for the nuclear power plants to generate electricity. This can save $150 billion which the American companies are eyeing through its technology transfer and Uranium export to India in next twenty years. More importantly the dependence on Americans for Uranium and its control over the nuclear power generation will discourage the Indian scientific fraternity. Instead of breaking the chains to innovate and technologise new methods for power generation the Indian nuclear scientists will be forced to relax. The future will deprive the best Indian brains to come up with the technological breakthroughs in the civilian nuclear technology. Now the USA agreed to offer nuclear cooperation not because of the Indian government efforts but due to the clout wielded by the Indian diaspora there. The democrats and republicans are playing the traditional Indian vote bank politics. Another crucial reason for the Americans to give green signal for the deal is to checkmate the growing popularity of China. Whatever causes may be for the inking of 123 agreement, India should not lose its painstakingly built indigenous talents in science and technology.

“Where is the freedom as far as educational institutions are concerned? Do they have freedom with regard to their administrative structures?” Bakul Dholakia, Director, IIM Ahmedabad

“I sense a political motive in the Government’s decision to invite applications.They may want to interfere in faculty recruitment.” He added: “The (government) interference is increasing, the autonomy (of IIMs) is under threat.” Prakash Apte, Director, IIM Bangalore

Education is always the first target of politicians. To systematically spread their ideology and political philosophy they interfere in the everyday functioning of the educational system. For the past few years, the Indian government is going myopic in the field of education. During the rule of NDA, the HRD minister, Murli Manohar Joshi was accused of “saffornising the curriculum”. Through his Hindutva network he tried the maximum limit to remove the syllabus framed by the previous regimes. Civil society organizations and anti-BJP parties joined together to create a furore over Joshi’s policies. Apart from ordering a complete overhaul of course content for the school children, he actively interfered with the higher education institutions. To control the IIMs, Joshi proposed halving of the fee structure. However the entire board and the academic management of the IIMs out rightly rejected his proposal. He tried to show his concern for the poor people by raking the seven digit fees. With the IITs dancing to Joshi’s tunes, IIMs become his favorite target.



Arjun Singh, successor of Joshi was equally meddling in the affairs of higher education institutions. After taking over the charge of HRD ministry, Arjun Singh implanted his men and women in the crucial decision making bodies and research forums. Those who were close to him and considered good through his eyes got the plump posts. He became the centre of hatredness among the students for pushing the 27 percent reservation for OBC candidates. Then blankly he passed the central legislation increasing the retirement age limit for the central university professors from 62 to 65. This move will further fan the unemployment crisis in the country. Despite the warnings from the Supreme Court and without adequate ground work, Arjun Singh is still fancying the idea of reservation for OBC students.



To appease the Muslim lobby, Arjun restored the minority institution status to AMU despite the restraint from the Supreme Court. The list of HRD minister’s blunders is endless. Now without taking the board of directors of IIM his ministry has issued newspaper advertisements inviting applications for the vacancy of director. Without the much of the government interference IITs and IIMs have managed to gain the global spotlight. In order to keep up the quality and autonomy of the crown jewels of Indian higher education it is crucial for all those who desire India’s growth as a knowledge power should step in to stop the parochial mindset of the minister in Shastri bhavan.