Action items

For a start, the Governmant of India has introduced legislation to modify terror laws and create a national investigation agency. The news channels, on the other hand have come up with a code of conduct during violent crises. The key issue, as always, is enforcement. How will it work on the ground and how long will it take to train and equip the police in every part of the country?

Update: As expected, Amnesty International objects to the proposed laws as being too draconian.

November is not September!

Arundhati Roy, in Outlook, looks at all the elephants in the room, in the light of 26/11 in her usual ballistic style. Deserves a read in full, whether you agree or not.

America's most important ally

Christopher Hitchens, famous agnostic, author of a highly critical book on Mother Teresa, comes out in support of Mumbai.

Question time

Hostage crisis over, time for straightforward questions:

1. Is Mumbai so unimportant that a NSG squad cannot be posted there permanently?

2. Is there no repository office where defence forces can get access to maps and layouts of buildings such as the Taj hotel instead of having to go in there and find their way amidst a shower of bullets and grenades?

3. Do situations like these have to wait for state Cabinet meetings to sit in emergency sessions and then call in commandos while people are getting killed all that time?

4. Is there a list of soft targets for each city or do bloggers need to supply that?

5. External forces may have planned this attack but is there recognition that more may be in the offing and measures -laws,arms,intelligence- have to put be put in place now and not after a parliamentary committee submits a report?

Cyberworld on Mumbai

There is more in the globosphere on Mumbai. As the nightmare shows signs of ending, can the authorities move on matters of policy and enforcement?A strong anti-terror law, more equipment and training for security personnel and 'Intelligence' collection that means precisely what it is. If the present UPA government could do this before its term ends, it will be remembered in history, else it may just become history.

Battling Bombay

Television made for difficult viewing as the scale of the war on Mumbai became apparent. Security forces rescued hostages and had to clear hotel rooms one by one and a long night continues into the morning. Meanwhile, bloggers on the web and Twitter updated the world on their experiences. Could this be a double edged sword - is too much information getting out on TV channels and websites, news that they are better off not communicating?

Wake up at least now!

It is yesterday once more in Mumbai and India, but more brutal and more psychologically damaging than ever before. Where is the Intelligence, National Security or even a co-ordinated response to a deadly terrorist attack on a high risk location? This post sums up a Mumbaikar's utter frustration.

'The ‘spirit of the Mumbaikar’ meme be damned, the state needs to recognize this for what it is: helplessness. We go to work come hell or high water [where Bombay is concerned, hell and high water, literally so] because as long as we are alive [over 80 of our fellows, going about their usual business 12 hours ago, are no longer alive—spare them a thought, a prayer], there is nothing else to do; nothing else we can do.'

National security is not (only) about managing nuclear weapons. It is about managing our huge cities, controlling crime and vigilance. For a start, does the traffic cop or the constable at a railway station know what suspicious behaviour is? At least now, let us honour the innocents killed and get serious on security. Enough hubris about our economy and our talented people. Protect them.

Brain circulation

'Countries like India once fretted about a brain drain.We are learning now that brain circulation, may be more apt.'

So says this columnist in the New York Times, given the way how the Indian economy has begun integrating with the global one.

With Citibank now in line for a bailout, Friedman wryly hits home in his column:

'As one banker remarked to me: “We finally found the W.M.D.” They were buried in our own backyard — subprime mortgages and all the derivatives attached to them. '

Battling piracy on the high seas

The recent hijacking of a oil super tanker by pirates of the coast of Somalia triggered off alarm bells for all traffic in that area. Yesterday, an Indian Navy ship sunk a pirate mother ship in the Gulf of Aden, an act that has elicited praise from all quarters. Alongwith its financial muscle, India has finally begun to flex its military strengths particularly in urgently required areas.

Mission to the moon

In less than 48 hours, India's first ever unmanned mission to the moon 'Chandrayaan' is set to take off. More details here.

Not a nice thing to know

Many of us who grew up in India in the 70s clearly remember the frequent crises in food production and supply. Much has changed in the country since then but hunger remains a serious problem. This report describes the alarming situation even in progressive states such as Gujarat and Karnataka. A reminder for World Food Day on what still lies at our doorstep.

Land of stark contrasts

India and France signed a nuclear commerce agreement yesterday. Another step forward in international diplomacy. Sadly, while India's control over its nuclear programme is acknowledged, it is also recognized that Indians have no idea of crowd control. How else can anyone explain yet another temple stampede,this time in Jodhpur, right at the start of the festival season, the fourth major one this year to claim more than a 100 victims? Hundreds of small and big holy places are visited by millions of people everyday and yet there are no coherent public laws on crowd management. The next step up in the comity of nations will only come if such basic issues as public safety are addressed.

Ecological Sunday in Chennai

Residents of Rome are familiar with the total pedestrianization of the centro especially in spring and summer. Now comes this initiative from the citizens of Chennai (Madras to those who still can't get over the name change) to reclaim space for the pedestrians of the city. The exponential growth in personal vehicles has made walking 'a hazardous activity' in many cities. Crossing the road anywhere, even at a zebra crossing, is risky. A bold step forward by the organizers of this event to focus attention on traffic and pollution.

Do we need a comma here, somewhere?

The Singur impasse, believe it or not, is stuck on the interpretation of the following sentence in the agreement between Mamtadi and the West Bengal government.

"....land to be provided to the maximum within the project area and the rest in adjacent areas as early as possible".

Mamtadi believes that it means that the "maximum amount" (400 acres by her demand) will be returned to the farmers. The government says it means "'maximum extent possible" and the exact area is yet to be defined. Read more about it here.
Can those who draft multilateral agreements help?

Kumbhkarna's slumber/ कुम्भकर्ण की नींद

Delhi,Varanasi,Mumbai,Hyderabad,Jaipur,Bangalore,Ahmedabad, Surat (as a warning) and today, Delhi again. The chain continues and the average hardworking Indian is reduced to think ' where next' in this series of macabre attacks. Every time there is a series of blasts, a terror group quickly claims responsibility. Sadly, the government neither accepts nor discharges its responsibility. The terror mongers have their plan all thought through. But the law enforcing authorities have none in reply.Till date, India has not been able to formulate a coherent response - political, economic, judicial or military- to the rising tide of homegrown terror. (In contrast, Italy has soldiers on the streets to fight crime). Will the country's security set up stop sleeping on the job at least now that it has struck Delhi's poshest shopping areas?