Indian need to do- not to talk.Let's start

Let us end the sham. Let us stop pretending that the problem lies some where across the border in a Pakistani madrassa, or even in a training camp in that pathetic rump of Kashmir that was carved out by the unforgiving scythe of hate and envy.

Let us stop hiding behind the starchy flaps of axed Home Minister Shivraj Patil's bespoke suits or the condescending sneer of an insecure Maharashtra Chief minister. Let us not allow our anger to cloud our judgment leaving us to pointlessly rail against politicians. And for God's sake let us not waste time wallowing in self-pity cursing our collective misfortune for being saddled with a bunch of callow politicians that we ourselves - the Lord alone knows in what moment of insanity - put into office.

In any case, as much as the desire overwhelms we cannot completely do away with politicians and the government. That is the road to anarchy and if not anarchy then most certainly authoritarianism as precedence has shown. In 1975, the Emergency in India almost eroded the legitimacy of the nation's institutions and it took a return to electoral democracy to punish those who had set India down the road to ruin.

Instead after this latest wave of terror attacks let us act constructively. Let us act first by recognising we have only ourselves to blame for the massive hole we have dug for ourselves.

Our enemies are only hiding in the gaps, the fault lines that we ourselves have etched across the map of India.

From the day we won our Independence we have worked harder than any insurgent to court the sinister heralds of bigotry, prejudice and fundamentalism. Think back to the times we shrank the blurred the line separating Church and State. Think back to the times when we pitted Indian against Indian on the basis of his caste. Think back to the times when we turned a blind eye to politicians as they subverted the instruments of the state just because it suited us.

In fact by acquiescing in these omissions and commissions we only served to sow the wind to reap the whirlwind of national degeneration. This must stop.

Second, let us act by becoming the change we want to be.

The attacks in Mumbai are not Mumbai's problem alone. Yet from the response to them it would appear so. There's been not one protest march, candle light vigil or meeting organised in any other town or city to protest the strike. In fact even when there were attacks in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Varanasi, Jaipur not one individual across the length and breadth of the country raised a voice or marched in sympathy. We must ask ourselves why? If we show no urgency, if we show no empathy then why expect the political class to show us any.

Had we done so earlier who knows we may have even succeeded in engendering a culture of transparency and accountability all those years ago. Heads might have rolled earlier and the message would have gone out to all those in positions of authority that India will not tolerate anyone who compromises its security.

The Mumbai terror attacks are a point of inflection. Act now. Brook no excuses. This is our time to seek answers. But we must ask the right questions.

Pak funding of Mujahideen in Kashmir is counterproductive: Obama

Noting that Pakistan has tolerated or in some cases funded the Mujahideen in Kashmir, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has said such efforts are "counterproductive" for Islamabad.


Ahead of his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani, Obama said historically Pakistan has tolerated or in some cases funded the Mujahideen because they think it's somehow helpful to them in Kashmir which continues to be a "constant instigator" of tension between Islamabad and New Delhi.


"We have to have an honest conversation about how counterproductive that is," Obama said in an interview, published in the Wall Street Journal on Monday.


Asked whether US should play a role in negotiations between Pakistan and India, he said, "use that as an example of how we need to think comprehensively about the region. If one of the central concerns of Pakistan is its security posture towards India, then we need to put that on the table for discussion as we try to solve the problems in Afghanistan".


Asked about the forthcoming talks between Gilani and President George Bush in Washington, Obama said the US must emphasise the importance of closing down terrorist camps.


"It's not just in the interest of Afghan security, or US security, it is in the interest of Pakistani security that we shut down those bases," he said.


"I know that the new prime minister is coming to Washington. I'll be very interested hearing what he has to say. Obviously, they are a new government. But I think it's very important that we emphasise to them how seriously we take these base camps," he added.

Brown's message in India

Three quarters of the most serious terror plots being investigated by UK authorities have links to Pakistan, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said.

He was unveiling a £6m ($8.9m) deal with Pakistan he called "the most comprehensive anti-terrorist programme" between the UK and another country.

He is in Pakistan meeting President Asif Ali Zardari, following talks with India's premier Manmohan Singh.

UK police want to quiz a Pakistani suspect in the Mumbai attacks.

They want to interview Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab - the sole gunman taken alive - about terror groups operating from Pakistan.

Mr Brown's series of meetings in the region come as Pakistan accused India of violating its airspace.

India has denied this but has announced a security overhaul. It blames Pakistan-based militants for the Mumbai attacks, which killed at least 170 people, including one Briton.

Mr Brown said he had wanted to express his condolence for the Mumbai attacks at first hand.

'Work together'

He said the "terrible terror outrages" had shocked the whole world and the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group, thought to be responsible, had "a great deal to answer for".

He added: "No country should have to go through what India has had to go through as a result of the Mumbai outrages.
Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab
British police want to interview Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab

"I've said to Prime Minister Singh we will give every help that we can. We will work together in tackling terrorism. And we will work together on issue of security. We also know that there have been arrests in Pakistan.

"We also know that the group responsible is LeT and that they have a great deal to answer for."

India has urged Pakistan to take action over the recent attacks.

Pakistan denies any involvement, but has promised to co-operate with the Indian investigation.

Mr Zardari has pledged to take "strong action" against terrorists, but has also called on India to share more information about the attacks.

Partnership plan

During a news conference in Islamabad with Mr Zardari, Mr Brown proposed the start of a new partnership with Pakistan to fight terrorism.

The "pact against terror" funding will go towards anti-car bomb equipment and material to educate people out of becoming extremists, he said.

"The time has come for action and not words, and I want to help Pakistan and other countries root out terrorism.

Gordon Brown meets his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in Delhi

"In return for this action we will continue to expand our counter-terrorist assistance programme with Pakistan, and it will be more than ever, the most comprehensive anti-terrorist programme Britain has signed with any country."

Speaking during a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Saturday, Mr Brown said wherever there was terrorism, it had to be fought.

He described Pakistan's border region with the country, where he met troops fighting the Taleban, as one end of a "chain of terror" that could stretch to Britain if more was not done to tackle the threat of al-Qaeda.

The prime minister's visit to Afghanistan came a day after four Royal Marines were killed in two separate bomb attacks.

Mr Brown spoke of his "disgust and horror" at the willingness of the Taleban to use a 13-year-old child to deliver a bomb in a wheelbarrow to a Marine patrol, killing three men and the boy.

The PM is expected to update MPs on the security situation in Afghanistan in an oral statement to the House of Commons on Monday.

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