Mission Kashmir

There was a time when the Kashmir valley was as calm and strikingly beautiful as Kashmiri women in their traditional dress. The Dal Lake which flows like a loosened, glowing hair of a beautiful lady used to be tickled by umpteen numbers of houseboats carrying wide eyed tourists from all over India and abroad. Those were the golden era of Kashmir and its people. But those happier times have been put to death by piercing machine gun bullets, shot both from 'patriotic' rifles as well as 'anti national' rifles.

Now what one can see in the face of Kashmiris is a haunting fear and desperation for being dragged between insurgency and counter insurgency. Extremist elements in the valley have always been on the look out for a bait to create a communal divide among Kashmiris. So when the issue of transferring around 39.88 hectares of forest land to Amarnath Shrine Board arises, Kashmir once again starts bleeding.

Political parties such as BJP, PDP and the Hurriyat are taking advantages of the volatile situation in Kashmir. Their over enthusiasm to fish in the troubled waters of Kashmir will only further deteriorate the situation. These parties are playing the inflammable communal card to gain political mileage. For nearly two months Kashmir has been on the boil over the land row. Supporters of Amarnath Shrine Samithi blocked the Jammu highway in protest against Government’s revoking of land transfer to the Shrine board after widespread protests from the PDP and Hurriyat.

This blockade resulted in the economic slowdown of the valley as this is the only link to connect Kashmir to other parts of India. The Muslim population in Kashmir had a feeling that Hindus wish to break their economic back bone. This feeling, infact, proved to be decisive brush for those who want to paint Kashmir in communal hue.

The call to all fruit growers in Kashmir to cross the LoC to sell their produces in Muzzaffarabad caught the authorities by surprise who until that moment pretended to have not seen or heard about the highway blockade by the Hindu groups. Situation really went out of control when the police tried to prevent the mob lead by separatist leaders from crossing LoC on Aug 11. The ensuing police firing to disperse the agitators resulted in the death of separatist leader Abdul Aziz Sheikh and five others.

The very next day Kashmir saw unabated violence and arson in which 21 people died. The overall death toll has reached more than 26. Though a relative calm prevails in Kashmir now, the tension is not yet over.

J&K government has called both Hindu and Muslim factions to the negotiating table in an effort to ease the mistrust between the two communities.

Pakistan sponsored terrorism to divide the Hindu Muslim harmony in the region is gaining ground once again. The sporadic firing to Indian military posts from across the boarder was part of ISI plot to push in terrorists to the valley to unleash fresh terror.

The ‘Azad Kashmir’ slogan that had been a constant nightmare for both the Army and the Indian government was not much heard about in the last 13 years. But the same proverbial demon has again awakened recently, sniffing the rottening atmosphere in the valley.

According to media reports, the protest rallies were marked with astonishing anti India sentiments and an increasingly ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans. But Mr. Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, one of the Hurriyat Conference leaders says this does not mean that Kashmir should be made a part of Pakistan. According to him people were trying to express their resent over the entire system that prevails in J&K even after 61 years of independence-of the countless rapes of women by the Army, of oppression, of tortures, of people go missing without any trace etc etc.

The resonating ‘Azadi’ slogan will prove to be a detonator to a wide spread ‘anti India explosions’ if the govt lacks prudence in taming it. The separatists’ call for an independent Kashmir will send similar waves to other parts of India with devastating effects. This will prompt similar demands from the whole of North-East as there is so much anti India feelings among people. The Maoists movement is gaining ground in North East with local militia actively joining hands with Maoists in subversive designs against Indian government.

The common factor both Kashmiris and people in North East rue about- the Indian government’s laxity in providing socio-economic stability and governance. So the ‘solution’ to end anti India movements cannot be administered through the barrels of guns. Simple common sense, a bit of practical approach and greater feelings of responsibility towards its citizen are the essential combinations to make that ‘wonder drug’ that heals the ‘anti India syndrome’.

Government authorities and various political parties who speak volumes on the ‘integrity’ factor of Kashmir, and the separatists who preach for an independent Kashmir have often forget one core factor in common- the very fate of innocent Kashmiris who did no sin other than being born in an enchanting abode named Kashmir.

Hey mere Khudhaah, mere Kashmir ko aman dilade! Ameen...

SOS...the earth is sinking

US government's most ambitious missile defense programme, according to US officials, is meant to protect the world from hostile enemy missiles. But can this 'shield' protect the world from its deadliest enemy-Global warming?

Articles on global warming and climate changes have been occupying the media space for a long time. Top officials from world countries are busy nowadays debating this 'hot' topic in various international summits.

Latest inputs from the scientist community point to a link between warmer climates and an increase in devastating rainstorms. Heavy rainstorms will be more common in future as warmer climate results in abundance of moisture for condensation. (See Climate Change: When It Rains It Really Pours)

According to Brian Soden, associate professor at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, warmer climate boosts the intensity of heavy rainstorms.

The UN Climate Panel fears that such shift in the rainfall will pave way for heavy floods that could wash away crops and will badly affect the livelihoods of millions in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The Arctic region that is the buttered side of the earth has been melting drastically over the years. Besides, glaciers and other ice capped parts of the world too are on the boil. These contribute to sudden rise in sea level. If the current situation prevails, The Day After Tomorrow will be a true experience for most of the coastal cities around the world.

The menace of global warming does not limit in rising sea level alone. It has severe implication on the entire eco system. Oceanographers got a 'sting' when they found out that jellyfish population increases due to increase in the sea water temperature. This is a bad omen since it points out to the depletion of Oxygen level in the oceans. Gradually, most of the marine life will be forced to take an 'eternal sleep' on the laps of the oceans.

The main culprit behind global warming is green house gases that are being pushed out by burning fossil fuels. Thanks to a heavily industrialized world and ever demanding consumerism. The more fossil fuel we burn the more fire the earth will breathe out.

The only thing that would prevent global warming from spreading its deadly wings is finding alternative sources of energy other than fossil fuels. The whole crux on this aspect lies in saving energy by all means.

Energy conservation and pollution control should be the key word for all economies in the fight against global warming. The whole human race has collective responsibility in this mission.

Even simple gestures like switching from incandescent lamps to less energy consuming fluorescent lamps, using laptops instead of computers and switching off electrical devices when not in use will make a huge difference in the 'save energy ' mission. These simple practices will cut down huge amount of heat radiation being emitted by the household across the globe.

Prominent environment protection organizations including Greenpeace, have been indulging in various awareness campaigns against global warming and other climatic issues.

It does not cost us anything to do something to save our Mother Earth. If we do not act now, then it will be too late...it is now or never...

And lo, the 'crude' war in the Arctic is born...

Don't be surprised to see some of the fishermen in the Arctic region striking a pose with Russian naval crew with a heavily armed naval destroyer ship in the background...

Russian navy has sent a few vessels from its Northern fleet quite recently to the Arctic region. We are not fools to believe Russia's claim that it is worried about the safety of its fishermen folk venturing to the Arctic region, and the naval vessels are meant for the latter's safety.

A geological survey report that claims the presence of huge reserve of natural gas and crude oil beneath the thick ice blanket of the Arctic region has caught the attention of both the US and Russia by the wind.

Russia wants to bolster its claim of sovereignty over the North Pole as soon as possible which has huge potential for tapping the oil reserve. An estimated 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, in other words around two third of the active gas reserves in the entire middle east, and 90 billion barrels of oil is lying untapped in the North Pole.

All the five countries that surround the Arctic region, i.e. US, Russia, Canada, Norway and Denmark are hyper active in their efforts to gain supremacy over the North Pole. Russia has some geographical advantage in this 'treasure hunt' as most of the gas is concentrated in the so called Russian territory. But Denmark has already disputed Russia's claim.

But the worrisome aspect in all these is the very existence of the otherwise calm and pristine Arctic region is being threatened by the 'treasure' which it holds in its belly. Environmentalists have already come to the foray to prevent any sort of drilling efforts in the Arctic region.

The whole of Arctic region experiences an incredible rate of 'melting' due to global warming and sudden climatic changes. The environmentalists fear that any drilling efforts in the region will further poke holes in its fragile 'ice sweater'.

There is every possibility that the US will find a 'sledge' to reach out to the North Pole to dig its hands deep inside. With Russia sending battle ships to the region to claim supremacy, now it is US's turn to flex muscles.

The cold war, between the world's two super powers and sworn enemies (Russia and US), ended in early 1990s. But who knows whether tomorrow sees an all-out 'crude' war between these two giants over the 'milky patches' of this tiny planet...

Please refer to Arctic Contains Big Supply Of Oil, Natural Gas, Review Finds.

The 3G mob-olution

Global telecom service providers have received a soothing 'ring tone' from DoT (Department of Telecommunication) of India on Friday (Aug 1, 2008).

The government’s decision to allow foreign players in the 3G spectrum will see a revolution in the Third generation mobile telephony in India.

The 3G technology encompasses multimedia oriented services. So with the help of a 3G compatible mobile phone, you can make video calls, access broadband internet and even watch various TV channels without any hassle.

In the initial leg of implementing the 3G project, state owned BSNL and MTNL will be given spectrum to start all India service. Global telecom players can enter the competition four months later. If everything goes fine, the 3G service will reach consumers by the next financial year.

Each Global company is required to shell out at least Rs-4600 crore to take part in the spectrum bidding. According to Telecommunication and IT minister A Raja, the government can earn Rs 30,000 to 40,000 crores through the spectrum bidding.

Leading telecom vendor Ericsson hails the government's 3G policy and hopes it will 'delete' the urban-rural digital divide. MNCs such as AT&T, Sprint etc have already shown their interests to have a piece of the spectrum pie.

Qualcomm, CDMA technology innovator, says that the 3G policy will benefit the entire wireless communication environment.
So all the tech savvy people will now have one more gadget other than an iPod and a bluetooth headset to juggle with-the 3G mobile phone!

Please refer to : http://www.businessstandard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=330256