PURULIA ARMS DROP NEW FACTS AND QUESTIONS

In December 1995 when the Congress regime under P V Narashima Rao was in power a Latvian ari craft flew into India from Karachi and dropped nearly 500 Rifles and cases of magazines and high explosives on a sleepy village of Purulia on the Bengal Bihar border. Since that time there have been numerous quetions that have cropped up but no answers have been given. I am not surprised that the Congress regime did nothing to stop the arm,s drop, as I strongly believe that the dynastic fascist Congress Party is only a prop for a putrid dynasty and is not a political party. Be that as it may, the large Anotov aricraft flew right across Indian territory and at the exact coordicates alredy known to the Indian Government the arms were dropped. The aircraft was intercepted over the Arbian Sea and orced to land in Mumbai from where Kim Davy, the mastermind of this operation escaped. It now transpires that he escaped to Nepal in the official car of one of the Yadava crimals who was an MP at thatr time Shri Pappu Yadava. This Yadava criminal is now serving a life term in prison for murder and we hope his country cousins the other Yadava criminals--Mulayuam and Laloo--follow him soon.

Questions began to surface right from the start. For whom were the arms meant for. Kim Davy in an interview with Times Now claims that the arms were meant for the Ananda Marga who were being massacred by the CPM goons. I fully understans that the CPM is a Party of goons and so is the Trinamool COngress for that matter. So this part did not come as a great revealation to me. However, I am under the firm understanding that the RAW tried to intercept a consignment of arms commisioned for the Anand Marga and tried to divert it to a small local insurgency unit operating in Bangla Desh. This angle alone enables me to anwser the question why the Government of India disd not act even though the British MI 5 had tipped off the Indian Government and the Joint Secretary sent this information to the West Bengal Government by registered post aCKNOWLEDGEMENT DUE-- THE SLOWEST POSSIBLE WAY OF COMMUNICATION.

Kim Davy and Peter Bleach both seem to be speaking the truth. Peter Bleach was in prison for 8 years and Indian Government let him off with a presidential pardon before he could be tried. This itself shows that the Government of India is hiding something. Kim Davy on the other hand lives in mortal fear of being extridited to India where, like Batcha, he too will probably be eliminated if he sings like a canary. Thwere are far too many loose ends in thsi case and it only goes to show that the CBI, IB and RAW consist of men who like the Pink Panther are incompetent and at times even act the double or triple agent.

The fact that the radar was switched off on the crucial night of the air drop needs to be explained. Second, why was the CBI looking for KIm Davy in New Zealand and South America when it was well known that he was living in Copenhagen, Denmark. In oter words the CBI as it did in the sacr of Octavio Quatrrocci, the Bofors scamster, was adept in searching in the wrong palce and covering up after the ded had been done. As far as the RAW is concerned thetre is little parliamentary or political scrutiny over it. A Joint Parliamenmtary Probe must be conducted on it for the year 1985. The Purulia case shows that the RAW is incapable of even ferrying illegal arms to a small insurgency near the Indian border and that is the main reason I find it hard to beleive that the Balucci insurgents are being funded by Insdia. The only time the RAW tried its hand at the big boys's game was when it trined the LTTE in 26 trining camps all over Tamil Nadu in the 1980s and India ended up in a bloddy bloody mess in Sri Lanka. I think the Indian nation needs to be told the truth and the then Jt Directon of the CBI J K Dutt was so unconvincing innhis rebuttal that it left us wondering wheteer his blatant falsehoods serve only to escalate the questions marks on the subject.

The complicity of the Indian Givernment in the Arms Drop is there for all to see. However I do not think that the arms were meant for directing and fomenting an insurgency against the Left in Bengal. The RAW and MI 5 tried to use the viceral anti communism of the Ananda Marga to allow it to purchase arms ferry them to India and once over Indian airspace the Raw felt that it could hijack the operation and have the arms dropped in the Bangal Desh insurgent territory. As usual the Indian Government proved to be utterly incompetent.

OBAMA'S WAR IN LIBYA; WHY THE STAKES ARE HIGH

Libya was the last major territory to be seized by the Roman empire and the first to escape from its clutches along with Parthia. The Libyans fought long and hard against the Italians when they conquered the desert land in the 1930's. The fact is that Col Qaddaffi who was recently rehabilitated in the affections of Western powers after spending more than 30 years as an international paraiah is not a military and political pushover. In spite of the Lokerbee bombing he was able to get the main conspirator freed from a Scottish prison during the Labour regime because of the vast oil revenues that he holds.

The USA together with France has imposed a no-fly zone over Libya. Under the pretext of enforcing a no-fly zone NATO jets are bombing Libyan government and civilian positions. A no-fly zone would only mean that if case the Libyan air force attempts to land in rebel held areas, then NATO can enforce compliance of the UN resolution 1973. The Obama Administration and Sarkozy's France have chosen to interpret this resolution as a mandate to intervene and impose regime change in Libya: regime change is not implied in the UN resolution. On the first day of bombing US rained 110 Tomahawk missiles on Libya and US B-52 bombers dropped 45 1000 kilo bombs in the first day itself. Was such a massive attack justified? Is this not a savage and brutal act of war against unarmed civilians? Already in Iraq and Afghanistan, US intervention has caused untold suffering and there is no count of the casualties. What makes the matter even worse is that the war heads carried depleted uranium warheads making these attacks a nuclear attack on civilian target violating all lawa of civilised warfare.

The US, UK and France are keen to see the oil rich region around Bengazi is brought undetr direct rebel control. Like Chablis in Iraq, the US has propped up a quisling called Khalifa Heftir,a "CIA asset" of many years. It seems that the USA will not learn a lesson from its own recent history. The town of Sirte, the tribal area from which Col Qaddaffi come has borne the brunt of the bombing and there is just no military or political justification for this. The ragtag rebel troops are being finnced by the Saudis and the brutal Saudi regime is being hailed as an exemplar of democracy. Even the US Admiral James Stavridis has admiotted in Congress that the rebels are being infiltrated by Al Qaeda elements. It appears that the US policy is to strengthen the forces that are bent on destabilising the region. Though the Libyan Government assets of nearly 45 billion US $ have been frozen by the Western Governments, the so-called "interim transitional national council" has been permitted to acess these funds which are being used to fiance the NATO bombing of Libya. So we have Libyan money being used to kill Libyans in their own land.

The po;icy of Obama is bound to fail. USA cannot afford another long tern engagement in the deserts of Libya and the longer the war and Resistance continues the easier it would be for Col Qaddaffi to cling on to power.

One one really likes the Col and he is an unsavory sort of fellow. A megalomaniac with vision of grandeur extending throughout North Africa. It appears that al-jazeera is extremely influential; in the Arabic world just as I pointed out in an earlier blog. However, this channel is successful against secular dictators and is making no headway in countries like Saudi Arabia in which repression is a way of life.

Col Gadaffi is unlikely to give in to the US backed EU enforced no-fly zone. Bengazi is right now on the verge of falling to Col Gaddaffi's troops and since the US has ruled out ground troops, the no fly zone will only lead to civilian casualties which will turn the world opinion against the intervention. The only gainer from this ill advised move is al qaeda which will now have yet another cause to trumpet. With all his failings, the Col like Saddam Hussain had kept Islamic terrorism firmly under control and his weakening will only result in North Africa becoming another war zone. Already the civilian casualties have started increasing and the hospitals have started showing signs of overstretch.

The intervention in Libya is ill timed and will further erode US credibility in the Arab world.

PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY CONVOCATION

I love the song and ceremony of convocations. Last year I wrote about my meeting with Dr Javed Akthar, the noted poet and lyricist who was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University with which I am associated with in a very senior capacity. The Vice Chancellor, Professor J A K Tareen is a good administrator and I can say with the authority of one who has attended almost all convocations, that our University puts up a good show and the meticulous planning of the VC is there for all to see. Today the 21st Convocation of the University was held and I had to attend dressed like a penguin.Though Mani Shankar Ayer has made some radical noises about the utility of the balck academic robes and his other Iyer colleague in the UPA cabinet Jai Ram Ramesh has even gone to the extent of pulling off his robes while addressing the Convocation at IIT Delhi, I think the robes do add a touch of the drama and enhances the moment. After all convocations are but theatre.

The Vice Chancellor began by saying that the University has grown 300% daring the course of the last 4 years. I agree that the Vice Chancellor has done a great deal to enhance the standing and stature of the University. I was associated with the Coffee table Book and can say that when it finally makes its appearance the visibility of the University would be indeed great.

Dr K M Cherian, the famous heart surgeon was awarded the D. Sc (honoris Causa) and I think he did deserve the honour. He has virtually given the gift of life to countless people and he did give a soul stirring speech on success.

Montek Singh Aluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission was the chief guest and he too received an Honorary degree. Educated at St Stephen's College, Delhi and at Oxford University, Montek made an unabashed plea for liberalisation. He indicated that until the onset of liberalisation in 1991 -92 India was growing at the rate of 3.5% annually with a population growth of around 2.5%. This rate of growth, cynically called the Hindu Rate of Growth was certainly a recipe for stagnation. During the past 2 decades India was growing at the rate 0f 9 to 10% and Montek was at pains to point out that at this rate of growth, India will emerge as a leading economic power house in the decades to come. Indian policy elites do not like comparisons with China and Montek Singh was honest enough to admit that by all parameters China was far far ahead of India. India, he could have added is held back by a Corrupt political system headed by the likes that are presently in power.

The convocation went off well and I though that I should put up my blog about it.

RAHUL GANDHI; AMUL BABY OR A DYNASTIC MASCOT

I normally do not agree with communists and with V S Achutanandan, the Chief Minister of Kerala, I have a particular kind of contempt because he insulted Major Unnikrishanan, the martyr of Mumbai. Those interested can read an earlier blog on this theme. However, in the recent controversy with the Yuvaraj of the Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi, I am forced to side with VS. For all his faults, V S Achutanandan has been in electoral politics for more than 50 years and has maintained a clean public image though he is regarded as a rumbustious factional leader. Ask Pinyari Vijayan for details.

It is a crying shame and a blot on India that for the last 65 years the post of the Prime minister has become the virtual monopoly of one family. Dynastic succession and Democratic way of life are contradictory and Indians do not seem to realise that by giving space to the likes of Rahul Gandhi we are only encouraging a putrid and corrupt courtier type of dynastic politics. In fact the stink of political corruption goes hand in hand with dynastic politics. Just remember Bofor and before that the Nagarwala case all involved the Nehru family. Now the 2 G spectrum scandal too has a dynastic angle because the example of the Congress is followed by other criminal elements in the political system. Against this background, I think VS Achutanandan should not have bothered to put Rahul Gandhi on the same level as himself. In a way, V S Achutanandan is right. Afterall, Rahul Gandhi was born to political power, social and economic previlege and like every spoilt prince in history conflates his dynasty with the larger society. Once he is said to have remarked that his family got India freedom and forgetting that there was a Congress regime in place even made the absurd statement that if his family had been in power, the Masjid would still be standing. The young man believes that he is born to rule from a hereditary throne and it is time the electorate realised this.

Rahul Gandhi's utterances are stupid and it is time the Congress and its pretenders are shown the door,.