Scraps Stuffs - Random musings from apun ka desh

The recent hype and brouhaha over the visit of the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao has really been an eye opener for me. None of the Indian players involved in this visit have covered themselves with glory. The media, print as well as electronic, as usual, has been completely clueless. Journalism in the Indian context has been, in my perception, the second last resort of people wanting to make a living. This means that totally incompetent people get to be journalists in India. All the media worthies seem to be in awe of the Chinese and tend to tom-tom every little concession thrown to us by the Chinese as something great.

I'm going to try and deconstruct the actual sum and substance of the visit. The best place to start, in my opinion, is from the joint statement released by the Indian MEA.

Point number three states this - "Such a partnership is based on the principles of Panchsheel, mutual respect and sensitivity for each other’s concerns and aspirations, and equality; provides a sound framework for an all-round and comprehensive development of bilateral relations based on mutual and equal security, development and prosperity of the two peoples; and contributes to jointly addressing global challenges and threats."

I was afraid that with the UPA government back in power, we would get back to the old days of Panchsheel and that's what is happening. Panchsheel is not worth the paper its printed on! The Chinese have no respect for India or Indian sensitivities. Witness outright transfers of Chinese missiles and nuclear technology to Pakistan. Or the Chinese listening post on Myanmarese Cocos Island in the Bay of Bengal. Or the proposal to share nuclear technology with Bangladesh, the playing in the muddled waters of Nepal politics, the arming of terrorist groups in India's north east! So much for Indian sensitivities. The Chinese refuse to acknowledge the Indian Ocean as India's backyard yet scream blue murder if the Indian navy decides to exercise in the South China Sea. They actively try to prevent our entry to the UN Security Council as a permanent member - so much for equality.

Point number twelve states this - "The Indian side reiterated that it recognized the Tibet Autonomous Region as part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China and that it did not allow Tibetans to engage in anti-China political activities in India. The Indian side recalled that India was among the first countries to recognize that there is one China and its one China policy remains unaltered. The Indian side stated it would continue to abide by its one China policy."

What the fuck!!! We have given up all our cards! Recognizing Tibet as an integral part of China and confirming India's one China policy while China still claims the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region is plain stupidy and foolishness and the MEA incompetents are entirely to blame.

Just take a look at the supposed Chinese acceptance of Sikkim as a part of India - "Both sides reviewed with satisfaction the implementation of the memorandum on the border trade through the Nathula Pass between the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China and the Sikkim State of the Republic of India." point number thirteen. So the Chinese just throw some crumbs to us and grudgingly acknowledge Sikkim as a part of India in a totally tangential reference and the bastard MEA babus and the idiotic Indian media lap this up and tom-tom it as a great achievement! While diplomatic statements are not worth the paper they are printed on, the language matters. We should have had a clear declaration, as a separate point, that China recognizes Sikkim as an integral part of India.

The worst is yet to come: "i. Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question"

Apparently the above mentioned agreement gives up India's stand that the disputed border be discussed sector-wise. India's decades long stand has been that each of the disputed border sectors: Western (Aksai Chin), Central (UP and Sikkim) and Eastern (Arunachal Pradesh) be discussed separately. At one stroke we have agreed to discuss the entire border at one go. This allows China to retain Indian territory that it occupies (Aksai Chin) while magnanimously agreeing to consider "giving" the Indians Arunachal Pradesh!!!

Could anything be so ludicrous?

Since the Central sector is not really disputed, "maps have been exchanged" for this sector. If the grapevine is to be believed, the Indians have agreed to consider giving up Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh if the Chinese agree to recognize Arunachal Pradesh as an Indian state. Imagine giving away Indian territory in return for acknowledgement of an Indian state being Indian!

Ever since that idiot, Nutwar Singh started heading the MEA, things have been going from bad to worse. The stabilising and sobering influence of J. N. Dixit is sorely missed today!

All this hype of a new era in Indo-Chinese relations when:

1. China continues to arm Pakistan and agrees to enhance nuclear cooperation with it. All aimed at India ofcourse.
2. China continues to try and encircle India with states hostile to us. Building Pakistan's Gwadar port, fishing in Nepal's troubled politics, building deep water ports in Myanmar, trying to cultivate influence in Sri Lanka are not benign acts. And the Indian response has always been one of indifference at best and turning the other cheek at worst.
3. China continues to block the expansion of the security council of the UN, trying to deny us entry.

History is going to judge how foolishly naive (or not) we are with respect to China, I have already made my mind - Indian MEA has been incompetent in defending Indian interest with respect to China. And its not getting any better!

My first movie at PVR multiplex. Was able to get tickets for Million Dollar Baby. This movie is lovely and highly recommended.

Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Hillary Swank have acted brilliantly. Hillary Swank in particular has turned in an excellent performance as Margaret Fitzgerald, a wannabe boxer. The movie ends up making you feel rotten but I would still go and see it again, its that good. Except I won't be able to handle the ending again.

PVR was crowded as usual. I don't know exactly why it was so, but I suspect the reasons are school and college vacations and the fact that Koramangala is an easily accessible location. Waiting for other multiplexes to open up in Bangalore so that the crowd can be distributed better. PVR and Innovative Multiplex are really the only theatres we have that can be classified as close to where we stay.

Dharam Singh, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, is slowly but surely killing the goose (Bangalore) that lays the golden eggs (jobs and investments).

Crumbling and wholly inadequate infrastructure is being allowed to crumble further and totally wither away whereas the need of the hour is to bolster it by adding adequate new infrastructure.

Just a few examples will suffice to show what the CM is doing (sitting on his fat arse)

1. For some reason not apparent to most, the road leading off from Residency Road towards Magrath Road (just before the junction with Brigade Road) has been dug up. Maintenance work is fine, but to leave the road dug up without any signs of progress on fixing it and permitting traffic back on it, is definitely stupid.
2. Koramangala's 80 feet link road (connecting National Games Village and Sarjapur Road) has been in a state of total mess for more than two years now, again with no hope of progress in sight! Traffic always crawls on this road, increasing fuel consumption and fuelling tempers and road rage. The road surface in many places has been stripped of tar and the rocks below extract a heavy toll on vehicle tyres.
3. The road besides Agara tank just outside Koramangala (leading to HSR Layout and the Outer Ring Road) has been partially dug up for atleast four years now with no hope of improvement in sight.
4. The flyover at Airport Road - Inner Ring Road junction close to Indra Nagar's 100 feet Road that was supposed to be completed last year is nowhere near completion. One of the rumours floating around alleges that the powers that be wanted the contractor (UP state government owned company) to offer them bribes and when refused stopped payment to the contractor for work already completed. Naturally the contractor stopped work! Now the construction will be retendered! Adding to delays and losses.
5. The less said about Sarjapur Road, the better it is for my BP!
   

There are doubtless many more such examples from areas I'm unfamiliar with. The only hope lies in the present government being booted out and replaced by a government that provides a bare minimum of governance.

Who, in their right minds, would want to invest further in Bangalore?

But I truly believe that we get the government we deserve.

Bangalore deserves nothing more than a government that is as lazy, laidback and incompetent as its people!

Dharam Singh, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, is slowly but surely killing the goose (Bangalore) that lays the golden eggs (jobs and investments).

Crumbling and wholly inadequate infrastructure is being allowed to crumble further and totally wither away whereas the need of the hour is to bolster it by adding adequate new infrastructure.

Just a few examples will suffice to show what the CM is doing (sitting on his fat arse)

1. For some reason not apparent to most, the road leading off from Residency Road towards Magrath Road (just before the junction with Brigade Road) has been dug up. Maintenance work is fine, but to leave the road dug up without any signs of progress on fixing it and permitting traffic back on it, is definitely stupid.
2. Koramangala's 80 feet link road (connecting National Games Village and Sarjapur Road) has been in a state of total mess for more than two years now, again with no hope of progress in sight! Traffic always crawls on this road, increasing fuel consumption and fuelling tempers and road rage. The road surface in many places has been stripped of tar and the rocks below extract a heavy toll on vehicle tyres.
3. The road besides Agara tank just outside Koramangala (leading to HSR Layout and the Outer Ring Road) has been partially dug up for atleast four years now with no hope of improvement in sight.
4. The flyover at Airport Road - Inner Ring Road junction close to Indra Nagar's 100 feet Road that was supposed to be completed last year is nowhere near completion. One of the rumours floating around alleges that the powers that be wanted the contractor (UP state government owned company) to offer them bribes and when refused stopped payment to the contractor for work already completed. Naturally the contractor stopped work! Now the construction will be retendered! Adding to delays and losses.
5. The less said about Sarjapur Road, the better it is for my BP!
   

There are doubtless many more such examples from areas I'm unfamiliar with. The only hope lies in the present government being booted out and replaced by a government that provides a bare minimum of governance.

Who, in their right minds, would want to invest further in Bangalore?

But I truly believe that we get the government we deserve.

Bangalore deserves nothing more than a government that is as lazy, laidback and incompetent as its people!

Dharam Singh, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, is slowly but surely killing the goose (Bangalore) that lays the golden eggs (jobs and investments).

Crumbling and wholly inadequate infrastructure is being allowed to crumble further and totally wither away whereas the need of the hour is to bolster it by adding adequate new infrastructure.

Just a few examples will suffice to show what the CM is doing (sitting on his fat arse)

1. For some reason not apparent to most, the road leading off from Residency Road towards Magrath Road (just before the junction with Brigade Road) has been dug up. Maintenance work is fine, but to leave the road dug up without any signs of progress on fixing it and permitting traffic back on it, is definitely stupid.
2. Koramangala's 80 feet link road (connecting National Games Village and Sarjapur Road) has been in a state of total mess for more than two years now, again with no hope of progress in sight! Traffic always crawls on this road, increasing fuel consumption and fuelling tempers and road rage. The road surface in many places has been stripped of tar and the rocks below extract a heavy toll on vehicle tyres.
3. The road besides Agara tank just outside Koramangala (leading to HSR Layout and the Outer Ring Road) has been partially dug up for atleast four years now with no hope of improvement in sight.
4. The flyover at Airport Road - Inner Ring Road junction close to Indra Nagar's 100 feet Road that was supposed to be completed last year is nowhere near completion. One of the rumours floating around alleges that the powers that be wanted the contractor (UP state government owned company) to offer them bribes and when refused stopped payment to the contractor for work already completed. Naturally the contractor stopped work! Now the construction will be retendered! Adding to delays and losses.
5. The less said about Sarjapur Road, the better it is for my BP!
   

There are doubtless many more such examples from areas I'm unfamiliar with. The only hope lies in the present government being booted out and replaced by a government that provides a bare minimum of governance.

Who, in their right minds, would want to invest further in Bangalore?

But I truly believe that we get the government we deserve.

Bangalore deserves nothing more than a government that is as lazy, laidback and incompetent as its people!

A while back, the Bush administration made public their decision to supply Pakistan with 24 F-16 combat aircraft. As part of their equal-equal treatment of India, they also announced their decision to sell F-16 and F-16 class aircraft to India, should we wish to buy them.

The motives behind supplying F-16s to Pakistan can be many

1. Rewarding their "faithfull ally" for "supporting" the so-called US war on terror
2. Preventing the loss of five thousand odd jobs at the F-16 plant which is guess is in Forth-Worth, Texas - Bush's home state
3. Supporting the balance of power between India and Pakistan by preventing India from achieving overwhelming dominance in air power, something which we are in the process of doing
4. Try and make money by selling large numbers of similar aircraft to India. The US is a past master in the game of selling sophisticated arms to both sides in a conflict. They sell to Turkey as well as Greece. They also sell to Israel and to Egypt and Saudi Arabia

On no account should India actually take the bait and make the mistake of buying US warplanes. There are a number of reasons for doing so

1. The US is a notoriously unreliable supplier of arms. Even signed contracts are not sacrosanct. After India's nuclear tests, the US stopped the supply of spare parts that kept most of India's fleet of Sea King helicopters non-operational. At least one of India's Sea Harriers was also grounded because the US refused to supply spares for it. Although both the Sea King and Sea Harriers are of British origin, some of their crucial spare parts are of US origin.
2. Buying large numbers of F-16s from the US (we have an outstanding need to purchase about 126+ multi role combat aircraft - MRCA to replace the phasing out of older types and airframes in the next few years) will enable the US to cheaply keep their F-16 plant operational, therby enabling Pakistan to get cheap and ready supply of spares from it.
3. Buying large numbers of F/A-18s serves no purpose because F/A-18 C/D versions are short ranged while the F/A-18 E/F versions are simply bomb trucks without the requisite agility required for air to air work. Besides the Super Hornet (F/A-18 E/F) is pretty expensive. Better to spend out scarce monetary resources on better aircraft from more reliable suppliers who will sell us their aircraft with few string attached and also provide transfer of technology to a higher extent than the US ever will. Besides the US hasn't ever allowed third-party equipment (primarily avionics) to be installed in their aircraft, except minor items from OEMs
4. Buying from the US rewards the US for supplying the aircraft to India's adversary. The F-16s will not be used on anyone else except India. Also the moment Pakistanis feel that the US is backing them (and supplying large quantities of sophisticated aircraft is certainly a strong signal), they start getting cocky and issuing veiled threats. Witness Musharraf's threat of many more Kargils if the India-Pakistan "dialogue" doesn't being to produce results (read, results entirely in Pakistan's favour)

The primary problem with this US decision is the possibility, nay the probability, of the aircraft being supplied to Pakistan free of cost! Having Pakistan buy them serves as a limit to the number the Pakistanis can acquire. Giving them away removes the limit. Already there is a talk on the Pakistanis' acquiring upto 111 of these aircraft including upgrading their existing older Block 15 versions of the F-16. If this turns out to be true, only a fool will say that the balance of power in South Asia is not altered (actually lots of "well regarded" Indian analysts like K. Subrahmanyam who really should know better, also argue that the balance of power is not altered).

As far as I'm concerned any additional Indian soldiers killed because of these F-16s will put paid to the analysts rantings.

There has been a lot of press recently both in the print and electronic media and in specialized electronic mailing lists like nathistory-india (Natural History of South Asia) about the tiger crisis India is facing.

Tigers have disappeared in Sariska, or more correctly, no trace of tigers have been found recently in Sariska. This means no pug-marks, no scats, no scratch marks, etc. For all practical purposes they have disappeared from Sariska, almost certainly poached to local extinction.

Tiger sightings have also reduced in number in nearby Ranthambhor. Again, almost certainly due to poaching. The state of tiger populations in Panna and Bandhavgarh are also said to be causing concern.

While Project Tiger initiated in 1973 almost certainly provided better protection to Tigers and the forests they lived in, complacency seems to have set in during the last decade or so. There are regular reports of large number of tiger and leopard skins, claws and bones being seized from poachers and petty illegal wildlife traders. Going by the assumption that the numbers being seized are a fraction of what escapes detection, things are pretty bleak.

I have never believed any census figures put out by wildlife authorities for predators like the tiger, leopard and wild dog. Prey numbers may be right. I routinely divide by three, the number of tigers that are alleged to be living in any protected area. Since its impossible to physically count the actual number of tigers, some extrapolation from collected data is expected. But inflated figures are not expected, although regularly reported.

If action is not taken fast, this spells the doom for India's wildlife. If the tiger and leopard are in such dire straits, I don't doubt that the fate of other lesser creatures, that are not reported, is any better.

What gets my goat is the Central government reaction. More committees are being formed to "look into the matter". CBI "probes" are ordered. What's needed is action.

1. Increase the budget for the forest departments, fund the states to enable them to do so.
2. Fill up all posts in the state forest departments that are lying empty.
3. Procecute to the full extent of the law, anybody caught indulging in wildlife offences. The notorious poacher Sansar Chand is absconding, how the hell was he granted bail after so many repeated offences!
4. Disallow polluting industries to come up in areas within or close to protected areas. Order a close down of all existing polluting industries. Biodiversity is going to be increasingly important to our country in the future and any action detrimental to it should not be allowed.