I started writing the blog around 12 months back and every month I will put in an article or two from a year back.
Other than water, is there anything else in Kashmir that could be of interest to Pakistan? Forget the Islamic brotherhood - the Kashmiri Sufism has no connection to way of life of the majority Sunnis of Pakistan.
While this may look far fetched to many, do read this with an open mind. And then think, if this is indeed true, what is the tourism potential of this place? It will run into billions of dollars a month - yes, far more than the whole of India makes out of tourism in a year. Such is the potential of this place.
The question to ask is this - there was an attempt to carbon date Yuz Asaf, but at the last moment this was stopped. Why? And if anyone wants an independent Kashmir, then all I want is that the body of Yuz Asaf be shifted from Srinagar and into India. Lets see if the US allows that - :).
An interesting BBC documentary on JESUS IN KASHMIR:
THE EARLIER ARTICLE:
This makes for a fascinating read - truth blends with belief and backed by research. There is a major movie by Universal Studios coming soon on this subject : JESUS IN INDIA.
Ahmediyya sect believes that Jesus Christ is buried in Kashmir (tomb of Yuz Asaf in Srinagar). Coincidentally, Ahmediyya Muslims are categorized as Muslims all over the world, except PAKSITAN.
Many Sunni Muslims regard the Ahmediyyas as non-Muslims, because, unlike Sunnis, they do not believe that the Prophet Mohammed was the last Muslim prophet.
Mirza Ghulam Ahmed was the founder of Ahmediyya sect. He was born in Qadian in 1835, the grandson of a Muslim general who fought under the legendary Sikh ruler Maharaja RANJIT SINGH. Mirza became a religious scholar and mired himself in Persian and Arabic manuscripts and books on early Islam. His writings impressed even Tolstoy.
Mirza Ghulam Ahmed entered into dangerous territory when he proclaimed that he received a divine revelation entrusting him with a divine mission. The revelation that he received was : JESUS, SON OF MARY, HAD NOT DIED ON THE CROSS, HAD NOT ASCENDED TO HEAVEN, BUT HAD RATHER BEEN RESCUED OFF THE CROSS BY AN INTREPID BAND OF DISCIPLES, CURED OF HIS WOUNDS, AND HELPED TO ESCAPE FROM PALESTINE. JESUS REACHED KASHMIR, WHERE HE LIVED A LONG AND HAPPY LIFE AND DIED A NATURAL DEATH."
The rescue of Jesus and his asylum in Kashmir negated any idea of literal Resurrection. What it means, according to ISLAM: Someone with all the attributes of Jesus would one day appear among the followers of Phrophet of ISLAM. Mirza Ghulam Ahmed, he pronounced, was none other than THAT PERSON and should be accordingly greeted and treated as the MESSIAH, whose arrival had been foretold.
Mainstream ISLAM responded with a shower of FATWAS but the Ahmediyya sect continued to grow.
More than Christianity, if actual proof of burial of Jesus is proved - this will have cataclysmic effect on the Muslim world. A carbon dating on the corpse of Yuz Asaf should be the first step.
HOLGER KERSTEN'S BOOK: SYNOPSIS BY: ANNA POTTS AND DR. MANOCHA
The Russian scholar, Nicolai Notovich, was the first to suggest that Christ may have gone to India. In 1887, Notovich, a Russian scholar and Orientalist, arrived in Kashmir during one of several journeys to the Orient. At the Zoji-la pass Notovich was a guest in a Buddhist monastery, where a monk told him of the bhodisattva saint called "Issa". Notovich was stunned by the remarkable parallels of Issa's teachings and martyrdom with that of Christ's life, teachings and crucifixion.
For about sixteen years, Christ travelled through Turkey, Persia, Western Europe and possibly England. He finally arrived with Mary to a place near Kashmir, where she died. After many years in Kashmir, teaching to an appreciative population, who venerated him as a great prophet, reformer and saint, he died and was buried in a tomb in Kashmir itself.
The first step in Christ's trail after the Crucifixion is found in the Persian scholar F. Mohammed's historical work "Jami-ut-tuwarik" which tells of Christ's arrival in the kingdom of Nisibis, by royal invitation. (Nisibis is today known as Nusaybin in Turkey) . This is reiterated in the Imam Abu Jafar Muhammed's "Tafsi-Ibn-i-Jamir at-tubri." Kersten found that in both Turkey and Persia there are ancient stories of a saint called "Yuz Asaf" ("Leader of the Healed"), whose behaviour, miracles and teachings are remarkably similar to that of Christ.
The many Islamic and Hindu historical works recording local history and legends of kings, noblemen and saints of the areas thought to be travelled by Jesus also give evidence of a Christ like man; the Koran, for example, refers to Christ as "Issar". Further east, the Kurdish tribes of Eastern Anatolia have several stories describing Christ's stay in Eastern Turkey after his resurrection. These traditional legends have been ignored by the theological community.
Kersten also suggests that prior to Christ's mission in the Middle East, he may have been exposed to Buddhist teachings in Egypt. After his birth in Bethlehem, his family fled to Egypt to avoid Herod's persecution. Surprisingly some scholars now acknowledge that Buddhist schools probably existed in Alexandria long before the Christian era.
More clues are drawn from the Apocrypha. These are texts said to have been written by the Apostles but which are not officially accepted by the Church. Indeed, the Church regards them as heresy since a substantial amount of the Apocrypha directly contradicts Church dogma and theology. The Apocryphal 'Acts of Thomas', for example, tell how Christ met Thomas several times after the Crucifixion. In fact they tell us how Christ sent Thomas to teach his spirituality in India. This is corroborated by evidence found in the form of stone inscriptions at Fatehpur Sikri, near the Taj Mahal, in Northern India. They include "Agrapha", which are sayings of Christ that don't exist in the mainstream Bible. Their grammatical form is most similar to that of the Apocryphal gospel of Thomas. This is but one example giving credibility to the idea that texts not recognised by the Church hold important clues about Christ's true life and his teachings.
In tracing Christ's movements to India and beyond, Kersten also discovered that many of his teachings, which have been gradually edited out of the modern Bible were originally Eastern in nature. Principles such as karma and re-incarnation, for example, were common knowledge then, and seem to have been reaffirmed by Christ. Imagine the implications that this discovery holds for Western Christianity and its churches, who have kept Christ in their doctrinal top pockets and have constrained the entire Western culture within the narrow teachings of blind faith, organised religion and original sin!
Further clues are cited from The Apocryphal Acts of Thomas, and the Gospel of Thomas which are of Syrian origin and have been dated to the 4th Century AD, or possibly earlier. They are Gnostic Scriptures and despite the evidence indicating their authenticity, they are not given credence by mainstream theologians. In these texts Thomas tells of Christ's appearance in Andrapolis, Paphlagonia (today known as in the extreme north of Anatolia) as a guest of the King of Andrappa. There he met with Thomas who had arrived separately. It is at Andrapolis that Christ entreated Thomas to go to India to begin spreading his teachings. It seems that Christ and Mary then moved along the West coast of Turkey, proof of this could be an old stopping place for travellers called the "Home of Mary", found along the ancient silk route. From here Christ could easily have entered Europe via France. He may have even travelled as far as the British Isles, for in England there is an ancient oak tree called the "Hallowed Tree" which (says local legend) was planted by Christ himself.
In his travels through Persia (today's Iran) Christ became known as Yuz Asaf (leader of the Healed). We know this because a Kashmiri historical document confirms that Isa (the Koranic name for Christ) was in fact also known as Yuz Asaf. The Jami - uf - Tamarik, Volume II, tells that Yuz Asaf visited Masslige, where he attended the grave of Shem, Noah's son. There are various other accounts such as Agha Mustafa's "Awhali Shahaii-i-paras" that tell of Yuz Asaf's travels and teachings all over Persia. It seems that Yuz Asaf blessed Afghanistan and Pakistan (then part of India) with his presence also. There are for example two plains in Eastern Afghanistan near Gazni and Galalabad, bearing the name of the prophet Yuz Asaf. Again in the Apocryphal Acts of Thomas, Thomas says that he and Christ attended the Court of King Gundafor of Taxila (now Pakistan), in about 47AD, and that eventually both the King and his brother accepted Christ's teachings. Kersten claims that there are more than twenty one historical documents that bear witness to the existence of Jesus in Kashmir, where he was known also as Yuz Asaf and Issa. For example the Bhavishyat Mahapurana (volume 9 verses 17-32) contains an account of Issa-Masih (Jesus the Messiah). It describes Christ's arrival in the Kashmir region of India and his encounter with King Shalivahana, who ruled the Kushan area (39-50AD), and who entertained Christ as a guest for some time.
Christ's life in India, after the crucifixion, challenges current Church teachings at their very foundation. The theology of Saint Paul, the major influence on modern Christianity, is empty fanaticism in the light of this discovery.
The historian Mullah Nadini (1413) also recounts a story of Yuz Asaf who was a contemporary to King Gopadatta, and confirms that he also used the name Issar, ie. Jesus. There is also much historical truth in the towns and villages of Northern India to prove that Jesus and his mother Mary spent time in the area. For instance, at the border of a small town called Mari, there is nearby a mountain called Pindi Point, upon which is an old tomb called Mai Mari da Asthan or "The final resting place of Mary". The tomb is said to be very old and local Muslims venerate it as the grave of Issa's (ie Christ's) Mother. The tomb itself is oriented EAST - WEST consistent with the JEWISH tradition, despite the fact it is WITHIN a Muslim area. Assuming its antiquity, such a tomb could not be Hindu either since the Hindus contemporary to Christ cremated their dead and scattered their ashes as do Hindus today.
Following Christ's trail into Kashmir, 40km south of Srinagar, between the villages of Naugam and Nilmge is a meadow called Yuz-Marg (the meadow of Yuz Asaf, ie. Jesus). Then there is the sacred building called Aish Muqam, 60km south east of Srinagar and 12km from Bij Bihara. "Aish" says Kersten is derived from "Issa" and "Muqam" place of rest or repose. Within the Aish Muqam is a sacred relic called the 'Moses Rod' or the 'Jesus Rod', which local legend says, belonged to Moses himself.
Christ is said to also have held it, perhaps to confirm his Mosaic heritage. Above the town of Srinagar is a temple known as "The Throne of Solomon", which dates back to at least 1000BC, which King Gopadatta had restored at about the same time as Christ's advent. The restoration was done by a Persian architect who personally left four inscriptions on the side steps of the temple. The third and fourth inscription read: "At this time Yuz Asaf announced his prophetic calling in Year 50 and 4" and "HE IS JEUS - - - PROPHET OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL"! Herein lies a powerful confirmation of Kersten's theory.
Kersten suggests that Christ may have travelled to the South of India also, finally returning to Kashmir to die at the age of approximately 80 years. Christ's tomb, says Kersten, lies in Srinagar's old town in a building called Rozabal. "Rozabal" is an abbreviation of Rauza Bal, meaning "tomb of a prophet". At the entrance there is an inscription explaining that Yuz Asaf is buried along with another Moslem saint. Both have gravestones which are oriented in North-South direction, according to Moslem tradition. However, through a small opening the true burial chamber can be seen, in which there is the Sarcophagus of Yuz Asaf in EAST - WEST (JEWISH) orientation! - VERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THIS FACT !
According to Professor Hassnain, who has studied this tomb, there are carved footprints on the grave stones and when closely examined, carved images of a crucifix and a rosary. The footprints of Yuz Asaf have what appear to be scars represented on both feet, if one assumes that they are crucifixion scars, then their position is consistent with the scars shown in the Turin Shroud (left foot nailed over right). Crucifixion was not practised in Asia, so it is quite possible that they were inflicted elsewhere, such as the Middle East. The tomb is called by some as "Hazrat Issa Sahib" or "Tomb of the Lord Master Jesus". Ancient records acknowledge the existence of the tomb as long ago as 112AD. The Grand Mufti, a prominent Muslim Cleric, himself has confirmed that Hazrat Isa Sahib is indeed the tomb of Yuz Asaf!
Thus Kersten deduces that the tomb of Jesus Christ Himself is in Kashmir!
The implications of Kersten's discovery are monumental. Christ's life in India, after the crucifixion, challenges current Church teachings at their very foundation. The theology of Saint Paul, the major influence on modern Christianity, is empty fanaticism in the light of this discovery. Threatened also are the doctrines of obedience to the Church, original sin, salvation through blind faith and the non-existence of reincarnation, etc. Yet these ideas underlie the morality and ethics, (or lack of them), that govern the entire Western social structure, from the legal system to medical health care schemes. It is no wonder that the modern Churches and their secular interests refuse to consider such a proposition as Kersten's!
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Truth is stranger than fiction. While we will not be over awed by history whose pages have dissappeared, we should have a healthy respect for research and cross-country historical tales. Till then, Indian government must provide strictest protection to this tomb in Kashmir.
Who knows? This could either start a major war or usher in peace. And if there is peace, Srinagar will outpace Bethlehem, as tourists pour in by millions !!
Bamiyan Buddha statues were blown up by Taliban. Main stream Islam does not tolerate any other religion or its religious heads. If it predated Islam - more the fury. Given this context, I will not at all be surprised if a major attack takes place on the tomb of "YUZ ASAF" blowing it to smithereens. Do we wait for such an eventuality or do we give Category Z protection to the tomb.
(Whether JESUS is buried in Kashmir or not, this act of providing Category Z protection will provide all round confusion as to the motives of the Indian Govt. It will be a pyschological warfare if India were to do so with adequate publicity. It will bring Kashmir international attention. With movies being released and more people around the world reading Dan Brown etc, India should seriously consider this. It will make it impossible for Paksitan to take Kashmir. After Bethlehem, one cannot let go of another "Christ site" under Islamic occupation).
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My take on Mirza Ghulam Ahmed : He was a learned scholar. It would not have taken too much to deduce that there was a probability that Jesus survived crucifiction (amongst other things - Jesus was on crucifiction was only a few hours, when it requires a good 2 days + to die in that fashion). Moreever, Mirza Ghulam Ahmed could have seen the resting place of Yuz Asaf and the nail marks on the feet imprinted on coffin and came to his conclusions. Whether this fact was also buttressed by a divine revelation I leave it to the judgement of readers. Quite clearly, in marketing terms, Mirza Ghulam Ahmed, saw an opportunity. Dan Brown and others made it fashionable to West today, what was already known in the East for centuries.
Is Jesus buried in Kashmir? If Jesus was saved, he would be buried somewhere, and four possible places are said to have been the final resting place: One in Israel, One in France, One in Syria and One in Kashmir. I hope, if Jesus is indeed buried, let Him be in Kashmir - for indeed if there is paradise here on earth - it is here, it is here, it is here in Kashmir.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
ISI formenting global jehad through Al Qaeda, Taliban and Lashkar e Taiba
For an intelligent fiction read the above book : THE ISI GAME PLAN written by Brigardier YPS Mohan.
Chicago natives David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana have been charged in federal court with plotting to conduct attacks against a newspaper in Denmark and also possibly India (along the lines of 26/11), according to a criminal complaint at the US District Court in Chicago.
How it all started
David Coleman Headley wrote from the confines of his Chicago home to a forum called Abdalians. Long War Journal reports: Headley began plotting the attack against Jyllands-Posten in October 2008 after posting a message expressing his desire to avenge the perceived slight against Islam and Mohammed. "I feel disposed towards violence for the offending parties," Headley wrote at "abdalians" forum, an internet group for graduates of a Pakistani military school.
By late 2008, Headley was in touch with a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative "who has substantial influence and responsibility within the organization and whose identity is known to the government" and another operative with close connections to Kashmiri.
Headley traveled to Pakistan as well as Copenhagen and other locations in Europe several times, using Rana's business as a cover. He even visited Miramshah in South Waziristan, the headquarters of the notorious Haqqani Network, al Qaeda's biggest ally among the Taliban (NOTE: Haqqanni are ISI's biggest ally - so go figure the connections), where he claimed he met Kashmiri. He remained in contact with the Lashkar operatives and received direction to focus on the Denmark attack. Headley's contact with Kashmiri was directed through one of the Lashkar operatives.
Now lets take a look at it logically. David writes in a forum that is meant for graduates of a Pakistani military school and he was directed to Lashkar e Taiba as well as Brigade 313 – which is itself part of Lashkar al Zil – a paramilitary outfit of Al Qaeda.
Albadians (Pakistan Military) ---> Lashar e Taiba ---> Brigade 313 ---> Al Qaeda. And in between ISI played it catalytic role.
What fascinates me is that people still talk about rogue ISI as if these old retired ISI generals are not part of ISI any more. ISI is one and Pakistan military retains absolute control over it.
So much so, Ilyas Kashmiri – the leader of Brigade 313 and a senior Al Qaeda leader was a Pakistan SSG commando.
Long War Journal states: (Ilyas) Kashmiri is also a longtime asset of Pakistan's military and intelligence services. He served as a commando in the elite Special Services Group (SSG), Pakistan's special operations unit trained by Britain's Special Air Service. In the early 1990s, Kashmiri was ordered by the (Pakistan) military to join the Harkat-ul Jihad Islami (HuJI).
Again look at this – Pakistan Military is embedding its strategic assets for better direction into jehadi outfits.
26/11 Mumbai may have been a Brigade 313 operation – but it was orchestrated by Al Qaeda and Pakistan Military.
Hence Pakistan Military => ISI => Al Qaeda => Lashkar e Taiba. The connection is contiguous, seamless and feeds off each other.
A look at four incidents and one article:
1. Taliban leader killed by SAS was Pakistan officer
2. Former SSG Commander Amir Faisal Alvi killed by Ilyas Kashmiri after he wrote a letter to Kayani exposing links of Pakistan Army generals and Taliban.
3. Two Jaish e Mohammad operatives caught in Kashmir were Pakistani Army sepoys
4. Soldiers turning rogues is Pakistan's (and the world's) new headache. People are not talking about the Zia ul Haq mindset that started this jehadi infiltration into Pakistan's armed forces.
5. During the Kunduz evacuation, Pakistan military had to land transport planes in Afghanistan to ferry out its embedded soldiers amongst Taliban in the cover of darkness, before the area was overrun by Northern Alliance soldiers.
The role of ISI and Pakistan military in 26/11 and formenting terror globally is well known. For the first time Pakistan stands accused of sending terrorists by three of its neighbours, India – Afghanistan – Iran.
The role of Pakistan Military and ISI for 9/11 is gathering dust in USA – wonder when they will take it out for public consumption, if at all. My guess is that USA will use it as a stick on Pakistan military to do its bidding in its so called war on terror.
With China breathing down India’s neck, a weakened US requires Pakistan for its game plan in Central Asia. And both China and US are joined at the hip in the current economic meltdown. A lot of dynamics can evolve which can leave India not only on the sidelines but outside the stadium as a hapless spectator.
Sometimes in chess you have to sacrifice the pawn for protecting the king. Time to look beyond short term objectives and plan for the next 100 years. India must cut off land link between China and Pakistan, retake portions of POK back and get a common boundary with Afghanistan. If situation does not come, then make the “situation” happen.
Al – Qaeda’s salafi principles if allowed to waft into Kashmir, will ring the death knell of freedom and a way of life we are used to. In another article I will write about the sheer audacity and fearlessness (and stupidity too) of these salafi foot soldiers – we who live in cities have no inkling of the level of commitment they bring to the table. A recent example is the bombing of Meena market in Peshawar where Al-Qaeda operatives warned of reprisals if women were not barred from the market. Since the warning was not adhered to, Taliban under orders from Al-Qaeda masters blew up significant portions of the market killing over 105 people. There are other tactical reasons for the blast too - but suffice it to say here - this was the stated purpose. For an exceptional analysis read this article by Murtaza Razvi : Attacking our way of life. And as stated earlier, if we are not stemming this rot in Pakistan, it will permeate into Kashmir and then its downhill from there!
For them Ghazwatul Hind (click and must read) is a reality as is the reality that the al-Asqa mosque will fall that will give them the clarion call to move both east and west of Afghanistan. The green corridors of Balkans(another must read - click) are being primed in the meantime. Only US might stands in the way – and too is being eroded militarily by quicksands of Afghanistan and Iraq and financially by eroding the value of dollar.
For some specific tango of ISI & Al-Qaeda - do read: WE ARE BROTHERS IN ARMS.
FINALLY, Kudos to Hillary Clinton for finally saying what is whispered inside the confines of situation rooms:
‘Al Qaeda has had safe haven in Pakistan since 2002,’ Clinton told senior Pakistani newspaper editors in the country’s cultural capital, Lahore.
‘I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn’t get them if they really wanted to,’ she added.
'You do have 180 million people. Your population is projected to be about 300 million. And I don’t know what you’re gonna do with that kind of challenge, unless you start planning right now,’ she said.
Friday, October 23, 2009
INDIA CAN IMPLODE FROM WITHIN
India’s internal security is a function of how good is intelligence from the street. And this comes from both the Intelligence Bureau (IB) as well as the local police force.
Now IB is politicized beyond repair though P Chidambaram is trying to do something positive. All political parties have used 1/3 of IB personnel to tap into the phones / movements of their political opponents. Instead of securing India, these IB operatives were sent by the then political party in power to secure “compromising proof” on their political opponents to keep them in their place.
That leaves the police stations. If one goes to any police station in the city, he becomes acutely aware of the rot the whole system is in. The Officer in Charge (OC) of a police station often has to bribe his way to a lucrative posting where he can make easy grease money. Such is the scale of corruption that anyone can smuggle in arms from Bangladesh border and dump it anywhere in India – paying grease money along the way – the consignments never checked. We don’t even have basic infrastructure to check goods while in transit through sophisticated machines.
The police stations across India are not connected through a dedicated network (this from a country that is a supposed software giant) – there are no biometric cards accessible to all police stations across India.
Its as if it is not one India, but different states of India makes up different India. And anyone, trust me anyone, can hold up any local police station to ransom. The arms do not work, the pot bellied policemen do not even know how to aim properly and shoot.
The minute percentage of upright police officers are so much in the minority that they are completely marginalized in the system. Hence, unless India throws up several Serpico there is no end to this malaise. And delink political umbrella from policing – it is the only way forward if India is not to implode from within.
In all this the incident that took place in Sankrail should not come as any surprise. To recapitulate:
At least 24 policemen, including constables, inspectors and homeguards, were present at the Sankrail police station when the Maoists struck at 1.30 pm yesterday. Not one shot was fired in retaliation. While a probe is on into what prevented the police force from "engaging" the Maoists, a preliminary investigation has revealed how unprepared the police force is — and the abysmal state of their working and living conditions. Consider the following:
* There were 13 constables, 5 home guards, 3 national volunteer force members and 3 sub-inspectors at the police station when the Maoists struck. Not one policeman was armed. For, the practice here is to keep the weapons locked in trunks.
Even Officer-in-Charge (OC) Atindranath Dutta, who was abducted, was at his home unarmed. The police station had six .303 rifles, three revolvers, one 9-mm pistol and 180 rounds of ammunition — all locked up in the malkhana (storeroom).
* Why? Policemen say one reason is the weapons are no match to those used by the Naxals — so keeping them locked up is "safer." Until the last Lok Sabha elections in May when they got rifles, the constables here had only lathis.
Said 55-year-old constable Gouranga Mondol: "Two months ago, we told the OC that please take away our rifles. These can do nothing compared to the sophisticated semi-automatic arms and ammunition of the Maoists. In fact, that's why carrying such guns was a highly risky proposition. The Naxals would have attacked and looted us. Therefore, we all felt safer with the guns locked away."
* Result: when the Maoists struck, the police station was a sitting duck. The attackers raided the malkhana and took away all the 10 guns and the ammunition.
Moreover, it was lunchtime, the constables were either eating or taking a nap. "As we heard gunshots, we fled into the forest behind the station. Those who could not flee were killed. They took away our police uniform, our cellphones and cash," said Anil Orang, another constable.
* The barracks, adjacent to the police station, is home to 13 constables and a driver. The ceiling in the barracks has chunks falling off. There's no door and it's open from both sides. The windows are broken. For 14 men, there is one toilet and the kitchen is in the open.
* Three years ago, the state PWD acquired 2.5 bighas across from the present police station. A sum of Rs 5 lakh was sanctioned to erect a new police station. The project is abandoned with only two rooms built which are now used by the OC as his residence.
* Ironically, the Jhargram police station, barely 35 km from Sankrail, is considered "prone to Maoist violence" and has bunkers, members of State Armed Police with Insas rifles guarding it 24 hours. But the Sankrail station has no boundary wall and is situated in an open field, with a forest behind it.
The dilapidated building that houses the police station and the adjacent barracks are rented from a local businessmen. The police station has no door, no bunker to thwart an attack.
Asked about the state of preparedness, state DGP Bhupinder Singh said: "The area has no history of violence of left-wing Extremists. The police station was not designated as affected by Maoist violence and, therefore, the security was not so tight. We are doing what ever we can to improve the situation."
THE SITUATION IN PICTURES
INDIA'S TYPICAL POLICE BARRACKS - PATHETIC
SANKRAIL OFFICER IN CHARGE'S OFFICE RANSACKED BY MAOISTS
WHERE POLICE KEPT THEIR ARMAMENTS - AND WHY MAOSISTS COULD "STEAL" IT
THE OFFICER IN CHARGE IS BEING RELEASED AS P.O.W. BY THE MAOISTS IN FULL MEDIA GLARE
MAOISTS GIVING PRESS CONFERENCE - WHAT AN IRONY !!
Now IB is politicized beyond repair though P Chidambaram is trying to do something positive. All political parties have used 1/3 of IB personnel to tap into the phones / movements of their political opponents. Instead of securing India, these IB operatives were sent by the then political party in power to secure “compromising proof” on their political opponents to keep them in their place.
That leaves the police stations. If one goes to any police station in the city, he becomes acutely aware of the rot the whole system is in. The Officer in Charge (OC) of a police station often has to bribe his way to a lucrative posting where he can make easy grease money. Such is the scale of corruption that anyone can smuggle in arms from Bangladesh border and dump it anywhere in India – paying grease money along the way – the consignments never checked. We don’t even have basic infrastructure to check goods while in transit through sophisticated machines.
The police stations across India are not connected through a dedicated network (this from a country that is a supposed software giant) – there are no biometric cards accessible to all police stations across India.
Its as if it is not one India, but different states of India makes up different India. And anyone, trust me anyone, can hold up any local police station to ransom. The arms do not work, the pot bellied policemen do not even know how to aim properly and shoot.
The minute percentage of upright police officers are so much in the minority that they are completely marginalized in the system. Hence, unless India throws up several Serpico there is no end to this malaise. And delink political umbrella from policing – it is the only way forward if India is not to implode from within.
In all this the incident that took place in Sankrail should not come as any surprise. To recapitulate:
At least 24 policemen, including constables, inspectors and homeguards, were present at the Sankrail police station when the Maoists struck at 1.30 pm yesterday. Not one shot was fired in retaliation. While a probe is on into what prevented the police force from "engaging" the Maoists, a preliminary investigation has revealed how unprepared the police force is — and the abysmal state of their working and living conditions. Consider the following:
* There were 13 constables, 5 home guards, 3 national volunteer force members and 3 sub-inspectors at the police station when the Maoists struck. Not one policeman was armed. For, the practice here is to keep the weapons locked in trunks.
Even Officer-in-Charge (OC) Atindranath Dutta, who was abducted, was at his home unarmed. The police station had six .303 rifles, three revolvers, one 9-mm pistol and 180 rounds of ammunition — all locked up in the malkhana (storeroom).
* Why? Policemen say one reason is the weapons are no match to those used by the Naxals — so keeping them locked up is "safer." Until the last Lok Sabha elections in May when they got rifles, the constables here had only lathis.
Said 55-year-old constable Gouranga Mondol: "Two months ago, we told the OC that please take away our rifles. These can do nothing compared to the sophisticated semi-automatic arms and ammunition of the Maoists. In fact, that's why carrying such guns was a highly risky proposition. The Naxals would have attacked and looted us. Therefore, we all felt safer with the guns locked away."
* Result: when the Maoists struck, the police station was a sitting duck. The attackers raided the malkhana and took away all the 10 guns and the ammunition.
Moreover, it was lunchtime, the constables were either eating or taking a nap. "As we heard gunshots, we fled into the forest behind the station. Those who could not flee were killed. They took away our police uniform, our cellphones and cash," said Anil Orang, another constable.
* The barracks, adjacent to the police station, is home to 13 constables and a driver. The ceiling in the barracks has chunks falling off. There's no door and it's open from both sides. The windows are broken. For 14 men, there is one toilet and the kitchen is in the open.
* Three years ago, the state PWD acquired 2.5 bighas across from the present police station. A sum of Rs 5 lakh was sanctioned to erect a new police station. The project is abandoned with only two rooms built which are now used by the OC as his residence.
* Ironically, the Jhargram police station, barely 35 km from Sankrail, is considered "prone to Maoist violence" and has bunkers, members of State Armed Police with Insas rifles guarding it 24 hours. But the Sankrail station has no boundary wall and is situated in an open field, with a forest behind it.
The dilapidated building that houses the police station and the adjacent barracks are rented from a local businessmen. The police station has no door, no bunker to thwart an attack.
Asked about the state of preparedness, state DGP Bhupinder Singh said: "The area has no history of violence of left-wing Extremists. The police station was not designated as affected by Maoist violence and, therefore, the security was not so tight. We are doing what ever we can to improve the situation."
THE SITUATION IN PICTURES
INDIA'S TYPICAL POLICE BARRACKS - PATHETIC
SANKRAIL OFFICER IN CHARGE'S OFFICE RANSACKED BY MAOISTS
WHERE POLICE KEPT THEIR ARMAMENTS - AND WHY MAOSISTS COULD "STEAL" IT
THE OFFICER IN CHARGE IS BEING RELEASED AS P.O.W. BY THE MAOISTS IN FULL MEDIA GLARE
MAOISTS GIVING PRESS CONFERENCE - WHAT AN IRONY !!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
INDIA'S NUCLEAR STRATEGY BUILT ON A LIE
This article is written by Dr PK Iyengar, former Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman.
POKHRAN II
The article by Dr. Iyengar:
Recent revelations by K Santhanam, who was the field director during Pokhran-II, have again brought into focus doubts regarding the thermonuclear test of May 11, 1998. Thermonuclear weapons are crucial to a credible deterrent because they are much lighter than fission weapons and therefore more suitable for deployment on missiles. Thus, fission weapons are sufficient only if your deterrence is restricted to targets located close to you. By contrast, thermonuclear weapons are not only lighter but also have explosive powers ranging from tens of kilotons to megatons, all coming largely from Lithium (Li) which is much cheaper than plutonium used in the fission process. True, a thermonuclear explosion has as its trigger a fission device, but here the quantity of plutonium required is much smaller than in a purely fission weapon of comparable yield.
The basic design of nuclear devices must be validated through underground explosions before weaponising them, underlining the necessity of being absolutely sure that the test carried out is beyond any doubt. Therefore, considering the doubts over the Pokhran-II tests, what’s at stake is the credibility of our nuclear deterrence and, even more importantly, of our strategic decision-making process. No one understands this better than the armed forces, who will be the users of these weapons. Since it’s they who are responsible for national security, they must be convinced about the success of our nuclear tests and our nuclear deterrence — not politicians or bureaucrats. By all accounts, they don’t seem to be in the loop.
A mismatch in yield
At a press conference on September 24, 2009, principal scientific advisor to the government R Chidambaram and chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Anil Kakodkar sought to address the ‘doubts’ raised by Santhanam about the efficacy of the thermonuclear (TN) test. Were their clarifications adequate?
First, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) claims that the combined yield of the fission and TN devices tested simultaneously was around 57 kilotons (kt). Santhanam, in charge of the measurements at site, claims that the S2 (Shaft-2) site in which the fission device was detonated gave a yield of 25 kt and the TN device in S1 gave much less. International seismologists, with rich experience in operating sophisticated seismic array, all converge on a total yield not greater than 30 kt. The DAE claims that the fission device yielded 12 kt and the TN device 45 kt. It isn’t scientifically possible to reconcile these two claims even though the then NSA convened a meeting to resolve this issue.
Santhanam’s revelations confirm that the fission device created, as expected, a crater, similar to that of Pokhran-I. It’s clear that the shock intensity reaching the ground in the S1 shaft was certainly weaker and was due to the much lesser yield of the TN device compared to what is claimed. Video recording of the ground motion could confirm the poorer up-thrust of ground, but neither the DAE nor the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has released this for the public.
Second, the tele-seismic recordings and their analysis from a large number of stations can’t be ignored. They had reported eight kt for Pokhran-I, which was conducted in 1974, and was close to our own measurements. It’s erroneous to argue that minor variations in the site geology of the 1998 tests could lower the signals to account for reduced yield by as much as half (the DAE’s 57 kt as against the 30 kt of others.)
Third, one of the DAE’s estimates was made on the basis of a comparative study, giving the yield of Pokhran-II relative to that of Pokhran-I. The rationale for this is that since the location was almost the same, many of the uncertainties regarding the soil composition etc, can be removed by such a calculation. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) calculated that the Pokhran-II yield was 4.45 times the Pokhran-I yield. (Others estimated it to be only two to three times.) Taking the Pokhran-I yield as close to eight kt, as I know it as its project head, the total yield of Pokhran-II works to only 36 kt, leaving only 24 kt for the TN device (since the DAE claims 12 KT for the fission test). This is closer to international evaluation, though slightly higher.
Fourth, the DAE concedes that the TN device consisted of a boosted-fission trigger and the secondary fusion core. There was also probably a fission ‘spark-plug’ in the core of the TN device (and I say this because this would be a sensible, conservative design for a first TN device; in which case some energy would come from it too. But this hasn’t been revealed). So, part of the TN yield would have come from the boosted-fission trigger and part from the fusion burn. In 2000, I had liberally estimated this ratio to be 1:1. This was later agreed to by S K Sikka as well, who was the scientific head of the BARC design team. With this number for the thermonuclear burn — 12 kt (the other 12 kt coming from the fission trigger in that 1:1 ratio) — I have calculated that only around 250 gm of the LiD (Lithium-6 Deuteride) fusion material would have burnt. I know for sure the BARC has the means to make highly enriched Li-6 from 1970. This amount of LiD translates to a core size of around four centimetre in radius, which is too small for a realistic size of LiD core. It’s more likely that around two kilograms of LiD (eight centimetre radius) was used, in which case the burn efficiency would be around 10 per cent. The shape of the core could have been different from spherical.
Fifth, the DAE has quoted the radiochemical method as an accurate method of estimating the yield. However, it depends upon where the sample came from, and the methodology used. In the un-reviewed paper by BARC published in the BARC Newsletter, where even scales are not marked on the graphs, they have claimed 50 kt as the yield (for the TN device), with an error of ± 10 kt. This error range clearly shows that the methodology is suspect. In the case of atmospheric explosions one could pick the samples from the very centre of the device and thus be more accurate. For the fusion device, one has to rely on activity produced by fusion neutrons. This is difficult because a good part of the fission neutron spectrum also produces the same radioactive isotopes, thus complicating the problem. BARC scientists themselves agree that there are uncertainties regarding the volume of the disturbed zone which is assumed and not measured, thus resulting in an error of ± 20 per cent. I have therefore very little faith in this radio-chemical analysis, a view which is corroborated by senior retired radio-chemists.
Immediate response required
For the same amount of energy release there would be 12 times more fusion than fission events. The fission product Ce144 (Cerium-144) is a small fraction of the fission fragments. The fast fission neutrons and the 14 MeV (million electronic volts) fusion neutrons both produce Mn54 (Manganese 54). Therefore the ratio of Mn54 to Ce144 does not necessarily prove that fusion has occurred in excess of fission. The gamma ray spectrum does not prove anything. It only shows that the detector has good resolution irrespective of how the Mn54 was produced.
There are other questions to be asked. For example, what was the depth at which the devices were placed? After Pokhran-I, we immediately declared the depth to be 107 m, since this had nothing to do with the design of the device. Why is that information about Pokhran-II being kept secret? Secondly, were any measurements made of tritium concentration at the site? If the boosted-fission trigger worked, then the lithium in the LiD would have been converted to tritium by the neutrons. If the fusion worked as designed, the tritium would have fused with the deuterium and formed He-4 (helium-4). Therefore, a large tritium concentration left behind would suggest that the fission trigger worked, but the fusion part is suspect.
These grave doubts about the efficacy of the TN device should be cleared before any attempt at weaponisation. It’s imperative that the government responds to this crisis immediately, with a detailed, if necessary confidential, review by knowledgeable experts. It’s said the AEC has already conducted this review. While the AEC comprises very distinguished bureaucrats and scientists, I’m sure that none of them, except Kakodkar, would call himself an expert on nuclear devices or even nuclear physics. Others argue that it’d be unwise to rake up the issue now, embarrassing as it is for India. Isn’t it worse to build a nuclear strategy on foundations that are suspect?
The Pokhran-II controversy also raises issues about the nature of our policy-making. Plurality of opinions and inputs is essential to the democratic process and for correctly assessing situations and taking right decisions. This ethos is present in most areas; that’s why we are a nation of committees! But when it comes to strategic matters, particularly in scientific matters, there’s a deplorable tendency, in the name of secrecy, to listen to only one opinion. Earlier statements of Brajesh Mishra and even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh only reinforce this impression. The problem is exacerbated by the growing interference of politicians in scientific matters, and perhaps by the growing politicisation of science and scientists. Consequently, you have an impenetrable nexus, which makes scientific decision-making impossible.
Before Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee declared India as a nuclear weapon power, and announced no first-use and unilateral moratorium, he and his advisors should have satisfied themselves by referring to experts and not gone entirely by the claims of the two scientists, Chidambaram and A P J Abdul Kalam — particularly after the DRDO raised doubts. Instead, those doubts were buried without being given a scientific hearing. The government also seems to have used those two scientists to influence the approval of Opposition leaders to sign the CTBT.
Decisions on nuclear policies
Weapons design and testing is a specialised field, but it isn’t an exclusive club. Much of the information is nowadays available openly, in books and on the Internet. Also, there exists sufficient expertise within the county to do a genuine peer-review of the thermonuclear test, which will be in the nation’s best interest.
In the broader policy-making context, I propose that the government should immediately form a special, advisory group of experts outside of the administration, and therefore uninfluenced by government, but having a central advisory role in decision-making in sensitive, strategic areas — like the JASON committee in the US. Of course, it’d be easy for the government to constitute this group in a manner that serves its own purposes, but it should realise that it is in the nation’s, and therefore ultimately in the government’s, best interests that such a group is genuinely expert, independent, and unafraid. Governments should realise that though they may have strong political compulsions to act in one manner or another, when it comes to science and technology, individual opinions and diktats don’t matter, and only objectivity and an open-minded approach can find the best way forward for the country. I can foresee that in the near future the government may have to take decisions on nuclear policies which will have grave consequences for India’s future.
==============================================
Kanson, a reader left this comment which I found interesting enough to upload in the main page. Kanson wrote and I quote:
PKI (PK Iyengar) was told indirectly several times that his contention of 1:1 ratio has no substance. He was proved wrong serveral times on the POK-I yield value.
He doesnt seems to show his understanding through his articles that there is no way one can get 100% effeciency for fusion and keeps harping the same thing repeatedly. Here, he goes on to say 250 gms of LiD is needed to get 12 kt which occupies a sphere of 4 cm radius and it is too small - indicating he is expecting 100% fusion burn from this.
From open source lit., max effeciency for fusion fuel in TN dev configuration is stated as 50%. Indeed as he claims, if there is a burn of only 250 gms then for 50% effeciency of that burn the amount of LiD needed is 500 gms. The resulting radius of sphere for 500 gms fuel is ~ 5 cm. If the effeciency is only 25%, possible as this is the first TN device tested, radius comes around to 6.4 cm. How the radius of 6.4 cm is too small for a realistic size of LiD core compared to 8 cm radius as he claims ? As i said before, he doesnt seems to show any understanding on this front. Dont he have to be realistic ? Which systems gives a 100% effeciency ?
While he talk so much on the Thermonuclear design, it is ironic that he devotes no space, so far, to talk on the claim of 25 kt yield for S2 which is based on POK-I to which he was the project leader. But here he adequately compensates for the that loss. He indirectly disproves the 25 kt claim of K.Santhanam and prefers to assign 12 kt yield to S2 than 25 kt. In a round about fashion he choose a total yield (S1+S2) of 30/36 kt and then deduce 12 kt for S2. Why cant he say clearly 25 kt is wrong ? S2 device tested is a weapon manufactured during his tenure in DAE. While he talks so much about the intricate details of TN device, does he tries to say he dont know the yeild of S2 ? He comes as more pathetic in this case.
It is frustrating to see PKI goes on like this. Enough said!
- Kanson
====================================================
BuA - To be fair, I forwarded Kanson's reply to PKI (PK Iyengar) who chose not to reply. I should state this here on record.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
ILYAS KASHMIRI IS ALIVE !!
In my article BRIGADE 313, I reported what every news article reported that the dreaded ex SSG Pakistani commando turned terrorist mastermind Ilyas Kashmiri is dead.
It seems that he is alive and kicking !! More later as the story develops.
MUST READ : Saleem Shahzad's article - the man who met Ilyas Kashmiri: Al-Qaeda's guerrilla chief lays out strategy.
Also read Bill Roggio's Long War Journal article: Ilyas Kashmiri survived
It seems that he is alive and kicking !! More later as the story develops.
MUST READ : Saleem Shahzad's article - the man who met Ilyas Kashmiri: Al-Qaeda's guerrilla chief lays out strategy.
Also read Bill Roggio's Long War Journal article: Ilyas Kashmiri survived
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
IF VIETNAM CAN DEFEAT CHINA ......
The Chinese invasion of Vietnam in 1979 has lessons for India. The same fear is stalking the Chinese, that India is getting into some sort of a military alliance with the West, especially the USA to its geo-strategic detriment in the region. Also the fact that the “spittist” Dalai Lama is allowed exile in India and India’s tough stance in Arunachal is being viewed very suspiciously by the Chinese.
Hence, a look at recent history. Feb 1979 : China & Vietman.
China's relations with Vietnam began to deteriorate seriously in the mid-1970s. After Vietnam joined the Soviet-dominated Council for Mutual Economic Cooperation (Comecon) and signed the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with the Soviet Union in 1978, China branded Vietnam the "Cuba of the East" and called the treaty a military alliance. Incidents along the Sino-Vietnamese border increased in frequency and violence. In December 1978 Vietnam invaded Cambodia, quickly ousted the pro-Beijing Pol Pot regime, and overran the country.
China's twenty-nine-day incursion into Vietnam in February 1979 was a response to what China considered to be a collection of provocative actions and policies on Hanoi's part. These included Vietnamese intimacy with the Soviet Union, mistreatment of ethnic Chinese living in Vietnam, hegemonistic "imperial dreams" in Southeast Asia, and spurning of Beijing's attempt to repatriate Chinese residents of Vietnam to China.
In February 1979 China attacked along virtually the entire Sino-Vietnamese border in a brief, limited campaign that involved ground forces only. The Chinese attack came at dawn on the morning of 17 February 1979, and employed infantry, armor, and artillery. Air power was not employed then or at any time during the war. Within a day, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) had advanced some eight kilometers into Vietnam along a broad front. It then slowed and nearly stalled because of heavy Vietnamese resistance and difficulties within the Chinese supply system. On February 21, the advance resumed against Cao Bang in the far north and against the all-important regional hub of Lang Son. Chinese troops entered Cao Bang on February 27, but the city was not secured completely until March 2. Lang Son fell two days later. On March 5, the Chinese, saying Vietnam had been sufficiently chastised, announced that the campaign was over. Beijing declared its "lesson" finished and the PLA withdrawal was completed on March 16.
Hanoi's post-incursion depiction of the border war was that Beijing had sustained a military setback if not an outright defeat. Most observers doubted that China would risk another war with Vietnam in the near future. Gerald Segal, in his 1985 book Defending China, concluded that China's 1979 war against Vietnam was a complete failure:
"China failed to force a Vietnamese withdrawal from [Cambodia], failed to end border clashes, failed to cast doubt on the strength of the Soviet power, failed to dispel the image of China as a paper tiger, and failed to draw the United States into an anti-Soviet coalition." Nevertheless, Bruce Elleman argued that "one of the primary diplomatic goals behind China's attack was to expose Soviet assurances of military support to Vietnam as a fraud. Seen in this light, Beijing's policy was actually a diplomatic success, since Moscow did not actively intervene, thus showing the practical limitations of the Soviet-Vietnamese military pact. ... China achieved a strategic victory by minimizing the future possibility of a two-front war against the USSR and Vietnam."
After the war both China and Vietnam reorganized their border defenses. In 1986 China deployed twenty-five to twenty-eight divisions and Vietnam thirty-two divisions along their common border.
The 1979 attack confirmed Hanoi's perception of China as a threat. The PAVN high command henceforth had to assume, for planning purposes, that the Chinese might come again and might not halt in the foothills but might drive on to Hanoi. The border war strengthened Soviet-Vietnamese relations. The Soviet military role in Vietnam increased during the 1980s as the Soviets provided arms to Vietnam; moreover, Soviet ships enjoyed access to the harbors at Danang and Cam Ranh Bay, and Soviet reconnaissance aircraft operated out of Vietnamese airfields. The Vietnamese responded to the Chinese campaign by turning the districts along the China border into "iron fortresses" manned by well-equipped and well-trained paramilitary troops. In all, an estimated 600,000 troops were assigned to counter Chinese operations and to stand ready for another Chinese invasion. The precise dimensions of the frontier operations were difficult to determine, but its monetary cost to Vietnam was considerable.
By 1987 China had stationed nine armies (approximately 400,000 troops) in the Sino-Vietnamese border region, including one along the coast. It had also increased its landing craft fleet and was periodically staging amphibious landing exercises off Hainan Island, across from Vietnam, thereby demonstrating that a future attack might come from the sea.
Low-level conflict continued along the Sino-Vietnamese border as each side conducted artillery shelling and probed to gain high spots in the mountainous border terrain. Border incidents increased in intensity during the rainy season, when Beijing attempted to ease Vietnamese pressure against Cambodian resistance fighters.
Since the early 1980s, China pursued what some observers described as a semi-secret campaign against Vietnam that was more than a series of border incidents and less than a limited small-scale war. The Vietnamese called it a "multifaceted war of sabotage." Hanoi officials have described the assaults as comprising steady harassment by artillery fire, intrusions on land by infantry patrols, naval intrusions, and mine planting both at sea and in the river ways. Chinese clandestine activity (the "sabotage" aspect) for the most part was directed against the ethnic minorities of the border region. According to the Hanoi press, teams of Chinese agents systematically sabotaged mountain agricultural production centers as well as lowland port, transportation, and communication facilities. Psychological warfare operations were an integral part of the campaign, as was what the Vietnamese called "economic warfare"--encouragement of Vietnamese villagers along the border to engage in smuggling, currency speculation, and hoarding of goods in short supply.
Hence, a look at recent history. Feb 1979 : China & Vietman.
China's relations with Vietnam began to deteriorate seriously in the mid-1970s. After Vietnam joined the Soviet-dominated Council for Mutual Economic Cooperation (Comecon) and signed the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with the Soviet Union in 1978, China branded Vietnam the "Cuba of the East" and called the treaty a military alliance. Incidents along the Sino-Vietnamese border increased in frequency and violence. In December 1978 Vietnam invaded Cambodia, quickly ousted the pro-Beijing Pol Pot regime, and overran the country.
China's twenty-nine-day incursion into Vietnam in February 1979 was a response to what China considered to be a collection of provocative actions and policies on Hanoi's part. These included Vietnamese intimacy with the Soviet Union, mistreatment of ethnic Chinese living in Vietnam, hegemonistic "imperial dreams" in Southeast Asia, and spurning of Beijing's attempt to repatriate Chinese residents of Vietnam to China.
In February 1979 China attacked along virtually the entire Sino-Vietnamese border in a brief, limited campaign that involved ground forces only. The Chinese attack came at dawn on the morning of 17 February 1979, and employed infantry, armor, and artillery. Air power was not employed then or at any time during the war. Within a day, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) had advanced some eight kilometers into Vietnam along a broad front. It then slowed and nearly stalled because of heavy Vietnamese resistance and difficulties within the Chinese supply system. On February 21, the advance resumed against Cao Bang in the far north and against the all-important regional hub of Lang Son. Chinese troops entered Cao Bang on February 27, but the city was not secured completely until March 2. Lang Son fell two days later. On March 5, the Chinese, saying Vietnam had been sufficiently chastised, announced that the campaign was over. Beijing declared its "lesson" finished and the PLA withdrawal was completed on March 16.
Hanoi's post-incursion depiction of the border war was that Beijing had sustained a military setback if not an outright defeat. Most observers doubted that China would risk another war with Vietnam in the near future. Gerald Segal, in his 1985 book Defending China, concluded that China's 1979 war against Vietnam was a complete failure:
"China failed to force a Vietnamese withdrawal from [Cambodia], failed to end border clashes, failed to cast doubt on the strength of the Soviet power, failed to dispel the image of China as a paper tiger, and failed to draw the United States into an anti-Soviet coalition." Nevertheless, Bruce Elleman argued that "one of the primary diplomatic goals behind China's attack was to expose Soviet assurances of military support to Vietnam as a fraud. Seen in this light, Beijing's policy was actually a diplomatic success, since Moscow did not actively intervene, thus showing the practical limitations of the Soviet-Vietnamese military pact. ... China achieved a strategic victory by minimizing the future possibility of a two-front war against the USSR and Vietnam."
After the war both China and Vietnam reorganized their border defenses. In 1986 China deployed twenty-five to twenty-eight divisions and Vietnam thirty-two divisions along their common border.
The 1979 attack confirmed Hanoi's perception of China as a threat. The PAVN high command henceforth had to assume, for planning purposes, that the Chinese might come again and might not halt in the foothills but might drive on to Hanoi. The border war strengthened Soviet-Vietnamese relations. The Soviet military role in Vietnam increased during the 1980s as the Soviets provided arms to Vietnam; moreover, Soviet ships enjoyed access to the harbors at Danang and Cam Ranh Bay, and Soviet reconnaissance aircraft operated out of Vietnamese airfields. The Vietnamese responded to the Chinese campaign by turning the districts along the China border into "iron fortresses" manned by well-equipped and well-trained paramilitary troops. In all, an estimated 600,000 troops were assigned to counter Chinese operations and to stand ready for another Chinese invasion. The precise dimensions of the frontier operations were difficult to determine, but its monetary cost to Vietnam was considerable.
By 1987 China had stationed nine armies (approximately 400,000 troops) in the Sino-Vietnamese border region, including one along the coast. It had also increased its landing craft fleet and was periodically staging amphibious landing exercises off Hainan Island, across from Vietnam, thereby demonstrating that a future attack might come from the sea.
Low-level conflict continued along the Sino-Vietnamese border as each side conducted artillery shelling and probed to gain high spots in the mountainous border terrain. Border incidents increased in intensity during the rainy season, when Beijing attempted to ease Vietnamese pressure against Cambodian resistance fighters.
Since the early 1980s, China pursued what some observers described as a semi-secret campaign against Vietnam that was more than a series of border incidents and less than a limited small-scale war. The Vietnamese called it a "multifaceted war of sabotage." Hanoi officials have described the assaults as comprising steady harassment by artillery fire, intrusions on land by infantry patrols, naval intrusions, and mine planting both at sea and in the river ways. Chinese clandestine activity (the "sabotage" aspect) for the most part was directed against the ethnic minorities of the border region. According to the Hanoi press, teams of Chinese agents systematically sabotaged mountain agricultural production centers as well as lowland port, transportation, and communication facilities. Psychological warfare operations were an integral part of the campaign, as was what the Vietnamese called "economic warfare"--encouragement of Vietnamese villagers along the border to engage in smuggling, currency speculation, and hoarding of goods in short supply.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
JINNAH, FREEMASONRY AND NOETIC SCIENCES
Pakistan and many Islamic nations have banned Freemasonry, yet in the hallowed temple chambers of Freemason halls, around the world, amongst the sacred texts kept is also the Quran. Freemasons welcome Islam but Islam does not reciprocate. Actually Islam does not welcome anyone - and that is the truth and I wrote about it on the very first article in this blog.
What is less understood and is erudite is often ridiculed and thrown to the realms of arcane devil worship or worse. Darwin and Galelio, heroes of today, were villains of their times. In a similar vein, Freemasonry is seen as being evil in Islamic societies and cultures.
Both Swami Vivekanda and Rabindra Nath Tagore were prominent Freemasons.
In fact the one saying of Swami Viveknanda which still resonates with me and could well be termed blasphemous to the “blinkered extremists” is:
1. In order to realize God one could learn about spirituality more on the soccer field than in a cloister or hermitage of a monk.
No wonder the ulemas of Pakistan (and indeed elsewhere) will find such talk blasphemous as they see themselves as sole custodians of knowledge and understanding of God which now is being challenged by a mere soccer field!
In that case, Kasab (the lone captured terrorist of 26/11) would not be paying too much attention to Hafeez Saeed, would he?
JINNAH:
However Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan wanted desperately to join the Freemasons. Jinnah was a Khoja Ismaili by birth, which means his spiritual leader i.e. Imam was the Agha Khan. In those days, it was Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Agha Khan. Again interestingly enough, the Agha Khan of that time was a member of the Grand Lodge of India A.F. & A.M. (Bombay).
During his teenage years Jinnah had gone to the U.K. for higher studies. And he graduated with distiction from Lincoln's Inn, later to be called to the bar at 11 Kings Bench Walk during his stay at Hampstead. Jinnah, while still in the U.K., had also eagerly joined the notorious "Fabian Society", a reformist-Socialist party whose members included Freemasons George Bernard Shaw and Annie Besant, to name a few. In fact, the official Theosophical Order of Service in Pakistan records that Jinnah was so deeply inspired and influenced by Besant that he called her "Amma".
Jinnah, then, was struggling to get Dadabhoy Naoroji elected as an MP at Central Finsbury. Naoroji was not only an orthodox Parsi priest ("Athurman") but also had written various volumes of work on Zoroastrian history and wisdom. He was also a Freemason, member of both Lodge Southern Brotherhood No. 3311 E.C. and the Lodge South Cannanore No. 234.
After returning to India with his Barristership, Jinnah became an apprentice in a Parsi(Zoarastrian) law firm of Jamshed Kanga. Jinnah distinguished himself as an excellent lawyer. He also became a member of India's Central Legislative Council(Assembly) in 1912, and eloquently espoused the cause of women's education!
Jinnah’s repeated links with the Zoroastrians of India is also interesting. His wife Rattanbai was a Parsi who had converted to Islam before marriage. The man whom Jinnah helped for a long time was a Parsi intellectual (Dadabhoy). And it was Jinnah’s own daughter Dina who had married Dinshaw Wadia, the son of a renowned Parsi industrialist of India (Bombay Dyeing fame).
In the days after India's Imperial Capital was shifted New Delhi in 1911, Jinnah petitoned a Freemasonry Lodge in Bombay for a membership. Earlier in the years 1907 or in 1909 he had unsuccessfully petitoned the same fraternity and was not considered. But in 1911, Jinnah's petition was black balled! That meant, effectively he could not, more or less, ever seek a membership of any those fraternities. These fraternity houses in those days were segregated for Europeans. Hindus, Parsis, Muslims and Indian Christians could not sit in the same house with Whites.
Jinnah believed that it was an Indian Hindu member (either B.G. Tilak or Ranade or Sir Chimman Lal Setalvad or Bhulabhai Desai) who had black balled his membership, but it was actually a Parsi gentlemen, a Tata or Kanga. Jinnah went to his grave with this 'grave Hindu insult'. It was only when the records (minutes of the meeting) of this fraternity house, was made public did the truth came out. Jinnah's only offspring, now a non muslim and her billionaire son who live in Bombay have this piece of paper from the fraternity house, of which Jinnah's grandson is a member.
If someone asks was Jinnah a Freemason? The answer is NO. But the truth is, he tried hard to become one and was blackballed. That is the ultimate truth.
The founder of Pakistan wanted to desperately become a Freemason, yet today Freemasonry is banned in Pakistan and many other Islamic nations.
A recent article to the Pakistani mindset on Freemason (they easily interchange Illuminati with Freemasons) :
“The illuminati recognize that their plan for a global government hinges completely on subjugating the masses to their agenda. The greatest threat to their plan posing more danger than any army or law is the threat of a free-thinking mind. (BuA: ha ha ha – look who is talking about free thinking mind). In order to eliminate this threat and to achieve their objective the MASONS have set about the boldest plan devised. The complete control of every aspect of human life. YOUR life. And the weapons they are using against you are in your very homes, entertaining you and your children and gradually indoctrinating you without you even realizing.”
NOETIC SCIENCE
What role has noetic science in this article? It is about having an open mind. If you do not believe that Freemasons should have a place in society, you will most likely dismiss this most exciting branch of science.
Noetic science deals with the exploration of nature and the potential of consciousness using multiple ways of knowing—including intuition, feeling, reason, and the senses. Noetic sciences explore the "inner cosmos" of the mind (consciousness, soul, spirit) and how it relates to the "outer cosmos" of the physical world.
In short: Human thought is an energy and that energy if properly channeled can change physical characteristics of the material world around us. This is beyond the spoon bending techniques of Uri Geller and is closer to the Pranic healing techniques of Master Choa Kok Sui.
(An interesting side note: During the cold war, a Soviet spy managed to get very secretive documents from the US and because of his diplomatic immunity he managed to board the flight out from US without any incident. CIA put in Uri Geller nearby to this Soviet Spy and asked him to “fry” the magnetic tapes – rendering them useless. Whether he was successful or not, one is not sure – but what is certain is that US used / uses such thought energy tools because it believes that it works.)
If over time man begins to correctly channelize this thought energy to solve his problems, be able to achieve “mind over matter” challenge – it would mean he is able to reach the “God within him”. The man may then be tempted to abandon the God outside – not in totality perhaps, but largely. (Actually the relationship between man and God will become personal and will not require third parties - priests and ulemas). This is truly frightening prospect for nations where religion is used as a tool to guide the majority of the population to obey the corrupt few. Almost all Islamic nations under theocracy /military rule will fall under this.
Albert Einstein’s famous experiments incorporate thought energies. Even famous scientists like Newton and Benjamin Franklin used them and we do not call them devil worshippers. Well, they were all Freemasons and as far as I know – while most cultures enjoy the fruits of their science today, the clerics from Islam still look at Freemasonry as being the devil incarnate. Maybe, its time, we changed the definition of what is really evil !!
In this era of globalization where scientific trailblazing is lauded and free thinking encouraged – even inculcated in the young minds so that they develop their independent thought process – the theocratic / military regimes stand completely polarized.
It is not enquiry but suppression, not free thinking but unquestioning obedience, not reaching for the light but being in darkness that these Islamic societies are taking their nations to. And in doing so, they are endangering the rest of us seeking truth and free thinking.
India has been exposed to the idea of thought emitting energy as far back as the Vedas and in yoga it finds one such expression. And while yoga and mind control is gaining in popularity across the free world, it is banned in Islamic nations – there are fatwas against it. In fact Muslims in India too are prohibited from taking yoga classes.
In the end, as world lurches forward with excess population, the concern for immediate problems like global warming and nuclear black-market are receding in the background, the forces of darkness are growing in the world – sheer population increase is exacerbating this.
A stark choice awaits us if we are to leave our children and their children with a better world. And the epicenter of this evil empire today are located in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
More than 70% of all global terror acts in the world in the past decade has a Pakistani imprint.
Addendum: It has also been seen that 95% of these terror activities that emanated from Pakistan, had the imprint of Wahhabi - Deoband school of Islam. Hence within Islam - if we are able to eradicate this branch of Islam in totality - we will be doing this world a favour.
What is less understood and is erudite is often ridiculed and thrown to the realms of arcane devil worship or worse. Darwin and Galelio, heroes of today, were villains of their times. In a similar vein, Freemasonry is seen as being evil in Islamic societies and cultures.
Both Swami Vivekanda and Rabindra Nath Tagore were prominent Freemasons.
In fact the one saying of Swami Viveknanda which still resonates with me and could well be termed blasphemous to the “blinkered extremists” is:
1. In order to realize God one could learn about spirituality more on the soccer field than in a cloister or hermitage of a monk.
No wonder the ulemas of Pakistan (and indeed elsewhere) will find such talk blasphemous as they see themselves as sole custodians of knowledge and understanding of God which now is being challenged by a mere soccer field!
In that case, Kasab (the lone captured terrorist of 26/11) would not be paying too much attention to Hafeez Saeed, would he?
JINNAH:
However Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan wanted desperately to join the Freemasons. Jinnah was a Khoja Ismaili by birth, which means his spiritual leader i.e. Imam was the Agha Khan. In those days, it was Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Agha Khan. Again interestingly enough, the Agha Khan of that time was a member of the Grand Lodge of India A.F. & A.M. (Bombay).
During his teenage years Jinnah had gone to the U.K. for higher studies. And he graduated with distiction from Lincoln's Inn, later to be called to the bar at 11 Kings Bench Walk during his stay at Hampstead. Jinnah, while still in the U.K., had also eagerly joined the notorious "Fabian Society", a reformist-Socialist party whose members included Freemasons George Bernard Shaw and Annie Besant, to name a few. In fact, the official Theosophical Order of Service in Pakistan records that Jinnah was so deeply inspired and influenced by Besant that he called her "Amma".
Jinnah, then, was struggling to get Dadabhoy Naoroji elected as an MP at Central Finsbury. Naoroji was not only an orthodox Parsi priest ("Athurman") but also had written various volumes of work on Zoroastrian history and wisdom. He was also a Freemason, member of both Lodge Southern Brotherhood No. 3311 E.C. and the Lodge South Cannanore No. 234.
After returning to India with his Barristership, Jinnah became an apprentice in a Parsi(Zoarastrian) law firm of Jamshed Kanga. Jinnah distinguished himself as an excellent lawyer. He also became a member of India's Central Legislative Council(Assembly) in 1912, and eloquently espoused the cause of women's education!
Jinnah’s repeated links with the Zoroastrians of India is also interesting. His wife Rattanbai was a Parsi who had converted to Islam before marriage. The man whom Jinnah helped for a long time was a Parsi intellectual (Dadabhoy). And it was Jinnah’s own daughter Dina who had married Dinshaw Wadia, the son of a renowned Parsi industrialist of India (Bombay Dyeing fame).
In the days after India's Imperial Capital was shifted New Delhi in 1911, Jinnah petitoned a Freemasonry Lodge in Bombay for a membership. Earlier in the years 1907 or in 1909 he had unsuccessfully petitoned the same fraternity and was not considered. But in 1911, Jinnah's petition was black balled! That meant, effectively he could not, more or less, ever seek a membership of any those fraternities. These fraternity houses in those days were segregated for Europeans. Hindus, Parsis, Muslims and Indian Christians could not sit in the same house with Whites.
Jinnah believed that it was an Indian Hindu member (either B.G. Tilak or Ranade or Sir Chimman Lal Setalvad or Bhulabhai Desai) who had black balled his membership, but it was actually a Parsi gentlemen, a Tata or Kanga. Jinnah went to his grave with this 'grave Hindu insult'. It was only when the records (minutes of the meeting) of this fraternity house, was made public did the truth came out. Jinnah's only offspring, now a non muslim and her billionaire son who live in Bombay have this piece of paper from the fraternity house, of which Jinnah's grandson is a member.
If someone asks was Jinnah a Freemason? The answer is NO. But the truth is, he tried hard to become one and was blackballed. That is the ultimate truth.
The founder of Pakistan wanted to desperately become a Freemason, yet today Freemasonry is banned in Pakistan and many other Islamic nations.
A recent article to the Pakistani mindset on Freemason (they easily interchange Illuminati with Freemasons) :
“The illuminati recognize that their plan for a global government hinges completely on subjugating the masses to their agenda. The greatest threat to their plan posing more danger than any army or law is the threat of a free-thinking mind. (BuA: ha ha ha – look who is talking about free thinking mind). In order to eliminate this threat and to achieve their objective the MASONS have set about the boldest plan devised. The complete control of every aspect of human life. YOUR life. And the weapons they are using against you are in your very homes, entertaining you and your children and gradually indoctrinating you without you even realizing.”
NOETIC SCIENCE
What role has noetic science in this article? It is about having an open mind. If you do not believe that Freemasons should have a place in society, you will most likely dismiss this most exciting branch of science.
Noetic science deals with the exploration of nature and the potential of consciousness using multiple ways of knowing—including intuition, feeling, reason, and the senses. Noetic sciences explore the "inner cosmos" of the mind (consciousness, soul, spirit) and how it relates to the "outer cosmos" of the physical world.
In short: Human thought is an energy and that energy if properly channeled can change physical characteristics of the material world around us. This is beyond the spoon bending techniques of Uri Geller and is closer to the Pranic healing techniques of Master Choa Kok Sui.
(An interesting side note: During the cold war, a Soviet spy managed to get very secretive documents from the US and because of his diplomatic immunity he managed to board the flight out from US without any incident. CIA put in Uri Geller nearby to this Soviet Spy and asked him to “fry” the magnetic tapes – rendering them useless. Whether he was successful or not, one is not sure – but what is certain is that US used / uses such thought energy tools because it believes that it works.)
If over time man begins to correctly channelize this thought energy to solve his problems, be able to achieve “mind over matter” challenge – it would mean he is able to reach the “God within him”. The man may then be tempted to abandon the God outside – not in totality perhaps, but largely. (Actually the relationship between man and God will become personal and will not require third parties - priests and ulemas). This is truly frightening prospect for nations where religion is used as a tool to guide the majority of the population to obey the corrupt few. Almost all Islamic nations under theocracy /military rule will fall under this.
Albert Einstein’s famous experiments incorporate thought energies. Even famous scientists like Newton and Benjamin Franklin used them and we do not call them devil worshippers. Well, they were all Freemasons and as far as I know – while most cultures enjoy the fruits of their science today, the clerics from Islam still look at Freemasonry as being the devil incarnate. Maybe, its time, we changed the definition of what is really evil !!
In this era of globalization where scientific trailblazing is lauded and free thinking encouraged – even inculcated in the young minds so that they develop their independent thought process – the theocratic / military regimes stand completely polarized.
It is not enquiry but suppression, not free thinking but unquestioning obedience, not reaching for the light but being in darkness that these Islamic societies are taking their nations to. And in doing so, they are endangering the rest of us seeking truth and free thinking.
India has been exposed to the idea of thought emitting energy as far back as the Vedas and in yoga it finds one such expression. And while yoga and mind control is gaining in popularity across the free world, it is banned in Islamic nations – there are fatwas against it. In fact Muslims in India too are prohibited from taking yoga classes.
In the end, as world lurches forward with excess population, the concern for immediate problems like global warming and nuclear black-market are receding in the background, the forces of darkness are growing in the world – sheer population increase is exacerbating this.
A stark choice awaits us if we are to leave our children and their children with a better world. And the epicenter of this evil empire today are located in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
More than 70% of all global terror acts in the world in the past decade has a Pakistani imprint.
Addendum: It has also been seen that 95% of these terror activities that emanated from Pakistan, had the imprint of Wahhabi - Deoband school of Islam. Hence within Islam - if we are able to eradicate this branch of Islam in totality - we will be doing this world a favour.
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