Pakistan can collapse in 6 months: top US expert on Pakistan

Last updated on: April 8, 2009 at 5:14 am By Desh Kapoor

I have said again and again on this blog and had made the prediction of fall of Pakistan within a year or so to Taliban. There have been commenters like on this post thread (intriguingly both Indians) who have argued against it. Three interesting reports I just read which kind of reinforce each other. One, ISI (Pakistan Intelligence Chief) Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha refused to meet US Special Representative Richard Holbrooke because Pasha was peeved at the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff having criticised the ISI.[1] Second, an Atlantic Council Report co-authored by senators John Kerry and Chuck Hagel [2] now says: "We are running out of time to help Pakistan change from its present course towards increasing economic and political instability and even ultimate failure." Pakistan basically has 6 -12 months before it totally descends into chaos. Third, David Kilcullen, a former adviser to top US military commander General David Petraeus and a top expert on guerrilla warfare has now said that "Pakistan could collapse within six months" due to the Jehadis! [3] We have spoken earlier as well as to how the links between Pakistan Army, ISI (at least the Jehadi masters), Taliban and Jehadis is a foregone conclusion and anybody within Pakistan who tries to come out with it is taken out - like Major General Alavi was. Read more

Am Done with Friends.. Now I have 800 FOLLOWERS.. on Twitter!

Last updated on: April 8, 2009 at 12:41 am By Desh Kapoor

Ok, have you been on twitter? I have been for sometime and I have been enriched by some of the useful discussion and cross-fire that goes around. By many accounts, twitter is the next big thing.. and many say that Google is also interested in it. I think its strength is that its like a giant IM where you are talking to a lot of people - who have an interesting term for people connected to you: "Followers". Not friends or connections... FOLLOWERS! Twitter makes one feel like a leader from the get go. And I guess one was tired of having friends in real life.. and needed some "followers". Its time I had some "Guru moments" myself! So, what do you know.. I get 800 FOLLOWERS. That's a huge number of suckers running after a zombie with a blog! 🙂 I may not be an Obama with 80% rating in a country.. but I have the next best thing.. 800 world wide "smart" and tech-savvy FOLLOWERS! Everyone of them is worth it! Are you on twitter? And how many Followers do you have? Read more

Indian Journo "Shoes" Chidambaran over Tytler "Clean Chit"

Last updated on: April 7, 2009 at 4:16 pm By Desh Kapoor

A shoe was thrown at P. Chidambaran - the Indian Home Minister - during a Press Conference by Dainak Jagran journalist Jarnail Singh, who was asking a question on the 1984 Sikh riots. He was rather peeved at the "Clean Chit" given by the CBI to JD Tytler. And since CBI falls under Home Ministry, Singh held Chidambaran responsible. Personally, I was let down by Jarnail Singh's rather tepid shoe throwing skills! Surely, his stuff did not test Chidambaran's agility to the extent that the Iraqi journo had tested Bush a few months back! At least, we owe it to our own politicians to make sure they are fit and "able"?! So, next time Mr. Jarnail Singh, if you throw the shoe, One - aim it better... and Second, throw with a force that at least QUALIFIES you as a Punjabi! Although the thought was praise-worthy... the attempt was rather bad! Better luck next time! 🙂 Read more

India's first cricket match

Last updated on: April 7, 2009 at 3:23 pm By Desh Kapoor

India had yet another test cricket series win yesterday - this time against the Kiwis. If the Indra deva (or the rain god) was not so partial towards the Kiwis, then India would have scored yet another win in the series - probably one of the biggest win against any team in their history![1] According to the latest Rediff rankings [2], India is now No. 2 test team in the world. Although according to ICC rankings [3] India is #3 after Aussies and the South Africans. But it all started for India in 1932, when India went to England to play their first series and match. They lost the first match but Mohd. Nisar and Jahangir Khan gave a good account of themselves as bowlers. Here is a video of that match: Read more

Galileo to Giuliani: Italy's fight against Science

Last updated on: April 7, 2009 at 5:23 am By Desh Kapoor

Muzzling scientists which make the Government or the Church "uneasy" comes naturally to Americans. Back in the 17th century it was Galileo Galilei and in today's world Italy has Giampaolo Giuliani. Read more

North Korean Missiles and Masochist Americans are Surprised!

Last updated on: April 7, 2009 at 3:50 am By Desh Kapoor

North Korea's missile launch lately has been in the news. But North Korea's missile indulgence has a "rich" past. A lot of it was encouraged by a certain masochist mindset on part of the US itself. Let's go back to 1971 - just 10 weeks before the India-Pakistan war. Foreign Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto signed an agreement with North Korea on September 18, 1971 just two and a half months before the outbreak of war with India to get conventional weapons from North Korea. At that time, Pakistan had no consular relations. For US Dollars (which Pakistan ostensibly got in US aid), Pakistan received Rocket Launchers and other ammunition under this September agreement.[2] Over the years, Pakistan helped Pyongyang (as an intermediary) to supply arms to Iran and Libya. In fact during the Iran-Iraq war in 1980s, Iran's principal supplier was North Korea. The arms would arrive in Karachi by sea and then sent by road via Balochistan to Iran on trucks. Over 100 Scud-B (known as the Hwasong 5 in North Korea) ballistic missiles and equipment for assembly were sent over. Read more

Link Exchange/ Guest Posts

Last updated on: April 6, 2009 at 6:20 pm By Desh Kapoor

Guest Posting Drishtikone.com now welcomes Guest Bloggers to share anything related to South Asian Issues (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka etc) or Hinduism/Vedanta with our readers. I plan to give good return to regular contributors, other than that you will receive a link back to your blog/site with a brief intro about you. Here are guidelines to help you writing a good quality post for Drishtikone.com. Read more

Taliban and Al Qaeda in Every City of Pakistan

Last updated on: April 6, 2009 at 7:15 am By Desh Kapoor

I have been arguing that Talibanization of Pakistan is imminent and the coming trouble. I have had many critics. Now the confirmation comes from Police Chief of North West Frontier Province Malik Navid. Navid has said that Taliban and Al Qaeda is now in every city of Pakistan. In some they are active and in others they are dormant for now.[1] The aim of these groups, Navid says, is clear - destabilisation of current regimes in the Middle East to convert it into a launching pad to strike 9-11 style attacks on the West as they have already developed expertise in the bio-chemical weapons. The Jihadis are now moving through the Southern Punjab over into Karachi, the financial hub. The sad part is that the Military of Pakistan cannot meet the threat posed by Jihadis and Taliban since both Army and ISI see Taliban as allies in ensuring a "friendly" dispensation in Afghanistan while also feeding the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir. Read more

Drishtikone Newsletter Vol 1 Issue V

Last updated on: April 6, 2009 at 6:09 am By Desh Kapoor

This week was very significant. Let's take a look back on the last week and this week in past three years. What happened then? Read more

Dance India Dance & Jhalak Dikhla Ja: Tale of two Reality Dance Shows on Indian TV

Last updated on: April 5, 2009 at 3:40 pm By Desh Kapoor

I am not sure how many people follow the Indian reality shows on TV but I have been following two dance shows: Dance India Dance on Zee TV and Jhalak Dikhla Ja on Sony. While JDJ is on the lines of "Dancing with the Stars" - where celebrities dance with some renowned choreographer; DID is a refreshing competition where young kids compete while they are trained by some top choreographers. The judges (and in case of DID - judges double up as mentors and trainers) are very different. JDJ has two famous choreographers - Saroj Khan and Vaibhavi Merchant along with Juhi Chawla, the famous actress. DID has three top choreographers - Remo D'Souza (choreographed for films like Rangeela, 36 China Town, Dhoom etc), Geeta Kapoor (choreographed for films like Saathiya, Heyy Baby, Om Shanti Om, Dostana etc) and Terence Lewis (the internationally trained choreographer specializes in Indian folk and contemporary dance forms, and he has been part of films like Lagaan, Jhankaar Beats). The Grand Master is Mithun Chakraborty. The difference between the two sets of judges is so apparent! Saroj Khan and Vaibhavi Merchant are so rank bad compared to the trio from DID that I sometimes get embarrassed. But the incident which clearly showed the difference was when Deepak and Parul - two contestants - showed a composition where Deepak danced the Yakshagana form of dance. Immediately after the performance Vaibhavi went after Deepak saying his mudras (or actions) were wrong... "You were doing Kathakali, right?". He coolly replied "No Ma'am, it is called Yakshagana, and my Guruji is here as well". (NOTE: while Kathakali is from Kerala, Yakshagana is from Karnataka) These two ladies, Khan and Merchant, were still not satisfied - they were viewing an ancient dance form from the lens of their Bollywood style dancing - and went on to argue with the Guruji himself until they could "prove" that Deepak had done a shoddy work! I am sorry but Saroj Khan in my eyes was not a great choreographer. If it hadn't been for the talent of Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit, this female would have been nowhere! Success of her compositions ONLY worked because of the charm and style of Sridevi and Madhuri and the way they carried off some of the even most mediocre dances to great heights. But the swagger that she and that other choreographer - Vaibhavi - have is just so irritating! On the other hand, the choreographers on DID are very refreshing. Remo, for example, has been showcasing some dying dance forms on the stage and thankfully he has people like Salman to do them. Like recently Salman did Chhau while covered in fire (under some real heavy clothing). That style is very rare and is from West Bengal. Read more