Book Review: "Frontline Pakistan" by Zahid Hussain

Zahid Hussain is a veteran Pakistani journalist. He is the Pakistani correspondent for The Times (London), The Wall Street Journal and Newsweek. His book "Frontline Pakistan - The struggle with militant Islam" was published in 2007; and covers events up to 2006. It does not mention the end of Pervez Musharraf's rule and the restoration of democracy in Pakistan, nor does it mention the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. It goes without saying that the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai had not taken place at the time this book was published.

You must be wondering why this book review is preceded by this Prologue! Well, because although Frontline Pakistan does not relate directly to 26/11, it gives the reader an astonishingly detailed insight into the history of militancy in Pakistan, the unwillingness of authority to keep it in check; and thereby goes a long way in explaining the current response of Pakistan to the 26/11 attacks.

In its 11 chapters, Frontline Pakistan takes the reader through various turning points in the history of the region, including (not in any particular order)

• 1947 and Partition

• The political history and turmoil that Pakistan went through in its early years

• General Ayub Khan and his decade-long rule

• Pakistan's 3 wars with India (1948, 1965 and 1971 - the last one resulting in formation of Bangladesh)

• Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's rule followed by the bloodless coup by Zia-ul-Haq

• The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan followed by a long Jihad against the Soviets

• The withdrawal of Soviets from Afghanistan; followed by rise of religious extremism in Pakistan

• The Kashmir deadlock

• Pakistan's nuclear program

• 9/11; followed by Pakistan's alliance in the US War on terror.

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After reading the book, I have come up with my conclusions on the prime reasons for the instability in the region. These are the opinions that I have formulated and are not necessarily stated per se in the book.

Prime Reason #1: The US-Russia cold war

When the Soviets arrived in Afghanistan in the fag end of 1970's, the CIA jumped in to "help" Afghanistan to fight the Soviets. Of course, the help extended probably had more to do with USA's eagerness to show its one-upmanship in the cold war rather than any genuine concern for Afghanistan. Help it did, but the means were questionable to say the least. USA lifted some of the sanctions which had been imposed on Pakistan when the latter had started its nuclear program in the 70's. CIA teamed up with Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI to help counter the Soviet occupation by Afghanistan. ISI, in turn, whipped up strong religious sentiments amid calls for Jihad. Weaponry was provided in abundance, tribals in the lawless region along Pak's border with Afghanistan were trained and given arms, and thus there were a huge number of volunteers to fight for Afghanistan against the Russians.

This generosity in supplying arms to religious fanatics backfired badly on USA. With the exit of Soviets from Afghanistan came the Taliban rule. For one, the Taliban was right-wing to the extreme. Secondly, the thousands of youth who had answered the call for Jihad had now become trained in arms and ammunition, even in explosives and such. The Taliban sheltered, even sowed the seeds of, terrorist groups in Afghanistan (al-Qaeda for example). The stage had been set for religious fanaticism which had nothing to do with the religion it was supposedly glorifying. This was the beginning of the perversion of the term "Jihad".

Prime Reason #2: Extremist ideology originated from, and financed by, the Arab world

A large number of mujahids who fought in the Afghan war were from the Arab world. Also, petro-dollars had made some elements in the Arab world extremely rich. The fact that some of these "extremely rich elements" also happened to be conservative extremists did not help the cause of stability in the region.

Even after the defeat of Soviets in the Afghan war, the right-wing religious ideology was kept alive by scores of Arab-funded madrasas all over Pakistan. This extremist ideology kept the Jihad flame burning for decades to come. The madrasas became breeding grounds for future mujahids.

Prime Reason #3: Kashmir

After the partition in 1947, the Maharaja of Kashmir requested Indian assistance to ward off attack by armed tribesmen from Pak's NFWP (North-West Frontier Province). A year-long war later, UN had intervened and both India and Pakistan had agreed to hold a referendum in the state of Kashmir. Pakistan's official contention is that this referendum was never held and thus Pakistan disputes India's claim to Kashmir. Two decades later, in 1972, the Shimla agreement was signed which created a Line of Control in Kashmir - thus was born Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK - which is referred to as "Azad Kashmir" in Pakistan).

This still did not seem to satisfy Pakistan - nor the extremists. There were allegations of ill-treatment of Muslims in Kashmir by Indians. In late 1980's and early 1990's, terrorism reared its ugly head in the "paradise on earth" Kashmir valley. Fodder was easily available in form of war-hardened fighters returning from Afghanistan.

The key factor in the Kashmir issue was that the Pakistani administrations (whether during military rule or democratic rule) were openly supportive of the "cause" of Kashmir. This only spelled doom for any effort at peace in the region.

Prime Reason #4: Authoritarian/Administrative failure to contain terrorist acitvities on Pakistani soil (often deliberate)

The rulers in Pakistan have time and again turned a blind eye to the rise of militancy within the country in all its forms - home-grown in the madrasas, armed activities in the lawless tribal belt, or imported militancy in the form of al-Qaeda and others. The reasons have varied.

• Ideological - The Paksitani army and ISI have always had several extremist-oriented members among their ranks.

• Political - Zahid Hussain points out that Musharraf could have contained terrorism in Pak by casting a net on the activities of various terrorist groups. However, most of Musharraf's actions in the war on terror have been half-hearted - under international pressure. The real agenda was survival. Musharraf feared backlash from within the army and from the Pakistan's citizens had he gone ahead dismantling the terror network. That is the reason that although several top al-Qaeda "leaders" had been captured and handed over to US during Musharraf's rule, he had stopped short of completely wiping out these terrorist groups. In essence, Musharraf failed the world in favor of his self-interest. This, notwithstanding the fact that he had risked his life by supporting the US war on terror (several assassination attempts on him stand testament to this).

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Frontline Pakistan is a must-read for anyone intending to understand the complex dynamics of the volatility in the SE Asia region; and the so-called "Islamic Terrorism". The author has conducted interviews with several prominent personalities - right from Pervez Musharraf, to several radical leaders (even leaders of groups which were later designated as terrorist groups). This lends the all-important element of credibility to the book.

I must warn the reader that even though the book looks "small" (at 190 pages), it can turn out to be a fairly demanding read - since it takes lot of concentration to grasp the enormity of some of the statements/events which Zahid describes.

The book does refer to religious extremism and Islamic militancy every so often - however, I am disappointed that there is absolutely no attempt to show the reader the moderate or liberal faces of Islam or those of Pakistan. Agreed that this is not at all the objective of the book (after all, the caption says "The struggle with militant Islam"). But, to an uninitiated reader, it might give the wrong impression of the religion as a whole. The book would have been more balanced, had the author described or even referred to in passing mention, the role of moderate or liberal Pakistanis in the fight against terror.

It is for this single lapse that I deduct one star; I rate Frontline Pakistan at 4 stars out of 5 - and of course, designate it as a must-read.

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The Prime Reason #4 which I have detailed above, explains Pakistan's refusal (or rather, inability) to meet India's demands of eradication of terrorism from Pakistani soil post-26/11. While Musharraf and the military Government had considerable sway over the extremist religious parties, the same cannot be said of the present Government. Any attempt by the current Gilani Government in Pakistan to dig deeper into 26/11 and bring the perpetrators to book, will only meet with vociferous, internal opposition. We can continue to hand over dossiers and Pakistan will continue to deny the involvement of any Pakistani national, in spite of Pakistan being well aware of the attacks having been orchestrated from Pakistani soil by Pakistanis.

Feed(s) For Thought

Do any of the following lines ring a bell?

• "Oh! {xyz} had written up on ____ (fill-in-the-blanks-with-a-topic-of-your-choice) ?? Damn, I missed it. I haven't visited his blog in the past 3 months you know?"
• "These days I'm going a bit slow on blogsurfing. I've been wasting lot of time visiting all my favorite blogs every morning .. just to find out there have been no updates."
• "Whoa! The list of blogs I follow is bloating. Its gonna be difficult to manage!"

Then Feed-Reader is the magic wand which will solve all your problems.

Web feeds have been around for quite some time (i've been using feed readers for three-plus years now). But it seems that the technology has not been publicized properly - a majority of my friends are not aware of such a thing. Whats more surprising is that most of them are techies themselves! Reason enough for me to write up a post on the topic.

So, how does this feed technology work?

Pretty simple actually:
1. You subscribe to a particular blog/forum/what-have-you - basically any website which provides a feed. You do this using a feed reader.
2. Your feed reader periodically checks whether there has been any new activity on that site. Of course, your feed reader does this automatically, without your intervention.
3. If there has been any new activity (for example a new blog post), then your feed reader fetches only this "new content" and stores it.
4. Next time you login to your feed reader, you have that new blog post ready for you to read!

The easiest way to see this in action is to use Google Reader. All you need is a Google account. Go Ahead. Try it out. It only takes a couple of minutes.

As an example, follow these steps:
1. Go to Google Reader and log in using your Google account.
2. Click on "Add a subscription".
3. Type a feed URL to which you want to subscribe. The feed URL can be found on the site to which you want to subscribe. It is normally marked by the Orange "Feed" Icon -. For this example, enter the following feed url in the text box: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blogsarovar
4. Click on "Add".

Thats it! Next time a new post is added on BlogSarovar, it will show up in your Google Reader.

So, what did I gain by using a feed reader?

Well, to start with - suppose there are a dozen websites you follow regularly. If you subscribe to all of them using a feed reader; all you need to do is login to your feed-reader to know who's updating what. You do not need to open one dozen websites every morning!

There are other advantages. If you are behind a firewall and do not have access to certain news/blog sites; but you do have access to Google Reader. Then you get the updates from the sites without having access to them!

What Next?

Start using web feeds NOW and save time and energy; not to mention preserve your patience :D. The list of feeds one has subscribed to can be exchanged between various users, so one does not need to start from scratch and manually subscribe to each and every feed! In Google Reader; this can be done under Settings-> Import/Export

Advanced Topics

There are various forms feed readers take. Google Reader is a web-based one. The advantage of this is that you can read your feeds from anywhere - all you need is a computer with an internet connection.

Then there are desktop feed-readers. An example of this is Omea Reader. The advantage of desktop readers is that they can access feeds within the corporate firewalls. For example, if you want to subscribe to a blog hosted on your company intranet; then Google Reader might not be a good choice - How will the Google Reader server access your company intranet? The other advantage of desktop feed-readers is that you do not need to be online to read your feeds. Many desktop readers pull the data and store it offline for you to read whenever you are free. (Semi-connected technologies like Google Gears are blurring this line between web-based and offline readers).

Other than this, feed readers could also be integrated into your other day-to-day applications - your email client, IM client, Office suite, browser, media player ... the list goes on ...

One point to remember is that the authors of the feeds have control over the amount of information published as a feed. For example, Blogger allows you to specify whether the entire post should be included in the feed, or only a summary. If the author chooses to publish only a summary, then you would still need to visit the original site to read the full post. However, your feed-reader is still useful in the sense that it still informs you when a new post has been published on the blog. You do not need to keep "polling" to find if a new post has been added.

One final consideration while using feed-readers is that of authentication. Some feeds might not be public - an example is feeds from a private blog on Blogger. Reading posts on this blog would require you to login with a username/password. The same applies to feeds from such a site. Feed-readers have a feature wherein you can save the credentials for a particular feed - so that the reader automatically signs in and fetches the feed for you.

I'l conclude by saying that I hope to see you on the Feed bandwagon!

N(orth)-E(ast)-glected

Update: This post been cross-posted at YouthKiAwaaz

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This is something which I have been thinking about for quite some time now. How much do we Indians really know and care about the North-East? I personally feel that the seven sisters and Sikkim (maybe with the exception of Assam), have been a neglected lot in our country. This goes not only from development point of view, but from other aspects as well like sports, culture, entertainment – Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh – are pretty much obscure as far as the rest of the country is concerned.

Lets start with the example of Television. All movies, serials, news channels concentrate on “mainland” India. Its all set in Delhi, Mumbai or Punjab. These days even South India is figuring in movies and television. But, what about the north-east? The consequence of this is not limited to entertainment alone. Thanks to TV, your average Indian aam admi in the Rest Of India (ROI - I call it that for a want of a better term – no intention of “dividing” NE from the ROI) has a fair idea of what life might be in Mumbai, Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat etc. This is true even if that average Indian has never been to any of these places. But, do we have even a remote idea of what its like in the NE? The only TV program where I have seen extensive coverage of the NE is the travel show called Exotica, on StarOne.

Now come to sports. Other then Baichung Bhutia, the football star of India who hails from Sikkim, there's hardly any mainstream sportsperson from the NE. I cannot recall any cricketer or tennis player or even hockey player from NE (again, that might be due to my ignorance too). I suppose there are a few names from NE in the athletic and sports meets who get us medals at SAARC games etc (for example in sports like archery) – but hey don't u know that in India, “sports” equals “CRICKET+Tennis+hockey+f1” ?? The rest of them dont qualify – their achievements are not counted. Anyways – that's not the topic of this post!

I am unaware about how ROI is perceived in NE. Is the influence of Bollywood present in NE? Does the aam aadmi in NE have a fair idea about life in ROI? Do they follow cricket and national politics just as we in ROI do?

Successive governments at the Centre have been announcing special economic packages for the development of NE. I am not aware of how much of this has really translated to results. Maybe the one aspect that stands out in this regard would be the road infrastructure development projects (NHDP) – these seem to have made a positive impact during the last few years.

The encouraging trend is the good representation of NE in reality shows. Remember Amit Paul from Meghalaya who was the runner up in Indian Idol 3? Remember the host of singers from Assam (Debojit, Kalpana, Prakriti to name a few)?

The reasons for the negligence about NE in ROI could be many. For one, the North-Eastern states are geographically isolated from ROI. They are “connected” with ROI through a narrow strip which is just 20-odd kms wide (this is called the chicken's neck and is situated in Siliguri in West Bengal with Nepal in the North and Bangladesh in the South). Secondly, the NE states are culturally very different from the ROI – the culture here has elements of South-East Asia and China (Tibet in particular).

Nevertheless, the NE states are part of India; NE contributes to a sizable chunk of the India - area-wise, population-wise and culturally. Thus it is imperative for ROI to start viewing NE as they would Rajasthan or Punjab or Tamil Nadu. And also for people in NE to get a feel of what life is like in ROI. Only then would it be possible to foster a sense of unity and oneness. And, in my opinion, the media plays the most important role in increasing awareness .

ROI needs to know that just like elsewhere in India, NE too has a diverse culture. That there are several languages spoken here. That the climate, vegetation, topography, flora and fauna are as varied here as in ROI.

ROI needs to know about Assam's natural beauty, the tea gardebns, about Kazhiranga and the rhinos, about the ULFA's, about the political scenario and about the issues facing the nation along its border with Bangladesh.

ROI needs to know about the Chinese Government's claim to Arunachal Pradesh and about how the Army is on its toes there to prevent China from making mischief. About the sixth Dalai Lama being born here in AP. That there exist places in India where your constitutional “right to freedom of movement anywhere within the country” is restricted – that one needs a permit to enter some places in AP.

ROI needs to know about the mostly Himalayan state of Sikkim, the second smallest State in India by size and the least populated. ROI needs to know the history of the Nathula pass, the flourishing trade route which passed through here, and not to forget the Kanchenjunga, the third-highest peak in the world.

ROI needs to know about the WW-II battles fought in Manipur which stalled Japan's progress and which had a major impact on the outcome of the war. About the history of the princely state of Manipur (just like many more in ROI) before it was integrated into the republic of India. About the UNLF, its demands and its activities in Manipur. About the troubles along the border with Myanmar.

ROI needs to know about the history of the mountainous state of Nagaland, about the Naga tribe, about how Nagaland was part of Assam and underwent lot of unrest before being declared a state in early '60s. About the present-day culture which still revolves around the tribes and their shawl-weaving tradition. About the 90+% Christian population. About the Nagamese language – which is not the mother tongue of any of the tribes in Nagaland, but is the common language spoken everywhere in the state.

ROI needs to know about the plateau of Meghalaya, the Garo and Khasi hills. About the matriarch system followed by many of the more populous tribes in the state. About Cherrapunji, which was once the wettest spot in the world.

ROI needs to know about Tripura, the second-most populous among the NE states (even though it is relatively small in area). About the Bengali-dominant culture of the state (Tripura is surrounded on three sides by Bangladesh and is around the same latitude as West Bengal); about its festivals, indigenous dance forms and music. About its millenia-old history (Tripura is said to have had mention in Mahabharata).

ROI needs to know about Mizoram, the Indian state with the highest literacy rate. About the events which led to the formation of the state (famine, insurgency, bombing by the Indian Air Force to quell this insurgency); about the largely unexplored bamboo forests which covers about one-third of the state.

I think that Indians need to take a keener interest in the North-East. Probably if a few people from NE broke into the scene in some mainstream field, then that would function as a catalyst to increase the visibility of the NE states among ROI. This does not mean that they have to deviate from their culture and adopt cricket as a religion or get Bollywood-crazy. The NE is rich in dance and music. It would help if the media and entertainment industry took the initiative to showcase this cultural diversity to the rest of the world.

With the spurt in domestic tourism, more Indians are exploring “far-flung” regions within the country, including the NE. So also more people from the NE states are flocking to the mainland, be it for tourism, education, business or jobs. This exchange will only be for the benefit of either side.

I am hopeful that there will be more cultural, economic exchange between the NE and the ROI in the near future. Looking forward to an India where there is tighter bond between North-East and the Rest of India. JAI BHARATH.

The Call of Duty

Cross-posted from Kiran's blog.

This is a very interesting (and disturbing) story. It is a true life story about a guy I know. We are talking about a professional who has spent the most of the last five months abroad on business. He occasionally comes home and one would be forgiven for mistaking him for a guest at his home! Read on ….

In the past five months, his father has been doing all his “official work” for him – right from paying phone bills to doing paperwork for their property. At an age when he should be serving his father; his father is serving him!!! But, he says his hands are bound – “Duty Beckons”, he says.

In the past five months, he has never taken his mother shopping. “I don’t have time to go shopping with you – why don’t you go on your own? I will give you my card”, he says. Upon being told that it’s not his money that his mom wants; but his company; he retorts saying he’s “busy” – The Call of Duty is his excuse.

He has not visited his village for more than a year now. Why should he? After all, he’s this big shot who’s flying around the world, living out of a suitcase. Don’t you know his profession, his Duty, demands more of his time? Village and relatives can wait.

In the past five months, he has missed every single important occasion in his dearest friends’ lives – weddings, engagements – everything, without the slightest hint of guilt. He has never been there when his friends needed him. “Sorry buddy, I’m too busy with my profession.”

In the recent past, he has completely ignored his resolution of doing something for under privileged children. The last time he did anything for them was more than eight months ago. He has all but forgotten about his responsibility towards his motherland, his country. Why would he? He’s touring the world on the pretext of his professional Duty. Country, society, underprivileged children – they all are not as important as his Duty, are they?

In the past few months, he has put his hobbies on the backburner. He has not posted a blog in the past 4 months; and he hasn’t done any serious photography for as long as he can remember. But hey, who’s got time for some dumb hobbies? He’s a professional. His Duty takes precedence over all these irrelevant things.

Well, well. Our professional sure does sound like a villain doesn’t he? I think I need to admonish this guy – or at the very least, ask him a question or two.

Mr. Professional, here are some questions for you.

• Isn’t taking care of your parents and keeping them happy your first and foremost duty?
• Don’t you know your business, profession is temporary, but your relatives will be there forever?
• Don’t you think it is your duty as a friend to be with your friends on the most important days of their lives? Don't you know the only way to have true friends is BE ONE?
• How can you forget your responsibility towards your country? You, the youth of the country, MUST play an important role in shaping its future. What happened to all the commitment you made towards the children who are the future of the country?
• Is it not your duty, too, to set aside time for your hobbies, interests and passions? Especially since some of your passions have the potential to make a difference in others’ lives?

Mr. Professional, it is high time you get your priorities right. You have to decide which duty comes first – the duty that pays, feeds and clothes you; or your duty and responsibility towards family, friends, country and society. Signing off with the hope that you choose sensibly.

World Save Myanmar

The events in Myanmar in the past few weeks have greatly disturbed me. And it has only partly to do with the brutal junta and its violent crackdown against peaceful monks. It also has to do with the indifference shown by my own “people” towards the incident.

For the uninitiated, here’s the gist of the situation (wikipedia is likely to have more details). Myanmar, (formerly called Burma, and the eastern neighbour of India), has been ruled by the military generals, also called the “junta”, with more or less an iron fist for the last 45 years. In 1988, there had been a popular uprising against the junta, which apparently been silenced by using force – 3 thousand plus people had been cold-bloodedly shot and killed. At that time I was too young to remember any of this, or of the global outcry that ensued.

Sometime during the early 90’s, the famous political leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party NLD had won landslide elections in the country. However, the junta disregarded the results, charged Suu Kyi with various “crimes” and she has been under house arrest ever since.

Coming back to present - Last month, the junta effected a five-fold hike in fuel prices, which sparked small pro-democracy protests initially. 2 weeks back, monks in huge numbers lent their support to this largely peaceful protest. This is supposedly the largest protest of its kind in the past 20 years (since the bloodbath of 1988), with the strength reaching almost one hundred thousand at its peak. Myanmar is a principally Buddhist country and the monks’ support is a huge moral support for the pro-democracy public.

However, once again Tan Shwe (the leader of the military regime) and his soldiers have responded to the protests with force. Add to this, the blatant human rights abuse and curbs on freedom (of movement and of media). The junta has attempted to hide the atrocities from the world by trying to block international calls, cut internet lines etc (kill foreign journalists – as happened with a Japanese photographer who was shot dead from point blank range). This time, although the number of deaths has been less, it wont be long before the situation disintegrates to the 1988-like one. Unless there is global pressure on the junta. Which brings us to the “indifference shown by my own people” comment.

From what little I know about the whole issue, I have come up with this list of countries/organizations who are in a position to intervene; and stop the horrific human rights abuses taking place in Myanmar.

• India:

India is one of the major trade “partners” of Myanmar. We Indians also have interests in the resource-rich Myanmar in terms of minerals, oil and power. Some Indian companies have (quite profitable?) operations in Myanmar. Is that why we are looking the other way when peace-loving monks are being shot at and monasteries are being ransacked? The statements given by the Indian Government regarding this issue have been ridiculous. It took almost 2 weeks and tremendous international pressure on India, for us to finally “demand” the release of Aung San Suu Kyi!

The world is looking at India to bring some semblance of sense to the junta, because India is in a unique position to wield influence on the Burmese junta. But, we do nothing about it. Reason? That’s not clear. But it is our moral responsibility as the largest democracy in the world to speak up against the atrocities of the Myanmar military generals.

• China:

China is another one of Myanmar’s “giant neighbours”. Again, China is in a position to influence the junta. Although China has reacted strongly to the shooting of the monks, and has called for peaceful resolution of the issue, they have stopped short of employing any effective measure at all. In fact, China is exercising its veto power at the UN to prevent the UN from “interfering” against the brutal crackdown.

China has interests in Myanmar for minerals and power – both central to China’s growing status as an industrialized nation. Furthermore, China supplies the arms to the military generals! Would this have anything to do with China’s soft approach on the junta?

Finally don’t forget that China itself is wary of democratic uprising within their own country, not to mention the already sensitive issues of Taiwan and Tibet.

• Japan:

Japan is the largest provider of aid to the impoverished Myanmar. So Japan can take action if the violence continues. However, they have to be careful in what aid they withdraw. They don’t want to further aggravate the poverty of the public. Any decision with respect to withdrawal of economic aid has to be designed to hit the military generals and not the public.

• US, UN and the West:

US and the West are again providers of aid to Myanmar. In typical un-thoughtful style, the Bush government has imposed economic sanctions against Myanmar. I doubt they have even considered the repercussions of this act of theirs. The economic sanctions will hit the general public of Myanmar the hardest; while the junta continues with its human rights abuse campaign.

The so-called developed countries have to look at other ways of controlling the Myanmar junta. They have to come up with something that handicaps the ruling generals and not the poor people of Myanmar. This brings us full circle, back to India and China. These are the only countries which are capable of stifling the junta. Until they do something about it, the bloodshed will only continue, and military dictatorship will reign in Myanmar.

The next question is what really is the “solution”? It would be stupid to expect that the junta will bow to pressure and install democracy in Myanmar right under their noses. It has been demonstrated time and again that the junta is ruthless and cold-blooded. They will not hesitate to massacre their own people if it comes to that. So all this talk of “discussions” or “talks” between the junta and the NLD seems to be too hollow.

But that brings up the other option, which although is an “option that should be the absolute last resort”, is the only option left – and that is the international community using force against the junta.

Are we headed towards another Iraq or Vietnam? Who knows? I hope so and I hope not! I hope that democracy finds its way into Myanmar sooner or later. And I hope that the manner in which this is achieved is not a repeat of Vietnam.

Safety Last in Motown!

Its sad, but “safety last” seems to be the attitude of all players in the Indian automotive industry – be it manufacturers, consumers, Govt., transport companies – everyone. Seems too harsh, doesn’t it? Lets analyze why this conclusion was reached in the first place.

Automobile Manufacturers:

Road conditions in the country have improved tremendously in the past few years, more so the inter-city highway infrastructure. This has resulted in increasingly large number of people preferring their own cars for long distance transport. This improvement has also bred high-speed driving patterns. Obviously, this calls for higher safety expectations from the cars. But, have these expectations been met? Not really.

The bare minimum safety features one can expect when one thinks of high speed highway driving are – airbags and ABS. And what are the cars offering these features? Since small cars form the overwhelming majority of all cars sold in India, we’l take a look at small cars first.

• Chevrolet Spark offers ABS as an option; on the top-end variant only. Airbags are not offered, even as an option.
• Suzuki Zen Estilo offers ABS and driver-side airbag only as an option; on top-end variant only.
• Fiat Palio Stile doesn’t offer either ABS or airbags, even as an option! (Either that, or their website design is so poor that I wasn’t able to locate these features).
• Maruti WagonR offers ABS and airbag as option, on top-end variant only.

You’d notice that the real volume-sellers – Maruti 800, Hyundai Santro, Maruti Alto, Tata Indica do not even feature in this list. Reason- these cars offer neither airbags, nor ABS; even as option! I wonder whether these cars would even be road-legal in many of the developed countries. And I shudder to think about the upcoming Tata’s OLRC (One Lakh Rupees car), or similar ultra low-price cars being developed by other manufacturers (Kinetic??)

Now lets step up the ladder – and analyze the “premium hatch” segment.

• Chevrolet U-VA offers ABS only on top-end variant. I could not find any reference to airbags on their site.
• Maruti Swift offers dual front airbags and ABS as standard on top-end Zxi variant; and ABS as option on the middle Vxi variant.
• Hyundai Getz has ABS on the to-end variant.

The above list is indicative. The point I’m trying to make is that the automobile manufacturers are trying to play a game here – if safety is what you want, go out and buy our top-end variants. What if I want a “basic” car, but with safety features? After all, since I don’t smoke, what use is a cigarette lighter and ash tray for me? What if I don’t care about body-colored door-handles and leather-wrapped gear-knob? Answer is – there is no such “basic-but-safe” car out there in the market.

And oh! If you thought that only small cars are the target of this safety-discrimination, think again. The same pattern of offering essential safety features on top-end variants is carried over all the way to the Chevy Aveos and Maruti SX4’s and Ford Fiesta’s etc.

I think it is high time manufacturers started offering ABS and Airbags as option across all variants. This is all the more relevant as the roads improve by the day, speeds increase, and more and more people start traveling by road.

General Public:

Its not only manufacturers who disregard safety. We "aam janta" care hardly 2 cents about it. How often have you seen well-educated people speaking on the mobile phone while driving a 2-wheeler? Its almost arrogance personified! “I don’t care about safety and rules. I have a cell phone and I shall use it while driving” kind of attitude only magnifies the safety problem on our roads.

Coming to the topic of rash driving – of course it is “subjective”. Still, just look around when you are driving. Chances are you’l see not only the “brat” cabbies driving as if there's no tomorrow; but the well-dressed, educated professional as well.

Transport companies:

People who regularly travel by the long-distance luxury bus services would identify with this. We have all kinds of luxury buses flooding the market. Volvos, sleeper coaches, semi-sleepers and what not. How many of these have proper safety features?

To quote an example, I regularly undertake overnight journeys by VRL, a private bus service provider in Karnataka. These buses are popular for their comfort. However, I have noticed time and again, that even though seat-belts exist, the seats are laid out in such a way that it is not possible to engage the seat-belts! One can imagine the effect of even sudden braking when one is asleep. This problem is even more pronounced in case of sleeper coaches. The upper berth in the sleeper coach buses are an example of how things should not be.

In spite of being so unsafe, these buses are immensely popular with the passengers. This shows how much the general public cares about safety! Or is it the case that transport companies dont give a damn about the passengers' concerns? Whatever be the case, it needs to be set right.

Government:

If the manufacturers are not forthcoming in offering safety features on basic cars, then the Government should mandate it. Of course, the ideal case would be that it should be made compulsory for ALL cars to feature ABS and airbags. However, this is not a practical solution. But, surely, the government can make it compulsory for all manufacturers to offer these safety features at least as an option on all variants?

The same goes for buses as well. The government should regulate safety features on all long distance buses.

Regarding rash driving and using cell phones while driving; well there are a whole bunch of laws regarding these. Only if all laws as they are on paper, were implemented!

Conclusion:

Its still not too late. Either the manufacturers, transport companies and general public should act voluntarily, or the government should take matters in its hands. It only takes resolve on part of the authorities to brush aside resentment from lobbies.

Its delightful news that consumerism is becoming a way of life in India. Lets also inject an element of responsibility into the whole business! Looking forward to an India where safety gets its due credit. JAI BHARAT.

"Wise and Otherwise" by Sudha Murthy - Book Review

I just finished reading "Wise and Otherwise" by Sudha Murthy. And I must say I am mighty impressed and moved by the book. This book is a collection of 51 short stories, every one of them being a gem. Whats more, majority of the "stories" are in fact real life experiences of Sudha Murthy.

The first and foremost aspect of the book which I fell in love with is its simplicity. The incidents are narrated by the author in simple words, without any attempt at glamour or extravagance. The language is simple - you dont need a dictionary to understand it. The opinions put forth are direct. Its almost as if the author does not want to attract attention; this is the most attractive feature of the book.

No "story" is more than 5 or 6 pages long. However, each and every story is a lesson in life! Thats not to say that every story paints a rosy picture of life. Sudha Murthy gives some instances which clearly portray the vagaries of life. Some of these incidents are so moving, you are forced to reflect on how unfair life really is. For example, the author recollects the encounter with a gharwali, who was initiated into the "profession" at an age of 12, by her younger brother whom she adored, that too on Rakhi day! Similarly, there is the example of a man who branded his aged father as "homeless" so that he would be admitted into an old-aged home.

The moral of the stories varies from humility to humanity to equality to social issues. Another feature of these stories is that they are all realistic. The masses would relate to these stories. Its not about the "rich and famous", but about everyday people. The "heroes" in the stories are for the most part, simple "persons next door". For instance, the author shares her experience of how one of her friends learnt to have a positive outlook towards life, after being inspired by a beggar dancing in the rain! Likewise, Sudha Murthy describes how a woman did not forget to express gratitude to the author even on her death-bed.

Finally, another highlight of the book is the experience factor. The way the stories are written, you can clearly see the feelings, the emotions and the experiences that has gone into each of the anecdotes. It is obvious that the author has travelled far and wide - from the extremely poor villages in Orissa to the flashy environs abroad. The tiny tidbits that the author gathers in each of these encounters aggregate to form enormous experience. It is this personal insight and experience that injects life into every single story.

Now for the verdict - There's no two ways about it. Irrespective of one's demographic classification, this book is definitely worth a read. I conclude by rating "Wise and Otherwise" as a must-read; and hope to take a leaf out of it myself.

Reacting a Tad Too Late

There is a Kannada saying which roughly translates to "He started digging a well after the fire broke out" (pardon the messy translation). Well, thats exactly what applies to every untoward incident that happens in India.

Two days after the Samjhauta Express blasts, the Delhi-Lahore bus departed "amidst heightened security", as one newspaper put it. Oh great! So by doing this, the events will be reversed and the 65 (and counting) people who perished in the blasts will be brought back to life! And you see, these criminals are seriously running out of ideas. Thats why they are sure to plant bombs in the Delhi-Lahore bus barely days after they pulled off the Samjhauta Express blasts. Right?

Excuse the sarcasm, but the administration must be made up of a bunch of jokers. I am not saying that there shouldn't have been heavy security for the Delhi-Lahore bus. I am just saying that there should have been similar rigor for the Samjhauta Express as well. I just cannot imagine how the security could have been so lax that passengers were able to excuse themselves from the security routine of the train by paying 50 rupees!

But this incident is just an example. Such inaction on part of the authorities has become the norm. What is worse is the pretence of concern and "action" after such incidents take place. From mobs/riots to boat capsizes which kill scores of children to wedding hall blazes to train accidents - the story is always the same. A very avoidable tragedy occurs (often because of official apathy/administrative inefficiency in the first place), then there is the finger-pointing between various agencies, committees set up to "probe the incident and submit a report". The sleepy authorities, given a rude awakening from their year-long siesta, are desperate to save face. All of a sudden, they become very concerned about the people, the public, the country.

The big question is .. why not be a little more cautious in the first place so that the tragedy would have been averted? Had these authorities excercised that oh-so-little extra caution right from the beginning, they would not have had to struggle to save face today. By the way, if you are thinking why I am repeatedly referring to officials "saving face" and not about the officials' concern or country and the people.. well the answer is "What people?" "What country?"

The most shameful aspect of such incidents is the way politicians utilize these unfortunate incidents for political (read vote bank) gains. I have written before about this here. There were reports in the newspaper about how, after the Samjhauta Express blasts, the relatives of the injured had a tough time reaching out to their near and dear ones at the hospital. Reason: There was a constant flow of (competing) politicians at the hospital. Politicians must give a thought to the struggle that hapless relatives will go through if they visit the hopsitals. But, hey, since when did politicians start thinking about people?

I do not know what scale of tragedy is required to really wake up the authorities. I hope they adopt the policy of "Be Prepared" sooner than later and save those thousands of innocent lives. And this policy should not be restricted to the authorities alone. We "aam janta" have as much a role to play in this as the administration. Simple practices like a little more honesty, a little more patience and a lot more principle in life; can do a lot to bring down such extremely undesirable incidents. We can do with a lot less of these, especially now that we are on the right path of nation-building.

Looking forward to an India where more value is placed on the human life! JAI BHARAT.

On The Highway to Economy

About half a decade ago, the road transport sector in India witnessed some pretty dramatic changes. It was marked by the materialization of some of the ambitious road-building projects being undertaken by Central Government. The number of designated “National Highways” in the country close to tripled - almost overnight. Big money was being pumped into the roads under myriad schemes. It was touted as the harbinger of economic revolution.

Now that substantial chunks of the road-building projects have been completed and are operational (more than 95% of Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) is completed - more details regarding the schemes, budgets, completion status and the like can be found at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) website and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) website), its time to analyze if, and to what extent, these have helped the economy.

Fuel Savings

A majority of the newly constructed 4/6 laned roads are tolled. While the toll amount is not uniform across the country (the Ahmedabad-Vadodara expressway levies Rs.63/- for about 85 kms; whereas Tumkur-Nelmangla stretch of NH4 costs Rs. 21 for 35-km stretch), it would be safe to assume an approximate of close to Re.1/- per km, as the average for a car. I have heard many people complain that this is too steep, saying there is no way one can save enough fuel to compensate for the toll. Some even argue that since cars usually drive at high speeds (often 100+ kph) on the 4/6 lane stretches, it might actually result in more fuel consumption. True. So where’s the "fuel savings"?

The real fuel savings for the country lie in the transportation sector. Enter - the ubiquitous Indian lorry. Prior to the advent of divided highways, there used to be lot of fuel wastage because of slow-moving heavy vehicles, for example, in the event of one fully loaded truck overtaking another (not to mention it was a painfully slow event).

Especially on the gradients.We have all witnessed quite often, the scene of one mammoth lorry trailing another in low gear; both vehicles groaning under the strain and spewing out tonnes of exhaust. Now, with the widening of roads and construction of dividers, lorries consume considerably less fuel per consignment run. Some websites like this one and this one point out the enormous fuel savings that the NHDP projects are expected to bring about.

Time Savings

This is quite evident. Almost anyone who has travelled on these highways during the pre- and post- NHDP era will vouch for the stupendous time gain factor of these highways. Again, this applies not only to cars and passenger transport, but to goods too. Trucks which used to cover only about 300 kms per day now do close to 500 kms!

Safety

That the newly constructed highways offer greater safety has been debated. The argument against this safety aspect is that people drive much faster (3-digit speeds are common these days).

However, the additional safety that the newly constructed highways cannot be undermined. Most head-on highway accidents are related to overtaking. With divided highways, such accidents are minimized. Moreover, the NHDP highways are being built to certain standards, like better road geometry etc. These factors definitely make road travel safer than ever before.

Cash Flow and Economy

These various factors contribute a long way in boosting the economy, especially in the countryside. In addition to the financial savings resulting from less fuel consumption, there are numerous other aspects of economic growth attributable to the roads improvement projects, few of which are listed below.

• Goods are transported quicker than before.
• "Wastage" of goods is minimized (especially food products and milk products).
• Wayside businesses along the highways - This is interesting because it is opposite to the conventional economical model for roads. Conventionally, roads were aligned to pass through towns for the purpose of enhancing business. But, the NHDP envisages smooth, uninterrupted flow of traffic. Hence, most of the towns are bye-passed. However, highwayside businesses (like restaurants, lodges, fuel stations, garages) flourish in the new model. (CNN IBN recently aired this feature on the flourishing business along the Golden Quadrilateral)
• Massive employment during the construction phase.
• The increase in travel comfort has been a boon to the tourism industry.

How much is too much?

Since the Highway projects have been such a huge success, it is very easy to get carried away. There are 2 highways between Mumbai and Pune - the traditional NH4 and the Mumbai-Pune expressway. In Karnataka, the Bangalore-Mysore state highway was recently 4-laned, and work has begun on Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC). Delhi-Chandigarh and Bangalore-Chennai expressways are also on the cards.

The authorities got to be careful here. There's no point in having 2 separate highways between two cities. After all, the interests of farmers have to be protected too. Where will all the land come from? What about the environmental implications? If the traffic in these corridors is so high, then why were these stretches not built at 6/8 lanes in the first place? The GQ has not yet been completed, and there's already talk of widening it to 6/8 lanes by 2012. So will the public have to re-live the misery that it went through during the initial construction?

Only if the answers to above question are satisfactory, should the respective Governments go ahead with the proposed implementations. Its great news that we as a nation have finally woken up to the advantages of a sound infrastructure backbone. Now it is our duty to ensure that rural economy is not adversely affected by this; and it is definitely our responsibility to see to it that this road-building spree does not eat up our farmlands and our forests.

Looking forward to an economically booming India. JAI BHARATH.

Quadbike - Solution to Urban Personal Transport Problems?

Picture this: You reside in one of those cities which have a pathetic public transportation system (well, that covers just about every one of the big Indian cities) and you have to use your private vehicle to commute to work. In a majority of the cases, this would mean using a 2-wheeler for your daily transportation needs. It is the cheapest, quickest and the most convenient way of getting around our congested cities. Well, almost.

One point that we conveniently forget (or choose to knowingly ignore) is Safety. It has been proven - statistically or otherwise - that 2-wheelers are not at all safe. Even if one rides responsibly, one is left at the mercy of the other drivers and riders. That, coupled with the possibility of falling off, makes it really unsafe. There are also other factors that come into play here. 2-wheelers are all the more unsafe for women, mainly because of the way they sit in the pillion (both legs to one side).

The combination of all these factors has resulted in me not allowing my parents, especially my mom, to sit on a 2-wheeler of late. Whats more, I constantly find myself finding excuses to take the car rather than the 2-wheeler whenever I'm going around the city. "I have to carry the laptop, it is very heavy". "It looks like it might rain in the evening". The excuses get sillier every passing day. Like, "I just washed the car yesterday. I want to take it out atleast once before it gets dirty again"!!

So there you are: Me, a staunch environmentalist, driving the car to work - ALONE, or when there are only 2 persons. And yet, I justify it. I don't want to compromise on my safety or my convenience. Is there any solution to this?

Well, the obvious solution that comes to my mind is that the Government should improve public transportation. Although steps are being taken in this direction, it still seems a tall ask from the Governments, whose primary focus these days is to safeguard their own existence, rather than public interests.

This is where I think automobile manufacturers could step in. Before we look decades into the future (like fossil fuels being entirely replaced by solar energy), I think we need to think about the nearer future. Why not bridge the gap between car and bike? What I'm referring to is 4-wheeled motorbikes, or 2-seater cars - whichever way you look at it; with the seating arrangement being one behind the other, rather than side-by-side. A bit of googling around threw up some interesting results, but not quite what I had in mind. My brain dug out something I had read in an automobile magazine about a 6-7 years back. It had a hand-sketch of this really neat concept car. Since I do not have the image or the link, let me try to describe the vehicle in words. For want of a better term, I call it a quadbike.

The quadbike would be shorter than our small cars (about 3 metres), it would be just about half as wide (0.7 to 0.8 m), and to compensate for the slim-long make, it would need to have a low center of gravity, thus making it shorter in height too (maybe about 1 m??). If powered by, say a 300 cc engine, it might generate around 20-25 bhp. It would be easy to maneuver around the city, and especially easy to park. It could return a fuel efficiency figure of around 30+ kmpl. Probably it could be steering-wheel driven too.The entire package could cost less than 1 lakh rupees if mass-produced. It seems to be a good compromise - offering the safety of a car and maneuverability and efficiency of a bike.

It all sounds so simple. Someone somewhere must have thought about it (I mean among manufacturers AND Govt). To my delight, I found that a recent issue of the auto magazine "Top Gear" also has echoed my thoughts! Then why is it that nobody is doing anything about it?

Well the reason i can think of is this: I think car and bike manufacturers alike consider a quadbike as a threat to their respective products. Who knows, such an idea might have been proposed by some well-meaning entity, but put off by the car and bike manufacturer's lobby. However, what surprises me is that if these manufacturers see such potential in a quadbike, then why don't they seriously give a thought to foraying into it themselves?

One reason could be the R&D costs, as well as the time and effort that might be required for developing such a vehicle. These factors would scare away the smaller companies for sure. Still, the big names could pitch in. The Tatas are spending billions on their Rs. 1 Lakh car - thats an example of big money being spent on R&D. Nissan has already "announced" plans to come in with a small car in 2009 - three years in advance! That shows companies have devoted plenty of time for R&D.

So, it would definitely be in evreyone's interests if the Govt and industry take the 4-wheeled bikes concept seriously.Just think about it. Less congestion, less pollution, more easily accessible, affordable to the public as well.

And most importantly, all this without compromising on safety. Such a technology would buy us more time before we run out of fossil fuels; thus lengthening our endeavour to perfect the technologies of the future. The public will definitely do its bit to save and protect the environment. As long as the Government and industry play their part.

Auto-Motive

Recently, MUL launched the small car, Zen Estilo in the B Segment market. This launch prompted me to reflect on the dynamics of the Indian automobile scene, and try to analyse the auto makers' attitude towards the Indian market.

Circa early 1990's. Indian car-buyers hardly had any choice. There were at most a handful of cars to choose from. Most of the segments had only one car. For example, Maruti 800 was the only entry-level car. A premium car almost always meant a Contessa. And the babus almost certainly flaunted an Amby.

All that changed in the late 90's when the Koreans invaded the small car segment - Hyundai with its Santro, and Daewoo with its Matiz. And since then, as they say, things have never been the same again. The launch of these cars heralded the automobile revolution in India. By the turn of the century, the market was flooded with a slew of models. The Indians had all but been crowned king consumer. Global auto companies also started seeing India in a different light. But how committed are these companies towards providing the latest and best to their Indian customers?

I'd like to start off with Toyota as an example. When Toyota, in partnership with Kirloskar, launched the Qualis, it created a flutter in the market. Finally, there was an alternative to the Tata Sumos and the Tempo Trax. But what did Qualis really have to offer other than the Toyota brand and quality guarantee? Not much, actually. Qualis is based on the Toyota Venture which was sold in South Africa in early 90's. So that means Toyota was stuffing decades old technology down our throats. In spite of this, Qualis went on to become a huge hit. It ruled as a people-carrier for nearly 5 years. It was particularly popular with the commercial and transport (read "cabbie") segment. Why? Simple - The Qualis offered an unmatched combination of comfort, power and value for money. But with launch of newer models and variants among competitors (Tata Safari DiCOR, Mahindra Scorpio etc), which also offered unmatched style, Toyota realized that the Qualis' days were numbered and went on to replace it with the Innova. That doesnt take away anything from the Qualis though.

Now, lets come to the biggest name in the Indian automobile story - Maruti Udyog. They just launched an all-new model last week and decided to give it the "Zen" badge. The new Maruti Zen Estilo has absolutely nothing in common with its predecessor, save its name. But there's more to this tale. This car is actually the previous generation Suzuki MR Wagon (not to be confused with WagonR) in Japan. Now, a new generation of MR Wagon has been launched in Japan and this old generation (5 yr old) is dead and buried. So Maruti-Suzuki decided to launch it here in India. The advantage - it allows them to keep the costs down. And the costs are down too! Just Rs. 4 Lakhs ex-showroom for a top-of-the-line stylish-looking tall-boy hatch back, 1.1L engine, 5 seater, with EPS, power windows, A/C, ABS and airbags (of course that is the introductory price). I'd call that cheap! I think that if the price (after revision) is right, and the fuel efficiency is decent, this car will be a success. So there you are - a car which is dead and buried elsewhere in the world, has every chance of being accepted here with open arms. Why? Simple - the Maruti Zen Estilo offers the right combination of style, comfort, safety and the all-important VFM.

I read an interesting statistic somewhere - that the Maurti 800, Alto, Zen and WagonR are all actually 4 generations of the same car in some markets!!!And to think that they cater to 4 different "segments" in India. Carrying forward this trend are Skoda. What sells as the Skoda Laura in India is actually the next-generation Octavia in other markets; but both these models sell side-by-side in India. Similarly we have Hyundai, whose Verna is replacing the Accent in some markets (I cant figure out why - the Verna is a totally new car, built from scratch) but in India Verna is positioned above the Accent. What I'm trying to point out here is that some manufacturers are hesitant to phase out old models early on from the Indian market, primarily because the old models also sell well; plus they are cheaper to produce.

Of course, not all manufacturers belong to this category though. Mercedes, for example, launches new models or new generations simultaneously with their global launch (Whew! what a relief, considering the fact that Mercedes sells half the cars in India, right?? :-/). Honda too, is committed to launching newer models within a reasonable time gap after the global launch. Here, we see Hyundai doing a double-face. Because as far as its higher end models (like Sonata) are concerned, Hyundai has introduced the newest model within a few months of its inception.

The third category has companies like Tata, which develop cars primarily targeted at the Indian market! I feel this is really commendable. Developing a car from scratch for the Indian market and yet keeping costs down and offering VFM (best example being Tata Indigo Diesel). Kudos to Tata.

All in all, I feel that as long as a car offers value for money, we Indians are going to buy it. It would not make a difference in the high-margin segments (like the Mercs or Honda Accords); so such manufacturers can afford to pump in latest models as and when they are released worldwide. But, in the volumes segment, companies find this practice of bringing to life, models which are dead elsewhere, as an innovative way to keep costs down. In conclusion, I would say that this new-found practice has the potential to further spruce up the Indian car market and become a strong participant in the second automobile revolution in the country. Provided the compromises made are upto a reasonable extent. Provided the technology is reasonably new (or reasonably old, depending on how you look at it). Provided the buzzword is adhered to: Value For Money. More competition and lower prices only means the customer is served better. Cheers to the "King Consumer".