O pen up…

Hi,

Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations seem to be not clear about the political games that go on in India. India is not a state dominated by the military like Pakistan. The notion of these outfits that India may attack Pakistan comes from the idea that India operates similar to Pakistan. Whether Pakistan would have attacked another country, if a terrorist outfit of the other country attacked it, is a question tough to answer, but that seems to be the opinion. The Indian news channels successfully analysed the pros and cons of giving a military reply to Pakistan to inculcate a fear among these outfits, but definitely media has no authority in these matters. Indian administration knows the diplomatic situation in the sub-continent better than the media. Whether it be the more diplomatic UPA government or the radical and ideological NDA government, India would ensure all diplomatic channels are used before resorting to a military threat. As MK Narayanan, the NSA, answered to a pointed question by Karan Thapar, India believes in giving a chance to the new Pakistani administration. The time to declare a war on Pakistan has definitely passed. It is upto the Pakistani establishment to ensure confidence among India, USA and UK by following strict law proceedings against the guilty behind the attacks. The cynic in me says that Pakistan would, at most, house arrest the most dangerous human being on earth and declare it is a state that takes its responsibility seriously.

Can a path of negotiation be followed with these terrorist outfits? The optimist in me hopes for such a day when negotiations can resolve the toughest of the problems of the world. But the reality is definitely miles far off from such an ideal solution. The clash of civilizations definitely is a cause of concern for any educated person in today’s world. The fear, threat, phobia of people born and brought up in different kind of surroundings, environments and economies towards each other is definitely a matter that is not so easy to resolve. Laws enforced by the “civilised world” may not be acceptable to people who believe in the religious way of living. Broad-mindedness is definitely a virtue we all would want among the latter. You don’t need to accept the other as superior. Definitely noone is superior, noone is inferior. Tolerance towards different religions, towards people of different cultures is the call of the day.

Hi,

The way the Pathan’s batted in yesterday’s T20 match against Sri Lanka reminded me of the Natwest final victory of India that was powered by Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif. This time, it was more about brute power and guts. The Pathans had all that is needed to bat for India in T20. Brute power, effective pull shot, ability to build a partnership. Amazingly, T20 seems to be like any other form of cricket where partnerships matter the most. While Yusuf Pathan put the spinners out of contest by hitting Bandara out of the park, Irfan kept his cool and hit the boundaries and sixes at the crucial moments. India can afford to pay the costliest bowling coach in the world to get Irfan back to his bowling best. He is such an asset to the team if he can bowl at his best. He is a match winning batsman. The Sri Lankan captain Dilshan was a bad leader. His body language was negative during his team’s fightback and lost his cool at the most crucial moments. And, after Yusuf hit Bandara out of the park, he could have taken a chance with Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya being an experienced player, could easily have gotten a wicket and sealed the match for Sri Lanka. But destiny had something else in its mind. It wanted the Pathan brothers to script a most enthralling win for India. As Dhoni rightly said, there were lots of chinks in the Indian batting armour that got exposed in yesterday’s match. Dhoni is turning out to be a great leader. Even in a victory, he is ensuring the right amount of introspection goes into the dressing room to ensure better game of cricket. It was a treat to watch the game till the end although I should say both the teams played mediocre cricket till about the 10th over of the Indian chase. This victory should propel India to learn the most important lessons a champion has to learn – to keep going.