Vulgarity of Dispute – Indian Army vs. Govt

“Vulgarity is simply the conduct of other people.”

~ Oscar Wilde

The skirmishes between the Indian army chief over the age dispute, the bribe issue, then the case of leaked letter over preparedness of Indian army, and now rumors of a coup highlight disgrace at the top. I personally couldn’t have imagined such a poor state of Indian Army, let alone it’s chief, and his disgraceful treatment by our top ministers. To put things straight, we are a successful democracy because we are a free nation. This freedom cannot come without a strong defense mechanism, and our top ministers are simply throwing tons of filth on the person at the helm of affairs of the army. One such example is that of Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav.

Talking about corruption alone, it is not a closed room secret when it comes to defense deals. The noteworthy part however is its confirmation by a serving army chief. Although the timing of the news i.e. 18 months after being offered the bribe does raise some questions once can’t ignore the courage displayed by General V.K. Singh. Things have gotten murkier after a new PIL filed by some former bureaucrats challenging the appointment of Lt General Bikram Singh as the next Army chief.

It seems to me that in three instances i.e. 1) Age of General, 2) Disclosure of offered bribe, and 3) PIL by bureaucrats all point towards preventing Lt General Bikram Singh from becoming the next Army chief. Backing this stand are retired Admiral L Ramdass and former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalswamy. But if this is true, why is the government opposing these forces?

In any case, the government has dealt with issue in a pitiful manner. I personally never imagined the powerlessness of the army chief and nor did I imagine how little regard our government had for the army.

Vulgarity begins when imagination succumbs to the explicit.

~ Doris Day

Chennai Train Collision

A major train collision near Chennai that has taken lives of 9 people (the expected figure to go up) and injuring 9 people. The accident took place when a passenger train was hit from behind by an Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) train. This is a third major train accident in a span of 2 months. It seems to me that the politics of West Bengal and Prime Ministerial ambitions of our Rail Minister (Mamata Banerjee) has resulted in a neglected Rail ministry. The sorry state of affairs of Rail safety shown in abysmal rail safety record this year is a reflection of “how cheap” is the life of an ordinary man in India.

The other two major disaster’s have been as follows

July 10, 2011 – Kalka Mail derails near Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh killing 70 people and injuring more than 300.

July 07, 2011 – A Mathura Chhapra Express train rams into a bus carrying wedding guests around 2 a.m. at an unmanned railway crossing in Thanagaon, Kanshiram Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, killing 38 and injuring 30

I just hope this lust for power does not take precedence over safety of passengers.

Godhra verdict: 11 get death

The Gujarat High Court

11 convicts in the Godhra train burning case were on 1st march 2011 handed down death sentence while 20 others were given life imprisonment by a special court in the 2002 Godhra incident incident.

In 2002, the coach (S-6) of the train Sabarmati Express coming from Bihar (Darbhanga) destined to Gujarat (Ahmedabad) was burned in Godhra (Gujarat) . About 58 people were burned to death, which consists of mostly Hindu Pilgrims.

This event triggered a widespread communal violence in Gujarat that resulted in deaths of about 790 to 2000 Muslims and about 254 Hindus.

In the very first police FIR after the incident, the incident was viewed as an unplanned mob fury.

But, a special investigation team (SIT) of Gujarat state police put forth an argument that the act was pre-planned by a Muslim Group. It was said by the police that they had stockpiled about 140 liters of petrol a day before the attacks had to take place and the very purpose of these attacks was to kill the Kar-Sewaks.

In 2004, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav appointed Justice U C Banerjee to investigate Godhra incident.The Railways Ministry setup a commission that reported in 2005 that the fire was an accident. The Gujarat high court ruled the formation of this inquiry commission as “illegal” and “unconstitutional”. At present, all the reports of the commission by Railways stand invalid. Moreover, the outcome of this report has been questioned by BJP as politically motivated as its findings coincide with elections.

Special judge P. R. Patel considering this case as “rarest of rare” pronounced death penalty for 11 out of the 31 convicted in the case while 20 others were sentenced to life imprisonment.

“The court looking into their active role in the conspiracy and setting afire the S6 coach of Sabarmati Express train near Godhra, gave death penalty to 11 people,” public prosecutor J. M. Panchal said.

The court also slapped punishment on them under various other sections, which will be concurrent to their life term.

The prosecution had sought death sentence for all the 31 convicts, saying that it was a heinous act.

A special fast track court convicted 31 accused in Godhra train burning case.

Another 63 people were acquitted in the Godhra train burning conspiracy.

The special fast track court was appointed by Gujarat High Court after orders from the supreme court of India.

Mint Reports

Defence counsel I. M. Munshi said the convicts will definitely appeal against the punishment awarded to them.

“It (the punishment) is very difficult to swallow. Till we get the copy of the judgement, we cannot comment much,” Munshi said.

We definitely don’t what is more difficult to swallow – The killing of innocent people or the death sentence to those killed innocents. I think its the former.

Godhra Train Burning Results

Godhra verdict: Death for 11, life term for 20 – Economy and Politics – livemint.com.

Related Articles

• Godhra verdict pronounced (epiloguepress.wordpress.com)

Rail Budget 2011 : The financial issues

The future growth of Indian Railways is to be increasingly subjected to the discipline of the capital market, including those overseas, even as

This time, the railway budget promised a dividend of Rs4,104.50 crore in this fiscal. It is 26% lower than Rs6,608.46 crore proposed in Mamata Banerjee’s 2010 budget.

It did this partly by cutting the back money dedicated on maintaining tracks and rolling stock.

Another feature of this budget was that it maintained the passenger fares constant. It has been the eight such year when the budget has not touched upon the passenger rates.

Moreover the freight rates too were kept constant.

Where will the money for new projects come from ?

Railways is looking to the debt market to finance its new projects especially infrastructure related projects.

Rail Budget 2011 : Economic Focus with Human Face

Mint Reports

The budget documents showed the railways had lowered the money transferred to its depreciation reserve fund by Rs1,900 crore for 2011-12 as compared with Banerjee’s projection last year. The fund is used to maintain and replace its assets.

Other than a lower transfer to the depreciation fund, Sahai said revamping the product mix during the fiscal to capitalize on the increasing magnitude of coal imports into India protected its receipts. Typically, two-thirds of receipts come from freight, primarily coal.

The Long Term issues

This year’s capital spending is to be financed partly through some of the railways’ reserve funds. These funds have seen a significant decline in net accretions over the years.

Mint Reports “In 2009-10, the last year for which final numbers are available, the aggregate closing balance of all funds fell by more than two-thirds in a single year to Rs5,032.06 crore.”

This railway budget has been silent on the big projects such as the Dedicated Freight Corridor. It has not indicated where the money for it will come and how long will it take to complete it. We discussed the case of Dedicated Freight Corridor and the concerns about Indian Railways Financial Health

Railway Budget 2011 – Dedicated Freight Corridor Project

The proposed Plan

Mint Reports, “In the budget estimates for 2011-12, the Plan outlay of Rs57,630 crore is to be met from Rs20,454 crore of market borrowings, including Rs10,000 crore of tax-free bonds.“

Railways is in a position where it can no longer fund its projects through internal accruals of cash flows. The market borrowings are to funded through Indian Railways Finance Corp Ltd and it will carry an unwritten sovereign guarantee.

Railway Budget 2011- Causes for Indian Rail financial crisis

The total receipts of the railways in 2011-12 are projected at Rs1.09 trillion.

The dividend proposed is Rs6,734.72 crore.

The operating ratio (ratio of working expenses to gross earnings) is projected to improve marginally to 91.1% from around 98%.

The budget documents show that Indian railways expects to increase its contribution to the depreciation reserve fund by 23%.

Mamata going to market for money – Home – livemint.com.

Rail Budget 2011 : Economic Focus with Human Face

Indian Railways Minster: Mamata Banerjee

Highlights of Railways Budget 2011-12

• No hike in passenger fares
• No hike in freight rates
• Introduction of 9 non-stop Duronto Trains
• Introduction of 3 Shatabdis
• Reduction in the senior citizen age for women from 60 years to 58 years
• Concession on senior citizens (Men above 60 years) from 30% to 40%
• Announcement of a metro coach factory in Singur (West Bengal)
• Announcement of Rail Industrial Park in Jelligham
• integrated suburban network for Kolkata and 34 new services for the Kolkata metro

Her announcements for the state evoked protests from members including those from Bihar, UP and Kerala, but she appealed to them to be patient for her other announcements.

Godhra Train Burning Results

Gujarat Riots

A special fast track court convicted 31 accused in Godhra train burning case.

Another 63 people were acquitted in the Godhra train burning conspiracy.

The special fast track court was appointed by Gujarat High Court after orders from the supreme court of India.

The fast track court accepted the pre-planned conspiracy theory in the Godhra Train Burning case.

In 2002, the coach (S-6) of the train Sabarmati Express coming from Bihar (Darbhanga) destined to Gujarat (Ahmedabad) was burned in Godhra (Gujarat) . About 58 people were burned to death, which consists of mostly Hindu Pilgrims.

This event triggered a widespread communal violence in Gujarat that resulted in deaths of about 790 to 2000 Muslims and about 254 Hindus.

In the very first police FIR after the incident, the incident was viewed as an unplanned mob fury.

But, a special investigation team (SIT) of Gujarat state police put forth an argument that the act was pre-planned by a Muslim Group. It was said by the police that they had stockpiled about 140 liters of petrol a day before the attacks had to take place and the very purpose of these attacks was to kill the Kar-Sewaks.

In 2004, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav appointed Justice U C Banerjee to investigate Godhra incident.The Railways Ministry setup a commission that reported in 2005 that the fire was an accident. The Gujarat high court ruled the formation of this inquiry commission as “illegal” and “unconstitutional”. At present, all the reports of the commission by Railways stand invalid. Moreover, the outcome of this report has been questioned by BJP as politically motivated as its findings coincide with elections.

The judgement was pronounced on 25th February 2011 inside the high-security Sabaramati Jail in front of a camera on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

The 31 accused have been held guilty on 2 major accounts of criminal conspiracy (Section120B) and Murder(Section 302) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The interesting part of the judgement is that the court has acquitted atleast two of the accused who the police has long maintained as “main conspirators”.

The first Moulana Umarji was alleged to have shouted on the Public Address System of a nearby mosque asking the people of Godhra to rush to the Railway Station and kill the Kar Sewaks on board the Sabarmati Express.

The second, Bilal Hussain Kalota who was then supported by congress was to have been the main person who collected the mob outside the railway station of Godhra for the prime purpose of setting fire the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express.

Among those convicted is the owner of the Aman Guest House, Abdul Razzak Kurkur, where a meeting was held the night before the Godhra train burning episode to plan and hatch the entire episode by the conspirators.

via The Hindu : Front Page : 31 convicted, 63 acquitted in Godhra train fire case.

Kasab awarded death sentence

Image via Wikipedia

Justice Ranjana Desai upheld the death penalty against Ajmal Kasab for waging war against India in an attempt to destabilize the democracy.

The reasons cited by Justice Ranjan Desai for the death penalty are as follows:

The most serious charge is his involvement in waging a war against the Indian government

The stability of Indian government is the most essential and crucial aspect for the very existence of democracy.

Justice Ranjana Desai said: “Perhaps the weightiest aggravating circumstance is that Kasab waged a war against the Government of India pursuant to a conspiracy which was hatched in Pakistan, the object of which was to inter alia destabilise the Government of India and to weaken India’s economic might.”

“He indulged in mindless killings of innocent people with a view to overawing the Government of India and achieving cessation of a part of Indian territory. There was an attempt to create ill will and disaffection among different religions of India so as to damage its secular fabric. Waging war is a serious crime which calls for deterrent punishment.”

“[Kasab and co-conspirators] challenged the Indian Army and the State Police. Kasab targeted the CST [Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus] which is under the command of the Central government. Kasab challenged the sovereign authority of the Republic of India which offence calls for the severest punishment.”

The 2008 Mumbai attacks (often referred to as November 26 or 26/11) were more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India’s largest city, by terrorists who invaded from Pakistani seawaters. Kasab’s trial was delayed due to legal issues, as many Indian lawyers were unwilling to represent him.

Kasab’s trial began on 6 May 2009. He initially pleaded not guilty, but later admitted his guilt on 20 July 2009. He initially apologized for the attacks and claimed that he deserved the death penalty for his crimes, but later retracted these claims, saying that he had been tortured by police to force his confession, and that he had been arrested while roaming the beach.

At least 166 victims (civilians and security personnel) and nine attackers were killed in the attacks. Among the dead were 28 foreign nationals from 10 countries.

“In view of  the magnitude of attack, indicative of the preplanning,” the court called Ajmal Kasab “a threat to society.”

The court said that Ajmal Kasab was individually responsible for seven murders.

Justice Desai said it was “impossible to say that he was misguided by the LeT [Lashkar-e-Taiba] and used by them as a tool. He voluntarily joined the terror outfit, decided to train for jihad and expressed his wish to carry out the 26/11 mission and he knew the consequences of his actions.

Why was Ajmal Kasab not pardoned by Justice Ranjana Desai
The court said that he did not appear to be repentant at all. He was perfectly sane. This portrays a scheming mind and not a mind of a mentally unstable person.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s observations that the punishment should befit the crime, the court rejected the argument that the death penalty would make a martyr of Kasab.
The court justified the death penalty by saying that in some cases, the harsh penalty of death is necessary to warn those who may want to take a similar path. The soft handling of a crime like this will erode the public confidence in the efficacy of law.
The magnitude of Kasab’s crime makes the sentence of life imprisonment inadequate. The court also said, “we feel we would never be as confident as we are today in confirming the death sentence.”

The Hindu : Front Page : Kasab waged a war against India: court.

Who is Ajmal Kasab ? (sequence of events)

1. Mohammed Ajmal Amīr Kasāb is a Pakistani Islamic terrorist who was involved in the 2008 Mumbai attack.
2. Ajmal Kasab is the only attacker captured alive by police and is currently in Indian custody.
3. The Government of Pakistan initially denied that Ajmal Kasab was from Pakistan, but in January 2009, it officially accepted that he was a Pakistani citizen.
4. 3rd May 2010: an Indian court convicted him of murder, waging war on India, possessing explosives, and other charges.
5. 6th May 2010: The same trial court sentenced him to death on four counts and to a life sentence on five other counts.
6. 21st Feb 2011: Bombay high court has upheld the death sentence

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and BP joint venture

Image via Wikipedia

Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has signed a joint venture (JV) with British Petroleum (BP).

According to the press statement, British Petroleum will get 30% stake in the 23 oil and gas blocks including the KG-D6 oil fields of Reliance Industries.

The total valuation of the deal is 9 billion dollars.

It has also been one of the biggest Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in India.

British Petroleum and Reliance Industries Ltd will also form a 50:50 joint venture for marketing and sourcing of gas in India.
The expertise of Reliance Industries Limited is in project management and operations. British Petroleum brings to the table its expertise in deep water exploration and development.

The 23 oil and gas blocks together cover approximately 270,000 square kilometres.

The deal is very significant and is being viewed as positive sign for for the company Reliance Industries Limited.

The strategic part of the deal is that it covers the entire value chain from sourcing to marketing.

Mukesh Ambani’s RIL signs $9 billion deal with BP – NDTV Profit.