Maruti Car - From Extortion to Production......

Extortion, blackmail and abuse of power - 

The story of “Maruti Udyog Limited”

On 16 November 1970, a private limited company named Maruti Technical Services Private Limited (MTSPL) was launched by Sanjay Gandhi, the second son of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He nominated himself as Managing Director of MTSPL with the second Director being Sonia Gandhi, the daughter-in-law of Indira Gandhi. The stated purpose of this company was to provide technology for manufacturing a “fully indigenous motor car”; (basically a car that was supposed to be 100% Indian in every way).

Sanjay Gandhi was known to be obsessed with cars and aircraft. Maintaining his family’s legacy, he failed to get a college degree, but Rolls–Royce (RR) of England must have seen some hidden talent in him, since he joined them as an intern in their manufacturing unit in the UK. The fact that he failed to complete his internship successfully is glossed over in history. Apparently, after only three years at RR he claimed that he had learnt all that was to be learnt about manufacturing cars, and this Gandhi returned to India with a dream, or so it is said.  

Using every resource at his command, including the office of the Prime Minister, Gandhi started his initial production of Maruti cars in the ramshackle truck-stop area of Delhi called Gulabi Bagh; with a chassis that he manufactured himself and parts that were scrounged from the back- alleys of Jama Masjid area. A refurbished Triumph motor-cycle engine was initially used to propel this contraption. On the business front, the Gandhi family used their political power to raise funds from industrialists and traders to fund this project. Those who refused felt the brunt of the dreaded MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) and COFEPOSA (Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Act). Thus, through threats and blackmail investments flowed quickly into the project and Maruti Limited was registered under the Companies Act in June 1971, within six months of the initial company being formed. 

Three decades later Robert Vadra, son-in-law of the other Director, Sonia Gandhi of MTSPL / Maruti Limited would recreate this amazing feat of creating a fortune out of nothing.

In September 1971, with the full backing of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s cabinet, MTSPL was awarded a Letter-of-Intent to manufacture 50,000 cars annually. The Directorate General of Technical Development was arm-twisted by the then Minister of Industrial Development, 

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (who was later hand-picked by Indira Gandhi to become the President of India), to issue this LOI against all norms. While the LOI was being processed, Gandhi found a benefactor in the then 

Haryana Chief Minister Bansi Lal; who influenced the Central Industries Ministry by recommending Gandhi’s case and assuring land, water, electricity and finance to the project. The reason for this benevolence was that Bansi Lal was under attack at that time by his own party’s MLAs, who had submitted a memorandum of multiple allegations of corruption against him; to the President of India. Bansi Lal who was a shrewd and cunning politician, realized at the outset that the insurance of his political well-being was the younger son and political heir of Indira Gandhi.

And so it came to pass that fertile land near village Dundahera on Delhi-Gurgaon road was allocated to Maruti Limited at a throw-away price, despite the fact that the potential site for Maruti factory was within 1,000 yards of a military ammunition dump. Another Gandhi family factotum V.C. Shukla who was then the Minister of State for Defense Production, ensured that this military facility was shifted elsewhere so that there would be no hindrance to the dreams of the heir-to-the-throne. Low interest loans without collateral were extended to the project by the Industrial Finance Corporation of India, Central Bank of India and Punjab National Bank.

Laws were broken, institutions were corrupted and morality was thrown to the winds to ensure that the ‘People’s Car’ dream was realized. When the then Law Minister H.R. Gokhale tried to advise Sanjay Gandhi on the legalities of this project, he was shocked by the rude response from the scion of the Gandhi family. “Mr. Gokhale, your laws do not apply to me”, scoffed the man who thought that he knew it all. With this attitude of its founding Managing Director, Maruti Limited was in deep financial trouble towards the end of 1973.

As details of these irregularities leaked out, it proved to be a constant embarrassment to the government. Opposition leaders Atal Behari Vajpayee, George Fernandes, Madhu Limaye and others accused Indira of practicing the worst kind of nepotism. But this had no effect on Sanjay Gandhi. He merrily went on from one controversy to the next. Somewhere along the line, he managed to get his prototype tested at VRDE Hyderabad. It failed every test and was not declared road worthy. He tried upgrading his fully indigenous prototype, and fitted it with a German manufactured engine with the help of the engine manufacturer. This idea also failed. Design flaws in Gandhi’s Maruti car ranged from vibrations to steering problems to brake failure. Despite this, the Minister for Heavy Industries T.A.Pai granted an industrial license to Maruti on 22^nd July 1974 for producing 50,000 cars. 

Pai was arm-twisted to do this by one R.K. Dhawan who started his career as a government typist but within a few years was the Personal Secretary to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, as well as her confidante who used his position to control flow of information and access to the PM. Interestingly, he would be a suspect in the investigation of the assassination of Indira Gandhi, with the investigating commission stating that ‘the needle of suspicion significantly points to his complicity or involvement’ (in the assassination). Dhawan weathered this storm and is currently a senior politician of the Congress (I) party.

As financial losses mounted, the wizard of ‘People’s Car’ started another company Maruti Technical Services (MTS), which was heavily funded by the failing Maruti Ltd. MTS then floated a third company, Maruti Heavy Vehicles which acquired scrapped road-rollers, refurbished them with a paint job and sold them as new. States ruled by the Congress party were forced to buy these at atrocious prices.

Politics interfered in this stuttering saga of Sanjay Gandhi’s dream project. His mother’s party was booted out of power in the 1977 general elections. The newly empowered Janata Government initiated an Inquiry Commission headed by Justice A.P.Gupta, and based on his reports; on March 06, 1978, the High Court of Punjab and Haryana ordered the winding up of Maruti Motors. The dream was dead via court order.

The Congress party came back into power in 1980, but before the Maruti experiment could be resurrected, Sanjay Gandhi in his unique style that ignored good advice; decided to perform aerobatic loops in a two-seater aircraft over Delhi’s Safdarjung area, lost control and crashed to his death.

Post his demise, Indira Gandhi decided to revive the project. Maruti Udyog Ltd was incorporated through the efforts of Dr V. Krishnamurthy, and was established in February 1981; though actual vehicle production commenced only in 1983, in Joint Venture with Suzuki Motors Japan.

It must be specified here that Suzuki Motors of Japan had absolutely nothing to do with the political, economic or legal malfeasances of Sanjay Gandhi, his mother or the Congress Party.

After the death of Sanjay Gandhi and on the request of his mother, it was Dr. V.Krishnamurthy; a highly respected bureaucrat who was Secretary in the Ministry of Industry till 1980, who did the spade work to evaluate various global car manufacturers to find the right partner for the People’s Car of India. Suzuki Japan was the ultimate choice. 

Dr Krishnamurty was appointed as the Chairman and CEO of the new entity Maruti Udyog Limited in 1981, and the rest as they say, is history.

The actual production started in 1983 with the introduction of the Maruti 800 car (depicted here sporting its original Sky Blue color)

 

which was based on the Suzuki Alto Kei/SS80, (depicted here in red) which was at that time the most modern car in Asia. 

In 1984, the Maruti Van with the same 3-cylinder engine as the 800 was launched.

In 1985; the Suzuki SJ410, 4WD off-road vehicle with a 970cc petrol engine was launched. This was renamed the ‘Gypsy’ in India 

and was designed with a longer tail-end than the original SJ410. 

                                                                                    

Suzuki also tried to introduce the Maruti Pick-up mini-truck in India, but that turned out to be a market flop.  

                                                               

The irony of the whole sordid saga is that the 100% Indian designed and manufactured ‘People’s Car’, started its journey in India as a 100% Japanese imported car, since the first few hundred vehicles of the car and van were fully assembled imports. Initially, 74% of the company was owned by the Government of India and 26% by Suzuki Japan. As of May 2007, the Government sold its complete share holding and no longer has any stake in Maruti Udyog. 

And there we have it, the saga of total failure to popular success; as witnessed by history.

Note: This post was originally published in www.newnviews.online
I thank them for the opportunity.

If not now, when….. ?

Recently a close friend of mine accused me of being Anti-Modi, (Against the Gov of our respected prime minister Shri. Narendra Modi). This accusation caught me by surprise, since I do not consider myself as anti-establishment. His clarification was that I should not criticize or express negative opinions against the current BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) Govs at the Center or in our State of Maharashtra.

My counter argument is that, as a Citizen of my country Bharat; I have the Constitutional Right to ask questions from my Gov ministers at every level; municipal, state or central / Union, including the Prime Minister. I also hold this very right as a Voter.

So, what are my expectations from the NaMo Gov as it is popularly known?

1) Enforcement of Civil Order and Social Discipline: 

    NaMo has started off and is consistently pushing the ‘Swatch Bharat Abhiyan’ (Clean India Effort) since 02nd October 2014. It is now 2 years 8 months since this effort was put into action, yet except for the railway stations which are sparkling clean, the mountains of garbage on the streets of our cities and towns has not reduced even one bit, forget about being removed totally. The ministry of Urban Development has the lead in making our country garbage free and clean. It consistently fails in this effort. 

The Prime Minister requests our citizens time and again; not to litter, spit, urinate or worse on the road-side or on the foot-paths. The citizens don’t care and continue defacing the country. The NaMo Government has already imposed taxes on the tax-paying community by ½%, levying the Swachh Bharat Cess (SBC) on us. But, the government is either unwilling or unable to enforce existing rules and regulations to force citizens to be follow social discipline and enforce public cleanliness. Why doesn’t NaMo repeal the SBC and take money as punitive fines from the offenders who throw garbage on the streets irresponsibly and are not prosecuted for the same?

In the area of civil discipline; every footpath (except those in VIP areas or next to the Chief Minister’s offices) are occupied by hawkers, squatters and those with vested interests. This problem is growing rapidly and the reason behind it is the slum rehabilitation efforts. Every squatter and hawker not only expects, but demands a free house from government as if it’s their God-gifted right, which the government obliges using our tax-payer money. Here is the good part of the government playing the role of ‘Good Samaritan’ with our money and gifting houses to the poverty stricken. The recipients of this largess sell the houses in open market the moment they get an allotment and then they are back to occupying our foot-paths asking for a free house, once again. 

All this, while the hard-working, tax-paying middle class does not qualify to be even considered for free housing, much less being on any list or quota to receive one.

In the area of traffic control and vehicular movements, NaMo Gov has basically given up even trying to enforce the law. The Motor Vehicle Act 1998; we are told, will be enhanced soon in 2016 to enable the Gov to prosecute guilty drivers severely. The Gov quietly avoids any mention of law-enforcement. At any given point or location in our country, we can see vehicles parked in no-parking zones without a care or badly parked, double-parked, or its various variations. This indiscipline hinders the flow of traffic (I am not using the words smooth flow, because it is something unknown in our country for the general public), to the point that people are stressed, delayed for no reason, more fuel is expended than is necessary and overall there is a atmosphere of despair, disgust and bad feelings. Who is responsible for this? If the primary culprits are the undisciplined drivers, then the Gov is equally responsible due to its inability or incapability to enforce the law.

Yes, my dear Gov ministers and officials, it is your duty to “enforce” the law, not make it optional for people to decide whether to obey the laws or not.

Maybe the Gov can start with ensuring that traffic police actually do some work of traffic law enforcement while on duty, rather than sit on their Gov issued motor-cycles, keep busy with their mobile phones and fleece money from sundry commercial vehicles that come across their paths. Traffic control duty should not be restricted to ensuring the smooth flow of VVIP movements where a fleet of vehicles with red flashing lights and sirens go by at high speed as traffic cops push the other vehicles towards the side of the road. When the VVIP convoy vanishes, so do the cops. Add to this rash driving of vehicles by general public, driving on the wrong side of the road, driving at excessive speeds that result in multiple deaths of innocents and driving vehicles on the foot-paths if there is some space available. It is not only the supporters of NaMo and the vote-bank of BJP who are fed-up of Gov inaction on this issue; but every person on the roads is fed-up because their needs are being blissfully ignored by the NaMo Gov at Center and State levels.

 

2) Appeasement of Muslims: 

The NaMo Gov has followed the policy of Muslim appeasement as rigorously as the earlier Govs of the other political parties. After the fire and brimstone lectures about “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas” (Everybody together, everybody’s Progress) prior to being elected, the NaMo Gov is quietly avoiding any mention about the Uniform Civil Code, removal of Article 370 with reference to Kashmir and is in the process of introducing Sharia Banking in Gujarat, which may be extended to other States as well. To know more about Sharia banking in India please click here . 

Apart from this development under the Narendra Modi Gov; Muslims have long been running a parallel judicial system in this country under Sharia Law. The Supreme Court of India has already ruled that “No religion is allowed to curb anyone's fundamental rights," stating further that Indian Law does not recognize Sharia Court rulings. Read more about this ruling here. 

Since Sharia law is allowed for Muslims then why not a Court System perhaps under the interpretations of the Shrimad Bhagwat Gita for the Hindus? What if the Jewish community; which has been recognized as a ‘minority’ community by the Government of Maharashtra, demands that they be allowed to run their own judicial system as per the Halakha (which are the collective body of Jewish religious laws derived from the Written and Oral Torah)? Will the NaMo Gov allow this? If not, then why the special treatment towards the Muslim community?

And most importantly; does this not weaken the letter and spirit of the ‘Constitution of India’ that states in the preamble that “Equality of Status and of opportunity and to promote all Fraternity assuring dignity of the individual……” which on-paper assures every citizen the “three dimensions of Equality – Political, Economic and Civic”?

3) Enforcement of Law and Order across the Nation: 

Whether it is prominently the States of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala and Bengal; and the other States, law and order situation is becoming grim on a daily basis. The voters had expected that improving the law & order situation would be a priority for the NaMo Gov and there would be an effort to train the police, increase their personnel strength and treat them as human beings. Unfortunately, apart from stating now and then that ‘Law and Order’ is the responsibility of the respective State, the Union Gov has not contributed positively towards the safety of citizens. Speeches by the Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh about flexing muscles which seem non-existent, does not impress the voters and neither do they scare the criminals or prevent crime. The Voters want action on-the-ground and this has not happened. The usual excuses will not work because they are no longer acceptable by the Voters.

The reality is that we have an extremely serious problem of lack of enforcement of Law & Order; be it in the areas of crime, social responsibility or civic duties. Pleading and requesting will not work. Criminal prosecution, monetary penalties and enforcement of existing laws without fear and favor are required; because this was one reason why Shri. Narendra Modi was elected Prime Minister by voters across all the social strata.

My two questions to the Prime Minister are:

(1) If not you, then who?             and,

(2) If not now, then when?

 

Jai Hind. Vande Mataram !     

Tweeting the ‘Drums of War’

 On 2^nd January, 2016; a heavily armed group of Pakistan based terrorists infiltrated into India and attacked the Pathankot Air base in Punjab State. In the initial battle, four terrorists and three security persons died in combat. Three more security persons who were grievously injured died in hospital, raising the death toll to six. The initial battle lasted for over 17 hours and then sporadically continued till January 4^th, when the final terrorist was declared killed by the security forces. The final death toll was 6 terrorist / attackers, 1 civilian and 7 Indian security people (5 from Defense Service Corps, 1 Indian Air-Force Commando and 1 officer of the National Security Guard).

The social media has been afire with known and unknown “experts” giving their opinion regardless of the facts on the ground. Most are incensed that the Govt. of India has not yet launched a counter-attack on Pakistan to “teach them a lesson”. Politicians from all parties first condemned the terror attack and then each other for lack of reaction to this terrorist attack. Much has been said about the “inefficient conduct” of the Government machinery and the Armed Forces response to containing and exterminating the terrorist.

The first issue that should be taken into account is that the terrorists were wearing Indian Army uniforms. The initial casualties of the security forces happened because of this deception. The subsequent casualties that happened were due to Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that were encountered by the security people. IEDs by their very definition are highly unstable and have a large circumference of damage when they explode. They are also extremely difficult and dangerous to disarm, since every IED bomb-maker has individual design techniques. 

The second issue being raised is that of the delay in response to the attack. This is a blatant false-hood being perpetuated by those who want to harm our Nation, especially many from the main-stream- media (MSM). The reality is that Indian command and control mechanism was very pro-active and the only delay was due to logistics constraints (moving troops and equipment to the battle field) and not decision making, as is claimed by many.

Most of the anger being vented by the social media “experts” seems to be based on the singular fact that the kill ratio of terrorist to brave-hearts (6: 7) is unacceptable. Does that mean that if the country had lost only a couple of our soldiers, the anger would have been less? Let us be very clear, every individual loss of life in the protection of our Nation is a loss of a hero that we cannot afford to lose. However, the reality is that, every battlefield throws up casualties, and we have to bear the brunt of loss of our troops again and again. This very anger and frustration is driving the need for a war with Pakistan. And therein lies the trap that needs to be avoided.

If India does go to war in retaliations against frequent terrorist attacks that originate from Pakistan territory, what would be the objective of this war? What would be the physical goals to achieve, so that we in India can get the feelings of a satisfactory revenge?

Would the objective (goal) be the invasion and take-over of POK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir)? Would that be a fitting response? Or would the objective of war be the occupation of entire country of Pakistan? Assuming that either option is the objective, how long would the Indian forces stay in the captured territory? Would the occupation be time-bound, or perpetual? Will India declare the captured territory as irrevocable parts of India? What will be the legal status of the current residents of this territory? Will they become Indian citizens once the territory is annexed? What is the guarantee that the current residents will welcome Indians as liberators and heroes, and not fight Indian forces as their enemies?

The 2003 invasion of Iraq by USA and its coalition of the unwilling, is a clear example that occupying a sovereign nation is fraught with dangers; physical, geopolitical and financial. A war always results with the death of soldiers in thousands and depletion of finances by the millions. The quagmire that the Western countries find themselves in over the last 12-15 years is self explanatory. Should India follow this “definitely-will-fail-make-us-bankrupt” policy of war? That’s a thought that requires some deep considerations.

In fact, the wars of the 21^st century can no longer be fought on the killing fields of borders between nations. Current and NextGen wars will be fought on two widely diverse battle-fields. One will be in the arena of global finance and economic strength. The winners will be defined by their robust and strong economy, industrial growth, financial reserves and respectable GDP. Wars will be won by literally drowning the enemy into global debt, negative growth and a broken financial system. The current government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already shown its strong performance in this area. The economy of India is on a strong growth and nothing (except maybe natural disasters will be able to stop this). Compared to the Indian economy, Pakistan is a perennially destitute nation that is dependent on financial hand-outs from USA, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The second arena of war is War-by-Proxy. Here, Pakistan has the distinctive advantage over India. Pakistan has been the sponsor of such warfare since the invasion of Afghanistan by the former Soviet Union in December 1979. It was in Pakistan that the initial “Mujahideen” (guerilla warriors) armies were raised and trained. In its roots, mujahideen refers to any person who performs jihad. “Jihad” is the term, used to define the Islamic conquests during the early history of Islam, and now is defined by armed guerilla attacks across the world. Today’s Jihadi groups are based in Pakistan and Afghanistan; but they have been financed at various times by the USA, other European nations, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and many Arabic non-government organizations. In Pakistan itself they have the backing and blessings of the Pakistan Army’s Inter-Services-Intelligence (ISI) that is increasingly seen to be acting on its own agenda that is radically different from the official policies of the democratically elected Govt. of Pakistan.

The decades long lead by Pakistan in the arena of proxy-war over India has been the prime reason that India has not been able to respond back adequately and immediately to terrorist attacks. As a matter of records, it is not only Pakistan that has been indulging in proxy war against India. China has been doing the same by funding and sponsoring the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Russia by its funding of the other communists; USA and Western powers through the use of church groups that spread Christianity and sponsor religious conversions in India and neighboring countries, and Saudi Arabia by funding Wahhibi madrasas that sponsor local terrorist activities.

It is rumored that the current Government has understood the implications and advantages of proxy-warfare. Yet, to-date there has been no reports of India sponsoring any violent activity in a foreign country. It is a matter of pride that India’s nascent proxy war effort is overt and involves assistance to neighboring countries in the form of financial aid, technical aid to build infra-structure, medical and humanitarian aid as a disaster response and a global cultural "attack" with the publicity of the benefits of Yoga exercises.

Whether there will be any covert attacks against Pakistan is a matter of debate. Whether any infrastructure for sponsoring armed conflicts inside Pakistan is being formed is also a matter of wild speculation. All that we-the-People of India need to know is that we are a financially stable, economically strong Nation with a majority population that is not afraid of terrorism. And that is our road to prosperity and happiness.

Vande Mataram!

Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Diplomacy. Its cultural, not only spontaneous.

The recent and unexpected visit by the Prime Minister of India, Hon. Narendra Modi to Pakistan had caught the whole world by surprise and created a storm of praise by world leaders who applauded this action towards lasting efforts for peace with Pakistan.

In contrast, there were politicians and political parties in India who criticized this trip venomously. And, there are those who are unable to understand either the purpose of this trip, or its implications, or the philosophy behind the whole effort.

To understand the efforts of the new leadership of India, one must go far back into the past, and visit the thought concepts of ancient Bharat (the land that is comprised of the current nations of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri-lanka and the immediate neighboring countries).

The basic principal of the Bharatiya view of country and way-of-life is the “commitment to culture”. The nation known as India did not begin its existence from 15 August 1947, but had existed as “Bharat Rashtra” for aeons before the British rule and other foreign rulers prior to that. On this land; the threads of life, art, literature and philosophy that bind the people as one culture and as a homogenous entity of various castes and sects, have existed and never weakened through the times of foreign occupation and rule, and the forced imposition of Abrahamic religions onto the people of this land. This basic culture is an integral part of majority of Indians and it is the very foundation of cultural unity of Bharat.

Based on this fact; that Bharatiya culture is the foundation of our social unity, it follows seamlessly that our view of life is integral. The all-encompassing development of every individual can happen only when the body, mind, intellect and soul are developed simultaneously. When such efforts are constantly undertaken by individual citizens, then the interest of the individual is in automatic harmony with the collective interests of our society. Since the individual and the society are inter-dependent for harmonious existence, their mutual relationship has to be based on congeniality and cooperation. 

When the consideration of the individual extends beyond the ‘I’ to include ‘we’ and ‘our’ it leads to universal development, and unity of universal bonding. Thereby, the development of Society can be judged from the development of the Individual.

Bharatiya society is based on the four objectives prescribed in our culture; these being the pursuit of Dharma (responsible actions), Artha (acquiring wealth), Kama (fulfilling desires) and Moksha (liberation of the soul upon death). These founding principles of our culture guide every action of our people. Dharma is the force that holds all other objectives together, and regulates the changes in society over time. 

This concept of Dharma (responsible actions) has, many times in the past; given rise to Dharma-Rajya (the rule of Dharma) which in its simplistic definition can be considered the “Rule of Responsible Law”.

Dharma-Rajya is non-religious and non-sectarian. It is strictly, the rule-of-law. Such a rule of law is neither dictatorial, nor arbitrary, nor based on individual self-interest. Dharma-Rajya puts all its emphasis on duties and responsibilities and not only on ‘rights’. In such an environment where rule is based on duties supported by the needs of individual rights; the administrative, judicial and legislative institutions function according to the requirements of the Bharatiya culture and as per the law, and not as per the whims and fancies of individual leaders or outside the parameters of legally and morally defined boundaries of society.

When Institutions function as per Dharma-Rajya, it automatically leads to the strengthening of democratic principles and a commitment to democracy. Democracy is the only means of ensuring the rights of every individual and protecting these rights and dignity of the people. Democracy is an indivisible concept and as such in our Bharatiya mind-set it is not restricted only to the political arena, but also defines itself in the economic and social arenas as well. Democracy is sustained by dignity of the individual, which in turn is the after-effect of responsibility of individuals combined with the rights of the individuals. The one issue that has to be always ensured in such a situation is that the individual’s rights shall not be detrimental to the rights or interests of society, and that the rights of the individual and that of society are complementary to each other.

Bharatiya society values Freedom at all costs. Freedom is not only the life and soul of a democracy; but also of individuals, their society and their nation. Economic, social and political freedoms have to work together in tandem to assure the individual and the nation the freedom from conflicts. This can be assured only on the basis of long term planning of all aspects of governance, including foreign policy. Planning is always the means to reach an objective and not the objective itself. Such planning has to protect the basic values and beliefs of our culture and strengthen them continuously. Inspiration for overall development of the society and nation cannot come from objectives alone. For this, it is necessary to cultivate the commitment of the people; not only within the geographical boundaries but within the cultural boundaries of Bharat-Rashtra. For only then, can the nation achieve success.

The above philosophy is part of the strength of the Narendra Modi governance policy. This thinking does not stop at the boundaries of India. It encompasses the whole world. The Bharatiya philosophy has endured and survived countless attacks on it over ages, centuries and ancient time-lines. In the past this philosophy has spread itself to the current countries in Eastern Asia and also the Pacific Rim. The most important component of Bharatiya thinking is its commitment to peace. Dialogue can win more hearts and minds than bombs and bullets. This does not mean that our philosophy makes us shy away from war and violence. 

From the wars of Mahabharat to wars against British Empire, Bharatiya people have borne arms when required and sacrificed their lives for all of the above mentioned concepts. Some wars were won conclusively, leading to the establishment of Bharatiya empires (colloquially called as 'Hindu Empires') that spanned the entire Indian continent; many were lost, leading the people of Bharat into slavery and subjugation. 

However, our Dharma (concept of responsibility) still demands that we use all non-violent and diplomatic avenues to broker lasting peace with hostile neighbours before we are forced to sound the Trumpets-of-War to enforce our right to lead our way-of-life comprehensively.

Who is afraid of the Islamic State?

The question that we should really ask is, “Why are we afraid of the Islamic State, aka ISIS?”

The reason is more about the thinking process of our collective mind-set, rather than the actual risk that ISIS poses to the world. Is the Islamic State a dangerous entity? Of course it is, but mostly to the people of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and nations adjoining these three. The dangers posed to other countries across the oceans are minimal and fractional as compared to the real dangers already existing there-in.

It is a matter of “Perceived Risk v/s Actual Risk” that we face as a society; that influences our thinking and thereby influences our fear factor. Research has shown that there are four reasons why some risks are perceived to be more lethal than they actually are in reality.

1.    People over-react to intentional actions and under-react to disasters and accidents. That is why people in India panic over the fact that a handful of Indian youth are joining ISIS (remembering that terrorist attacks that have killed about 4,500 people on an average every year over the last ten years) and completely ignoring railway accidents (that have killed and keep killing approximately 15,000 people every year). 

      Terrorist activities are intentional actions while railway deaths are thought off as natural accidents, therefore every small act connected to terrorism grabs people attention while railway accidents don’t capture our thoughts in same manner.

2.    People over-react to incidents and acts that offend their morality. When people feel insulted or are angered by acts that question their way-of-life, they react with anger, fear and a need for action.

3.    People over-react to what they consider as immediate threats (such as radicalization of youth and surge in religious rhetoric) while under-reacting to threats that kill over a period of time (such as medical deaths) or have become a natural part of life (deaths due to accidents and / or negligence).

4.    Human brains process every sudden event on the “fight or flight” perspective. But if the rate of change is slow enough, this change will not have a major impact. (In the past the use of foul language in public used to draw out the anger of the general population, but over the last 15 years, foul words have crept slowly into the vocabulary, and the mix of foul words during conversations no longer offends the majority of the people).

5.    Especially in India, people have the tendency to exaggerate rare or non-frequent risks and ignore common risks. They worry more about being killed by bombs and bullets, than getting killed by contagious diseases; even though various diseases claim many more lives.

6.    In daily life, there are many hidden dangers that kill an average Indian. From disease, to railway and road accidents, to diabetic strokes and heart- attacks. Yet, people under-estimate the risks that they take on willingly and over-estimate risks in the situations that they have no control over.  When people have to take a risk voluntarily, they usually under-estimate it. When forced to take a risk, they tend to over-estimate it. Terrorists seem to be considered fearsome because they attack at their own convenience and without advance warnings. The fear-factor arises from the thinking that as individuals we cannot stop terrorists; but that as a society the combined might of the people should be capable of stopping them; which in their minds ends up being the responsibility of the Government.

In the final analysis, people over-estimate risks about those topics that are discussed in the news, at any given time. News, by its very definition is an abnormality in the natural course of a life-style. Endless number of fatalities by diseases and accidents never make the news headlines as much as one terror attack or news about recruitment by terrorists. While, it seems that news outlets like to use terrorism and its false narratives for TRPs, it is for us, the people to decide whether to be afraid of terrorism or to reject is as just another danger in the course of our life-style.

Paris attack on 13 November: Clinical Analysis

Paris: Most favored destination for Terrorist Attacks:

Now that most of the hysteria and excited assumptions of the attack on Paris are over, we should take time to clinically analyze this attack on a European cultural centre and its ramifications for the future. 

The attack on Paris on Friday 13 (2015) was the first multi-target, well coordinated attack on six different locations killed 130 persons and wounded 368. There was no advance information on the specifics of this attack since the usual internet chatter prior to the attack was missing. Informants deeply embedded into terrorist areas were also unaware of the plans; leading to a rising concern that the attack squads were trained to “go dark”, i.e. – use minimal communication and carry out their part of the attack without any contact to other attackers or their handlers. EU Intelligence services had already stated their suspicions that “professional squads of terrorists were inserting themselves into migrant groups from Syria and North Africa”; but the ruthless efficiency of the attacks caught everyone by surprise. 

Paris is the favorite target of terrorists.  Since 1961, more than 250 people have been killed and over 600 injured in terrorist attacks carried out by a variety of groups, the most recent being Algerian insurgents and Islamic extremists. The latest attack is significant in its disciplined multi-target approach and the extent of damage that was caused to life and property. While earlier attacks on Paris were the handiwork of various ideologies from the far left to the extreme right, Daesh (Islamic State) has targeted Paris for three unique reasons. 

Firstly, since Paris is considered by radical Islamist's as an epitome of debauchery and decadence; and hence needs to be punished for straying onto an immoral path. More so, it was in Paris that the famous slogan “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” was first declared as the “Rights of Man and Citizens”; an idea that is deeply resented by the Islamic radicals. 

Secondly, it is considered an easy target with greatest opportunity to inflict damage. Given its porous borders with Spain and Italy in the south; men, guns and bombs can be easily smuggled from either the Mediterranean side or Bay of Biscay and into France. The fact that this specific group of Islamic extremists chose to base themselves in Belgium prior to the attack is a major indicator about their modus operandi to stay under local Intelligence surveillance networks.

Thirdly, terrorism is prominently a psychological war. The focus of every terrorist attack is to ensure a large enough amount of destruction, death and bloodshed to ensure that the incident gets global headline news. This creates fear in the minds of the people who are attacked and creates an illusion that terrorists can strike anywhere and anytime as it pleases them. The bigger psychological effect is on the Muslim population that supports terrorism. Every jihadi attack like 13/11 is considered a winning attack and leads to more recruits joining the ranks of terrorists and towards higher amounts in donations and funds received by terrorist organizations. 

Planning the attack on Friday the 13^th also seems to have a purpose. This date is known as “black Friday” in the West and considered unlucky. Though it is only a popular superstition in Western society, an estimated 17 – 22 million people are affected by a fear of this day, making it the most feared date and day in history. The terrorist attack on this day and date would reinforce the fear factor in the Western society, or so the terrorists hope. 

Every terrorist attack is a political statement by the attackers. In this specific case, apart from this being a revenge attack by Daesh on France for its participation in the bombings of Islamic State targets, the underlying reason is to embolden the fringe elements of Islamic radicals in Europe to increase lone wolf or wolf pack attacks onto the general public and cause disruptions in the western society and economy. We should not forget that the main export of the Islamic State is its ideology of merciless Jihad, and that is the real danger that the world needs to learn how to control, contain and defeat.

The French people did respond back immediately with a avalanche of social media response (the hash-tag portesouvertes or ‘open doors’) where on-the-ground people opened up their homes as safe sanctuary to those who were caught in the madness of the attacks, and viral videos of the residents of France singing their national anthem as they exited in a disciplined fashion from the venue of the soccer match which was attacked by a suicide bomber. The singular message from the People of France to the terrorists was “You may have broken the bodies of the victims, but not shaken the spirit of Libery, Equality and Fraternity”.

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