Beyond Pakistan, Think

26/11/2008 is one date that no Indian would forget easily. Nor would any Indian forgive any terrorists. And before you read any of the following lines, please bear in mind that my grief for the terror victims is as much as yours and I am a patriot and a consistent one.

The aftermath of the terror attacks can be called pitiable, if not foolish. Newspapers “put things into perspective” and conclude that India and Pakistan are on the brink of war. The Pakistani Government (or the military establishment? Whatever...), hysteric as always reportedly scrambles fighter aircraft over two of its major cities, thus copying that hysteria, that “sullen feeling of war looming in the sky” into the general masses. Back home, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee is quoted in the newspapers as a war of coercive words develops between the two neighbours. News channels, magazines and local newspapers draw out comparisons between the two nation’s armed forces, belittling the enemy as the lesser foe. Then we have politicians like Mr. Antulay who want a bit of the action amongst all the confusion, and generate even more drama if this was not enough. While this happens, volatile news readers get louder. Amidst this confusion, a saner voice was heard a few days ago. “The issue is not war,” said the Prime Minster of India. Bravo!

Yes, the issue is not war. Instead of continuing with this confusion, and spilling that into the minds of the citizens of the country by indirectly deputing it to the media, what the Government of India should do is revamp the entire defense system that is in place. The entire police system needs a renovation. Potbelly officers should be “worked out” and newer incentives should be laid out to the youth to join such services. An increased pay is definitely one such incentive. Also, the infrastructure and the equipment that the police use have to be constantly upgraded. In other words, we have to flex the right muscle. A country with a population of more than a billion people certainly needs more cops than it has now. There can be a secret police to guard the interests of the country and her people. I may not be good at strategic planning in such areas, but I do have a point that can be extrapolated by a more qualified person.

Instead of figuring out ways to kill those who kill us, we should devise ways to stop those who try to kill us from killing us. Trying to use the first alternative can be disastrous, and India knows it surely and verily. Both the nations in contention are nuclear powers and both have the capacity to annihilate each other. We are fighting for survival, and not fighting for death. The purpose is simply not served.

Then, while we are upgrading our defenses, we should also focus on developing the domestic economy further. Development through inflationary growth is a process that has worked wonders till now. Now as the world faces its worst economic crisis that has not been fuelled by a major war, a lot more thinking has to be done in such areas. People with vested interests in the economy never do good to the economy and in actual effect, they never do any good to themselves as they never really “cash out”. The government needs to make this point clear to them somehow, but that is difficult as simply stating such statements doesn’t work. Pure capitalism has failed for now, and we have to chew that fact and digest that fact. Derivatives of a failed economy also fail, and these days, well, derivatives are assuming even more importance than the underlying assets. But there is a positive end to this failure. The failure is going to lead to corrective measures – the economy is going to look after itself, it always looks after itself. But the catch here is that the governments should not go all out to “bail” toxic companies. Instead of spending crores of rupees trying to bail out sick units of the private sector, the government should keep focusing on issues such as unemployment. If we get back to the basics, economic prosperity will follow.

So how do we counter this terror machine? The terrorists have a mind. They too are humans, and they have their own thinking. Their interpretation of the holy Qur'an is not the same as the Muslims we personally know, but they have been led to believe that what they do is right and they will earn paradise by doing that. Now that very man, who is going to pull the trigger, or activate that grenade, is not insane. He has his own thinking, his own ideas. His commanders tell him about the atrocities on Muslims around the world, that Islam stares extinction. Does it? It does not. We know that. And that is not enough. They should know that. Their Muslim brothers the world over should hold protest rallies, voluntarily, letting them know that no one is being oppressed in this free world. That this world is paradise itself, and by committing suicide or any sin, you are revoking your privileges of living in a paradise. But for this to happen, oppression of not only Muslims in minority areas, but also of every person – of every caste and creed – should be fought against by the Governments. The government should let the terrorists know who is in charge and that prevention of oppression is its own duty. Only when equality is established in its true sense, through love and not through force, and when the message of love transpires to the other end, will this saga of terrorism stop. People fighting for their rights is not new. For the Americans, at one time the British were the terrorists. For the British, at one time Bhagat Singh was a terrorist. But this time it is slightly more complicated. The world is coming to an end if Nostradamus is to be believed. Let us all save it through brotherhood and universal love.

Bearing the Bears

Now when the bears are attacking, everyone's getting beaten. Every meaning of "beaten" holds true here. What the not so common investor would be realizing, thinking and anticipating is this:

The bubble has burst, no second thoughts on that. Traders are dying, some of them literally attempting suicides. The Indian Sensex and the Nifty have gone down by almost 50% from their year highs. This is "credited" to the FIIs going out, booking losses, profits and despair.

Scientists and artists have love and marvel symmetry. Investors do not. Traders neither. They expect the rise, and never the fall. (Well, some of they do, and they earn, but that is not the general trend- no one enjoys a falling market). The fall of Bear Stearns was just the tip of the iceberg. Freddy and Fannie, Lehman Brothers, AIG, Merill Lynch - all of owned the muscle in the financial town, and suddenly succumbed to a myalgia caused by their own incessant and idiotic risk taking coupled by a simultaneously growing mistrust amongst bankers who are realizing "no lending" is better than lending sometimes.

"Liquidity" and "Crunch" are two inseparable words now. The US treasury is stepping in to bail out the spoiled brats who did not know how to manage their funds. That is in itself a calculative risk. Back home, when P. Chidambaram is saying India is secure and is on her way up like never before, no one is actually listening. There are some last men standing, but they have always been standing.

Now if the US has to really turn things around, it would look to create more jobs for its citizens. It has to tax those outsourcing jobs out of the USA harder. It would not be very capitalistic, but capitalism does not seem to be working at this point of time. There is an inertia that is being seen by the common investor. Now if the US really pressurizes those "outsourcers" then that would hit the Indian IT industry. That is bound to happen. So the focus shifts to India. Well, when that happens, the whole world will not be watching India, but that's another story. Now if the Indian IT industry does not want to take that hit, it has to start moving away from the dollar. Europe seems to be a potential destination.

Now what I am trying to prove is that in whatever has happened, whatever is happening and whatever will happen, the robust Indian Economy has never lost, is not losing, will not lose given the strong corporate and financial management of the market drivers and a capable Finance Minster in P. Chidambaram. Hell, the guy has done whatever he could in such a crisis.

The Tests Have Begun

India is the unofficial capital of the cricket world. This statement has been corroborated by the Australians staying back in India after deciding to not to play cricket in Pakistan, a decision which has two sides, if not faces. Many suggest that big money has lured the Australians to come to India and play, but they are certainly overlooking the basic difference between Pakistan and India. While Pakistan has been depicted by the media as swimming in an ocean of an imbroglio of uncertainties, India is being looked upon as a place to earn money especially when it comes to cricket- the baptized "passion" of the nation.

But is it really the passion of the nation? The very statement is the Test that I am talking about.

It was known that the advent of Twenty20 would kill the Test audience figures after maiming the ODI ones. And that unfortunately has happened.

One might think that Twenty20 games is what interests the regular cricket audience now, that is getting bored with Tests and even ODIs. A true passionate follower of the game would be cherishing every ball bowled, irrespective of the ball being bowled in Test cricket or in Twenty20.

There are other countries like Australia and England where Twenty20 format was introduced much before, but Tests and ODIs have not lost their glory. The tickets for coming Ashes, for example, would have already been booked.

A lot of people now feel that there has been an overdose of India/Australia clashes now. This is ridiculous since the clash is happening after a whole year now, but it sure is a fact that there has been an "overkill"- of cricket, not of the contest in context, there has been an excess of everything in Twenty20- the same faces, the same attitudes.

So the Test really is for the Test version to stay afloat. Although there are people who love watching Test cricket, it sure isn't getting the attention it used to get when Twenty20 was not there.

There has to be a way to balance the two versions. Err... did I say two? There has to be a way to balance all the three versions of the game. The ICC has to look at how FIFA has managed things with club football and national contests.

Meanwhile, we will see in a few days time if the Test passes the Test.