“A section of senior police officers refused to be on the ground and take on the terrorists. By doing so they chose to ignore the need of the hour. Yes there was a dearth of eagerness on the part of a handful of senior officers to be on the ground during those days.” These are the words from the horse’s mouth, Hassan Gafoor who was the Commissioner of Police during 26/11. Here’s some more.

“K.L. Prasad refused to come to the Trident and then decided against hitting the roads. Deven Bharti, K. Venkatesham and Parambir Singh did not appear keen on responding to the situation.” Here’s yet another disclosure.

“I attended a meeting with the DGP and home minister. I was told to withdraw the NSG and instead use the Mumbai Police for the ongoing operations.”

Posted on November 30th, 2009 under India calling. Tags: 26/11, attack, BJP, CNN IBN, Congress, dud, Kamte, Last Bullet, leak, Mumbai, panel, Pradhan, Rajdeep Sardesai, report, Terror, Vinita. Comments: 4

Gatecrashing is an art or rather a scientific art. Scientific because there are rules for gatecrashing like in science and it’s an art because there is definitely a human element to it which one needs to perfect. Oh yes, I would know. I’ve done it a couple of times. A piece of cake actually if you go by the rules. I know I have this image of a very simple housewife and a blogger but I’ve had my bit of fun in life. And that’s what it was, pure fun.

Posted on November 30th, 2009 under AUTHOR'S DIARY, Feelings, India calling, Track the world. Tags: dinner, gatecrash, Michaele, party, salahi, state, Tariq, wedding. Comments: 9

Smita- Hey Pops! I’m leavin’.

Bal Thakeray (BT)- What! You haven’t even made my khichdi yet. You can’t leave.

Smita- I don’t care about your khichdi anymore. I’m leavin’.

BT- OK OK! Never mind. I’ll tell Raj to make it. He’s actually very good at making khichdi. See the way he has made a khichdi out of Marathi Manoos. Do you know I taught him that?

Smita- I wish you had taught Udhav also the same thing.

BT- I thought you were leaving.

Smita- I am.

BT- While on your way back get 250 gms dahi for my raita.

Posted on November 28th, 2009 under India calling. Tags: bal, BJP, Congress, Hurriyat, Raj, Shiv sena, Smita, Thakeray. Comments: 3

Fact is that there indeed seems to be a concerted effort from many western quarters to shape people’s opinion here in India as far as 26/11 is concerned. And Indian Express and Times of India seem to be working on their agenda. Remember the article by Pierre Lavalle published in Times of India on 22nd Nov 09 which I spoke of in the post titled Pardon 26/11? Is there some kind of a coordinated campaign going on by these people or is it because of a exchange of money and favors? I can’t say for now but if we keep seeing these kind of write ups you and I will know for sure.

Posted on November 27th, 2009 under India calling. Tags: 26/11, Amitabh, Attacks, Big B, joshi, Mumbai, poem, prasoon, Terror. Comments: 6

When 9/11 happened America converted this crisis into an opportunity. They ensured that another 9/11 does not happen again on their territory and they have succeeded. They did not let 9/11 just become history before they dealt with their present. Can we, as Indians let 26/11 just become history without dealing with our present? The question is for all Indians to answer for. And I’m not talking about candle light vigils or some such stuff here.

Posted on November 26th, 2009 under India calling. Tags: 26/11, 9/11, attack, holocaust, Mumbai, nuke, response, Terror, war. Comments: 14

To my mind there is only one solution to the current traffic chaos of the city: Outsource the darn thing. Yes, that’s right. Give traffic monitoring and marshaling to a private firm. Let them install cameras at every crossing which should be manned by at least three to four people. Whatever fines they collect can be their revenue. There will be some arguments between the commuters and these traffic marshals, in which case the camera recordings will come in handy. Let traffic marshals be deployed even at bus stops who can monitor the number of people boarding and traveling in any particular bus. Let these guys also be responsible for marking and putting up traffic signs in the city. Ads on these sign boards can be a means of earnings for these people.

Posted on November 25th, 2009 under India calling. Tags: chaos, death, delhi, problem, sense, solution, traffic. Comments: 7

Justice Liberhan is a very wise and a mature man. He knew very well the implications of this report. He knew that this report has the potential to create a chaos in the country which can result in lot of bloodshed. And therefore he has said what he had to say but he did it in a manner that while he brought out what all of us already know he has managed to keep it as vague as possible. Yes, he has named Vajpayee and Advani in this report but if you go beyond the obvious there isn’t really much. And there is a very deep thought behind this. Can you imagine the chaos in the country if he were to say that Vajpayee, Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi or even Uma Bharti were involved in planning for this demolition? Can you imagine what would’ve happened in this country if based on this report criminal cases were to be initiated against these people? Just to point out that Barkha Dutt yesterday said on NDTV that she had gone through this leaked report and there was nothing on which you could file a criminal case. And for a change, I believe her.

Posted on November 24th, 2009 under Best Articles, India calling. Tags: Babri, BJP, Congress, demolition, Justice, liberjan, Masjid, report. Comments: 12

If you go by a poll conducted in Pakistan, despite the kind of ‘investment’ Obama has done in Pakistan, America is still perceived as the number one enemy in that country. Let me tell you for a fact that this will not change for at least the next few generations. If that be the case is there any assurance that the govt in Pakistan will keep overlooking the general public opinion? Remember, how the strong public opinion forced even a president like Musharraf to quit? Actually Obama can thank the fundamentalist parties in Pakistan who have not yet whipped up this very strong emotion prevalent amongst the populace of that country. But things can change very fast in case they actually do.

Posted on November 23rd, 2009 under India calling, Track the world. Tags: India, obama, Pakistan, PM, Terror, US, visit, war. Comments: 8

“Without forgiveness, life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.” And “The longing for vengeance is like craving for poison.” These lines are from an article written by Pierre Lavalle, a Canadian therapist, published in Times of India dated 22 Nov 09. He goes on to say that though it is very difficult for us but we should try and forgive those who carried out these terror attacks in Mumbai last year. Well, it had to come to this someday but it is rather surprising that Times of India published this article within just about an year of the most horrific terrorist attack on our soil. The call first got diluted from an all out war against Pakistan to just action against perpetrators of 26/11, then it got further watered down when Pak govt let go of one perpetrator after another while at the same time giving lip service of all possible help against terrorists even as our govt watched it helplessly and now sections of media within our own country are telling us that we should move on and forgive those murderers altogether, albeit on the prodding of westerners.

Posted on November 22nd, 2009 under India calling. Tags: 26/11, attack, forget, forgive, Kasab, Mumbai, Pakistan, Terror. Comments: 13