The Great Debate (India)
Congratulate Team India
Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck a dramatic six to bring the World Cup to India on Saturday after Sri Lanka had threatened to ruin their party.
India is only the third side to win batting second, a feat that seemed beyond them when Lasith Malinga dismissed both openers in his first four overs. India also became the first country to win the World Cup as host.
Join us in congratulating Team India on their win.
India, Pakistan reach cautious win-win perch
By C. Uday Bhaskar
(C. Uday Bhaskar is a New Delhi-based strategic analyst. The views expressed in the column are his own)
The joint statement issued by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt on the sidelines of the NAM Summit has generated considerable comment in both countries and is being interpreted across a wide bandwidth that ranges from outright condemnation to cautious cheer.
India and Pakistan are now back to formal engagement — albeit in a brittle manner with many caveats after the composite dialogue, that goes back to January 2004, had been put on freeze by India after the Mumbai terrorist attack of November 2008.
It is instructive that this modest breakthrough came on the eve of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit, which marks the first high-level political contact between the Obama administration and the UPA government after it was voted back to power.
The operative part of the statement is contained in a mere 18 words that read as: “Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.”
Critics in India have flayed Singh for his seeming ‘capitulation’ and invoked the criticism that he is ‘weak’ — a charge leveled against him during the early 2009 campaign phase.
Will ‘Slumdog’ win Best Picture at the Oscars?
Few would bet against “Slumdog Millionaire” winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards on February 22.
The rags-to-riches tale of a young man from a Mumbai slum winning a TV game show swept the BAFTA film awards and the Golden Globes this year.
With ten Oscar nominations in hand, the big question is how many of the golden trophies will Danny Boyle’s film end up with.
Is it really better than “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”? And the three other films in the fray for Best Picture?
Which film will walk away with the coveted honour on Sunday? And why?
SM is a largely overrated Film, however has struck a cord with millions who have had theirs eyes opened to a side of India as yet un shown in mainstream cinema. This does not make it the best Film of 2008. The devicie story line, average script and acting in the second half make for a disappointing end to a bright and intricate beginning. Unfortunately there were no real contenders to exploit theses weaknesses and knock it off its perch. My prediction is for this reason it will win the Oscar.
from Pakistan: Now or Never?:
India turns up the heat on Pakistan, where will this end?
The language is deliberate, the signals unmistakable: India is turning up the heat on Pakistan for the Mumbai attacks that have killed at least 195 people, and there is no knowing where this downward spiral in ties between the uneasy neighbours will end.
Beginning with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's warning that a cost will have to be paid by neighbouring nations that allow militants to operate, to Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee's direct call to Islamabad to "dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism", there is a sharp, cold edge to the tone that you can't miss even factoring in the immediate anger and sense of outrage the attacks have evoked across India.
Then the signs: Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in India on a previously scheduled visit to review the peace process packing his bags and heading home because Indian political leaders cancelled meetings with him following the attacks.
We have been here before, for sure. A 2001 attack on the Indian parliament, for which like the Mumbai attacks, the Lashkar-i-Taiba was blamed, triggered a set of measures by New Delhi including breaking sporting and cultural links, downgrading diplomatic relations, and the deployment of the military in full combat readiness all along the Pakistan border.
That military stand-off ended six months later after considerable diplomatic pressure from the United States, Britain and other powers worried about two nuclear-armed nations on the brink of war.
So what are the options for Delhi this time around, beyond striking a menacing posture to force Pakistan to go after elements there which it believes are responsible for violence in India?
Please people watch out. Whoever did this deplorable act wins if both countries fall into their trap and suspend peace talks and recent warming up of relations between both countries.If these countries go back to confontration guess who wins. The crazies with ulterior motives.
The patience of the world is running out. Pakistani leadership needs to deal with the Islamists quickly and forcefully. Pakistan IS the problem in this region of the world and for the sake of the many law abiding citizens of Pakistan their leadership needs to get its act together quickly. Time is running out.
from The Great Debate:
A credible counterterror strategy needed
-- Brahma Chellaney is professor of strategic studies at the Center for Policy Research, New Delhi. The views expressed are his own. --
The brazen Mumbai terrorist assaults are just the latest example of how the world’s largest democracy is increasingly coming under siege from the forces of terror.
The attacks, which bear the hallmark of al Qaeda, are also a reminder to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama that even as he seeks to deal with the financial meltdown, the global war on terror stands derailed, with the scourge of terrorism having spread deeper and wider.
International terrorism threatens the very existence of democratic, secular states. Yet the U.S. occupation of Iraq not only helped fracture the post-9/11 global consensus to fight terror, but also handed a fresh cause to Islamists and gave a new lease of life to al Qaeda.
The Obama administration will need to bring the anti-terror war back on course by building a new international consensus.
The Mumbai attacks were exceptionally brazen and daring, even when viewed against the high level of terrorism now tormenting India. Indeed, since 9/11, the world has not witnessed terrorism on this scale or level of sophistication and coordination.
The most troubling questions arising from the latest terrorist attacks - the eighth in a spate of attacks in India in the past five months - relate to why the country has become an easy target for terrorists.
There is no absolute flawess counterterroism strategy. For example, in this current Mumbai siege. The militants are described as engaging in terrorist activity. However, if you boil it down to the simplest sense, they are commiting hostage-taking and murder. How do you then stop a person or a group of people who wants to commit such crimes? We can’t pull off a ‘Minority Report’ on them, arresting them before they commit a crime, unless the authorities have hard evidence of them plotting one, which most of the time they would not have. There is no country in the world that can boast zero crime rates
However, this is often intepreted as a “weak political will”, because the adminstration appears to do nothing when in reality their hands are tied.
In the end, social integration and economic benefits for all would be the only way to reduce violence and that is what the Indian government should and is focusing on, instead of trying to demonstrate their “strong political will” by arresting people before they have done anything.
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The Wall
A home team winning THE World Cup on IT’s most hallowed cricket stadium.
Beating EVERY past World Cup winner on it’s way.
Highest run chase EVER in a World Cup final.
A century in a World Cup final and STILL ending up on the losing side.
Having TWO legends of the game in each team.
Both the World Cup final innings ending in a SIX.
What a WIN to be remembered for generations to come.
CHEERS INDIA!