उससे कहना! USSAY KEHNA!

 

 

 "An old man talking" Etching by Salvatore Rosa

 उससे कहना!

घर के उसका मुझको पता है,

हर इक रास्ता नप रखा है। 

उस दुनिया से चल भी बसा हूं।

जाने क्या मै सोच रहा हूं।

मिले तो उससे लाज़िम कहना;

मै बस उसको  ढूंढ रहा हूं।

 

सख्त लफ्ज़ से दूर रहूंगा;

अपना हक पर लेके टलूंगा।

"खुश तो हो तुम"?,

ये सवाल पूछने सदियों से ,

मैं बस उसको ढूंढ रहा हूं।

मिले तो उससे लाज़िम कहना।

 

मेरी दुनिया तुम में थी बस;

वो ही दुनिया लूट लुटाकर,

कब्र पे मेरी ताज बनाकर। 

सौदा सस्ता पड़ा कि महंगा?

और फ़ज़ूल की बात बनाने 

मैं बस उसको ढूंढ रहा हूं।

मिले तो उससे लाज़िम कहना। 

 

गली मुहल्ले, चौक के रस्ते,

हर दिन, हर पल जगते सोते;

हर इंसा में, हर पत्थर में; 

हर कांटे को हाथ चुभा कर; 

मै बस उसको ढूंढ रहा हूं।

मिले तो उससे लाज़िम कहना।

 

आदमी शरीफ़ है तो पुल से कूदे!

कन्या राशि का कमबख्त है;

कुछ पल रोया, निकल लिया फिर सब्जी लेने। 

बाकी का आके रो लेगा!

बहुत प्रैक्टिकल है अपना भाई;

अच्छा किया जो जान छुड़ाई। 

इस सब से सहमत होने को 

मैं बस उसको ढूंढ रहा हूं। 

मिले तो उससे लाज़िम कहना।

 

गम को लफ्जों में ढालो तो

जाम ए जहर इक बन जाएगा।

किसी शाम फिर बैठें सामने,

पीने पिलाने, इसी बहाने,

मैं बस उसको ढूंढ रहा हूं।

मिले तो उस से लाज़िम कहना।

 

पुनर्जन्म गप्प नही है सारी; 

बस पे चढ़ने न दूंगा इस बारी!

जनम लगें जितने लगने दो; 

थाली भर के, ठूंस के लूंगा!

हां दो ही निवाले नहीं चलेंगे! 

ऐसा ज़रा सा धमकाने को,

मैं बस उसको ढूंढ रहा हूं।

मिले तो उससे लाज़िम कहना।

 

बिसात है क्या दुश्मन की जो दे 

सच्चे दोस्त के बक्से में ही,

बस पहली दूजी  ही तह में;

दगा पड़ा रखा मिलेगा! 

भूली कसमें होंगी, टूटा वादा दिखेगा । 

इत्ता ज़रा छिपाना कि

अपने फायदे का फलसफा सिखाने, 

मै बस उसको ढूंढ रहा हूं।

मिले तो उससे लाज़िम कहना।

आखिरी शब को, आखिरी लम्हे;

 कान लगा के गौर से सुनना।

जाते जाते यही कहूंगा;

मै बस उसको ढूंढ रहा हूँ!

उससे कहना! 

उससे कहना!

 

लाल फूल के पीछे! Lal phool ke peeche!

 

 

                                                   'Poppies'  by Vincent Van Gogh

सिर पटको वो कहीं नहीं है; जो दिख भी रही है।

सदियों हुए वो मर भी चुकी है; और दिख भी रही है।

 

फर्क है देखो नाम के हिज़्जे; जो दिख भी रही है।

सुनो अलग कबीले की है; जो दिख भी रही है।

 

लाल फूल के पीछे छिपी है; और दिख भी रही है।

कांटों से क्या खूब सजी है; जो दिख भी रही है।

 

पड़े हैं ताले दरवाजों पे, और दिख भी रही है।

खिड़की गुम है दीवारों की; और दिख भी रही है।

 

पर्ची, चिट्ठी नहीं न लेगी; जो दिख भी रही है।

फरियाद कोई नहीं सुनेगी; जो दिख भी रही है।

 

छिपन छिपाई खेल रही है; और दिख भी रही है।

धप्पा तुमको नहीं कहेगी; और दिख भी रही है।

 

यूं ही अकेली खड़ी रहेगी; जो दिख भी रही है।

तुमसे दूरी बना रखेगी; जो दिख भी रही है।

 

कबका विदा वो कह जो चुकी है; और दिख भी रही है।

कब्र में तुम जो दफन पड़े हो; और दिख भी रही है?

 

Roman script follows:- 

 

Sir patko vo kahin nahi hai; Jo dikh bhi rahi hai.

Sadiyon pehle mur bhi chuki hai; aur dikh bhi rahi hai.

 

Farak hai dekho naam ke hijje; Jo dikh bhi rahi hai.

Suno alag kabile ki hai; Jo dikh bhi rahi hai.

 

lalaphool ke picche chipeei hai; aur dikh bhi rahi hai.

kaanton se kya khoob saji hai;Jo dikh bhi rahi hai.

 

pade hain taale darwajon pe, aur dikh bhi rahi hai.

Khidki gum hai deewaron ki; aur dikh bhi rahi hai.

 

Parchi chiithi nahi n legi; Jo dikh bhi rahi hai.

Fariyad koi nahi sunegi; Jo dikh bhi rahi hai.

 

Chipan chupai khel rahi hai; aur dikh bhi rahi hai.

Dappa tumko nahi kahegi; aur dikh bhi rahi hai.

 

yoon he akeli khadi rahegi; Jo dikh bhi rahi hai.

Tumse doori bana rakhegi; Jo dikh bhi rahi hai.

 

Kabka vida vo keh jo chuki hai; aur dikh bhi rahi hai.

kabr tum jo dafan pade ho ; aur dikh bhi rahi hai?

 

 

 

23 Minutes!

  

 

Wouldn't it be great if there was no need to have an army for a nation? It is not just a romantic, impractical notion. As a matter of fact a number of countries are already there! Samoa,Monaco, Iceland, Mauritius,Panama and a few other do not have armies. Although there are security arrangement for protection. Mostly with a bigger neighbouring nation with an army.

 

Distinction for the only army that has a country unarguably falls to Pakistan. This special arrangement means that this army actually does everything except protect the nation. It develops real estate and collects commissions on infrastructural works. It makes cement; bottles water; runs sugar mills and has interests in healthcare, insurance and financial sectors. Interestingly it also sells pizza! According to reports a three star general (now retired) owns hundreds of Papa John franchises worldwide. Army is the top most sought after 'no risk-fantastic rewards' career choice in Pakistan. Behind closed doors It is humorously  referred to as 'Al Fayda' (The profit) !

 

Pakistan's army has never lost an election and never won a war. Depending  on who you ask their most memorable battlefield moment is the largest surrender in the modern history after world war II. On 16th December 1971, over 93000 Pakistan troops meekly surrendered to the Indian army after  mere  14 day of fighting. They also lost half of their country in the process. Based on their statements just a few hours previous to that event, you would not have guessed their intent to raise the white flag. They maintained that they are winning on all fronts and enemy armies are running away. Public lapped up their fantastic fibs ! Soon after they actually laid their arms down instead. The thermonuclear shock of this colossal betrayal was so huge

that fifty years on it still  pulsates painfully through their national psyche.

To be fair, propaganda is a very common tool. Every entity deploys it to confuse and misdirect the adversary as well as advance their cause. This army however uses it to control the minds of its own domestic population. In the last 78 odd years that it has held power covertly or overtly, they have  succeeded in creating millions of indoctrinated, low intellect, radicalized Islamic zealots. Army directly shapes their thinking and directs their responses to events. In my personal experience of interacting with several different nationalities; Pakistan's society under their jihadist army has produced a higher percentage of  fundamentalist individuals than Iranians under mullahcracy or even Afghans under Taliban. This conclusion has surprised me too, but that is my first hand experience and now I believe every Pakistani is afflicted by this malady to some degree or the other. I would like to clarify here that I am not equating conservatism or religiosity to fundamentalism. Pakistan army has really done an unpardonable disservice to their nation in this regard .

 

They of course will never agree with my opinion. They do not report to anyone and no one dares to question their actions. This unfettered independence has given them a false sense of invincibility. They  actually believe in their own lies and unfortunately Pakistan's public has followed the Pied Piper of Pindi! They have always over reached beyond their capabilities and under estimated their opponents to the detriment of Pakistani nation. A total absence of a national identity has not helped any. They had to invent one and in one word it is called ' Not Indian'!  This sick obsession with India has informed everything they do and don't do. It has also led them into several lost wars, mostly with India. Although their  fighter pilots flying for  Arab armies against Israel  and their role in the Afghan war is well documented.

 

Right after partition of India on religious grounds, the newly carved Islamic Pakistan invaded India in order to annex Kashmir. They laid siege to Srinagar, but true to form  never expected India to airlift troops to the besieged Kashmir valley. In a swift operation India crushed the invasion. Pakistani raiders were soon running with their tail between their legs. Of course India made a strategic error in going to the toothless UN. They never completed the task of throwing Pakistan out of the entire region and this blunder has  shaped all the troubles since. India has repeatedly let go too soon,  and has not learned any lesson from history till date.

 

Pakistan tried again in 1965. Bubbling with confidence stemming from an infusion of the latest western arms and artillery  like Patton Tanks and Sabre jets.Bolstered by a misplaced belief in themselves as a superior martial race compared to a weak Hindu they launched operation Gibraltar. Plan was to begin at breakfast time and have high tea in Delhi's red fort! Overconfidence is a very mild word for it! They miscalculated big time  because India advanced on several fronts simultaneously rather than fight only in the Kashmir region. Forward units of the Indian army reached the outskirts of Lahore. All fight went out of Pakistan in 17 days and they had to sue for peace. Without batting an eyelid they marketed this campaign as a great win to their population although they do not have an inch of territory to show for it. Just Because Lahore did not get over run! You would be hard put to find a Pakistani who does not believe in this fable without questioning How Lahore got threatened in the first place.

 

Come 1971 Pakistan army  tried again and as we saw earlier had to surrender; losing the entire eastern Pakistan, now called Bangladesh. Pakistan's narrative however would have you believe that they would have won but for the treachery of the Bengali's. Cleverly shifting the onus of defeat and demonize their own non Punjabi population. They grossly oversold their own capabilities and papered over their abject ineptness. Very few dare to question this narrative in Pakistan; millions believe in it  !  

Afghan war and US creation of Taliban provided a golden opportunity for them to siphon billions of western dollars in the name of checking Soviet Russia. They however used this free money to fortify against India. When the war ended and Russia left Afghanistan; Pakistan's army announced that as their own win over a major super power. They created an larger than life aura of invincibility for themselves. As usual public was totally convinced but more importantly they themselves were convinced of their astounding greatness. Add to it their success in making a complete monkey out of USA by bilking mega dollars to hunt bin laden; while  he was living under their protection all that time;  few yards from their military compound in Abbotabad.

 

They made their move on Kashmir again in 1999. The Kargil war  was supposed to be a master class in military tactics. Occupy high positions and cut the Srinagar - Leh Highway! India was supposed to come to knees in quick time. They estimated that before the week is out Pakistan army generals would be playing a round at Royal Spring Golf Course in Srinagar, with waiters holding trays of tall drinks in the background!

 

Amazingly they never even considered the full spectrum of  retaliatory measures at India's disposal. India in fact deployed their Air Force; 155 mm long range heavy artillery and elite special forces trained for mountain warfare. Famed Pakistan army; slayer of the Soviet Russia and conqueror of the three realms had not planned for this! I am not even joking! Every single position Pakistan had was abandoned hastily or was lost with catastrophically heavy casualties. Entire Northern Light Infantry was virtually wiped out by the Indian assault. Their then prime minister Nawaz Sharif admitted to 4,000 deaths in this lost war. Real numbers are not known. Any half decent nation would be conducting a court martial at this point; Not Pakistan!

 

Pakistan needed an atom bomb against India and they managed to get it. 'How' is another story. This they thought would give them ascendancy in the battlefield and India would not dare - period! Pakistan army  successfully used the jihadist infrastructure left over from the Afghan war; radicalized their own society at every level; created layers upon layers of inter woven Islamic terrorist groups and pushed them across  to bleed India with a thousand cuts. Terrorism as a state policy went main stream. They nearly got away with it for a long time.

 

They perpetrated a little operation and India retaliated a little bit. Pakistan's costs were insignificant. A few expendable human cannon fodder, some of which were sourced from within India itself! Losses for India however kept mounting. Apart from physical human and material loss there was this hugely negative impact on the society that no government can continue to ignore. Pakistan's Terrorists hit Indian security personnel at Pulwama and 40 odd personnel perished in the attack. Resultant skirmishes had  India Bombing a single terrorist camp in Pakistan. Aerial battles occurred between two air forces.  An Indian MIG 21 was downed by a PAF  F16 and  Its Pilot captured by Pakistan. India threatened a missile strike. Right away Pakistan blinked & let go of the pilot. That event had lessons for both the nations. India started upgrading its defensive and offensive capabilities. 4.5 generation fighters, S400 air defence systems, new missiles; drones etc.were inducted into service in a very short period but clearly Indian thought process changed. Pakistan too got new equipment mostly from china but more importantly decided to double down on terrorism as its state policy. It was only a matter of time before they would over reach and underestimate the enemy again.

 

True to form they over played their hand and orchestrated a wanton killing of civilian holiday makers in a picturesque tourist spot in Pahalgam, India in April 2025. They shot dead 26 innocent lives by selectively targeting  non Muslim tourists. Husband of a honeymooning couple among them. That one picture of the distraught young wife crying over the dead body of her week old husband put the usually flaccid Indian responses on steroids. Pakistan's army could never gauge the tornado that was about to hit them. After all they had a bomb that India needed to be afraid of. It was a patently poor read of the enemy mind as usual by the Pakistan's Army.

 

First time in 78 years in may 2025 India  initiated a sizable strike after prepping for about two weeks post Pakistan's terrorist act. 23 minutes is all it took for Pakistan army to fold this time. Although it manifested fully in about 4 days. Indian electronic warfare successfully jammed Pakistan air defences in those 23 minutes and then proceeded to rain missiles, drones and other unspecified munition to destroy several terrorist sites deep inside Pakistan. Pakistan army had a choice to stay out of this but they did not since these very terrorists are their own proxies. They mounted a retaliatory 400 drone swarm attack on India; which reports suggest were donated and  operated by Turkish operators.  Although the raid was aided by the Chinese satellite feed; it proved quite ineffective and Indian air defences made light work of thwarting these drones with minimal impact on ground. India in turn fired Brahmos missiles on a dozen Pakistan air bases and inflicted serious damage. Pakistan's forces could not stop a single missile attack; even Indian drones were a handful for their air defence. Independent Satellite imagery bears this out.

 

Pakistan's own missile attacks on the Indian targets were all intercepted and destroyed midair by a superior Indian air defence. Pakistan army watched helplessly as they had not planned for this kind of hit back by India! So what's new?

 

Of course Their army needs to show a victory to their population. Initially they claimed they have hit back at Indian air bases - immediately proven false. Then they claimed a missile attack on Delhi - intercepted and destroyed hundreds of miles from target. The star of their claim is  downing of 5 Indian fighter jets including Rafael aircraft. This number swiftly got updated to 6 and then to 6+1. Do not ask them for any proof please! The proof as their defence minister told the world is on social media! Look it up yourself! Pakistan is a  bad joke!

 

This story initially got some purchase worldwide as it was released by Reuters. Written by two part time pretend journos Saeed Shah and Idris Ali quoting an unnamed American official. You got it , they are Pakistanis!

This story was vigorously pushed online and amplified by Pakistan and Chinese handles to serve their own ends. One needs to fool their public and other needs to sell their first copy arms.

There is no proof as of now. Indian Air Force has confirmed that all of their pilots are home safe. In a democracy they can not lie about it unlike Pakistan. If they say no pilot is harmed then no pilot is harmed. Some Chinese PL 15 BVR missiles that Pakistan claims to have used to hit Indian aircraft were found destroyed on ground by India . At least one is nearly intact. Apparently this poor thing works once in a while!

 

The story maybe true , maybe not but Pakistan has not found any debris of the planes or any pilot, dead or alive. No Rafael debris was found in India either. An external fuel tank debris was found in Srinagar which most defence experts agree matches a Mirage. It is not an aircraft and definitely not a Rafael. More and more independent experts now believe that this story by Pakistan's army is highly exaggerated, if not  entirely a figment of their feverish mind.

Seems India had sent in, ahead of their main attack on Pakistan, few advanced  decoy drones that had electronic signatures of a front line fighter.

Pakistan's Chinese made J10 actually engaged, taking them for the real thing and fired their beyond visual range PL15E  missiles from as far away as they could. Chinese military commentators estimate that PL15 E flopped mostly because Pakistan's pilots, scared to go closer fired at D-Max. That's from 145 km away. Few reached the target; others got their navigation jammed by Indian Electronic Warfare  Measures and fell to ground - spent. Some others got intercepted and shot by Indian Air Defence. Few Drones got hit and went down after revealing Pakistan air defence locations to the Indian Air Force. This was the purpose of sending them on anyway. A thoroughly fooled Pakistan started claiming 5 successful hits on Indian Fighters - aircraft that were never there to be hit in the first place.

 Truth as they say is the first casualty of war. This story also might be true or not. However it does explain Pakistan's bogus claims; lack of any aircraft debris either in Pakistan or India  and the strange case of vanishing pilots. There are unconfirmed reports of one Indian Rafael damaged with no harm to the  Pilot. The cause  will be known in time.There is however nothing to gloat for Pakistan even in case of  India loosing a few machines in action. It is an inconsequential fig leaf to hide Pakistan Army's major miscalculation in launching a terrorist strike inside India. A strike that has resulted in  a massive blow back on Pakistan. Thanks to their army Pakistan has jeopardized their long term access to water since India has suspended Indus Water treaty. For an agrarian nation like Pakistan that is literally  the last nail in the coffin. They have also lost hundred's of lives and billions in damages to property and infrastructure.  They have earned another black spot on  their reputation as insincere partners against terrorism. They of course do not care about their reputation a lot. Their image as the International begging bowl that needs a loan to pay interest on a previous loan is unenviable! Only silver lining is as on the date of writing a truce has been called in this war and it is holding!

If their army is not treacherous, I do not know what is ?  Some of the most liked people on my list happen to be from Pakistan; but that will be day when Pakistan's citizens realize that their greatest enemy is in-house - their own army ! An army that is totally power hungry and has radicalized the society to serve their own political and pecuniary goals. Army that has lied blatantly to its own country men for 78 years and is not accountable for all the muck it is dragging the nation through. It is the main reason democracy never took roots in Pakistan. It is reckless, plans poorly and executes shoddily. Historically its only  limited success has been against their own - Bloch,Bengali, Pathan  and those makers of Pakistan - the Mohajir. 

 

Their nuclear bluff has gotten called. Their elite strike corps did not leave barracks. Their top guns never  dared to fly across; their  missiles  got blown up before reaching target; their drones got  toyed with; their navy kept cowering for safety in the harbour and their generals were hiding in deep bunkers. All this while India was raining missiles and bombing at will; wherever it wanted.  But of course Pakistan Army has won; like it wins every time! Give them some medals!

 

23 minutes is what it took this time round to uncloak them. Next time...... Let us hope and pray that there is no next time! Next Time time might  contract to a few seconds and there wont be any coming back from it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

आख़िर क्यों ? Akhir Kyon ? ( Why, Why ?)

AI generated Image of a baby using Bing

 

जिन्दगी  का अपनी , तमाशा देखते हो क्यों ?

राब्तों से , सोहबतों से भागते हो क्यों ?

 

मायूसियों का खुद एक खज़ाना है जिंदगी ,

अपनी शिकस्तों  का सिला फिर मांगते हो क्यों ? 

माथे पे त्योरियां हमे अच्छी नहीं लगती,

अपनी  मुस्कानो  को हम  से छीनते हो क्यों ? 

 

 लबों से कुछ कहो; चाहे कुछ भी हमे कहो , 

बस निग़ाहों से सख्त सवाल पूछते हो क्यों ?

 

लाते  कहाँ से हो  तुम इतने शोर की चुप्पी ?

कुछ लफ्ज़ खर्चने में बला  झिझकते ही हो क्यों ?

 

यूँ शुक्र है कि रूख पे तुम्हारे तिल ही नहीं है ,

गालों के *हिलकोरे का अज़ाब कम मानते हो क्यों ?

 

यूँ दूर से दीदार से महरूम क्या हुए ,

 ख्वाबों में भी विसाल से पलटते ही हो क्यों ?

 

मुँह फेरने की आदत ने तुम्हारी ,  बेचैन कर दिया ,

हामी नहीं भरी फिर ना कहने से बचते फिरते हो क्यों ? 

*हिलकोरे (डिम्पल , गाल का गड्डा  )

 

Text in Roman follows

 

Jindgi ka apni, tamasha dekhte ho kyon ?

Rabton se , sohbaton se bhagte ho kyon ?

 

Mausiyoon ka khud aik khazana hai jindgi ,

Apni shikaston ka sila fir mangte ho kyon ? 

Mathe pe tyoriyan hume acchi nahi lagti,

Apni muskano ko himse chhente ho kyon ? 

 

Labon se kuch kaho; chahe kuch bhi hume kaho , 

Bus nigahon se sakht sawal poochte ho kyon ?

 

Latey kahan se ho tum itne shor ki chuupi ?

Kuch lafz kharchane me bala jijhakte he ho kyon?

 

Yun shukr hai ki rukh pe tumhare til hi nahi hai ,

Galon ke *hilkoray ka azab kum mantey ho kyon ?

 

Yoon door se didar se mahroom kya huay ,

Khwabon me bhi visal se palattey hi ho kyon ?

 

Muh ferne ki adat ne tumhari,  Bechain kar diya ,

Hami nahi bhari fir na kehne se bachte firte ho kyon ?

 

*hilkoray(dimple)

 

Eleventh Province !

 

                    Proposed Flag of U.N.A.  Union of North America

 Let us face it ; subtlety is not Donald Trump's strong suite and with him in the white house for the next four years Canada has a challenge on hand with our eleventh province! Apparently Trump's constant barbs about Canada becoming the fifty first state of the USA are a real  thing. At least Justin Trudeau thinks so. Sadly intelligence  never figured on the small list of Trudeau's qualifications. In my opinion Trump was emboldened to make his assertions because "governor Justin" is such a pitiable lightweight! 

It is very amusing but the fact is that 89% of entire land in Canada is currently owned by the crown. Yes the very same king.... of England !  Canadian citizens are "faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King George the Sixth, His Heirs and Successors". You can split the hair this way or that way but the fact is that like the American president the English King is not "Canadian" ; never was & never will be ! Canada has always had a compromised sovereignty.

Canada is established on annexed lands belonging to the native population. Force, deceit violence, cruel, illegitimate,oppressive, con and bribery  are the words that easily come to mind. These real Canadians are hidden in reservations and marginalized. I have first hand experience and  found them generally in poor economic and social conditions with hardly any political clout. Under represented in academia, media, industry, government and every power wielding organ; they were reluctant Canadians then and they are helpless Canadians now! 

Let us address the elephant in the room - Quebec! Quebec voters have twice rejected sovereignty, in 1980 by 60-40 but in 1995 by barely a percentage point. Canada has kept them interested by equalization payments; something a lot of people see as bribes.For the year 2025/26 according to government of Canada website ;Quebec will receive C$ 29.3 billion from the federal kitty. Just compare that with C$1.0 billion for New Found land and C$ 977 million for PEI. Then there are language laws and it is an open secret that Quebec has cornered a lions share of federal jobs that tend to be french imperative. Putting all other Canadians at a permanent disadvantage. Just watch how they are shredding Mike Carney to bits because his french language skills are sketchy even though he is a nobody yet.

All this molly coddling is not enough though! Seemingly there is a strong possibility of another Quebec referendum to secede from Canada soon.  Three western Provinces  Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan have long complained about shouldering Canada's fiscal burden and net outflow to eastern Canada. Add that to the federal policy stumbling blocs for oil/gas industry and opposition to new pipelines and they have lent a very keen ear to the 51st state idea. There is some serious talk of even leaving  rest of the Canada behind.

I will not dwell upon the first generation Canadians and the legal immigrants. They have been mostly treated harshly and to their chagrin have found Canada  to be not exactly  as advertised. A lot of them would vote with their feet if they could. Most stay because their bridges are burnt ! Remember how a family was found frozen dead trying to cross into USA from Canada. What do they know that rest ignore? If only Canada was such a promised land!  Asylum seekers of various kind and other such groups have a sweet spot for Canada for lax border controls;  doles and freebies it provides. Stop those cheques and see  for yourself !

Who then is opposed to the 51st state idea ? My children for a start ! Thank God! Where would the world be without the energy, hope, brilliance and idealism of the young. Honestly I have not really conducted any survey but my limited anecdotal evidence tells me that it is the powerful that see the danger of their powers declining or even vanishing entirely if such a calamity ever took place. Again based on my limited sample size the opinion is divided down the middle. Even in the most Canada friendly province of Ontario. There is of course a clear distinction between opinions of haves and have not's. Opinion is also informed by race and ethnicity. I would however consider them all equal Canadians but do recognize the severally widening fault lines and undercurrents of serious discontent. it will have an impact on Canadian Nationhood and acceptance rate of  51st state proposals.

Where do we go from here? Suggestions so far have ranged from asinine to juvenile petulance. From banning Donald Trump from entering Canada and Revoking Elon Musk's citizenship to a proposal for Canada to join CANZUK  as a bulwark against USA. A union of Canada with UK , Australia and New Zealand. Do not laugh;really!  These people would do well by looking at a geographical map of the world and revisiting a page from the history books titled "Brexit"!

 First thing we need is a government. Trudeau government is gasping for breath in ICU and sooner we pull the plug sooner we can start building a response to the crisis. Trudeau's personal political equity is in negative and he is deservedly treated with complete disdain on the world stage. He can not provide leadership and is just scraping by, wasting precious time. Provincial Premiers  have taken various stands. Notably Ontario and Alberta among them. In my view It is just chest thumping  that is more for domestic consumption than anything else. Foreign policy is too serious a matter to be left to local political considerations. I would also discourage dealing with these matters on a province by province  basis. This totally weakens the idea of Canada.

What we can do is understand US concerns. We can see that flow of drugs and illegal migration is hurtful. We can try to understand that we can not wait till 2030 to reach our goal of 2% defence spending and still ride the NATO bus. Usually there is always more left unsaid between the lines that are said and diplomacy is required to address those. Ours is rather questionable, if it is not entirely moribund!

I would rather give a counter offer to president Trump ! Canada is in North America. Not in Europe, not in Australia and certainly not another island next to British shores. Without ruffling their feathers and diminishing existing relationships it is possible to caliberate Canada's relationship with the USA. After all Canada is part of commonwealth and US is not. Europe is together in EU and Canada is excluded from it for obvious reasons.

 

I think Canada and US should form a North American union taking some learning from The EU to see what works and what does not work. I would start with making a common currency and common border controls to begin with. That would completely integrate the economies, remove internal barriers for goods,  services and human resource. This ought to make tariffs obsolete, cut cost; reduce bureaucracy and management of security concerns efficient. It will also allow businesses to expand, use resources optimally and respond better to international economic challenges. It will bring down prices of everything from gas to housing; leading to a better quality of life and economic prosperity for the citizens of both nations. We must Use shared history, Shared values and a shared neighbourhood to our advantage.Both countries can keep their political systems and internal structure as they want. We can be the  51st state as long as US becomes our 11th province. Make North America great !

 

I know it is not so simple but think about it !

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Clever Mouse !

 Clever Mouse! चालाक चूहा !

 

"Be a mouse again" Pen and ink  on paper 14cm X 22cm  Feb.2025. by  Ashutosh Kaul 

Politicians do not come with a lot of recommendations. Typically they are self serving with very flexible scruples and moral values. They make deals all the time; not very transparent or lawful at that. Unfortunately they are part of the system of governance and we can not avoid them altogether. We however can select individuals with integrity, honesty and empathy for public welfare.

Back in 2012 Delhi saw a thin ,emaciated , educated and a very relatable individual come to fore. Arvind Kejriwal was an engineer from  the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology;had worked for the Revenue service and was campaigning against corruption in public life. People took to him like a duck to water! His stated goal was to set up a "lekhpal"; a sort of public commissioner that would ensure probity. He emphasized that he will not be contesting any elections and has no political ambitions ! Public had visions of an altruistic Mahatma Gandhi that has come back to life!

He soon junked that 'absurd' idea  and formed a political party; parting ways with his old mentor Anna Hazare and several other distinguished colleagues of the anti corruption movement. Good thing was that he swore an oath upon his children that he will never support that abysmally corrupt congress party nor will he ever take their support in forming the government. Come election and a hung verdict saw him form the government in Delhi province with the support of....... congress of course!

His personal integrity was still largely intact. Then he came up with  his famous "Delhi" model of governance. This was largely based on taxpayer borne freebies to select voting blocks that ensured electoral majority for himself. It succeeded beyond success and in the next election in 2015 he decimated the opposition.Winning 67 seats out of 70. This is the moment his ambitions got ahead of himself. He considered himself the centre of all that is good in this world and  projected himself for the top job in the country - Prime minister's office. He did contest against the Prime minister in a federal election and.... lost. In the process he shook hands with all kinds and took funds from entities inimical to the country. Anyone in his own party that pointed out these serious digressions from their party's stated goals was unceremoniously booted out. Even his closest associates and founding members of the party were shown the door. Not one or two; dozens had to leave ! He had the reigns of Delhi government though and controlled one of the largest provincial budgets in India.

Money is a great glue.and people still flocked to him. He took his party national and fought various other provincial elections with limited success. One province where he got a lot more purchase was Punjab where he was able to win a majority. Apparently to fund his expansion and huge election costs he accepted funds from dubious sources as well as created a 10 million dollar liquor licensing scam in Delhi.You may get drinking water in Delhi or not but you are never far from a liquor shop. Every street corner has one. Buy One Get One free scheme became common. He was later jailed and prosecuted for this corrupt mess. Currently he is out on bail in this case and professes complete innocence of any wrong doing..

In the meantime another election rolled in and on the back of his freebie strategy he steam rolled the opposition again. He lost a little bit but 62 out of 70 total seats is still a stupendous number! The fellow carried on his merry way. He turned dictatorial, confrontational and very economical with facts. Convinced that he is the next prime minister, he took one bad decision after another; turned his back on one associate after another and went back upon every word  he ever uttered publicly.

His classic assertion  that he does not want trappings of power went out of window when he got 4 heritage buildings torn down to make his 40,000 sq. ft official residence. A palace on 7 acres of land. Anyone that knows Delhi will know that 7 acres of prime residential land there would cost an unbelievably astronomical sum. On top of this he spent 8 times the allocated budget by indulging in creative accounting by breaking down jobs into smaller amounts. That  fell  just a little short of the threshold requiring oversight by the governors office !

Change does not happen overnight, things simmer around for a long time but  arrogant narcissists have their heads so far up their own asses that they fail to see it.  He truly believed that voters are very angry with authorities because he was wrongfully jailed ! In fact he boldly asserted that he will become the premier again only when people vote him in again; no matter the judicial decision in his favour. He was so certain of his victory that he asserted that no body can defeat him in this life! 

Well elections rolled in recently and people gave their verdict and declared him to be corrupt. Fellow dropped 10% support. Enough for him to loose his own seat as well as the seats of every  co accused of corruption in his cabinet. Voter condemnation was quite emphatic.In fact he lost 40 out of 62 seats he originally held. He could not get elected even as a simple member of the legislature , much less its premier ! Talk of over estimation !  Like the classic story the mouse has come a full circle to being a mouse again. This time with his tail between his legs!

He still has about 40% of the vote share in Delhi so can he cover lost ground? It depends! Without power and money that comes with it, it will be hard to keep his flock together. Especially since he does not have any largesse to dole out. I see a significant erosion in his party cadre base as well as   bolting of his second rung leaders. Punjab where his party is in power will be a difficult platform to mount a counter offensive from. He is an outsider there and dictatorial by temperament. Sadly for him Punjab typically does not take orders that well !

According to reports he is currently facing about 50 various criminal cases, from plain lying  to big time financial corruption. He is currently on conditional bail In liquor scam case. Bail specifically granted in light of elections.Elections are over and lost! His defence was being financed by Delhi tax payers. How is he going to pay for his defence now and what kind of time can he spare for politics after the full time job of trying to keep himself out of prison ? Most of his inner coterie is also looking at some quality jail time.

Kejriwal is in worse position today as compared to when he started out in 2012. All he has to show for the last 13 years is a personal image in tatters. I would not hold my breath for a swift recovery !

The Canadian Plumber !

 

The Canadian Plumber !

CIA has had many successes to its credit. One that really stands out is its creation of "Taliban". A rabidly fanatic, motivated Islamic religious extremist group fully trained, funded and equipped by the US. Undoubtedly they were instrumental in the demise of Soviet Russia. We all know how that actually panned out in the long run. Apart from the world trade centre mayhem that literally changed the world as we knew it ;we can safely hang on it the pitiable condition of women in Afghanistan; military dictatorship and namesake democracy in Pakistan; massive influx of drugs and automatic weapons in the region; terrorism and holocaust of Kashmir's Hindus in India; strengthening of mullahcracy and fundamentalism in Iran and  destabilization of the entire middle east to name just a few. This support to Taliban has cast an ominously dark shadow on the world events and  I can not point to a single encouraging sign readily.

Break up of the soviet union has not made Europe or the western world any safer. Breakaway republics have pushed the boundaries of the Russian heartland inwards that makes them less secure in the Russian eyes giving rise to new conflicts and jostling for strategic advantage.    We recently witnessed an ICBM fired in anger, flying in the Ukrainian sky. Things could become a lot worse with several European cities within range.Of course neither is Israel any closer to avoiding a precarious existence. All of this is a going concern for the world and it goes without saying that it is costing dearly to avoid a major catastrophe. If US could turn the clock back I am certain knowing what they know now ,They would play a different card than Taliban! Using terrorism as statecraft has very limited use and a definite blow back that can be hard to absorb.

What  can Canada learn from the past? Air India flight 182 was bombed by the Canadian khalistani terrorists in 1985. It killed 268 Canadian, 27 British and 22 Indian nationals. If there is one single moment in history that was the page turner ; this was it. Canada needed to wake up and get cracking ! Sadly  Canada dropped the ball entirely. A few arrests were made  halfheartedly and One , repeat one single individual was convicted of manslaughter who was let out after a few years. This is for the biggest mass murder in the Canadian history and the most lethal act of aviation terrorism in the world at that time since World trade centre in New York had not happened yet !

Incompetence and apathy are very mild words. This is what Treason looks like in my books.

How I wish I could forewarn and tell them that ignoring and making light of this incident will have bad consequences for Canada, only it has already happened. If we dial forward to the present times we have recently seen attacks on a Hindu temple by Khalistan goons ; we have seen them proudly celebrating in the streets of Canada  murder of an elected women prime minister with complete immunity. We have seen hordes rioting in support of Hamas terrorists  and threatening Jewish entities. We have seen excuses for these act provided by people in power.  Extremists just love Canada! How in hell have these elements emboldened themselves? Canada has become a bad joke!

Canada is in north America. This can not change. Her natural alliance and interests lie with USA. Despite who is in office the facts are that Canada's external policy can not be far removed from the US. That means Canada will have an adversarial relation with Russia and will be in direct confrontation with China for the foreseeable future. That is 1/2 of the world against Canada. How intelligent was it to pick a reckless fight with a rising economic power and a democracy-India?  That made it 3/4th of the world! It may be post colonial arrogance or sheer stupidity;likely both in equal measure. Especially when you either do not have proof or can not provide proof in the murder of one Canadian plumber who actually entered the country on false documents and was running from the law with a red corner notice since 2014. A simple search on the internet will show his picture with assault weapons.  A model Canadian plumber or a typical khalistani extremist? It kind of boggles the mind that Canada shielded him by putting him on a no fly list; effectively stalling his extradition!  Political compulsions are no justification for white washing the facts . How did his citizenship get approved in the first place?

 There has been some scaling back recently and a recent shooting of another Canadian plumber; successor of the murdered plumber was not blamed on the Indian prime minister. That is real progress from the previous Canadian actions ! I was amused to see in the media how people got offended by Canada getting equated with Mexico with reference to the Chinese goods and illegals  entering the United states. This offence will look like high praise because Canada is this close  to being equated with Pakistan with reference to giving shelter , legitimacy and political space to extremism.  Be aware it is a slippery path direct to a bottomless pit.