Terrorists earn a peon’s wage

What motivates a young man to take up terrorism, enrol himself at a training camp in Pakistan, infiltrate India, fire atthe Army and possibly never return home? It is a small pay package that equals the wage of a peon or driver. The lure of a mere Rs 3,000 per month ensuresthat the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) meets its manpower requirements. However, not every terrorist gets Rs 3,000. Payments relate directly to performance, area of operation, number of casualties the terrorist has inflicted upon Indian security forces, motivation level and other HR criterion. In short, the ISI maintains dossiers and gives annual marks to its cadres very much like the Pakistan Army does for its regular employees.The pay scale is not rigid as it varies depending on the risks one is willing to take and his commitment to the cause. Some of the more ‘enthusiastic’ Kashmiri youth get around Rs 5,000. With the number of years one puts in, the annual increment increases. A Kashmiri company or battalion gets from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. A district commander gets around Rs 20,000. Nevertheless, one thing is clear that Kashmiri youth get a raw deal compared to the Pakistani or foreign counterpart. The Kashmiri mujahideen is paid less by the ISI than a Pakistani terrorist.The rank and file from Pakistan or Afghanistan or any other country gets a starting salary of Rs 5,000 that can goup to Rs 7,000. Commanders get much more. A commander starts at anything above Rs 25,000. The higher they go, the heftier the pay package and the more discreet it becomes. Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) Doda district commander Mohd Shahzad, a 184 Pakistani national, captured by the Armyafter a fierce encounter in September 2003, said he came to Jammu & Kashmir to be a jehadi and was paid nearlyRs 20,000 per month but that limit was waived off as a special case.“Money didn’t matter. I could get as much as I wanted,” Shahzad had said. However, he remained silent when asked what was the amount his parents were getting in Pakistan. But it is sure that the money Shahzad got was for operations in his area and his logistical support. His monthlyemoluments were being directly sent to his home in Pakistan.The main attraction in joining the ISI is the initial offer. A Kashmiri gets Rs two lakh as one-time payment to join.There is a catch. One must go over to Pakistan to get the complete four to five month training and then work hisway back into India from the 120 launch pads.The basic training at the 85 training camps is the same and involves handling small arms (AK-47) and explosives,small unit tactics of raid and ambush and radio communication. The second term involves training of specialoperations-explosives.The fidayeens (soldiers on a suicide mission) get highly sophisticated training but their emoluments remain a mystery, since naturally none survive to tell their tale.“Poor economic conditions in the Valley force some to cross over to Pakistan for their training. The amount is too tempting for anyone to say ‘no’,” explains an official. There are other factors too at work. Competition and style for instance drive most youth into the realm of the AK-47. “It has become a style. If you don’t have a gun you don’t get good girlfriends and nobody respects you,” a militantsaid to an army officer serving in the Valley. Sources also point to the presence of foreign militants who come to the Valley after sessions of intense motivation and psychological drills. LeT’s Shahzad said he came to Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) to fight jehadis as he was told harrowing stories of atrocities being committed on the Muslims in the Valley.I felt I had to take revenge but now after fighting the army for more than three years I realize the futility of this‘freedom’ movement,” he said in a heart-to-heart talk.However, the ISI makes sure that those who help recruit while on the job are not neglected. It rewards handsomely. “If a militant motivates and enrolls another youth, he can make upto Rs 1.5 lakh,” explained a source. However, initially the ISI made sure the money was delivered to the militant’s parents but as the numbers starteddwindling, so did it the commitment.Though no one complains publicly, there have been reports of parents of the deceased militant not getting a singlepenny. Realizing this, Kashmiri youths are now averse to taking up the gun while recruitment from Pakistan remains high. http://web.mid-day.com/news/nation/2003/november/67781.htm Terrorists earn a peon’s wage By: M K Tayal November 2, 2003

Satyamev Jayate

Truth will always prevail. It will always be. And let us set the record straight: The country comes first and nothing else comes before the mother. Even if my religion comes in conflict with my country, my God will have to wait. Not that they are at cross purposes but this is what we have learnt and this is the belief and believe one grows up here. It is difficult to say what prompted the bigoted Aseem to cartooning into ‘corruption will always prevail’. Pessimists should also talk with refrain when addressing the nation thru mass media. They should not forget that the country needs more than cynicism which is abundance in private conversations. Plain speaking is essential but with regard and restrain. Yes, corruption is all around us and its omnipresence threatens the very fabric of ones existence. The people have got into this rotten system and turned the system more rotten that can possibly exist anywhere in the world. It will take a lot before we can hold our heads high, with respect and dignity. No amount of ‘motivated’ kranti can undo the so-called India as a nation. It will take more, much more that. Perhaps neo-naxal kind of civil mindset that is setting the agenda of the nation will have its say and then hopefully will be done with. These breeds of movements are also essential for a far greater and more mature awakening of the people. We will rise and we will shine. Pray that it not too late for that. But hold your horses, time will come.

A tale of two ministers

Amidst the plethora of disturbing news on Coalgate, Quota mess and subsequent logjam in the Parliament, it was really heartening to see Sachin Pilot join the OG. Mind you, the young minister didn’t need to wear the uniform and march in the Army Headquarters to get his face published in the newspapers. He is a minister in the Government. And he is a very popular eloquent leader in his scheme of things. Why he joined as a lieutenant is still a mystery. Nevertheless he earned a lot of respect from many quarters. He could have easily become a Lt Col, but Pilot preferred to join the forces at the starting level of officers. It is not everyday that a minister joins the Army. If I happen to bump into the hon’ble minister I would certainly communicate a word of praise to him, but even if I don’t, he gets the pat from someone who hung his boots long time ago. Keep it up Lt Pilot – a thinking, doing minister. In the same vein, Pilot’s senior should learn from him. Its time Manmohan Singh quit the government and save the nation from the shame and corruption he brings to his office. MMS is silently self-serving-highly ambitious PM clutching onto the seat that doesn’t belong to him. He has no proven track record as a leader, having lost a single election he contested from South Delhi Lok Sabha seat. And is RS member from Assam, a state he has no connection with. A lot of criticism is heaped from within the country but he objected only when a firangi paper wrote a few lines of mild observations. Perhaps he got perturbed because the paper was from the country that paid his salariy when serving international financial organisations. MMS is a spent force, having made mota maal as Coal and Space Minister and even as PM. Who said anything about the episode of two girls and a pimp driving into his official residence? Perhaps an orgy was not out of the order. It is time that a rubber stamp, debase, taint-contaminated, rudderless, “dithering, ineffectual bureaucrat presiding over a deeply corrupt government (Washington Post)” is shown the door.

Please allow them to sort it out

MPs tussle in Rajya Sabha: Roll up your sleeves! They are going to create such a big ruckus for just inconsequential shoving and pushing. Oh yes – Samajwadi Party RS member Naresh Agarwal was grabbed by the collar by BSP member Avatar Singh Karimpuri to prevent him from jumping into the ‘Well of the House’ and raising issues of reservations in promotions. Well if you have issues like as sticky as these, passions are bound to soar. The Congress cleverly defused the heat of the Coalgate scam by introducing quota bill. The Samajwadi Party – No matter what you may say but it’s a party with spunk – objected to the highly controversial provisions of an outmoded and motivated bill. So when Agarwal got up to speak his party’s mind, Avtar Singh stood to impress Mayawati. And TV channels got a day full of masala, newspapers columnists got material for politicians bashing, and common guy on the street was left wanting for more. It wasn’t even a full fisted blow – Phew! We should allow them once in a while or once in a day to roll up their sleeves and sort out matters.

For the record - CBI FIRs: Allegations of irregularities against following Pvt .Cos. & their representatives/pvt persons: The cases have been registered in connection with the allegations related to getting coal blocks allocated on the basis of misrepresentations and false claims in the applications, presentations and connivance/lack of due diligence on part of public servants. Promoters of some of these companies have allegedly sold their stakes in an irregular manner after allocation of coal blocks. FIR M/s AMR Iron & Steel Private Limited, Nagpur Directors: Shri Arvind Kumar Jayaswal, Shri Manoj Jayaswal, Shri Ramesh Jayaswal, Shri Devendra Darda. M/s JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited,Nagpur Directors: Shri Vijay Darda, Shri Rajendra Darda, Shri Devendra Darda, Shri Manoj Jayaswal, Shri Anand Jayaswal, Shri Abhishek Jayaswal M/s Navbharat Power Private Limited, Hyderabad Directors: Shri P.Trivikrama Prasad, Shri Y.Harish Chandra Prasad. M/s Vini Iron & Steel Udyog Limited, Kolkata Directors : Shri Sanjeev Kumar Tulsyan, Shri Prashant Tulsyan, Shri Vaibhav Tulsyan, Ms.Nisha Tulsyan, Shri Vimal Kumar Tulsyan, Ms.Nirmala Tulsyan, Shri Hemant Kumar Aggarwal; Shri Navin Kumar Tulsyan, Chartered Accountant JAS Infrastructure Capital Private Ltd., Kolkata Directors: Shri Manoj Kumar Jayaswal, Shri Abhishek Jayaswal, Shri Anand Jayaswal, Unknown public servants

CBI raids coal compaines - Wow

Coalgate A very interesting news item appeared in the TOI today – that the CBI would ‘formally raid’ various companies involved in the coalgate. The word here is formally raid. And rightly so, soon after, TV channels were flashing that the agency has raided five companies across the country – Delhi, Kolkatta, Patna, Nagpur, etc… The raids come as a surprise to an unsuspecting reader. Its months after scam surfaced, around a fortnight after CAG tabled the report in Parliament, daily uproar by the BJP, (demanding resignation of Prime Minister and cancellation of coal blocks), hundreds of screaming headlines. Naturally so, the raids were to be formal in nature too. Imagine any company or millionare waiting for the CBI to knock its doors to give out details of how much ‘mota mall’ they paid Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (Coal Minister 2006-09 also), Coal Ministry officials, or even the Congress party (Read Ahmed Patel/Sonia Gandhi) and a host of middlemen. Any company in the right sense would even change the computer and recreate fresh books of accounts and not merely delete or erase files. Now it is surprising that the CBI is raiding just five companies and not 150 companies or hundreds others involved in the scam. Many CEOs/officials of the companies had not even turned up by 11 am. So what the agency doing raiding the premises since 6 am. Circa – 2017: The courts send a deputy secretary, then a peon to jail for the Coalgate. The PM, (Modi/Mulayam Singh/Priyanka Gandhi/Prashant Bhushan) says justice will be done and law of the land will prevail. Circa 2012: PM Manmohan Singh says why should I resign.

When you rejoice in beauty, the entire creation rejoices with you. The very purpose of so much variety in creation is to somehow bring you back to yourself - that you are beautiful, that you are beauty! And nothing happened in the last year which I can say 'I am'. Existence! Who am I? Who am I? So many questions. And I will find my answers.