On the Threshold of Eternity

Oil on canvas by Vincent Van Gogh.

Clinical depression is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities.

The understanding of the nature and causes of depression has evolved over the centuries, though many aspects of depression remain incompletely understood and are the subject of discussion and research. Psychological, psycho-social, evolutionary and biological causes have been proposed.

What is wrong with Pakistan?

Pakistan is in doldrums. It has fallen into bad times. It is being labeled as everything from a failed state to a global headache. Many have been asking this question: What is wrong with Pakistan?

In My opinion the picture below answers the question very well.


It is picture of Pakistani women's cricket team praying on cricket field after defeating Srilankan team recently in a world cup match. Some comments on a popular Pakistani blog, Pakistaniat, pretty much summaries why this picture is symbolic of all that is wrong with Pakistan:


One atheist says :

its not a good sign to bring religion into everything especially things like this cricket match which was between two countries and not two religions. thanking god is a good thing but that should have been a personal gesture and not in the middle of a stadium. sports and religion shouldn’t be clubbled. isn’t mixing the religion with _all_ aspects of life one of the biggest problem for the country ?

adeel writes:

there are two things in this picture

I am not sure what to make of this picture. I guess if the girls really do want to display their gratitude like this, it is their choice.

A wise man once said that the best form of service to God was not to make a show of it. One could infer that more subtle forms of showing thankfulness are desirous as Allah does not need to actually see us prostrate to accept it. By the way, the wise man’s name is Ali (r.a).

On the other hand, if the girls are saying one of their daily prayers, I guess a mosque or a prayer room is more suited for it than a cricket pitch - unless it was hot inside!

Dev D - In Love with Sluts

Nah, this is not a review of movie. If you are looking for a review , I suggest you check this one out on Passion for Cinema but do stay away from Taran Adarsh and his ilk.

This is just a short note on Movie. I have watched it couple of times and possible more and I guess I am gonna watch it couple of times more.

For me, personally, Pardeshi song in Movie pretty much summarizes the whole experience.The setting of the song, the state in which Dev is at that point in life, on cusp of ejecting out from Paro's orbit and falling into Chanda's, the 3 guys dancing in bar, the graffiti on the wall behind them, everything is piece of art and brilliant cinema. Dev D gets drunk and stoned and those who have ever had that sort of experience would know that the scene of Dev walking to loo during the scene and putting his face into water, with blood oozing out of his mouth, the numbness and what follows pretty much says it all. Incredible music and lyrics to match it,.......

"o pardesi, o pardesi,
mitha sa chadha hai bukhar,
he re mai thahra pardesi!"

Umm....That feeling, how well it has been put into words....."Meetha sa bukhar"

Cheers to pain, agony, addiction to self destruction and aimless wandering....... and there is Chanda , with cig in her hand, sitting cross legged, watching Dev stumbling into her room.......WELCOME HOME.

Muthalik, Sri ram sene - a Coward and his impotent followers

India is country of paradoxes. If it has generated some incredible spiritual thoughts in times when rest of world was walking around the planet naked and hunting deer, it has also at same time, produced some insanely stupid men in times when world has progressed from caves to computers.

One such men is one called Muthalik in Bangalore (or Bangaluru) . Now this Muthalik is a head of fringe group called Sri Ram Sene which nobody in this country knew until few weeks back. Until these guys walked into a pub in tow with TV cameras and beat up women present in the pub to protect Indian culture. Since then these guys have been making all kinds of comments on what they think Indian culture is and how they will beat anybody to protect this culture against any (perceived or real) corruption. Now I can analysis this logically and write a erudite piece here to explain this phenomenon, and how it is a tussle between India and Bharat, but that would be useless. Because neither these guys understand any logic or reasoning, nor do they deserve it. All they deserve is an answer in their own language which is one of violence and hatred. I hate people like Muthalik because he is as ugly as an asshole and he stink badly. He needs good thrashing. And that is what all of his so called supporters need as well. They need to be fought against in their own language. Using language of violence.

Muthalik is a pest. He cant be a Hindu because he is not even half a man. Just by wearing vermilion on his forehead he does not become a Hindu or its spoksperson. He is sort of guy who would not even respect his own mother. Because he thinks that beating women is Hindu culture, on one or other pretext. For me he is not any different than the Muslim Mullah who wants to marry 10 women and want to keep them covered in name of culture and God.



So I support all these protests against Muthalik and his fringe sex-starved (presumption but so be it) group of supports. There are women who want to send him pink chaddies this valentine's day, and I say, women, do it, by all means. There are people who want to hug publicly this valentines’ day and there are those who want to "pub bharo"... do all of this. But I say, go beyond it. If these people come in herds (like cowards usually come) to beat you, you retaliate. Beat them back. Break their heads. Hit them hard where it hurt the most. Don’t be afraid.

We need to do it now because these fringe groups, these Taliban like forces are spreading deep and wide and faster than we think. They are spreading like weed which needs to be uprooted now or else it will be too late.

So guys, stamp on them wherever you see them. Indian culture can do far better without these insane, half witted, men who use sacred vermilion to cover their own cowardice. So Mr. Muthalik , I am Hindu. I believe in God and I don’t. I celebrate Khajuraho as much as I celebrate messages in Gita. I will do all that which this country lawfully let me do. You keep out of my life, our life, and if you don’t like what we do, burry yourself in sand and if you coward come and want to fight with me, come like a man, alone, .........not with your cowards sena, not with your herd of impotent followers. And Muthalik did nobody tell you even that ...you look more like Ravana than Ram!!

Zahid Hamid and His Funny Programs on Pakistani TV

If you are bored on a weekend, and want some humor, do check this lunatic who claims to be a Pakistani strategic expert called Jahid Hamid. Frankly, I haven't seen anything funnier than him on TV and best part is that he is damn serious about the whole business of his. He has incredible theories on almost all significant political events in world, which according to him are either Jews or Hindu Zionist (whatever it means) conspiracies to thwart the greatest nation on earth,Pakistan .

Yes, as per him, Pakistan is destined to be the leader of Ummah and Muslim world and the rest of the world and; Zionists , both the Israeli Jews and Indian Hindus are conspiring for decades to destory Pakistan. He tells us how 9/11 was a Jews conspiracy and how Mumbai terror attacks were actually handiwork of Hindu Zionists. He also tells us how Indian foreign policies are based on Mauryan empire of ancient India or how numerous scientist in labs throughout India are researching and studying intricate manuscripts to develop advanced weapons for army (like shoes which makes a soldier walk for miles wihout tiring) and how Indian Government is using Chnakya niti as a philosophy in Indian Diplomacy.

Jahid hamid is the most erudite, and knowledgeable security expert to have come out of great land of Pakistan. In fact , he could be the greatest Pakistani to have ever been born. So do check his videos of brasstack (his porgrame) on a Pakistani news channel called News1 on Youtube here. He talks about everything in world , ranging from Jews conspiracy to dominate the international economic system to how pimples on a Muslim girls face are handiwork of Hindu zionists.

And do check the beautiful girls acting as moderators or hosts on some of his shows. They seem to be trying hard to to seduce this dickhead , while sprouting innuendos and hatred of west in perfect westernized English. Go on Zahid Hamid...please entertain us more..........

Mumbai Attack, Shiv Sena and lawyer for Kasab

Shiva Sena has an editorial in its mouthpiece demanding an open , public hanging of Kasab. If I was asked what should be done with Kasab (Pakistani terrorist captured in Mumbai attack) soon after Mumbai attack, my answer had to be “shoot the bastard”. With some healthy dose of expletives. Such was the anger anybody would have felt. Such was the wanton violence Kasab and his cohorts had launched in Mumbai. Shiv Sena is also threatening lawyers not to stand in defense of Kasab.

But whole point of having a system is that you don’t circumvent it, you do not undermine it. We have a justice system in place and even though it is flawed and rotten and downright stupid at times with lawyers like Jethmalanis who spin incredible theories in name of criminal laws, it still is a system better than instant justice of Mullahs or Talibans or Shiva Sainiks or collective wisdom of crowds or mobs. System should not be undermined but improved. The fact is that our justice system sucks at the moment. We have had instances where a petty thief spent 5 years in jail without trial. And we have had cases where Pakistani terrorists were in our jails for 3 years before they were “rescued” by a fantastic airline hijacking. Why the heck were we keeping an enemy of state locked comfortably in our jail without convicting him, is beyond me.

What we need in case of Kasab is speedy trial and conviction which I don’t think can be anything but death. Shiv Sena’s demand of a public hanging is natural. One can not expect anything else from a party which has built its “career” on baser instincts.

The real solution of Pakistani terrorists attacking us so blatantly is to kill them in their own dens..by secret operations. Instill fear in their minds. Pursue them until they are caught or killed. There is no reason why Dawood should be alive till now. There is no reason why Maulana Masood Azhar is not liquidated. Pakistan is a failed state, state which has only exported terrorism and fundamentalism all across the world. It is also a land of amazing conspiracy theories like theory of 9/11 being perpetrated by Jews or Mumbai attack being a handiwork of Hindu Zionists. We can not except Pakistan to co-operate with us and hand over the terrorists whom it has created and nurtured. We can not expect out diplomacy to work with them . We can not always keepm running to US asking for pressure to be put on Pakistan and we can not always try to be good guys by showing so called restraint. Countries are also like men, some are reasonable and some are not. While dealing with unreasonable ass****, one has to become like one.

So yes, give a lawyer to Kasab, don’t hang him openly. But make the quick and without letting people like Jethmalanis and his ilk sprout higher wisdom in name of criminal justice. And use secret services to restart (stopped by one of our PMs) operations in Sindh , NWF and Baluchistan and bleed Pakistan. Let it know that if it can not handle non-state actors, then it has no right to exist as a state.

Addition of 10 more portly havaldars at airport, more checknakas on roads and useless frisking in cinema halls would do nothing. Nothing but covert, offensive operations can protect us in long run from terror exported from outside.

Mumbai Terror Attack and the Anger within

Dust finally seems to be settling down after a traumatic fortnight following the worst terrorist strike on India , in Mumbai, perpetrated by bunch of crazy lunatics across the border seeking their place in heaven with virgins by killing infidels in name of a God .

What can men do to find a place in an elusive paradise!!!

For past two weeks, there has hardly been anything being discussed in country other than terror strike in Mumbai. Most of newspaper pages and magzines have been full of it. Even the cookery sections started with some mention of terrorism and what happened in Mumbai. The sports commentators had more to comment on terror than the sports. Almost every Indian blog that I read for past two weeks , had a post on the incident. Even blogs which untill now only wrote poetry, could talk nothing but terror attack on Mumbai. TV news channels were obvioulsy having a field day with many journalists covering what would be thier biggest news story.

I was angry.Very angry. Like everybody else. It felt like a smack in your face. It felt like somebody barging in your house and slapping you hard. Many more were angry. Lot many, lot more. Many marched on streets with candles and many more with angry slogans and placards.

"We are angry, we need action" Many shouted.

For first time, it is been claimed that urban middleclass was so outraged that they took to mass protests. They shouted slogans against politicians, against corrupt system and our inpept leaders. The anger against terror soon turned into anger against our politicians who showed that most of them suffered from foot in mouth diesese which , proving to be highly contagious, during the crisis and afterwards spread like a wildefire. The worst hit was somebody named A- Chut-***** who went mad after being bitten by a stray dog and could talk nothing else but dogs and thier canine habits and even started barking .

So what are we angry at? No doubt, the odacity of attack created the outrgae we witnessed, but then, we have been on recieving end of this kind of cross-border terror for many decades now. and have virtually become a soft state where anybody can enter, kill and bomb. Writing in Hindustan Time, Vir Singhavi perhaps analysed it best as to why Urban middle class was so angry this time. He wrote that our anger is actually menfiestation of realisation that we are impotent. There is nothing much we can do to change the scenario or avenge the attack. We dont have visivble targets which we can go and bomb like US did after 9/11 and neither do we have the will to do that. But worse, the anger against political class, is due to the fact that we (urban middle class) know that we can hardly do anything to replace them. Most of us do not go and vote and even if we do, our votes hardly count. Politics in India is played on various fault lines and identities and not on issues. People vote to their caste, religion, sect and region. Small urban middle class hardly changes the equation and thats the reason politicians dont care about some urban youth coming on roads and shouting against them. We tend to forget easily. After every bomb blast, we feel outraged, leaders make repetitive statement and then soon it is forgotten and we get back to our internal bickering in name of region and religion.

As for as strong action against terror which is being demanded by citizens this time, I am afraid nothing much will change. We will get a central agency to unify our 100 incompetent Intelligence agencies, NSG will get cloned, we will see more policemen with bellies holdling AK-47s and thats about it. It will not change the fundamental issues of corruption, incompetence and impotence .

Corruption , because that is how our Coast guards let mafias in Pakistan smuggle diesel into India through sea route, same route through which Mumbai invaders came. Because that is how fake identity papers can be made, ration cards be bought. Because that is how millions of Bangladeshis have enteretd into India and have vanished. Incompetenece , because that is how every intelligence agency claims to have the intelligence of attack but nobody acts, Even Pannu Panwala knows about the impending attacks. And Impotence, because only that can explain our patience with anybody who tries to mess with us, again and again. Because that is how Dawood Ibrahim can still mock us sitting in his palace, because that is how Maulana Azhar Mahmood can still openly roam in cities of Pakistan and keep sending boys to attack our parliament. Because that is how ISI can do all the damage and RAW can not even know of its own officers defections.

Only option is to do what Israel Did after Black September, Go after these people and kill them in thier dens. Fear can only be faught with fear. But are we potent enough is the question!!

Home Sick

These images make me want to return home . Pictures are from cheenj, a traditional wrestling which is usually organized during village fairs in Spring season.

Where skies are clear,
and sun shines bright.
to people, so gentle
return a day, I might

These photos are taken by Himanshu Khagta, I have used them here with his permission. Much better resolution is here.

Indian State - Losing its potency?

Blame it on coming elections, in past couple of months, large tracts of India have singed in senseless violence. Many parts of India are witnessing riots between Hindu and Muslims. Violence against Christians which started in Orissa has spread to many other states. This happened after a prominent Hindu leader was killed by Maoists which have large number of converted Christian recruits in their ranks. Hindu fanatics then systematically targeted converted Christian tribal by killing them, burning their property and raping nuns.

* State by and large remained spectator. Many people commented that even though the violence is not the solution, there remains a problem with conversions. Symbol of state power, Police stood on the sidelines letting Bajrang Dal to run amok. They moved in only after substantial damage was done and “the lesson” was taught to convert Christians.


Cut to few years back, in state of Gujarat, a train carrying VHP’s Ram sevaks was burnt by rioting Muslims which sparked off massive religious riots across the state. Some say the attack on train carrying hindus was a Muslim conspiracy and some say it was a natural reaction of Muslims after being provoked by Hindus shouting religious solgans. In one of worse riots thereafter, Muslims were hounded, burnt and killed. Their women were raped and villages set on fire.

* State by and large through out the riots remained mute spectator. Many people commented that even though the violence must be condemned, the riots were natural reaction to a violent act of train burning. Symbol of state power, Police stood on sidelines letting hordes of Hindu rioters burn cornered Muslims. They moved in only after substantial damage was done and “the lesson” was taught to the Muslims.


Rewind little more, year 1984, Prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi was killed by her Sikh security guards. This was a revenge killing by Sikhs as Gandhi was blamed for flushing out the terrorists from holy Sikh temple. Ironically, the Sikh terrorist leader who was killed in raid was raised by Gandhi herself to keep Alkalis way from political power. Her killing sparked, large scale violence against Sikhs throughout the country and they were rounded up, insulted and burnt.

* State by and large through out the riots remained mute spectator. Many people commented that even though the violence must be condemned, the riots were natural reaction to a killing of popular leader like Gandhi. Symbol of state power, Police stood on sidelines letting hordes of rioters burn cornered Sikhs. They moved in only after substantial damage was done, “the lesson” was taught to the Sikhs.


This week, in Maharashtra, we were witness to ugly scenes of goons of MNS and Shiv Sena beating students from North India. The hate campaign has been going on for quite some time and North Indians have been attacked since early this year. All this ostensibly on the pretext ranging from outsiders are taking up jobs meant for Marathi manoos to outsiders diluting Marathi culture. After Raj Thackeray was arrested this week, large scale violence mainly in Mumbai erupted and ”supporters” of MNS torched and damaged taxis and autos and beat up poor shopkeepers and vendors in perfect show of Marathi culture.

*State by and large through out the hate campaign has been spectator. Many people commented that even though the violence is not the solution, the migration of outsiders remained a problem. Symbol of state power, Police stood on sidelines letting MNS activities run amok. They moved in only after substantial damage was done, “the lesson” was taught to outsider North Indians.


In all of these incidents, one thing is starkly common. The collusion of State or police with the perpetrators of violence. If you are a Hindu or Muslims or Sikh or North Indians or South Indian or Tamil, Marathi or Dalit of whatever and you are being taught a lesson, the Police will stand on sidelines and let the Law of land rip to shreds. In this country where everybody is a trying to teach lesson to everybody else, and where State has lost its potency, the only minority left is an individual. In such a lawless State where an individual and his property can not be protected, the question which needs to be asked is if such a State needs to exist or not!!

Jet Airways Layoff episode

India is increasingly becoming a country where rule of law is fast losing its meaning. From instances of crowds taking law in their hands to lynch buffalo thieves to politicians forcing businessmen in returning legally obtained land, we have numerous instances where mobocracy , loud rhetorics and petty politics is ruling the roost by subverting the laws of land. We Indians are unique for creating systems which we our self then seek to dismantle for short term gains. One such example is Jet airways fiasco where around 1800 employees on probation were laid off by Jet Airways to cut cost on its bleeding operation. Agreed that, the way Jet management handled the whole laying off episode showed off their poor HR practices but what followed after that was equally bad.

First the laid off employees suddenly became socialist in their approach, very conveniently forgetting that until few hours back , they were willingly part of a system where risk is as much part of game as reward. Then they went even a step further and managed to politicize the whole matter by begging in front of MNS's Raj Thackeray. Other parties and sundry ministers then followed the suit and jumped into the bandwagon, until Jet Airways chairman had to do revert the decision and ask laid off employees to join the duty back. Quite obviously he was pressurized by Government and politicians to do this, though, he said that it was because of his conscience (suddenly awakened).

We know that global economy is facing unprecedented downturn, most of markets are melting down and big banks have fallen down like nine pins. Effect of global recession has started to show signs in India also. So in near future, many companies might have to tighten their belts and shed excess weight to stay afloat. And it is in this regard that Jet episode has created a bad precedence. Now we know that if some employees are laid off, all they have to do is organize dharna , call the media, cry on TV and tell sob stories of how their dreams were shattered and then approach opportunistic politicians to put pressure on management. Jet employees, for their own gains have setup a very bad example by involving Raj Thackeray. It is people like these employees, who ultimately give legitimacy to such politicians who feed on opportunities to further their own petty and short sighted gains. Nobody has asked who Raj Thackeray is to threaten a company to stop its flights from taking off until employees were taken back!! Wasn’t the company within laws to lay off employees on probation, and didn't these employees know that they could be removed while on probation!! Havent they signed contract for this while joining the company!! And by rushing to MNS, Jet employees have only fed a snake which one day could also bite them.

In future if aviation industry in India does not recover and Jet is forced to shut shop, then these 1800 employees of Jet can go back and join Government services where they can live off lesser rewards on lesser risks of being terminated. And as for Jet Airways, one has to wonder if this whole episode which in hindsight looks like a drama, was put up to get bailout package from Government!! Afterall, they could have done it better by laying off employees in smaller chunks and with more civility. And if the decision to lay off was driven by economic downturn, thun how has situation suddenly improved to take these employees back? So was this episode stage managed by someone in Jet or aviation industry? Would MNS force these Jet employees to learn Marathi now? We wouldnt know, but what we certainly know is that Aviation has some very pretty faces which we can see more frequently on morning newspapers.

Jaago Re- One Billion Votes

I had seen the add on TV , but I didn't know that it was also an online campaign ; untill I got an email form one of my friends, telling me about this initiative jaago re, started by an NGO . It aims to spread awareness about voting and also makes it bit easier for first time voters to get registered on voting lists. There is lots of useful information on the site for first time voters. Considering that many of us do not vote and think that it is not going to make any difference, it is a good initiative to spread the message that voting is what makes a difference in a democracy.

I also sort of like thier site and its integration with Maps. Nice job done. It will make a difference in its own little way. For me what works is that, it brings voter registration form right upto your desk, so all you have to do is fill it up and sumbit it to office whose address you will get from the site.

Terror Crackdown - Post Delhi Blasts, A defining moment?

In a highly polarized environment, truth is often the victim. In fact in such a scenario, there are many versions of truth. The recent crackdown on suspected terrorists in India is an example of how polarized our society has become.

Following is Police version:

From SIMI to IM: It all started with death of MC Sharma, a decorated police officer of Delhi Police, who while raiding a hideout of suspected terrorists was killed by gun shots. Two persons suspected to be terrorists belonging to Indian Mujahideen (IM) were also killed in encounter and 2 other were caught. Sharma was hailed as hero by media and Delhi Police which also claimed that with this encounter they had busted the IM module which was largely responsible for multiple terror attacks in country for past 2 years or so. The arrest of terrorists soon triggered a chain of events, and in next few days many raids were conducted throughout the country and suspected terrorists were nabbed in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and other parts of country. Police claimed that the success of operation was due to inteligence sharing among various states and central agencies. The terror jigsaw is not yet fully solved but pieces are falling in place, they claim. So if one accepts police version as truth, then IM is responsible for recent series of bomb blasts in country, and is a splinter group of banned SIMI (Student Islamic Movement of India). IM was born out of SIMI soon after Gujarat riots, ostensibly, to avenge killing of Muslims. SIMI had its root in Aligarh Muslim University and had thousands of members throughout country. As per Police, SIMI was a moderate group to start with but got increasingly radicalized over the years with radical elements being driven by Safdar Nagauri, the secretary general of SIMI (a 8 years old interview with him is here, proving his radical views). The friction between Nagauri and moderate faction ultimately let to Breaking of SIMI, which police says can be compared with that of breaking up of Hamas, where one breakaway group became millitant by violence and terror tactics.

The Onset of Hunt: IM was unique in the way that its members were educated youth, many of them even engineers and MBAs. They operated in small and largely independent modules. The anger which Muslims felt after Gujarat riots was used by people like Nagauri to get young , educated members into his unit. He also specifically looked for technically qualified youths and those who had some angst or grudges against the state or police. IM also got hooked to LeT (Lashkar e Toiba) which helped it with initial trainings and funds. Trainings were conducted in various parts of country in Jungles of Kerala to Karnataka. Recruits were taught to swim, fire pistols, and make bombs. After a camp, these recruits would then fan out to many places and build their network of terror. Police started the hunt after the bomb blasts in UP and name of IM for first time emerged. Unlike in past, when most of bomb blasts used to be handiwork of Pakistanis, this time evidence was pointing out to homegrown terror groups. As many bomb blats followed in many Indian cities, Police found it tough to crack the cases and it was due to nature of IM and how they operated. Things were also tough for police as the intelligence was scattered and every state police acted independently. The real break came with arrest of Safdar Nagauri a secretary general SIMI from Madhya Pradesh and then later with arrest of Abu Bashar a recruit of IM , soon after Ahmedabad blasts. These two key members provided vital clues in functioning on IM and after Delhi blasts, the proverbial camel's back was broken. There was tremendous hue and cry throughout the country to act tough on terror. The central government which was slack in taking tough steps until now (perhaps thinkning that it will upset muslim community) was jolted out of its reverie. All states were asked to coordinate their efforts, share intelligence and act as one team. The bits and pieces of intelligence collected over the years by various state police were sewn together and sketchy leads were formed, good enough to act upon. And this is how MC Sharma was asked to raid a flat in Delhi which eventually led to killing of 2 suspected IM terrorists and capturing of 2 more. Unfortunately, Sharma who was not wearing his Bullet proof jacket also lost his life. Two suspected terrorists were reported to have escaped during encounter. Sharma was hailed and quite deservingly, a hero, and his funeral was attended by many politician including home minister, who untill few days ago was about to be ejected out of his office.

The Jigsaw getting solved : There have been various press conferences by different state police, and the final picture is pretty much consistent, albeit with some loose ends which could raise doubts. I think it is primarily due to the fact that even though various states collaborated in operation, the news conferences were done independently and in hurry. So we had a scenario that mastermind of terror was changing every day. In my opinion, considering the sensitive nature of crackdown, police should have been more careful with press conferences. One gets an impression that either state police departments were competing against each other, trying to stake the claim of cracking the module or they were pressurized by Government to go public, keeping in view of the upcoming election. Regardless of this, If one has to believe this version of police story as the truth, and I use if because, unfortunately, past shenanigans of Police in India, do not give it much credibility, then the picture of terror in India looks frightening and grim. Terror now is pretty much home grown. The catchment area of terrorists seems to be in UP and profile of terrorists have changed dramatically. They are now well educated young men with normal lives. An MBA here, two Software engineer there. So are these guys terrorists? If we believe police, then yes, they are. They are driven by hatred for Government and for majority community and they want to avenge atrocities which they think are done on their community. They are also fed by people like Safdar Nagauri to do jehad for Muslim Caliphate. They are indoctrinated to extent that they place bombs in children's parks and even hospitals. They plant bombs, come back to their normal lives, watch blasts news on TV and celebrate their success.

The another version:

But this is one version of truth. There is another version which in unfolding on Muslim blogs and discussion forums and generally in that community. They believe that recent crackdown are nothing but part of conspiracy to corner the community. Many of them have raised doubts about authenticity of Delhi encounter and they suspect that it is fake. In fact many don’t suspect but believe that encounter was fake and many conspiracy theories are doing rounds. They would even believe that Sharma was killed as part of larger plan to pass the encounter as real and to use it to target muslims. They think that people caught by police are innocent young Muslim men and they are being targeted for being Muslims. They even question why terrorists were paraded in muslim scarves (even though I have seen otehr criminals being hooded in same scarves).They ask questions of how good students, doing their MBAs could be terrorists. People of Aajamgarh, the native place of most of terror suspects, dont believe that there is any iota of truth in Polcie version. They think that thier good studious sons have been wrongly caught or killed and made a scapegoat. Many theories are doing rounds and generally the community is in fear and suspicion. They suspect the Police, the media and the Government. Even a legitimate voice trying to reason often gets lost as the level of mistrust are high.

And the Politics :With upcoming elections, when all parties would try to consolidate their vote banks, the polarization is bound to increase. The BJP would pressurize governments to have tougher terror laws. Muslims would perceive tougher terror laws as being a tool to harass them. Police, will catch some more terrorists including some innocents who will be counted as collateral damage. Muslims would huddle together and raise noise about them being targeted. BJP would raise fears in majority community by citing resistance of Muslims against tough terror laws. Jamia Milia Islamia would stand by its students caught as terrorists and Hindu Nationalists would brand it as against national interests.

And to those who care, let it be known that this is start of a defining time in life of this secular republic.