Indian PM Modi’s sojourn in Russia and Central Asia to boost India’s multi-directional strategy!

-Dr. Abdul Ruff

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I

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has resumed his foreign tours and went to Russia and Central Asia from July 6-13 that will see a packed schedule with the prime minister spending about a day in each country. He was on a 3-day visit to Russia attend the seventh meeting of BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summits and was also simultaneously on his first ever eight-day visit of Central Asian countries, making Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan after the two summits in Russia.

Modi visited Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan from July 6-8, after which he attended the summits of the BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Russian city of Ufa from July 8-10. In Ufa, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, over 1,300 km from Moscow, Modi would be meeting his peers from the other nations of the BRICS grouping — Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is the host, and South Africa’s Jacob Zuma – during the summit. After the two summits, Modi left for Turkmenistan (July 10-11), followed by Kyrgyzstan (July 11-12) and finally Tajikistan (July 12-13)

In Uzbekistan, the highlight would be Modi’s interaction with Indologists and Hindi language students in Tashkent. In Kazakhstan, Modi would address the Nazarbayev University and also inaugurate the India-Kazakhstan Centre for Excellence in ICT, where India has stationed a Param supercomputer, Sarna said. In Almaty (Kazakhstan), Modi would also attend a business event, where leading CEOs from both countries would be present. In Turkmenistan, the prime minister would inaugurate a centre for traditional medicine and yoga, with the participation of the Tukmen government, said Sarna. In Kyrgyzstan, Modi will have a packed schedule that will include the inauguration of an e-health link, under which one hospital in Bishkek will be linked with a hospital in India. “This is a pilot project and can be replicated,” the top official said. In Tajikistan, the final leg of the tour, Modi will hold talks with President Emomali Rahmon, besides other engagements. Modi paid a visit to India owned Ayni air base in Tajikistan, where it has set up a field hospital.

The Modi’s visit to the five nations, which are part of India’s extended neighborhood, are of strategic importance politically and economically.

PM Narendra Modi said on his arrival in Ufa, Russia: “It is very special to be in Russia, a nation whose remarkable friendship with India has always been known,” . He was accorded a warm welcome at the Ufa Airport and was hopeful of productive meetings and interactions at the BRICS and SCO Summits, forums India said attaches immense importance to.

BRICS, which is an acronym for its five member countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, meant for decision taking on enhancing cooperation in the economic front, – launched its new development bank with a $100 billion contingency reserve. The first head of the bank would be an Indian. At the summit of the SCO, a security bloc led by China and Russia, India and Pakistan were accorded full membership of the six-nation grouping that currently also includes former Soviet republics Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. India has so far only had Observer status in the SCO grouping, the focus of which is boosting connectivity, counter-terrorism cooperation, bolstering cooperation in the energy sector, enhancing trade and dealing with drug trafficking. With the BRICS Development Bank already set up, the summit also looked at the possibility of starting trade and credit facility in local currency. The BRICS Summit in 2014 was productive with interactions of BRICS leaders with captains of industry and leaders of other invited countries.

On the sidelines of the summits, PM Modi held bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. He met Chinese President Xi Jinping today and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday, July 10. With President Xi, the PM discussed bilateral ties at a time when India has expressed unhappiness over the proposed $46 billion economic corridor that would pass through Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, and also over China’s support to Pakistan over the release of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi whose name was linked with the two day Mumbai attack drama.

All eyes , however, were on PM Modi and Sharif’s scheduled meeting on the sidelines of SCO summit in Ufa. Officials from India and Pakistan had been tight-lipped on the details and structure of the meeting. Modi and Sharif last met at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu last November; they did not hold formal talks so far. Sources have said PM Modi’s phone call to Sharif at the start of the holy month of Ramzan set the tone and broke the ice. However, sources have said this is no way indicates the resumption of dialogue just yet. At the Ufa meeting PM Modi was expected to raise India’s concerns on terrorism, including the release of the prime suspect Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi, the 26/11 mastermind who has walked free earlier this year. Economic ties and trade negotiations found dominance in the talks between the two nations. PM Modi has also accepted Pakistan’s invitation to attend the SAARC Summit in 2016 to be held in Islamabad. Both agreed on a significant cooperation to counter terrorism, targeting Muslims in Pakistan and maybe in Kashmir.
Indian PM also solicited, as usual, the support of these countries in an effort to secure a permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council. PM Modi said as he left Delhi that he expects positive outcomes in economic cooperation and cultural ties among the BRICS nations.

II

Ever since PM Narendra Modi took charge at the helm of the Indian government, he has undertaken a number of strategic tours: from Bhutan to USA, including Canada, France, Germany and China and now Russia and Central Asian nations. The Indian PM has become known for his high-profile visits – each with the mission to build economic and strategic ties across the world and the visits are highly publicised by the PMO and corporate media syndicates. .

India’s move to counter Chinese game in Central Asia has prompted Modi to target Central Asia with th Russian support. Following the ‘Great Game’ of the 19th century, when the Russian and British empires contended over Central Asia, and the Cold War era when the Soviet Union and America locked horns, the last two decades have witnessed China entering as a formidable player in energy and infrastructural development in the five Central Asian republics of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

The central Asian countries that PM Modi shall be covering in this tour are all extremely important in terms of the natural resources they hold and in their potential to form strategic alliances. These nations have been key suppliers of oil and natural gas for China and are now looking for a diverse market. Oil, natural gas, and energy are at the center of the trade ties between India and these Central Asian countries which are rich in natural resources and share a cultural legacy with India. Modi had promised to bring solidarity to Indian ties with these nations. PM Modi underlined India’s historic ties with Uzbekistan – that land of Babur’s birth and its importance in the Silk Route. With Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov, Modi discussed various investment opportunities for India such as in the fields of tourism, and culture. Cyber security is one key field where the two countries have decided to build a strong partnership and work together. Another key point of discussion was the implementation of uranium supply from Uzbekistan. 2000 metric tonnes of the mineral is to be imported by India. A similar Uranium pact was also signed with Kazakhstan; India will now import 5000 tonnes of the yellow mineral in the next four years. Kazakhstan and India also inked a number of MoUs related to trade and culture. India made a renewed effort at securing some of Turkmenistan’s natural gas reserves – previous attempts having been waylaid by China.

Cultural ties formed one of the highlights of PM Modi’s agenda. Student exchange, linguistic developments, and religious tolerance were all discussed by the PM with the heads of these states. Yoga was discussed too.
Focusing on military partnerships, India has signed agreements on military and security cooperation, military exchange, joint exercises, and formation of a joint anti-terrorism unit. Tajikistan is already a significant military ally since 2002 when it built an air base near the town of Farkhor. This base is a support centre for US terror operations in Afghanistan and a counter point to any possible malevolent advances by Pakistan.

American military operations in Afghanistan which is culturally closer to Central Asia than South Asia, have meant that the region has been subjected to essentially a three-horse race.

III

India moves according to its own plan and agenda. After ‘Act East’, ‘Link West’ and proactive Indian Ocean diplomacy to the South of India’s landmass, PM Modi, fond of visiting foreign countries, has turned attention to Eurasia in order to connect North. His super fast trips to all five countries of Central Asia in one go, as well as Russia, from July 6 to 13, have boosted India’s multi-directional strategy. They have strengthened our presence in a geopolitically vital region labeled historically as the ‘heartland’ determining the fate of the world.

The International North–South Transport Corridor is a trade route (using various modes such as ship, road, and rail) between India, Iran, Russia, and other Central Asian, and European nations. Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan are other routes, currently under consideration for addition to the existing corridor. PM Modi made a significant pitch to the heads of these countries to join the freight corridor. India also sought support from the Central Asian countries for India joining the Ashgabat Agreement – another strategic cooperation for movement of freight and a transit route between Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Oman, and Kazakhstan.

The post-Soviet Central Asian space is stuck between the dominant power of yesterday, Russia, and the dominant power of tomorrow, China. Despite the advancing strategic partnership between Russia and China, Russia dominates and even dictates its terms to Central Asia- a former block of republics in the erstwhile USSR. Central Asians confront after becoming sandwiched between Russia and China. India takes full advantage of its traditional military links with Moscow. The palpitation that countries like Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have been undergoing under the looming Chinese shadow over their energy sectors has generated an opening that Modi is trying to exploit.

The setback to ONGC in 2013 in Kazakhstan, which blocked Indian acquisition of a prized oil well, has been made up via a new oil concession in the north Caspian sea where our energy major holds minority stakes. Modi has also extracted commitments from Kazakhstan for additional mature blocks for Indian investment, besides fresh contracts for uranium supply.

Modi’s energetic diplomacy in Central Asia demonstrated that India can be very important seeker of influence in the region, where Russia, USA and China calls all energy shots.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Pakistan visit on April 10 and China-Pak relations!

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Pakistan visit on April 10 and China-Pak relations!

-Dr. Abdul Ruff

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China, seemingly the economic and  military backbone of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal,  has been assisting these South Asian nations as a strategy of shoring up the regional support  against America’s Asia pivot policy that  somehow managed to take on board South Asian super power India weaken the Chinese influence  in the troubled region.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to arrive in Pakistan on 10 April to deepen economic and strategic ties between the two all-weather allies. He would hold high-level meetings and unveil several economic projects.

Pakistan Foreign Office had earlier confirmed that the visit of the Chinese leader will take place this year but had not given the exact dates. Xi is also expected to address the joint session of the Parliament on the second day of his visit, an official said. There are over two dozen MoUs and agreements regarding nuclear power, the Gwadar port, the Pak-China Economic Corridor (PCEC), energy, trade and investment that are likely to be signed.

Xi was earlier expected to attend the Pakistan National Day parade on 23 March as a special guest but could not undertake the trip due to some domestic engagements. Again, Xi was to visit Pakistan last year during his South Asia trip to India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives but postponed it due to political unrest in the country with opposition leader Imran Khan staging a protest in Islamabad for alleged rigging in 2013 polls that were won by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistan has been the top most beneficiary of China’s relations with the region, getting maximum military and other economic benefits. Advantages of China include sharing a part of Kashmir with Pakistan as the latter has given a part of Azad Kashmir to China for occupational use. Pakistani and Chinese leaders over the years have pledged robust cooperation in several fields and described their relationship as an “all-weather” friendship.

China–Pakistan relations began in 1950 when Pakistan was among the first countries to end official diplomatic relations with the Republic of China on Taiwan and recognize the PRC- the communist China. Since then, both countries have placed considerable importance on the maintenance of an extremely close and supportive relationship and the two countries have regularly exchanged high-level visits resulting in a variety of agreements.

Bilateral relations have evolved from an initial Chinese policy of neutrality to a partnership with a smaller but militarily powerful Pakistan. Diplomatic relations established in 1950 further grew as the Chinese military assistance began in 1966, a strategic alliance was formed in 1972 and economic co-operation began in 1979. China has provided economic, military and technical assistance to Pakistan and each considers the other a close strategic ally.

China supported Pakistan’s opposition to the Soviet Union’s intervention in Afghanistan and is perceived by Pakistan as a regional counterweight to NATO and the United States. China supports Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir while Pakistan supports China on the issues of Xinjiang, Tibet, and Taiwan. Military cooperation has deepened with joint projects producing armaments ranging from fighter jets to guided missile frigates.

Today, China has become Pakistan’s largest supplier of arms and its third-largest trading partner. Pakistan is China’s biggest arms buyer, counting for nearly 47% of Chinese arms exports. Recently, both nations have decided to cooperate in improving Pakistan’s civil nuclear power sector.

There is, of course, a level of trust and intimacy between China and Pakistan that comes from the sharing of military and nuclear secrets. China also worked closely with Pakistan to supply weapons, paid for by the United States and Saudi Arabia, to militants fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989.

Chinese cooperation with Pakistan has reached economic high points, with substantial Chinese investment in Pakistani infrastructural expansion including the Pakistani deep-water port at Gwadar. Both countries have an ongoing free trade agreement. Pakistan has served as China’s main bridge between Muslim countries.

China has extended invaluable cooperation that extends to Pakistani military establishment. It has not only provided weapons and equipment but has also assisted Pakistan in developing a strong a defence industrial capability. The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Heavy Industries Taxila, several factories and production lines in the Pakistan Ordnance Factories, maritime projects for the navy and missile factories have been set up with Chinese assistance. In the 1970s and the 1980s, China set up major industrial units like the Heavy Mechanical Complex and the Heavy Forge Factory that helped build Pakistan’s intrinsic technological and industrial base.

The proposed $45 billion Pakistan-China Economic Corridor, which has strategic connotations when implemented, should provide a huge boost in transforming Pakistan’s economic landscape by linking south, central and western Asia. Development of the economic corridor and the Gwadar port as an energy hub by China are mutually beneficial projects. It will provide China access to the Straits of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. The economic corridor will link Kashgar in China with Gwadar and open up enormous economic opportunities for both countries.

China’s role in helping Pakistan obtain nuclear weapons and nuclear-capable missiles by supplying technology and expertise—going as far as flying in supplies of highly enriched uranium—to help it keep pace with India’s nuclear weapons program. But China has never committed troops on Pakistan’s behalf, even during its many conflicts with India.  China would like to see the India-Pakistan relationship exist perhaps in a state of managed mistrust.

Pakistan played a very important role in bridging the communication gap between China and the West by facilitating the 1972 Nixon visit to China. Of late, USA has been on job in getting China to transfer Pakistani nukes to some “safe place” or dismantle them. White House is eager to seize Pakistan’s nuclear weapons as it is creating conditions so that Pakistan continues to slide into instability, never to recover!

The coincidence of interests between China and the United States is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that indeed it was US drone strikes rather than Pakistani troops that killed Uighur “militant” leaders wanted by China in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. China wants Pakistan to help reduce the tensions with Muslim region in China and to use it to deal with India, an emerging economic power.

As veto members of the UNSC China and USA have maintained close ties dealing with global problems and Washington pressures Beijing to control Pakistan. Since India and Pakistan conducted nuclear tests in 1998, China has also fretted about the possibility of an all-out war between the two. When Pakistan began a border conflict with India in the Kargil region of Jammu Kashmir in 1999, China refused to provide it military or diplomatic support. Significantly, Chinese officials were in regular contact with their US counterparts during the Kargil crisis to ensure both Beijing and Washington delivered the same message to Pakistan about the need to pull back its troops.

More than Pakistan’s own stability, China uses Islamabad to contain the Muslim issue in the restive northwestern autonomous Chinese region of Xinjiang that has a significant majority of Muslim Uighurs who are denied basic freedoms for worship.

Though Beijing has always been willing to use Pakistan to counter India, its support is conditional. It Pakistan which brought USA closer to USA by playing proactive role, though Washington still wants to contain Beijing.

The Chinese worry heightened when President Barack Obama made an unexpected visit to India to witness military parade as part of Indian annual Repulbic Day celebration. President Barack Obama’s presence in New Delhi on India’s Republic Day parade and the heavy tilt of Narendra Modi towards aligning his country’s policies with Washington created unease both in China and Pakistan.

China has always taken a position that time is on its side and it has shown extraordinary foresight in handling foreign relations with regional and global powers. Secret talks take place between the USA and China on the one hand and India, on the other. As it depends on their economic support, Pakistan takes orders from both Washington and Beijing.

Despite all Asia pivot drills in Asia by USA, Beijing’s economic and commercial links with the USA are so closely intertwined that it is difficult for either country to disassociate itself from the other. China owes much of its phenomenal economic rise to the opportunity that the American market offered. No other country’s consumer market could absorb China’s huge manufacturing base. Moreover, China realizes American power and its economic and political clout, and would like to retain a cooperative relationship.

China’s leadership has opted for maintaining good working relations with India. It has a growing economic and commercial relationship and trade between the two countries has reached $70 billion and is fast growing. Beijing understands the fallout of an adversarial relation with India on its economy. Its primary focus is on domestic development.

Sino-Pakistan relations, since the early 1950s, have been consistent, multi-faceted and span strategic defence, political, economic and diplomatic ties. China considers Pakistan useful in countering India, values its geostrategic position and considers it an important ally in the Muslim world.

Instead of using its influence on Pakistan in pushing Islamabad to vacate the Kashmir parts it occupies as Azad Kashmir, China also got a part of Kashmir form China.

India is quite happy that by jointly occupying Kashmir, China, a veto member, also helps India in retaining Jammu Kashmir, if possible, forever.  New Delhi is also coming closer to Beijing all in all possible ways  to see there is no independent Pakistan  and no resolution of  Kashmir issue  by allowing Kashmir to decide about their own future. However, China also vehemently opposes Indian permanent bid for discredited UNSC.

That China is misusing Islamabad to against Islam in China is a viewed in New Delhi as  the a major development in anti-Islamism and Islamophobia in Asia. New Delhi is also misusing the political Muslims in India to promote Hinduism and work against Islam.

Pakistan, destabilized by its own “strategically: USA, is eager to get  as much finances form USA and China  as service charges for whatever it does for both. This has made Indian worry about Pakistan being any real threat to Indian interests.

Since it does not want to allow freedom for Kashmiris in Azad Kashmir, it seems to be playing a joint game with India over Kashmir issue. In fact India and Pakistan jointly attacked Jammu Kashmir as soon as they got independence from Britain in 1947. That is the sad part of Kashmiri freedom struggle. Never interested in a sovereign Kashmir, China wants the status quo on Kashmir to continue

Secrecy is maintained by all these nations as part of diplomacy.

China today is clearly Pakistan’s top arms supplier, a position until recently held by the USA. Chinese and Pakistani militaries carry out joint exercises and there is continuous exchange of high-level visits demonstrating that relations are robust. The PLA’s training establishments are major destinations for the Pakistan military. In September 2014, a flotilla of the PLA Navy ships made a friendly visit to Karachi. These were followed by several other visits of naval ships. At the diplomatic level, both countries cooperate closely at the bilateral and multilateral levels, and take common positions on global and regional issues.

So much of bilateral ties evolved to strategic relationship that now maintaining close relations with China is a central part of Pakistan’s foreign policy.

China-Pakistan relations that are based on mutuality of interests seem destined to grow. President Xi’s visit will certainly be reassuring and reflecting the strong bonds that exist between the two countries that have stood the vagaries of time.

Whether or not it would be honest about Kashmir, Islamabad would do better if it does not play into the dirty anti-Islamic hands against Islam and Muslims in China just in order to make money.

Yes, diplomacy demands that one does not – and need not- speak the truth!

Supreme Court of India issues notices to LK Advani, others over Babri Mosque conspiracy!

Supreme Court of India issues notices to LK Advani, others over Babri Mosque conspiracy!

-Dr. Abdul Ruff

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On 1992 December 06 the fateful day when Hindutva fascist forces with weapons pounced on haplessly looking historic Babri Mosque, in fact, Indian secularism and system became a victim of majority’s arrogance.

The Babri Masjid (Mosque of Emperor Babur) was a mosque in Ayodhya, a city in the Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It was destroyed in 1992 when a political rally developed into a riot involving 150,000 people, despite a commitment to the Indian Supreme Court by the rally organizers that the mosque would not be harmed. More than 2,000 people were killed in ensuing riots in many major cities in India including Mumbai and Delhi.

The mosque was constructed in 1527 on the orders of Babur, the first Mughal emperor of India, and was named after him The Babri Mosque was one of the largest mosques in Uttar Pradesh, a state in India with some 31 million Muslims. Numerous petitions by Hindus to Indian courts with Hindutva minded judges resulted in Hindu worshippers of Rama gaining access to the site.

Since there are no credible evidences for a temple having existed at the site where the Babri Mosque stood, the Hindu leaders and even political class decided to first destroy the Babri mosque so that they could argue that there wasn’t any mosque at all. They want the courts to prolong the proceedings for decades so that a temple structure would come up there.

Already Hon Allahabad Court had made fun of Indian secularism and Babri Mosque in its fanatic judgment.

Thus a deep rooted conspiracy was hatched by Indian government and political class that aid the Hindutva forces in the country, to demolish the historic Babri Mosque. They hope destruction of evidence can help their fanatically political case.

The dome that was demolished in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 was not a mosque’s alone. What had fallen to the simulated fury of political Hinduism’s foot soldiers was the fragile edifice of secular India. It’s like a piece of history of independent India— its triumphs and tragedies. Babri Masjid demolition finds a prominent place under the heading “Ayodhya: Profanity of Faith”. The role of Hindu nationalist parties like BJP is summed up in these pithy words: “…Ayodhya, for so long a frenzied slogan of desperate Hindu nationalists became the site of a monumental shame. In the name of God, they raised the pickaxe. It was the demon of hate they had let loose.

India has been home to some of the worst communal riots in the world. Infact in some instances, the state machinery has been very much involved in facilitating the killings of innocents.  Just how well the demolition plan was executed without any interference by the law enforcing agencies goes on to show the weakness of the Indian state in the face of communal frenzy. Ten years after the Babri Masjid demolition, the ‘profanity of faith’ was once again on display in Gujarat. Then what was termed the Gujarat riots of 2002 became one of the worst chapters in secular India written in Muslim blood.  It was the Hindu rage, shielded by the state, against the Muslims. It was a battle that went on in streets and minds, creating a powerful Hindutva leader PM Modi..

Back to the demolition of Babri Masjid, the flames stoked in 1992 have still not died down. Similarly, in the case of 2002 Gujarat riots, the flames may have gone out of the streets, but they still linger in the minds of the beleaguered minority across the country.

Today, Ayodhya is still a dispute, a source of energy to the loony fringe of the Sangh Parivar, and an abiding motif in the divisive politics of the republic. India as a nation may have outgrown the mandir-masjid bipolarity, but the political class hasn’t.

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The Babri Masjid demolition is indeed one of the most glaring examples of the divisive politics of Hindu nationalist parties like BJP. With the historic mosque, they also demolished secular credentials of India.. The Liberhan Commission was formed on 16 December 1992 to investigate the destruction of Babri Masjid. The one-man commission submitted the report in June 2009. It was tabled in Parliament in November 2009. It took seventeen long years for the Liberhan Commission to indict the Hindu rightwing groups in the case. That really was a long wait indeed. However, the wait could just have been worth it if the guilty people were held accountable. Clearly, the Indian commission supports Hindutva forces.

BJP leader Uma Bharti volunteered to own responsibility for the demolition of Babri mosque committed by RSS, Siva Sena, military, police and BJP leaders and Hindutva frenzied criminals plus Hindu media lords, said she would have no problem even if she was hanged on the issue. Among the prominent faces indicted by the report was former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, now Bharat Ratna who was otherwise hailed a moderate leader in BJP. The report termed him as “pseudo-moderate” condemning his role in the demolition. Other BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were also exposed as being the main figures behind the demolition.

Indian Constitution became silent so  is Indian judiciary, not knowing what to do with  such  fascist forces among majority people who attacked Indian Constitution that guaranteed full protection  of minorities and their properties, including mosques.

It was not an army of foreign invaders who invaded the Babri mosque zone and attacked it mercilessly with lethal arms for political purposes, keeping the owners of the mosque, the Muslims out of bound from the site of state sponsored Hindutva crimes. The military and police forces aided the Hindu criminals to achieve their Hindutva objective in hours and put in place a Hindutva structure where the Babri Mosque stood as a witness to communal developments in the state.

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The Supreme Court on March 31 issued a notice to senior BJP leader LK Advani, 19 others based on a plea filed by Haji Mehboob, a petitioner in the title suit representing the Muslim community, challenging the Allahabad HC order which acquitted them of criminal conspiracy in the Babri Masjid demolition case. Apart from Advani, notices have been issued to senior BJP leader and former Human resource minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Union Minister for Water Resources Uma Bharti and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh.

Senior BJP leaders including LK Advani have been asked to respond to a petition that asks for conspiracy charges against them in the Babri mosque demolition case. Advani and the others – MM Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh – have been given four weeks to respond to a notice by the Supreme Court. The Allahabad High Court had earlier dropped conspiracy charges against these leaders for the 1992 razing of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya by Hindu activists. A petition by Mehboob Ahmed, a surviving defendant in the Ayodhya lawsuit, wanted those charges to be restored.

The court has also issued notice to the CBI, which has asked for more time to come up with its arguments against the high court order. The investigating agency had filed an appeal against the dropping of conspiracy charges against Mr Advani and 20 others.

The apex court granted four weeks time to the Central Bureau of Investigation and others to respond to the plea in the case.  The petition claims that CBI may not make adequate efforts to get conspiracy charges restored against party leader L K Advani and others in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

A bench of Chief Justice HL Dattu and Justice Arun Mishra heard the Central Bureau of Investigation’s appeal which was last listed before the apex court February 5 when it was directed to be listed for final hearing on “1st April, 2014 before an appropriate bench”.

Though the matter is pending before the apex court since March 3, 2011, for the first time it came up for hearing after formation of the Narendra Modi government triggering speculation whether there would be any shift in the stand of the government from the one taken by the UPA government.

According to a report in the Indian Express, Mehboob’s fears stem from the fact that Rajnath Singh, an accused in the case, is now Home Minister and his ministry had administrative control over CBI. Also, another accused, Kalyan Singh, was now Governor of Rajasthan. His plea said that due to the change in political scenario, litigation policy of the Centre and statutory authorities had changed their stand. “There are reliable reports… CBI may not seriously press the said petition in its true intent and spirit,” it said. The matter was mentioned before Chief Justice H L Dattu for an urgent listing and he agreed to hear it with the main matter on 31st march.

The notice on the CBI plea was issued March 3, 2011 and the matter has been listed before the court 23 times. The CBI which had moved the apex court February 18, 2011, nearly nine months after the Allahabad High Court verdict May 20, 2010, has yet to persuade the court on the justification for delay in challenging the high court order.

The CBI in its appeal before the apex court has said that the verdict discharging Advani and others of the offence of criminal conspiracy “is inconsistent with the previous judgment rendered by the Allahabad High Court on February 12, 2001”.

The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court by its February 12, 2001 order had held that the trial court committed no illegality in taking “cognizance of joint consolidated charge sheet and all the offences were committed in the course of the same transaction to accomplish the conspiracy”.

The high court by its said order had noted that the “evidence for all the offences was almost the same”.

Advani had questioned the delay in the CBI’s appeal and called it political agenda. The CBI told the court that the translation of documents took time. The BJP leaders face charges in cases arising out of two FIRs or First Information Reports. The first alleges a conspiracy by “lakhs of unknown kar sevaks (volunteers).” The second FIR, which specifically charged Mr. Advani and other leaders with making inflammatory speeches leading to activists tearing down the 16th century domes. The two cases were later merged and handed over to the CBI, which filed a composite charge sheet in October, 1993. In 2001, a lower court dropped the conspiracy charge against the leaders on the ground that the case related only to the kar sevaks. This was upheld by the High Court.

Meanwhile, extensive consultations are on at the highest level in BJP regarding the approach to take in the 22-year-old conspiracy case filed following the ghastly demolition of the Babri Masjid in a hard skinned conspiracy. Their main concern is to save the BJP leaders involved in the ghastly pulling down of Babri Mosque in broad day light.

The Babri Mosque case is being dragged for decades now as its destruction was an act of conspiracy in which Indian government, political classes, senior leaders and ministers and military had a part. It was coalition conspiracy against a mosque and the Hindutva treats to destroy other important mosques are not culture based. The threats to other mosques are meant to help the criminals who pulled down the Babri Mosque.

The Congress government, which ruled India for years thanks to Muslim votes, refused to deliver justice to Indian Muslims and BJP government may not be interested in that because that concerns their Hindu vote banks. In fact, Congress and BJP are two sides of the same Hindutva coin- only that one side looks slightly better than the other.

The Apex Court needs to step in and restore the Babri Mosque to Muslims for worshipping.

Only judiciary can save the fabrics of Indian secularism and Muslims.

Muslims can do nothing literally to get back their Babri mosque in India.

Save Babri Mosque!

Flood panic in Kashmir, Centre sends rescue forces!

Flood panic in Kashmir, Centre sends rescue forces!

-Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal

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Jammu Kashmir is again in the grip of flood panic on March 30 as several areas of the Kashmir Valley and parts of Jammu were in deluge caused by rains due to which four people have died and fate of at least 13 others was unknown.

Kashmir valley was a witness to unprecedented devastating floods only seven months ago, but Kashmiris face the same ill-fate again now.  As authorities declared a flood situation in Kashmir, the Centre and the state government swung into action, with eight teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) being rushed to the Valley to help in rescue and relief.

The heavy downpour has caused fresh landslides along the 294-km Srinagar-Jammu National Highway as the only all weather road link between Kashmir and rest of the country remained closed for the third straight day today. Authorities have also issued an avalanche warning for seven districts of Kashmir division and advised people not to move around.

Over 280 people had been killed and tens of thousands left homeless and property worth hundreds of crores of rupees damaged in unprecedented floods in the state in September last year. Refusing to take any chances this time, people started shifting to safer places. Civil administration and police also asked people living along the banks of River Jhelum to move to safer places.

The Centre assured all help to the state government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi rushed is trusted minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the only Muslim face of BJP in the government to the Valley for on-the-spot assessment and coordinate with state authorities with regard to the assistance required. Before leaving for the Valley, Naqvi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi “is also worried about the situation and he is ready and committed to help the people”. “The Centre is committed to provide all help required by the state,” he said. He said there was no need for panic as “our governments, both in the state and at the Centre, are committed to do everything. We will not be found lagging in anything.”

JK Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed told Assembly in Jammu after visiting affected areas of Srinagar that the central government led by PM Narendra Modi has granted Rs 200 crore as immediate relief and the state government has sanctioned Rs 35 crore — Rs 25 crore for Kashmir and Rs 10 crore for Jammu region which also has been affected by flood.  CM Sayeed said one person died and 10 others are trapped in the debris of a house which collapsed in Laldan area of Budgam district of Kashmir valley due to floods. “We hope and pray that all of them survive. As of now we are not in a position to confirm either way,” he said.

Due to heavy rains over the past 36 hours, river Jhelum was flowing above the danger mark at several places including Sangam in Anantnag district and Ram Munshi Bagh in the city. Flood water entered several low-lying areas of Kashmir, including capital Srinagar, leading to panic among the locals for whom memories of the devastating deluge only seven months back are fresh in mind. Police later said that three women have died while at least 13 other people are believed to be trapped in the debris after a landslide brought down four houses in Budgam.

Schools have been shut down for the next four days and board examinations postponed for two days. Three control rooms have been set up with Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed along with a team of Ministers monitoring the whole situation in the Valley and supervising the administrative response to safeguard life and property of people.

Sayeed said there was an “unfortunate” death in Udhampur and there have been some flash floods in Jammu as well. “We are watching the situation,” he said.

Rainfall stopped in the city this morning and slowed down in south Kashmir. However, according to Met department heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places in the state over the next few days. Temporary camps have been set up in various government buildings for people who have been forced to leave their homes. Nearly 250 families were evacuated to safer areas from across the flood prone areas of the valley yesterday while over 40 structures were damaged due to landslides on Friday in Chrar-e-Sharief area of Budgam district.

The NDRF teams have been airlifted along with all equipment like communication, rescue and retrieval gadgets as per the standard operating procedures.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today spoke to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and conveyed to him that relief materials are being air dashed to the flood-affected valley in the shortest possible time. During the telephonic talk, the Chief Minister briefed the Home Minister about the prevailing flood situation in Kashmir valley and the steps being taken for rescue and providing relief to the affected people. Singh assured full central assistance to tackle the flood situation and conveyed to Mufti that relief materials are being airlifted to the valley in shortest possible time to help the state government in rescue and relief operations.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah voiced hope that authorities will take adequate steps to help the people. “We don’t want to play politics on the situation. It has been only seven months and once again the people are face to face with another tragedy,” he told reporters.

The way the central government has come up all out to help the state of Jammu Kashmir with human as well as monetary resources in plenty shows the seriously positive attitude of the Modi government towards mitigating the sufferings of Kashmiris.