My Opinion

The India Africa Summit has been organised in a bid to challenge China’s presence in Africa. China is organising a mega Africa Summit in Johannesburg in December this year. While Prime Minister Modi announced a huge package of assistance, India is hopeful that more than fifty African nations will support its candidature for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council thereby strengthening India’s position at the UN. On UNSC reforms the Prime Minister added that India and Africa will have to speak in one voice.

Amit Shah was at his belligerent best today. While campaigning in Bihar he has all along either highlighted his party’s achievements, or has spoken out against the failures of the Bihar government while hitting out at the grand alliance. But today while addressing a rally for the first time he spoke on communal lines. The BJP President said if his party is defeated, there would be celebrations in Pakistan. He even warned that cow meat would be sold openly and reservation would be determined on communal lines. In the final stages of campaigning in Bihar, BJP is clearly shifting gears. If caste matters the most for Lalu & Nitish, for BJP it is the communal colour in these elections.

It was generally thought that Dhoni and Sehwag were not on best of terms and that Dhoni was responsible for Sehwag’s ouster from the Indian team. However today on Aap Ki Adalat, Virender Sehwag clearly stated that it was his poor form and not the so-called differences between the two that led to his omission. He said it would not be correct to blame the Indian captain since he was consistently underperforming in both test and one day matches. He even maintained that Dhoni should remain the captain till the next World Cup. He also expressed his disappointment at BCCI for having remained silent on his plea to retire while playing. A player like Virender Sehwag should have certainly been given the opportunity to hang up his boots while on the pitch. The least the BCCI can do now is to accord him an honourable farewell during the final test match between India and South Africa in Delhi.

Neither his health nor his custody is a worrying factor for Chhota Rajan. If there is anything that the dreaded gangster is paranoid about, is his security. He is well aware that Dawood has been chasing him after the two fell out. He has been on the run ever since Dawood’s aide Chhota Shakeel sent his agents to kill him in Australia forcing him to flee to Indonesia where he was finally arrested. He will soon be brought to India. But wherever he may be, as Chhota Shakeel has claimed, Dawood’s only formula now is to wipe out his enemy.

Sartaj Aziz is one of Pakistan’s most seasoned diplomat and has always shared a close relationship with Nawaz Sharif. However this has proved costly with the Pak Prime Minister lately having to face lot of criticisms. First it was a goof up at Ufa where Kashmir was given a miss in the Joint Statement with India and then talks with India got cancelled at the very last minute due to an invitation being extended to the Hurriyat leaders. Even in the US, Nawaz Sharif was rather forced to listen than talk with his promise to take action against terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba. These certainly haven’t gone down well with the military establishment in Pakistan. Sartaz Aziz was replaced and Nawaz Sharif was left with no other option but to accept Lt General Naseer Khan Janjua as the new NSA.

Pakistan has no other choice but to accept its role in supporting militancy in Kashmir. In an interview today Parvez Musharraf admitted that the establishment indeed had supported terror groups in the area and Musharraf is no ordinary man. He is the former President of Pakistan and as the former Chief of the Pakistan Army, he is well aware of how operatives take place and how terrorism can be used against India. With Musharraf having openly acknowledged Pakistan’s role, India stands vindicated. India has repeatedly raised the issue of Pak sponsored terrorism. Infact Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his US visit has promised President Obama that his government would take effective action against Hafiz Saeed and the Haqqani network.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached out to Afghanistan and Pakistan after the two countries were badly hit by the earthquake today. Expressing his grief he assured Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, that India would stand by them and would render every possible help at the time of such crisis.

Anil Sinha was measured in his statements when he confirmed the arrest of dreaded gangster Chhota Rajan. Without divulging much, the CBI Director mentioned that efforts were on for quite some time to nab him. Chhota Rajan will hopefully be brought to India within a week. Once a close confidante of Dawood Ibrahim, Rajan fell out with him and became his most bitter rival and several attempts were made on his life. Perhaps the most dramatic of them was when he escaped from his hotel room as Dawood’s men attacked him on his birthday when they had come to deliver a cake. This failed attempt did not go down well with Dawood. The apprehension of the elusive gangster is certainly a huge catch for the CBI.

Gita is finally back in India after almost 14 years…back with the hope that her family will soon be located and she is able to reunite with them. Till such time she would be staying with an NGO in Indore. Pakistan’s Edhi Foundation deserves a special mention for having taken care of her as one of their own. Even the Prime Minister complimented them for their compassion. He not only met them but also donated a crore to the Foundation in gratitude of their priceless efforts.

Gopal Das Neeraj, one of India’s renowned poet disagrees with writers returning their awards. He says this is no way to protest. By returning their awards, he feels writers and poets are unnecessarily politicising the whole issue and this is not good for literature. Perhaps there is an element of truth in what Gopal Das Neeraj has hinted. Writers should avoid such controversies, they should not get involved in politics. A writer has the power to express himself through his creativity, he should be a guiding force for the society. His pen should act as a tool to voice the emotions of the society.

There are two things that stand out about Pakistan. One, is that the country may have a democratically elected government, but it hardly has any decision making powers. It is the Army which sets the agenda, it is the ISI which is more powerful. And second is that Pakistan has become a breeding ground for terrorists and terrorism thrives because of the ISI and Army’s patronage. It is therefore of little significance to the US and the rest of the world of what Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has to say about India.

He is certainly not a politician. Having served the army for his entire life, Gen VK Singh likes to call a spade a spade. As a politician he is yet to realise how important it is to measure one’s words while speaking in public. One word here and there can either raise you to great heights or can even knock you down. Perhaps it is this inexperience that has often seen Gen VK Singh put his foot in his mouth. Each time the General has had to justify his comments as well as apologise for the controversial remarks.