If any good has come out of 26/11 it has been the government’s announcement in principle to have a federal agency on terror (though I believe that similar ideas have been floated before and then consigned to the dustheap of public memory). Now the only thing that remains to be seen is how this federal agency is staffed, what kind of counter-terrorism equipment provided, how much political interference the agency has to put with and the extent to which the powers provided to this agency will be misused to settle personal scores and spy on political opponents.
The most important thing in the way forward is how India handles the issue of Pakistan and its role in 26/11. The wrong way to go about things is to get into a press battle with Pakistan by making public statements hinting at having conclusive proof of “foreign involvement” and leaving it at that. Unfortunately this is exactly what India has done. To be honest, India will always find it tough to win the international media war despite being the victim because 1) the Indian government does not invest in lobbying as much as Pakistan does. Which is why you will see Pakistani diplomats on CNN and not their Indian counterparts and 2) Indian expatriates, despite being a wealthy constituent of US society and a significant source of campaign cash for both parties, lack the patriotic enthusiasm of the Cuban or the Chinese diaspora when it comes to using their financial might for the homeland.
To all you desi professionals who are in varying stages of your Green card proecessing for years on end and more importantly those who are contemplating going through the process, I bear happy tidings.
When Dada announced his retirement under obvious pressure from the selectors, my first reaction, as a long-time fan, was a sense of disappointment. Once again in his life, Sourav Ganguly was being given a raw deal more so as he has been playing some of his best cricket over the last few years and so should not have been the first in the firing line. (
