The HBO documentary “The Journalist and the Jihadi: The Murder of Daniel Pearl”, that premièred this Tueday is the story of two people: very similar to each other in terms of having had a privileged upbringing, having being high achievers in school and having achieved success in their respective professions at a very early age.
One of them is Daniel Pearl, a “rising star” journalist with the Wall Street Journal— a musician, a humanist and a true “liberal”.
And the other: Omar Sheikh, an urbane British-public-school educated Muslim fundamentalist who had made a name for himself in the world of Jihad with his masterfully executed kidnappings. [Yes the same Omar Sheikh who was released by India (along with his spiritual guru Azhar Masood, the founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed) during the IC814 crisis.]
It is a story of how their lives collided in Karachi on a fateful January day in 2002. Daniel Pearl, eschewing the comfort of taking press releases from official sources, had been chasing the money trail of 9/11 and had started looking in all the “wrong” places. An appointment had been set up with a certain “Basheer” who was to take Daniel on to the next chain in the link.
That “Basheer” was actually Omar Sheikh, one of the world’s most dreaded terrorists. Drawn in by his friendly emails from nobadmashi@yahoo, Daniel felt that Basheer was a guy he could trust. It was a fatal error in judgement that would end with Daniel Pearl being mutilated and beheaded on video and the Western world, for the first time, catching a brief glimpse of the ground realities in the real cradle of Islamic terrorism …Pakistan–ironically also a “first-class ally” in the West’s battle against terror.
While the documentary is about Daniel Pearl, its most powerful scenes are when Omar Sheikh is in focus—a grainy 80s video of a British pub with a clean-shaven nattily dressed Omar Sheikh looking like an uppity prep-school boy, Omar Sheikh taking on hugely muscled men in arm-wrestling competitions (and winning many times), his friend talking about a violent, mean, fearless streak in Omar throughout his childhood and a Pakistani cop who was in charge of Omar Sheikh when he was undertrial saying that Omar Sheikh was “beyond brainwashed”.
What emerges through the documentary is the chilling profile of a religious, supersmart pyscho. A man who organized a vast network of micro-modules of terror…none of which were intentionally told about the whole plan (The terrorists who kidnapped Pearl thought he would be released after a propaganda tape was made. Except that Daniel’s death rights had been “sold” to a group of Arabs for $50,000. These people first made Daniel read out a prepared statement stating he was a Jewish person who had strong links to Israel and then he was made to condemn America. After that, his neck was hacked off slowly with a knife and his head paraded in front of the camera. Then his body was hacked into 10 pieces and buried). A man who so charmed his victims with his urbane friendliness that he never needed a gun to make them get into a car. A master organizer, a “people person” with wells of deep violence and hatred, Omar Sheikh is about as scary a demon as you can imagine.
The documentary also treads unfamiliar ground for Western audiences since it very clearly articulates the fact that Omar Sheikh was trained in Pakistan to perform kidnappings in Kashmir, that when he was released in Kandahar, there were ISI agents on the ground along with the Taliban coordinating the whole operation ,that after Daniel Pearl’s capture, when the Pakistani police were “looking” for Omar Sheikh, he had already been “taken in” by the ISI. [Omar Sheikh basically gave himself to the police–the entire thing coordinated by the ISI] and that one of the most plausible reason Pearl was murdered was because he had come “too close” to revealing the ISI nexus with 9/11.
Of course, all these still do not conclusively prove Pakistan to be a “terrorist state”—nothing short of Jesus Christ writing that in blood on the blue sky will make that happen.
But at least the facts are being brought out in the open in primtime on HBO. And the real terror masterminds being identified. Make no mistake. If Islamic terror is a fast-food-shop, Osama is just the Ronald McDonald mascot, a colorful front, the media guy. It is people like Omar and Azhar Masood who are the actual store managers—the guys who keep the assembly line moving…making sure that if the store clerk quits there is one to replace him immediately. And that your fries are never cold. And the ketchup bottle never empty.
An interesting titbit in passing. According to Pervez “the Pinocchio” Musharaff , Omar Sheikh was actually an MI6 spy and not an ISI agent as universally believed. I really think Gen Mush would have called his book “Experiments with Truth” had it not already been in use.
This may come as no surprise, but I have came across discussions and articles that support Omar Sheikh, making him out to be a victim of a conspiracy. They claim that Omar never actually murdered anyone, that his confession was taken under pressure [and this despite the fact that Omar Sheikh had also told reporters that he had “organized the kidnapping” and was “proud of it” ], that the court (Pakistani) was biased and did not follow proper proceedures and that 9/11 was done by the evil West [just as we are to believe that the Indian government attacked parliament]
And I was compelled to do a Search-Replace with Omar Sheikh being replaced by Mohammed Afzal.
What came out was almost the same arguments that Nandita Haskar and her cohorts in the press and in the blogosphere are circulating, trying to prove that Mohammed Afzal is innocent. Never mind that SAR Geelani, a self-proclaimed Kashmiri freedom struggler who considers violence against the Indian state as “not terrorism” does not think that Afzal is innocent.
I am not saying he is innocent…but Afzal has been deprived of a fair trial. The quantum of punishment awarded to him does not match his role in the attack and the opinion is being shared by people of the Kashmir valley and political parties.[Link]
Is the similarity between the defence of Omar and Afzal a coincidence?
Do not think so.
It’s just that there is a standard template of Jihadi defense that just keeps on getting tweaked with each scumbag that turns up.
So what has become of Omar Sheikh? Sentenced to death in 2002, he is still alive in a Pakistani jail after his execution was stayed 33 times because “it is feared that he might reveal information implicating a certain Pakistani agency”.
The name of that Pakistani agency?
Why MI6 of course.
Indeed if Mohammed Afzal and Omar Sheikh are “innocent”, then what’s the problem in believing that?
The Greatbong Blog & Podcast 
Very well written.
[Removed on request of commenter]
As an aside, TIME says it is likely that Pearl was butchered by Khalid Muhammad Sheikh
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1545441,00.html?cnn=yes
@Vivek: Thanks
@Ajay: Aaah the old Zail-Buta jokes come back for a new generation. Incidentally, noone has said it was Omar Sheikh in the video doing the cutting….Omar Sheikh’s job was to kidnap and then sell the “prey” to interested bidders who wanted to do the honours of killing him. It may very well may be that Khalid Sheikh Muhammed was the one with the knife or the one who signed the credit card receipt.
But then when you see that General Pinocchio is the one who has made that assertion, you think it is anyone BUT Khalid Muhammed who was responsible. According to many, Khalid Sheikh Muhammed is a deluded, crazy has-been who Pakistan wants to parade as a top Al-Qaeda man but who is actually a nobody. Kind of like Rudolph Hess when he “surrendered”. Which is why the General is eager to pass off as many murders as he can on this man so that the real perps can walk free.
I think in the next 100 years (or less!), one of this is a possibility:
1. People (esp Islamic) will start rejecting Islam as a religion, and Islam as a civilization will die. History proves that most civilzations have died when its followers gave up on it, or were exterminated – Islam looks like a likely candidate.
2. Islam will exterminate the world!
— Unfortunately, i think the chances of 2nd happening are way too high.
Oh yes, I know all the bull crap about how Islam doesnt promote violence, and how “terrorists” have “misunderstood” Islam, and how Islam is about love and all that – gimme a break. Dont preach me, preach your own brethern.
That is not to say the rest of the world is not at fault. What stops ahem… China, Russia and USA together put an end to Pakistan? Nothing stops them. Nobody wants to.
If something is not done about Pakistan, I expect it to become a the single biggest threat to mankind in coming years. The tragedy is we are located just besides them 😦
Coming to daniel pearl – will watch for the movie version of it – though your analysis of the documentary was brilliant, and definitely a must watch on my list.
Suyog
‘Pervez “the Pinocchio†Musharaff’ – that’s the epithet of the week 🙂
That video of Pearl’s beheading was floating around on the net and the very thought sends chills down my spine. So called strategic objectives and the reckless, grand neocon designs have made it possible for the Islamofascists not only to survive, but thrive. Pakistan is a great ally indeed. Thanks to that partnership and the needless Iraq war, Bush will have nothing to show for at the end of his presidency. And to think his second term campaign was all about the war on terror. What a load of crap.
Of course, our own government did its bit by caving in during the hijacking drama.
I have to congratulate you on pointing out the similarities between the Omar Sheikh and the Mohd Afzal situations. These guys attacked the Parliament for god’s sake and had every intention of holding the nation to ransom at best or even mindless bloodletting inside the house at worst. Not to forget, of course, that they thought little of the lives of those thirteen security personnel.
As for conspiracy theories, no amount of stooping is beyond the realm of reasonable when the mind is bigoted. Jews did 9/11, Indian army killed Sikhs in Chittsinghpora, Shiv Sena bombed the Mumbai trains. Osama Bin Laden is an apostle of peace.
Sorry about the long rant.
Wasn’t Omar Sheikh also the kingpin behind the Burman (of Khadim) kidnapping? The Telegraph indicated a ransom amount of Rs.4 crores as having been paid to secure his release. I lived in Kasba at the time, not too far from where it actually happened!
GB, apologise for being a comment hog, could you please provide some links for the Khalid Muhammed story? I wasn’t aware of that scam, although nothing surprises anymore.
Brilliant description of the documentary…If you have the chance to read “In line of fire” please do…It’ll be interesting to hear your take on some of the issues discussed in there…
“Of course, all these still do not conclusively prove Pakistan to be a “terrorist stateâ€â€”nothing short of Jesus Christ writing that in blood on the blue sky will make that happen.”
– well EVERYONE including the Pakis know they are a terrorist state….but the fact remains what will happen once the control (well kinda…) that US has on Pak right now is gone??? New York my start resembling the quake ravaged Uri….so everybody is saving there own asses…nd we are geting ours kicked around waiting for Bush uncle to help us out ….or some kinda brains getting into Mush’s controling quaters (his ass again….)
Haha!
Mush’s controlling quarters? I think that’s how he is controlled rather than vice versa.
🙂
It’s a pleasant thought as an Indian, a nauseating thought as a guy.
Let me add, a straight guy. Very.
greatbong … you shouldnt raise the kind of questions that you are raising here. otherwise you run the risk of being labelled a rss-type, raving Hindu fanatic. the comparison with afzal is just the kind of thing which needs to be avoided at all costs in india, in order to be a standard-bearer of secularism.
perhaps we need more of these http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_park_republican
Why are we Indian’so forthcoming in shedding responsibility??
“That is not to say the rest of the world is not at fault. What stops ahem… China, Russia and USA together put an end to Pakistan? Nothing stops them. Nobody wants to.”
Why did you comfortably ignore India here sir? What stopped India from doing an operation ‘Mukti Bahini’ on our western borders as well in 1971? What stopped us from corsssing the LoC during the Kargil War? and as Nand Kishore righly points out – “our own government did its bit by caving in during the hijacking drama”
We are the first to blame for what stands of Pakistan in the first place. It was after all the common leadership of the 2 nations which ‘created’ Pakistan in the first place.
Nevertheless, for those of us in ‘foriegn’ land it feels good to be called an Indian because while being ethnic bretheren of B’deshis and Pakistanis – India and Indians as respected here in the West as much as the others are abhored and looked down upon.
Very aptly put. Will narrate a personal experience related to this theme.
I was doing a summer internship in UAE during the Daniel Pearl episode and got to meet quite a few Arabs(these were mind you all educated engineers and in the early twenties the so called well informed, well off milieu living in one of the most progressive liberal Arab cities) from the assorted Middle East countries(Palestine included). Many a times I saw quite a few of them opening Jihadi sites,taking part in discusiions,downloading beheading videos.As I got to know them better(they were also interns) and sometimes discussed about world affairs their views were beyond reason.
I have Muslim friends in India(ofcourse these people are from the liberal Muslim populace in India) and I can assure you that the level of fanatacism that one witnesses in the Arabs is not comprehendable here. Maybe I met a few select anamolies but I doubt it.
And I got to hear umpteen twisted reasons for Jihad and how it was the right path. My liberal views seemed funny to them and it was just impossible for them to even understand any other logic. Decades of subtle and blatant indoctrination can’t be solved by gandhigiri , that I can assure you.
I really can’t understand that if Islam is really such a peaceful religion then how is it that the majority is so cruelly vindictive. Citing historical events as excuses is not sufficient as almost all races have borne the brunt of genocides, inequalities in some stage of their history. I am still to get a convincing reason from any Muslim friend of mine. Most are too ashamed to admit the reality and I guess that unless they accept the truth the solution may never be found. Saying all religions have such elements just doesn’t hold ground in the face of so many terrorist acts.
@Nikhil
“Why did you comfortably ignore India here sir?”
— Simply because we’ve proven without a doubt that we are absolute wimps… and the only way we can get rid of Pakistan is to bank on someone to do it for us 🙂
S
The indoctrination starts very early, and it occurs in subtle ways. This reminds me of a conversation I had with a Muslim friend just after 9/11. He refused to believe that Osama was responsible for it. He blamed the Jews instead. And he was only 14 years old then. He was merely parroting what was being talked in their drawing room. Now imagine this: the same guy is 24 and possibly unemployed, how easy would it be to brainwash him. And he is a normal looking guy with educated parents and a well-to-do background.
The terrorists’ agents provide him with a Kalashnikov. The jihadi label gives him legitimacy. And the criminal becomes a crusader.
Islam needs reform. But as long as undeserved money from oilfields flows in, it will never happen.
I don’t have the details now but a patient NYTimes search (over late 2004-early 2005 range) would yield the details (unless doctored away): the Part I of an extremely engaging analysis of Bernard-Henri Levy’s book ‘Who Killed Daniel Pearl?’, just as it was turning the spotlight on the intensity of ISI activities, was never followed up by the promised Part II. Given such silencing of the critics of the valued US allies, it is indeed rare and times achanging to see such reports in US mainstream media. The newsprint media, including NYT (which I do consider to perhaps be the world’s best newspaper), is still much more subdued (ironically Wash. Post is less so given Washington’s aliance).
Btw, ‘Experiments with Turth’ is excellent humour. Keep it up.
Do you know that Mushie’s fellow-generals have offered to translate his book in various foreign languages? Evidently, their vast experience over reading the manuals of smuggled weaponry has significantly honed their aptitutde in a great variety of foreign languages.
The Hindi version has been titled ‘Agneepath’.
I think Afzal shud be hanged by his beard, not his neck.
I think the western world is coming close to realizing that Pakistan is an terrorist state. If you watched the 60 mins. interview with Prez. Musharraf, it was clear that he was lying. No audience member could have believed his comments about AQ Khan, or the ISI. Further, nations such as the UK are standing up and noticing. The recent UK general’s comments plus the ‘leaked’ MoD memo. The world is ready to do something, but Mush has no power to kill people like Omar. Plus, he has little motivation to fix the system in his own country. What further angers me is that India does nothing! India was supposed to present PAK with the proof of the ISI’s involvement in 7/11 bombings, but they have not done it!
Comments should be civilised and must not generalise. Nathuram Godse and his ilk that has millions of followers even today, had killed Gandhi.
Dhanu the first suicide bomber in India to kill our Prime Minister was a Hindu. So was she a Hindu Terrorist like Godse? LTTE wallahs (all Hindus) have for decades killed Buddhists. Indira was killed by Sikh bodyguards. An entire religion and all its followers should not be blamed. This is not the solution, rather it is disservice to our nation.
when world’s two greatest liars ever, Bush-Mush, one leading the killer americans and the other holding the Terror Process Outsourced country – join hands, there is nothing much one can do, i guess!
The apocalypse is not much far away…
As always, you made the point Arnabda. India has learnt enough lessons – these fundamentalists are damaged beyond repair. I looks like extermination is the only solution, and probably that explains why Israel has taken such a position.
The other day I found a documentary on google videos by Ashok Pundit, where a clip shows Benazir Bhutto addressing a rally “inspiring Kashmiri Muslims” to fight for independence and she said that they will win because they are “Muslims”. This was way back in 1990s. This is a sufficient evidence to prove the nexus between ISI and freedom fighters, even to the most ignorant.
Immaculate conception for death row prisoner in Vietnam – http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=75480
What if – in union with Taslima who is of questionable chastity – it is Afzal – the innocent and immaculate one – who conceives?! A prophet/deliverer of the Kashmiris will be delivered!!! GB, I withdraw my proposal of the awesome union, would rather join you to pray for his soul.
This is the docu that Amit refers to:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=842219646390515565&q=ashok pandit
And come to think of it we (India) had this guy rotting in prison, and we handed him over on a platter (the platter held by a Union Minister) to his bretheren in what I consider one of the stupidest acts by an Indian government. Honestly, I still haven’t recovered from the shame of seeing a country as big as ours being royally ‘had’ by the ISI-Taliban combo that fateful December 😦
Rahul,
There was no option. The commie bastards at ndtv had started a shrill campaign, with daily interviews with relatives of those in the plane. The indians were forced to kneel not by isi-taliban but these commie bastards at run-dtv who have also remained silent about kashmiri pandits as well.
see, i would be highly offended if your words inspired anyone but a few bloggers who also google and find that you can’t find sushimita sen naked.
i hate you.
🙂
Hi GB,
I was watching IBNLIVE and happened to watch this (Link below found on their website). I literally fell off my chair hearing Farooq Abdullah’s statements.
“We have paid the price of Maqbool Butt’s hanging by the judge who was shot in Kashmir. Let me be very candid on this programme – those judges will need to be protected like anything.â€
Abdullah has warned that some crook will come and murder the judges.
“Therefore my request in your programme is that for God’s sake, see that they are protected. One. Secondly, I will tell you – this nation will go up in flames – because the terrorists will do such things that will destroy the relationships of the Hindus and the Muslims here,†he added.
I could not believe what I was hearing – the bloody bastard…
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/hanging-afzal-will-make-him-a-hero-for-centuries/23963-3.html
GB u r quite valid in ur points.
I was however wondering regarding politicians like Farooq Abdulla who hv been kept in power in India. Hw lng it will continue ? The first thing to do is scrap the article 370 and declaring Kashmir as a soverign part of India. When a small country like Israel can do it when surrounded by hawks why cannot we?
Rgds
@Pandit – Thanks for the link.
@VC
Yes, and I believe that its really irresponsible statement from a person like Farooq Abdullah. There is a probability of incresase in Hindu/muslim haterd after the hanging, we all know that – but there are also all kinds of probabilities, which includes that this becomes an example for young kashimiri “freedom fighters”, and they will not fall into the prey of Pakistani masterminds henceforth. This was one of the few catchy and worthless statements that politicians throw to attract public attention (and probably to save their life by keeping “everyone” happy).
@VC–whatever his motivations, I’m afraid there is sense in what Abdullah Senior says. I haven’t looked into the legal process that led to Afzal’s conviction and sentence so I shall not comment on that bit, but hanging him WILL potentially trnsform him into both an example of how ‘Indians’ treat ‘Kashmiris’ and by extension, it’s Muslim population as well a facade for later attacks.
You see the truth in the man’s warning, don’t you?
And while I’m at it: @anonymous of https://greatbong.net/2006/10/12/the-urbane-murderer/#comment-30273:
While what you say is obviously sensible, it is also somewhat ideal. Which is to say that it is largely impossible. Generalisations will happen. It will happen when men talk of women, women talk of men and one ethnic group talks of another. However, no where on this post did I find examples of such behaviour. Were you just making a randomly well-meant observation, then?
Arnab, nothing much left to say to YOU, I’m afraid.
Kashmiri Muslims do not need a new pretext to attack Hindus, like all good Jihadis they have their own extensive litany of complaints, conspiracy against the kaafirs.
What worse can they do against us?
Would it have been ok to hang Afzal if he were a Muslim from, say. Delhi just because the Muslims there have not come out on the streets.
And what the hell more can Muslim terrorists do, bomb 200 more. Does anybody seriously believe, they will stop attacking kaafirs just because we spared Afzal’s life?
Farooq Abdullah : “Secondly, I will tell you – this nation will go up in flames – because the terrorists will do such things that will destroy the relationships of the Hindus and the Muslims here,”
Sorry Abdullah, games up. There are no more Hindus to hold hostage in Kashmir. Moreover, it is time for your ilk to start worrying what will happen if Hindus really really get mad and start getting radicalized.
It is the duty of the state to protect us from Jihadis, however if the state fails in its duty, Hindus will find suitable means to defend themselves, and the post Godhra reaction will seem like a picnic in comparison.
Stop issuing threats, remember Gujarat.
Anonymous,
You are indulging in sophistry. First, the LTTE is fighting for a Tamil nation, they are not going to fight till everyone in the world proclaims, there is no God but Vishnu and Krishna is his last prophet. If you have bothered to notice, that many of the top leaders of LTTE, like Anton Balasingham, are christians. Morever the battle in Sri Lanka has little religious component, the SInhalas are devotees of Vishnu, according to SInhala folklore, Lord Buddha, entrused Vishnu with the responsibility to protect the Island.
And whyat abt our own Justice Banerjee who claimed that the Godhra train burned from inside and not outside.
God alone know till how long India shall keep providing evidence of Pakistan’s complicity. I have been watching that since the time Rajiv Gandhi was PM. You are right about Jesus christ and the blue sky remark.
Hiren,
You can wake up a sleeping person, but you can never wake up a person pretending to be asleep! 😉
HOw is your, mine or the million other ramblings going the change the situation? how is writing posts and posting commenting suporting and applauding you or any such person going to make the world a safer place? I dont intend to be pessimistic. But the idea, the curiosity, the glamor of terror has so deeply sunk into our minds, that its going to be difficult to take it out for a long time to come. For all we know we might wake up tomorrow morning to realise that terrorists like afzhal who walked this earth are no more. they have been completely anihilited by divnie force. but what does one do abt the idea that has seeped into all our minds. the gentlest, peacefullest of persons has an inherent wickedness. It manifests in smaller things like schadenfreude. None of us are devoid of it. and terrorism is too glamours, it makes u the frontpage news, it makes u desirable, it makes u safer than u ever were, it gives u power over hundreds of minds, over the ‘powerful’, it gives u money, it gives u a lifestlye others cld envy, it gives u a place, an object, a person to vent out your frustration, your anger, someone to blame for whatever wrongs might have been commited against, even if they have not be committed or not been wrongs………………………… Being a terrorist is glamorous.
Hiren,
No matter how long India keeps prviding evidence, it will be acknowledged by the world only when the world(read US) see it in its favour to declare Pakistan as a rogue nation. The world in fact knows Pakistan’s activities they don’t need any convincing. All they need is the right time favourable to them.
What is the fun in India providing evidences when India itself is not serious, what with our PM deciding to open a joint anti-terror mechanism with Pakistan. India anyways won’t do anything, lets bank our hopes either US or Israel. Meanwhile our politicians and judges are trying there best to prove that even the train in Godhra was not burnt by a Muslim mob.
Hypocrisy at its worse.
@Suyog: I would say that decimating Pakistan is rather an extreme option….I am sure you do not seriously mean that. However declaring it a terrorist state and imposing sanctions on it and making it a de facto member of the axis of evil would help. Well you can turn around and say “What good has it done for Iran and North Korea?” Well North Korea is ruled by a madman and populated by submissives who would starve to death before revolting and Iran has oil. Pakistan has neither which is why sactions would bring them to their knees.
@Ashish: 🙂
@Nanda Kishore: Cheyney has enough to show for himself. Which is all that matters. The Khalid Mohammed story is linked from the comment by Ajay Das(https://greatbong.net/2006/10/12/the-urbane-murderer/#comment-30012)
@K: Prefer a Mithun movie any day to a bunch of lies from a murderer.
@Gourav: Well Pakistanis do not know. They belabour under the impression that they WON the Bangladesh war and Kargil….now tell me what can you do about such self-delusion.
@Pradeep: Indeed.
@Anonymous Coward: I have been for some time…..which is a pity.
@Nikhil: Geopolitical pressures. Unlike Jews, we Indians do not have a strong lobby in Washington DC. If we had crossed the LOC, we would be shown to be the villains. Now it is very well to say “Who gives a f for what Washington thinks?” but such is an unipolar world that we have to.
@Cipher: Indeed Gandhigiri is not going to work here.
@Harsh Ketkar: Which is why we need alternative fuel sources.
@S.Pyne: And now why was it not followed up?NYT regrettably is extremely sympathetic to Islamic terrorism….
@S.Pyne: “Agneepath”..no kidding? Now I look forward to Mushy saying ” Bahoot-i galat cheej banaya yeh telephone. Aadmi sochta kuch hain, karta kuch hain, bolta kuch hain”
@Kishor: You mean we should spare Afzal? 🙂
@Amit: No matter what India does and no matter what Western diplomats privately accept, noone will do a thing against Pakistan because our smart general has sold them the greatest lie:—that he is the only thing between the West and an Islamic bomb.
@Anonymous: However as far as I know Godse and Dhannu killed for a political cause (no matter what you have been brought to believe about Godse) and not a religion. So their being Hindu is besides the point. And before you say anything, I am not supporting Godse or Dhannu in any way.
@Vuttaa: Mush is the king of liars. And as far as I know he is an enemy of India and not Bush. In the final analysis, as an Indian that’s all I care for.
@Amit: Saw the documentary. Shocking. Just shocking.
@S.Pyne: Yumm..
@Pandit: Thanks
@Rahul: Yes a day of shame.
@hha: Excuse me? What does your comment have to do with this post?
@VC: If that is not a barely disguised threat, then tell me what is? Does Farooq Assdullah want us to believe this is otherwise? If he is really concerned about the security of the judge and is dumb enough to think that he is the first person to whom this realization came as a hot-flash, then it would better serve him to convey that information to the government rather than on national TV.
@ Holidevil: All for scrapping Article 370.
@Bengali Hindu: Ahem. why should we remember Gujrat? Make no mistake. Gujrat is a collective blot on our national conscience and no matter what those animals do in Kashmir…that does not justify in any way the barbarism in Gujrat or the government inactivity.
@Vaibhav: Yes so he did. Which seems to have been overturned.
@Hiren: True.
@Ravindra:Â Right.
@Manasi: Of course writing does not change anything. However staying silent does not change anything either.
@Polite India: Realpolitik.
@Vaibhav: Indeed. India has no stronger way to make their case conclusive other than what they have been doing for years—-showing that the arms being used by the terrorists are Pak-army issue….
@GB: By decimating, I mean, Pakistan the state, not Pakistan the people.
Suyog
Hi GB,
We are seeing more and more Kashmiri’s dissenting (sadly violently) these days because they believe that they are not being adequately represented by the govt (& by the govt i mean the central govt). They believe that the govt has been turning a blind eye towards them for many decades & sadly it is true. I was in Srinagar last summer & there was a peaceful protest rally outlining the problems of the govt in which more than 2000 people turned up (which is quite a sizeable number in Srinagar). Sadly, towards the end of the day the police intervened & it got a bit ugly where i think 3 people were killed & quite a few injured. The media had been informed about the rally well beforehand & some of the press had turned up. But all that was shown in all the major TV channels was a 30 second clip about the riot & none of the issues of the rally were brought about. Instead what was running 24/7 was the news about some actress’s broken affair. This frustration of under-representation by our govt coupled with the nudging from our neighbouring country is one of the major causes for this violence from the Kasmiris. So, before we start accusing & blaming anybody or a community, i think first we should be fair towards everybody. Again Kashmir is not an isolated problem. People from the north-eastern states also feel the same way about our central govt & the media about the fact that they dont get the proper representation that they deserve. Think about it, the only time you hear about any goings in the north-east is when the Naxals attack or something like that. I do beleve that it is the responsibility of the govt and the media to give everybody their equal due. Ignoring anybody will again lead to anger amongst those people.
@Great Bong
The moral rules that govern relations between individuals have little relevance when it comes to relations between communities and none when one of the communities is Islamic.
Now consider what has happened to these regions of undivided India, Pakistan, BD and Kashmir. Muslims have cleansed Pakistan of Hindus, Bangladesh has become east pakistan, and is taking care of of the Kaafirs, Kashmir has cleansed the valley of Hindus.
Now, these regions have one thing in common, Muslims hold political power there. The Muslim community is very clear on how to deal with the mushriks. Muslims are very clear about the place of a Hindu in their country.
Gujarat sends a message to Muslims about the consequences of pushing Hindus beyond a point.
@Dhimmi Raina,
Naxal attack in the north east. Eh????
@@Raina
What you say about media coverage of Kashmiri issues is something that holds true for other regions of the country as well, say Rajasthan, yet these regions do not suffer from a seperatist sentiment.
As for govt ignoring Kashmir, the Indian govt. has pumped in huge amounts of money, absolutely out of proportion to the kashmiri population as central budgetary support for developmental schemes etc. If Kashmiris have not been able to utilize this money properly it reflects badly on their politicians and beaurocrats.
Totally agree with Sudeep. Even I feel that the Central govt has paid too much attention to kashmir, with art 370 and all that. If it had been treated on same footing as other indian states the problem would never have arisen.
hi….similarities between the Omar Sheikh and the Mohd Afzal.. oww…they attacked on parliament man!!!….and…anywyz…yaa these are not enough to prove pakistan as a terrorist country…but…we all know thr truth…
anywyz..i’m feeling that i’m too small(not by age) to comment….
if u check my blog…i’ll be thankful…
it’s
http://bhulbhal.blogspot.com
@nabanita
What so intersting in your (bhulbhal) blog? We are here discussing some serious issues that has costed thousands of lives, please make your point here.
Khalid Muhammad Sheikh murdered Daniel Pearl and not Omar Sheikh. Poor guy being sentenced to death for no crime. 😛
On a serious note, I find hardly any difference in the mindsets of Omar Sheikh and Great Bong when it comes to being ‘super-smart psychos’. They both have had an education and they both advocate violence.
Hello, i love greatbong.net! Let me in, please 🙂
This was a super article. Just re read it