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Know the value of your voting right from bedtime story of pig and sheep

Opinions

S Ranganathan

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5 December 2018

Know the value of your voting right from bedtime story of pig and sheep

This is all about the story of sheep and pig in the meadow. A shepherd used to come to meadow regularly to pick sheep that were grazing and in most occasions the sheep used to be very calm and silent. Interestingly when the same shepherd comes to catch pig, the pig used to scream, cry and do everything possible to escape from the shepherd. The question is why the sheep remain calm and benign while the pig behaves so violently?

Out of curiosity one day a sheep went to a pig and asked why you are screaming loudly as the shepherd used to pick us also often and none of us ever scream or have made any such show like you. To the curious sheep, the pig replied that the shepherd catches you only for the wool but he catches me for bacon, it means to slaughter. I scream and cry for my life but you don’t need to do that because at best you offer only your fur and not life.

The above story conveys an important meaning to the electorates of India. Most of the Indians value the voting the least and not equal to our life. Every single vote decides and define the destiny of our nation. During election most of us show only the response of a sheep how when it is taken by the shepherd for wool and not like the pig that is taken for bacon. Most of the people have devalued the value of the voting right.

Most of the Indians came to know the value of voting right only after Narendra Modi led BJP came into power in 2014. PM Modi has displayed high level of honesty and probity in public life, focused on development and sab ka vikas, united the nation through the living culture called Hinduism and set the agenda for New India. People have become aspirational; started to think of new India, digital India, India becoming economic super power etc. Only now most of the Indians have understood the value of voting right. Voting right is equal to our right to live. Therefore in 2019 election, Indians must display uncommon intelligence and extraordinary commitment to elect the decisive, honest, committed leader in 2019 and not those fringe players and dynasts.

If we allow all those corrupt forces to come to power, they would loot and ruin our country. People of India must sense the danger of instability, no development and the greed of different political parties going to experiment with the destiny of India if the dynasts and fringe players are elected in 2019.

2019 election is not the contest of between Narendra Modi and rest but it is the contest between future of India, development, sab ka vikas versus dynasty and greedy politics of looters. It is people versus corruption.

Narendra Modi represents the voice and vision of people. He represents the dream and aspiration of people. He represents development and mission of sab ka vikas. On the contrary the dynastic political forces represent their dynasty, family rule, scam, corruption, nepotism and misrule.

The dynastic forces were rearing the culture of vote bank politics over minority appeasement exactly like how the shepherd was rearing pig for bacon. The story of sheep and pig conveys nothing but the importance and value of life and how intelligently the pig had sensed the danger in advance although it could not escape.

The development India had achieved in the last 4 years is exemplary. People of India must recognize the absolute truth that India will be doomed and destroyed forever if the dynastic forces are given a chance to rule India. Instability, economic slowdown, policy paralysis, coalition compulsion, selfishness, nepotism corruption, no development etc., would be the by-product if the regional forces and the dynastic political parties are allowed to rule India.

Indians must see the future of our country and must pledge their unconditional support to the eligible party to make India a great country where every Indian prosper and progress irrespective their religious affiliations or belief system and our nation continue to grow under the great culture called Hinduism.

Why Hinduism is necessary for India – Learn from the story of kite without thread

Opinions

S Ranganathan

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4 December 2018

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Why Hinduism is necessary for India – Learn from the story of kite without thread

The culture and tradition of India has always perfected the art of messaging mostly through several moral stories. Panchathantra stories are one such example. When PM Narendra Modi works towards building new India and sab ka vikas to ensure Indian develops harmoniously and holistically, many dynastic political parties are making fun of the Prime Minister because none of them ever want India to develop and strengthen or regain the cultural identity of India– Hinduism in order to unite India as one nation, one election and one tax. The opposition parties know only divisive politics and politics of minority appeasement and not development or sab ka vikas.

Indians must read the moral story of kite without thread. A son and his father in a small village were flying kite in a playground and were enjoying. The son was so happy to see the kite flying higher whenever he releases the thread and pull it to different directions. Suddenly the son asked the father whether he can cut the thread and free the kite so that the kite would fly high and the kite is not limited by the thread. With smile, the father approved the idea of the son and the son cut the thread. For a moment the kite went up a little and then fell down to the ground. The son was so shocked and asked the father why the kite fell down when it was freed instead of going up in the sky? The father explained beautifully that the thread was in fact helping the kite to stay high and balance itself according to the power and direction of the wind and the thread was not preventing the kite from going high. When the thread was cut, the kite could not balance and hence fell down.

In India, the Hinduism is in fact acting like a thread helping everyone to fly high, balance and enjoy the freedom at zenith. The Hinduism is the one that balances the diversity of India like how the rotation and revolution of earth that keeps the weather change. But many dynastic politicians are abusing Hinduism and in different parts of India some dynasts are displaying themselves as Shiva Bhakta, Brahmin, suddenly revealing their Gotra, proving to be the cow saviour etc.

The neo liberals and the dynast are opposing the agenda of promoting Hindu cultural identity of India for harmony and peace as most barbaric and obscurant idea. Further the neo-reformists and neo-liberals argue that Hindu culture and tradition only impede human progress. But in reality, Hinduism alone can help Indian fly high like how the thread alone helps the kite to balance in the sky. If we cut thread, the kite instead of flying high would only fall down and similarly India would crumble down when people disrespect and devalue Hindu culture.

Most of the nations like US, UK etc., although follow democracy and secularism are predominantly Christian countries. Similarly the Arab countries identify itself only as Islamic nation. In India, diversity of religious belief systems exists only because of Hinduism and Hindu culture. Every Indian irrespective of their different religious affinities must work towards strengthening Hindu culture, the identity and soul of our nation.

By abusing our sacred culture that unites the diversity and assures unity will never lead us anywhere. Hinduism is essential to ensure peace and harmony of minority community than Hindus because Hinduism and Hindu culture are very tolerant, benevolent and believes in inclusiveness. Those dynasts who oppose PM Modi want to divide India on caste and religious line so that they can profit from such division. India should not allow the dynasts and neo Brahmin to win and India needs a strong and decisive leader to develop our nation and achieve sab ka vikas through our national identity– Hinduism.

10 years have gone by, the wounds are still raw, the fear still palpable

Opinions

Dr Somdutta

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4 December 2018

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10 years have gone by, the wounds are still raw, the fear still palpable

In the mood for some contemporary Indian cuisine and invited by a friend for dinner on the night of 26/11, we were barely 200 meters from the Taj Mahal Hotel when what sounded like a barge of ear-deafening noises changed my life forever. That night I survived, survived to narrate my grisly story of escape and horror, however, hundreds; fathers, mothers, children, friends, family did not. As my friend and I tried to decipher what was ensuing, little did we know, a night of hell was descending swiftly on Mumbai, the city that never sleeps, perhaps never will.

It was a pleasant night and as usual, India’s teeming financial and entertainment capital was beaming with life, business was brisk. We had arrived at the idyllic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, our first choice for dinner, along with my friend and her husband. It was a busy night and the restaurant was running behind schedule. The manager apologized and we decided to go to the small eatery right outside the Taj that served delicious kebabs and sheeks. Unbeknown to me, this one small inconvenience would be the difference between life and death.

10 heavily-armed militants had quietly docked at the waterfront, close to the Gateway of India, split into groups and were on a slaughter carnage attacking landmarks across the city, ruthlessly killing even hapless patients at a hospital. In a flash, Bombay as I still like to call it, was in the throes of one of the most shocking terror attacks the world had ever witnessed. I was in the middle of the battered city with memories of my family unspooling in my mind. I’d thought my time had finally run out. Barely a few feet away, from a small window in the cafeteria I was in, I could see the iconic dome of the Taj, ablaze. People running helter-skelter for shelter. My parents sitting in Bangalore were hysterically trying to get through my phone, frantically trying to get any information if I was dead or alive, desperately trying to muster courage should the worse be heard. At my home, my parents with my toddler on their lap had followed the attacks on TV all night. They had prayed and howled when the news of the ambush broke.

Finally, after 5 hours, when I could get through to the landline in my parents’ home, all I could say was, “Ma, ami!” (Ma, it’s me!) On the other end of the phone, there was utter silence. My mother was in relentless tears; her daughter was alive. The attack would become part of what remains one of the most violent and deadly terrorist attacks to have occurred on Indian soil. More than 160 innocent people lost their lives, including 31 at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel where I was supposed to dine that night. For two nights and three days, the burning dome and spires of Hotel Taj were a sight that scarred the nation’s psyche, exposing how vulnerable cities were to terror.

Laying there on the ground, I didn’t know if I was going to live. I didn’t know if I was going to die. My thoughts were chaotic; my senses were numbed. I remember thinking, “This is all I got? This is all I did with my life?” It shook me to my core. I remember hearing the chirpings of my 15-month-old and the terrified whimper of my friend. I remember watching Swapner Din with my parents 2 days before I came to Bombay and planning to take Ma shopping the day I got back. What was unfolding in front of eyes was beastly, savage and unfathomable, a period, no matter how many years pass will remain etched in my memory.

Peace of mind can be difficult to attain after such an incident. Death is irreversible and so are experiences. While sitting within the safe confines of your home, watching deadly terror attacks on television or in films, it’s very easy to empathize, but, if you have lived it, you’ll know, the experiences wound you for life. Even now, when I wake up at night, I cannot put myself back to sleep. My mother still has to snuggle me like a 2-year-old, just like she had, when, 7 days after the grisly attacks, I’d finally made it home. Some of the memories of that night still haunt me. I often think to myself, how did I come out alive in that carnage? Was I plain lucky? Was it karma? Was it my parents’ prayers? I guess I will never know. But, I have realized that a little piece of good that comes out of going through something so horrible is that it leads you to reevaluate your life and the way you have been living.

In this age of infinite information and as the world gets smaller as a result of the digital revolution, horror stories such as these become blurred together and can be summarized merely by names…Mumbai. New York. Beslan. Peshawar. London. Istanbul. Boston.

Today, after a decade, the pain hasn’t dimmed, but survivors have grown in courage and resilience. My friend still lives in the maximum city. I often pay her a visit and we, in spite of everything still visit the small eatery, the roof that had sheltered me that fateful night. Mahatma Gandhi has explained something beautifully. He’s said, “I believe in the absolute Oneness of God and, therefore, also of humanity. What though we have many bodies? We have but one soul.” Our Upanishads tell us the fundamental maxim of Tat Tvam Asi. This simply means, each individual is tied in with the larger truth. All religions need to get together to define what they have in common and work together for the benefit of humanity.

For today’s young, 26/11 was a historical event, whereas for most, it was the day their world turned upside down. My hope is that through stories like mine, the events of November 26^th 2008 are not merely remembered as a date or a statistic, but people appreciate that hundreds like me live to tell their tale and the impact it has had on our lives.

Learn grandmother’s bedtime story about thief and then vote in 2019

Opinions

S Ranganathan

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4 December 2018

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Learn grandmother’s bedtime story about thief and then vote in 2019

The forthcoming 2019 election is going to be a wonderful opportunity for all Indians to decide wisely whether they need development and sab ka vikas agenda represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi led BJP or a ‘can of worms hatched out of scams and corruption’ to rule India. The forthcoming election in 2019 also reminds people of the famous bedtime story of the grand-mother about thieves.

The story goes like this. Once a thief enters a small village and had stolen some valuable from a house. But the villagers somehow noticed the thief and started to shout and chase the thief. The thief was in the front and the entire villagers were behind, shouting thief, thief… When the marathon race was about to enter the neighbouring village, interestingly the thief started to shout, thief, thief in order to make the neighbouring villagers believe that he is not the thief. The villagers from the neighbouring village suddenly started to run ahead of the real thief in search the thief and that had created utter confusion. In such confusion, the real thief escapes unhurt. This story conveys a clear moral message to us. When we spot a thief and chase him or her, we should not get distracted or get confused. If we get distracted or confused, the real thief would escape. A thief is bound to cause confusion and distraction in order to not to get caught and that is the psychology of every thief.

If we look at Indian politics, the above moral story fit perfectly.

India is with PM Modi since 2014 with no scam or corruption. He is known for integrity, honesty, decisiveness, commitment and is truly after development and sab ka vikas. Several government agencies were reported to be sabotaging the mission of anticorruption initiative of the PM Modi and are deliberately delaying legal actions against several politicians with obvious corruption charges. Recently many such tainted officials in several government agencies have been neutralized. It means the noose of law is getting tightened around the neck of all those corrupt politicians who are as per dictionary definition are nothing but thieves and dacoits. Most of those dacoits and thieves are behaving exactly like the real thief in the moral story of grandmother by abusing the Prime Minister. All these thieves and dacoits in Indian politics are shouting corruption and scam in Rafale deal to divert the attention of people away from the self so that they can somehow escape.

The grandmother’s story has clearly shown that the villagers could not nab the thief because they got distracted and got confused by the real thief when he started to shout thief, thief. Morale of the story wants Indians not to get fooled by the real thieves and dacoits in Indian politics by listening to their lies and canard about Rafale deal.

All the thieves and dacoits are facing dual challenge i.e., how to escape from law and how to stop or derail the agenda of development and sab ka vikas. According to them if India progress and every Indian achieve high standard and quality of life, all these dacoits and thieves may not have any role and relevance. That is why all these dacoits and thieves are trying their best to cause confusion in Indian politics. It is known that thieves and dacoits always unite like terrorists. So Indians should exert extraordinary wisdom and caution not to fall prey to the politics of dacoity and theft.

The development and dignity that India has achieved in the last 4 years is quite significant and statistically high than the 60 years of misrule of congress and third front. India has surpassed space, time, continuum under PM Modi and has come close to become economic super power. PM Modi is extremely careful that India should develop organically not just materialistically. Only if the cultural identity and the connecting cord of India’s ethos are strengthened, India can be made a developed nation in all frontiers.

Here is why 2019 might not be 2004

Opinions

Mrutyunjay Joshi

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4 December 2018

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The defeat of BJP in 2004 Lok Sabha Election, was not just the defeat of Bharatiya Janata Party, or of Swa. Atal Bihari Vajpayee but it was a golden moment for Congress to spread the false narrative for Muslim appeasement clad with “Secularism”. Congress along with it’s darbari journalists caught that free-hit moment and used it very well to serve their vested interests.

Editorial in most of the newspapers in the aftermath of 2004 Election, written by so called activist running NGOs, covered that the defeat of BJP was due to the “Godhra Riots of 2002”. Even the propagation of that agenda was laid down highlighting the handpicked events and completely neglecting the incident of Sabarmati Express which was burnt by a “Mob” that killed more than 60 innocent ‘Karsevaks’. They all were burnt alive in a train. That was the ‘Gas Chamber moment’ for Hindus. (while some so called “investigative journalists” used this term for Assam NRC). Her Grace, Sonia Gandhi, called the then chief minister of Gujarat as “maut ka saudagar” till 2014 even thought he was found “NOT GUILTY” and given a clean chit by SIT formed during the Congress regime of 10 years.

It was the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system which brought BJP to power and it was the same which took away the govt. from the BJP. Looking at the post election Statistical data released officially by the Election Commission of India (ECI), BJP in 1999, contested on 339 seats and won 182 seats, while Congress contested on 453 seats but won only 114 seats. It seems like more people were in favour of BJP, Right? NO! Looking further at chart given below you will notice that BJP earned only 8.6 crore votes in that election while congress was successful in getting 10.3 votes which was way higher than what BJP earned. This is possible as on some seats bjp won with low margins while congress on some seat won with high margins.

(The above photograph is taken from guruprasad.net who have directly taken a crop of post election statistical report pdf of 1999 and 2004 General Election which had been taken off from ECI website.)

Coming to 2004 Lok Sabha Election, BJP contested on 364 seat which was more than that in previous election and Congress contested on 417 seats which was less than that in 1999 election. Both the major rivals were able to gain almost similar number of votes as of that in 13th Lok sabha elections with BJP getting marginally less votes than it gained before and congress getting marginally more votes than previous election. Here comes the FPTP system with this similar number of votes, BJP lost its seats which were won previously with little margin and reached to just 138 while congress somehow managed to get 145 seats. Difference of just 7 seats!

Both the Govt. formed in 1999 and in 2004 were a based on coalition support. Politics of coalition is always based the parties’ self interest. Left came all the way in support of congress and some old allies left NDA. So congress formed the Government with a Punjabi Prime Minister imported through Assam Rajya sabha seat who was the idol of servility towards the “First Family” of Congress. BJP lost the politics of coalitions.

On enlarged view of the voter’s perception, 2002 riots were not one of the main reasons influencing Elections of 2004. If it were to be the reason, BJP might have benefited as it was benefited them in Gujarat. In 1998 Gujarat assembly had 117 seats of BJP and Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat just Five months before the riots. Elections were held soon after the riots took place and BJP under the campaign of Narendra Modi won 127 seat this time. People heavily voted against the fake narrative of 2002 riots and in favour of the way in which Narendra Modi had managed the recovery from 2001 lethal earthquake and the way he suppressed the riots despite of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan’s Congress govt. refused to provide police support to control the riots. (If they would have sent the police force then they would have missed the opportunity of blaming Modi).

So the data shows that the whole blame game of riots which was thrown on Narendra Modi was well planned hoax of congress which they used as per their demand of election which in today’s India does not hold merit.

The difference between in 2019 and 2004 is that:

Votes have changed of large scale.
Leadership of congress is worse than parties is Afghan elections.
Economic indicators are in favour of govt. unlike slow growth after the second half on 2002.
It is humours that even for coalition partners of Anti-BJP front to imagine His Excellency Rahul Gandhi as their Prime Ministerial face.
As per World Poverty Clock 44 people are lifted out of poverty every minute in India which were never a traditional BJP voters. (Due to freebies of Congress in the name of upliftment).
Direct benefit transfer, Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile trinity, Mudra Loans, Digital India, Ujjwala Yojana, PM awas Yojana, 100% electrification, online grievance redressal and a lot of such initiative of Govt. have improved the living standards of people.
Business environment in much stable and sustainable compared to what was that in between 1999 to 2004, Thanks to operation Black money, GST, Insolvency and Bankruptcy code, etc.
Economy in getting more and more formal since 2014.

Most importantly BJP in 2014 has a majority of their own and more than 36% of vote share compare to about 23.7% and 22.1% of votes in 1999 and 2004 respectively. Whereas congress have such a less number of seats that they are even void of having a leader of Opposition. Social media have deeply penetrated to most corners of the country making voters more aware about what is difference between Truth and “Post Truth”. Today people are able to catch the difference between Secularism and appeasement, Women empowerment and Fake feminism, Poverty alleviation and Freebies vote bank, etc. Self made quotes of M. K. Gandhi with some random dates by “some historians” are not helping in indoctrinating people.

India has become more mature democracy with having highest number of young voter (Young means 18 to 30 and not 48) in the world and youth know that speeches like “pichhattis” and “sade teen lakh pachas hajar” are good for humour but not suitable for someone seating UN security council. Voters have become literate enough to know that “Starch molecules of potato can not be converted to atoms of Gold by any mean”.

All the best to all the voters of 2019. You know your duties towards the nation.

Wolf in sheep’s clothing forgets the clothing: BBC’s report on Fake news has much more to say

Opinions

Anant Chetan

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4 December 2018

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Wolf in sheep’s clothing forgets the clothing: BBC’s report on Fake news has much more to say

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

It is an open question who, if anyone, this verse is directed against. However, the metaphor is used to describe those playing a role contrary to their real character with whom contact is dangerous, particularly false teachers. We should be thankful to BBC for their report “Duty, Identity, Credibility: ‘Fake News’ and the ordinary citizen of India.” The report presented us with a once in a blue moon opportunity of taking a sneak peak into the contorted, eccentric and overgrown psuedo-secular-intellectual-liberal brain. The frustration and helplessness that has been simmering inside since 2014 oozed out in the form of a report.

The wolf came out naked, revealing its true nature and when the masters realized it they pulled the wolf back in.

The report claimed Nationalism to be one of the major root causes of the problem. Correct me if I am wrong, B in BBC stands for British and not Big. Since when British or for that matter any other colonial powers started admiring or accepting anyone else’s nationalism? British also denotes the coercive power of the English state to create a Greater Britain out of itself and the Celtic fringe. Of course it is in their best interest to suppress Indian Nationalism or abhor anything that sounds Indian; Hinduism, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. If it was for them, our national freedom struggle was also fake.

“national self-determination undermines the basic idea of a colonial empire”

I can easily live with them trying different tactics to pull us down but what I fail to understand is “why some of our own speak their language?” BBC and NDTV speak the same language; no, I am not claiming this but BBC is. On page 102 of the report, under the heading Facebook Affinity the report says: “BBC fans are 40x likely to also be interested in NDTV.” So far in India there were a lot of people who were able to sense the colonial ripples that ran through the veins of a selected few individuals, groups and entities but weren’t able to quantify or quantize it. Fortunately for them, BBC found a metric to establish the proof of concept. It means a lot when it comes from them, otherwise it would have be discarded as a bhakt’s or a sanghi’s hypothesis. The only English News Channel they targeted was Republic TV. Of course they won’t like it; it is Indian and giving lemons to their hegemony since the time it came into existence. This is not the only expose made by the report. They for the first time officially documented the fact that there is no true left-liberal ideology in India: “whatever and whoever is anti-Hindu and anti-modi is left-liberal.” Again, I am not saying this but BBC is. The report says: “we find that the individuals on the left have no unifying thread other than an opposition to the right.” As per them, the messages talking about positives of Hinduism, PM Modi’s achievements, or the Shivaji statues are all fake news. The report also claimed that whatever small, diffused left-liberal entities exists, they are not properly connected or are unorganized. True, I completely agree to this, having said that I was also expecting the report to provide a reasoning for this. Unfortunately, the report ignored the reasoning or perhaps left it for someone like me to find the reason. Before I proceed further, let me ask you a question: When was the last time you read or heard somebody claiming to be the supports of left-liberal ideology? Or, which content publishing site had the honesty of putting it in their editorial guidelines that they will support only left-liberal ideas and would not entertain right leaning ideas? They all proudly claim they are are neutral but still would not publish anything that remotely sounds pro-bjp or leans right, even if it is a fact. If you think I am making this up try publishing something anti-congress or right leaning on youthkiawaz (something changed after June, they suddenly started finding my articles a work of whims, I actually started thinking that it was my writing until I saw their speaker summit on Sep 1&2. I got the message loud and clear). If you think honesty and integrity does not exist than read #8 of editorial guidelines for myvoice.opindia. Why is it so? If there are two sides, left and right, it is obvious and okay to choose either of the two, why can’t people be honest? Maybe it helps them mislead others. The left-liberals have mastered the art of being subtle. They never claim that they are inclined towards left. There are a bevy of sites who pretend to be neutral but promote left-liberal ideology. This exactly is the reason why such a report targeted ordinary citizens in the first place. The real question they were asking themselves is how even after closing all doors for any free ideas; nationalism and Hinduism are still finding air to breath? The answer is social media; facebook and whatsapp. They are worried about the rising number of people and groups falling in either the pro-BJP cluster or BJP amplifiers. The report clearly mentions that its ordinary people who are sharing. What they do not want to believe is that people actually like what BJP is doing at different levels be it center or state or panchayat etc. Social media is just a reflection of what people believe in. They might like to believe that “voters” (whom the author of the report referred to as “the ordinary citizens”) cast their votes on the basis of social media memes. But the fact is “the ordinary citizen” does not even buy a two rupee pen because of a meme let alone casting his/her vote. Believe me if someday @MarkZuckerberg looks past his business interests and adds a Dislike Button next to the Like and Share buttons; the left-liberal posts and memes would vanish like horns from the heads of some creatures. Fake news is least of their problem, they know exactly where the problem is and how to fix it but want the readers to look somewhere else. For instance the report says: “Media scholars have been expressing anxiety about the blurring of news and entertainment for a while now, lamenting the rise of global ‘infotainment’ and the ‘Bollywoodization of news’. It will take us outside of the purview of this report.” Or “Media scans from last two years of news about fake news, in English and in local languages. 47,543 in total.” Even though, he had enough bandwidth to crib about Hinduism for 5-6 pages. Mainstream media is today riding on the success of celebrities and fake news for earning revenue. The coverage Virat Kohli’s “leave India” comment got clearly shows the blurred line differentiating mainstream journalism from tabloid journalism. The only difference left between a self proclaimed youtube news channel and an acclaimed media house is fancy suits and five star studios. So much for the art and creativity. The report was penned in the typical fashion where the conclusion was drafted first and rest of the report along with the research was curated to converge at that conclusion. Its not even a new phenomenon, there have been a lot of reports like this in the recent past please scroll down to the ‘also read’ at the bottom to read more about some of those reports. But this report is slightly different. The nervousness made them reveal way more than acceptable, putting a big question mark at the left liberal narrative. Of course they said “methodology section is being updated”; but the other reports with shoddy methodology are still accessible but this one isn’t. Now you know why. The following is an adaptation of Set If Off, but by Bollywood standards could be called original creative work and it does fit here perfectly :

Hahahaha This is about them

Beware, beware, be skeptical Of their stance, their stance looks neutral Deceit so natural But a wolf in sheep’s clothing is more than a warning Baa baa, black sheep, have you any soul? No sir, by the way, what the hell are morals? Jack be nimble, Jack be quick Jill’s a little corrupt and her alibis are turning tricks

Aware, aware, you stalk your prey With criminal mentality You sink your teeth into the people you depend on Infecting everyone, you’re quite the problem Fee-fi-fo-fum, you better run and hide I smell the blood of a petty little coward Jack be lethal, Jack be slick Jill will leave you lonely dying in a filthy ditch

Maybe you’ll change Abandon all your wicked ways Make amends and start anew again Maybe you’ll see All the wrongs you did to us And start all over, start all over again Who am I kidding? If I could weed you out I would have But your roots are too damn deep

So tell me how you’re sleeping easy How you’re only thinking of yourself Show me how you justify Telling all your lies like second nature Listen, mark my words You will pay, you will pay Karma’s gonna come collect your debt Modi’s gonna come again & collect your debt

Thank you for reading!!! Also, there are some more misleading reports. You could have a look at them here:

Electoral irrelevance of Petrol: Why 2019 will be the last general election where Petrol prices will matter

Opinions

Lakshmisha K S

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4 December 2018

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Electoral irrelevance of Petrol: Why 2019 will be the last general election where Petrol prices will matter

Protests against fuel price hikes have been a stable scene in Indian political drama. Every political party when in opposition has used the rise in fuel costs to corner the party in power and gain electoral advantage. This would soon be relegated to a relic of the past. Before we elaborate on why this would be the case, let us look at the current gyrations in oil prices globally.

Dramatic fall in petrol prices in the USA

Oil prices which had reached a peak price of nearly $86 a barrel in early October has fallen sharply to less than $60 a barrel today. However, the real story starts in around 2014, when increased production in Shale oil in US led to dramatic fall in oil prices reaching a record low of $38 (Brent) by 2015. This dramatic fall in prices was direct fall out of Saudi/OPEC decision not to cut production following an OPEC meeting in Vienna on November, 2014. Saudi Arabia had decided that cutting production would only result in further reduction in market share, rather it bet that with record low prices, the costlier Shale oil producers would go bust unable to compete with Saudi/OPEC production. This was based on the fact that marginal cost of producing one barrel of oil by US Shale producers was estimated at $70-77 whereas Middle East marginal cost of production was $10-17. Saudi can economically pump oil even at $30 price whereas Shale producers will be forced to stop.

However Shale producers perceived, bringing in production efficiency at every stage of the process. Advancements including longer horizontal pipes, short drilling and completion times and multiple wells at a single location resulted in increased productivity by a factor of 4 in the last 5 years. World bank estimates that the current break-even cost for Shale production in US is around $40.

OPEC realized that their strategy of flooding the market to drive Shale producers had back fired and instead made them even more resilient and robust. That is when OPEC+Russia (The biggest non OPEC producer other than US) agreed for production cuts. This brought stability to oil prices. In 2017, Trump launched one of the biggest stimulus in US history charging US growth to highest levels in decade with resultant increased oil demand. This along with production cut in key suppliers such as Libya, Venezuela and Nigeria resulted in some tightening of oil supply. Shale oil production had reached a peculiar limit, while they could produce millions of gallons of oil, there was lack of pipeline infrastructure that they could use to ship oil out of US. This choking of pipeline infrastructure meant that the Shale production and export was capped for the short term. Saudi and Russia used this effectively to tighten supply resulting in higher oil prices.

Then came Trump’s sanctions on Iran which threatened effectively to cut Iran from the global oil market. Iran, the 3rd largest OPEC producer with a share of world oil production at 5%. The expected cutting of 5% of supply created a bull run on oil prices resulting in $86. All of this changed in November, when Trump announced waivers to his sanction, the punters realized that their bull run bet was off mark. Combined with the fact that Saudi and Russia were producing at record levels in anticipation of Iran sanctions resulted in an oil glut in the market. oil prices are falling rapidly from a scenario of oil supply tightness to oil glut in the market.

The oil prices are expected to be subdued in the near future even with proposed OPEC+Russia production cuts. That is because enormous pipeline capacity is coming on-line in 2019 and 2020 in the Shale oil basin. Nearly 2 -3 million barrels per day of pipeline capacity is expected in 2019 and further 2-3 million barrels per day capacity in 2020. Thus any further production cuts or Iranian sanction will be offset by increased Shale production. With break-even costs of $30-40, the crude oil rates should stabilize around $50-60 in the next two years given the strong head winds from China and its slowing economy (China is the biggest purchaser of crude oil).

But this isn’t the real reason we are predicting decline relevance of oil price to Indian electorate. The real driver would be the coming electrification of transportation industry. This electrification is not in the distant future of 2030s & 40s but is going to start unfolding in the next 3-5 years.

As Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Ayog quoted, Indian automotive electrification will begin with two & three wheelers followed by public transportation (buses & taxis) with personal cars and trucks becoming electrified in the end. The first part of the shift is already beginning to take shape.

Two Wheelers

We have today credible electric two wheelers on offer across multiple brands such as Ather, Hero electric, Okinawa Autotech, Twenty Motors and others. Most of these brands are offering in the scooter segment. With the adoption of lithium batteries, these products offer comparable performance as ICE (Internal Combustion Engine). For single charge, they offer 50-70 kms range with top speed of around 50 kmph. As you can see, this is sufficient to cater to most of the urban commuter’s requirement. The cost of running is where the E-scooters score with an average running cost of Rs 0.5 per km as against a cost of Rs 2-3 per km for petrol ones. This credible performance with lower running costs makes E-scooters an obvious choice to any urban customer reflecting in growing sales. Okinawa alone sold 12,000 units in last two months translating to 0.4% of total 2 wheeler sales by one single brand alone. There are also start ups like Tork which are planning to launch e-motorcycles.

Three Wheelers

E-auto rickshaws are already being adopted at rapid pace across the country. With more 1.5 million e-rickshaws, India is home to more battery powered three wheelers than all the electric cars sold in China. One thing to be noted here is that most of these E-rickshaws are Lead Acid battery driven. Lithium batteries is going to make the transition even more rapid. Consider the recently launched Mahindra Treo. The Auto promises a range of 130 Kms+ (listed range of 170 kms) with a top speed of 45 kmph. The charging time is 3 hours 50 minutes and Mahindra claims zero maintenance. The running cost of Rs. 0.5 against Rs. 2 for a CNG auto means, on average an auto driver saves Rs. 5,000 – 6,000 in a month on fuel costs alone let alone service and maintenance costs. With Bajaj also planning to launch e-auto soon, one can expect e-auto rickshaws to dominant the auto sales.

City Buses

Increasingly many cities are starting with trials on electric buses. New Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Uttarakhand With smaller range, lower speeds required, city bus transportation is ideal for electrification. Government subsidies is allowing many metropolitan to start adopting electric buses.

Electrifying public transportation is a big leap towards saving environment

Indian commuting

For majority of Indians fuel prices impact them either through cost of fuel for their own vehicle or by the cost of public transport. Now lets us look at the vehicular market in India. Nearly 80% of the ownership is two wheelers. Thus the above trends will render significant share of Indians immune to fuel costs. Yes the electrification of cars will take more, maybe a decade but most Indian car owners do use the above means of transport as well and thus their total cost impact will be mitigated in case of fuel price spike.

Where majority mode of commute is through public transport, Indians would see a positive impact on their pocket with electrification of public transport

It is true that 2 & 3 wheelers constitute a very small share of oil demand and majority of transport oil consumption is by long distance trucking and buses. Significant demand is also from agricultural pump-sets and railways. However, Indian railways is planning for 100% electrification by 2021-22. And government through multiple initiatives (UDAY, Saubhagya, etc) is targeting to give every Indian 24×7 power and more importantly effective power for agricultural use. KUSUM scheme is an ambitious projected launched in June which plans to provide 1.4 crore solar pumps to Indian farmers. Hence the farmer’s dependence on petrol considerably reduces and limited to tractors & tillers.

Of course trucks will continue to stay fossil fuel driven for the foreseeable future. However an average Indian doesn’t realize the impact out-rightly like that of their personal vehicle. Consider this, steel is important element for an average consumer as it is a key raw material in many consumer purchases, however how many of us have bothered when steel prices spiked or fell drastically. What doesn’t pinch one’s pocket directly, one is least concerned.

One should also account that we haven’t even considered the fact that Lithium batteries will continue to fall in prices resulting in lower costs and technological innovation will mean even more improved performance. Battery technology follows the electronic industry with exponential reduction in costs and improvement in performance.

Therefore considering all these factors, one can safely predict that by the time of next general election in 2024, petrol prices will be irrelevant to the average Indian voter. Imagine in 2024 you own a petrol two wheeler and recent petrol price hike is causing a burn in your pocket. Will you go on the road to protest or will you quietly go off to buy the latest electric 2 wheeler?

Making small issues big and never attending the bigger ones

Reports

Fayaz Ganie

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2 December 2018

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Making small issues big and never attending the bigger ones

Politics ideally is the noble branch of human affairs for solving and resolving the chronic and acute problems of a state and the world. Ideally politics seeks to solve the bigger and the biggest problems first and then moves down to the issues of lesser importance. As for example, if there is an imminent threat of war from an unresolved conflict, or otherwise, the issue takes precedence over everything else and most of the other issues are set aside and all resources and energy are invested in resolving the conflict, avoiding the war or, if the war is unavoidable, in winning the war. The issues of poverty, hunger and homelessness can be taken care of, once the conflict is resolved and the threats to national and international security are eliminated.

At times with the solution of the bigger problems the lesser ones take care of themselves and get resolved by default. In respect of the aforementioned example, once the conflict gets resolved, the state and the states involved in the conflict are able to devote much of their resources and energy towards solving the chronic problems of poverty, hunger, homelessness, environmental degradation and others. With the solution of one problem means and methods for solving many others are acquired.

That is why politics ideally tries to solve the bigger problem first, as was mentioned at the outset. Nevertheless, about politics it can be said that what is ideal is not actual always. Since the very beginning of the human association there have remained big gaps between the ideal and actual. In fact, it is not always possible to realize ideal in the world as has been acknowledged by umpteen politicians and political philosophers beginning perhaps from Plato.

In contemporary history the gap and gulf between the actual and ideal is too wide and is turning wider with the forward movement of time. Unlike the ages gone by the efforts towards narrowing this gap are missing, no sincere efforts are made to plug the gap. Instead the politicians and the policy makers have shifted their preferences. They have shifted their preference and reduced them as only means for gaining and maintaining power. Resolution of issues, problems and conflicts which is the primary job of politics has been thrown to the background and what is at the forefront is the management of these issues to suite the best interests of the power elite and not that of the masses, country and the world.

The approach of the current set of politicians, the world over and especially in South Asia, is diametrically opposite of what it was of their predecessors. They try not to resolve the bigger problems but instead they try to solve the minor issues and the problems of less importance only to give an impression that they are performing their roles, they try to kill the symptoms without curing the diseases.

For this to accomplish they make mountain out of molehill, they present the lesser issues in such a way as if they are of the existential importance to the states and countries. All the administrative machinery and resources are devoted towards these lesser issues and any breakthrough in these issues is presented as a national achievement and a great feat. The real issues are not touched at all.

Poverty is a big issue in India and not enough has been done to deal with this problem even after more than seven decades of the independence. If we enumerate many other issues that the country faces poverty some way or the other could be found at the back of all of them, directly or indirectly. The problems of communalism, regionalism, casteism, sectarianism, naxalism and ultranationalism, to name a few, are all related to poverty to lesser or greater degree. If the issue of poverty is resolved it could help a great way is solving these problems which are eating out the vitals of the country.

Perhaps the politicians of the country have decided to keep poverty alive perpetually. The solution to this problem might rob them from exploiting the poverty and poor in the national and state elections. By keeping alive poverty the politicians can entangle the poor people of the country in anything, in communalism, sectarianism, and other issues for their single objective to gain and remain in power.

The state of affairs can be imagined by the fact that the opposition instead of criticizing the government on the issue of governance does so in respect of the qualifications and antecedents of the Prime Minister. The government functionaries instead of concentrating on governance, and instead of making their work in the area of governance as a weighing measure of their performance, always remain engaged in criticizing Rahul Gandhi’s personal life. And on both the sides there seems no accountability.

If the irresponsible behavior of many people associated with the governance of the country and that of the opposition was not enough damaging the approach of the media has dented the prospects of resolution of chronic and acute ills of the country even further. The corporate media has broken all the records of irresponsible reporting and dispersal of misinformation. This branch of media tries to act the legislator, the executor and the judge all in one without being responsible towards their own profession first.

So much propaganda and lies they spread to gain their Television Rating Points. They even exploit the truth for the same purpose. Here the truth is presented in such a way where same results are gained from the truth which is otherwise achieved by spreading lies. Birthday of a celebrity is made a national issues and the suicide of thousands of farmers is no news for them. And, when media has this sort of behavior the political class and bureaucracy of the country get free from the obligation of being accountable to a greater extent.

It seems all the people in power alongwith the media of the country are hand in glove in resolving the smaller issues but keeping alive the bigger ones. The irresolution of the bigger issues gives power to politicians and maintains power of the power elites. The same irresolution gives material to the opposition upon which to attack the government. And it gives all important news to the newsmen. A profitable business for all!

Indian nation is at a critical juncture of her history. She has not gained her real position on the global scale and not all the people of the country have tasted the benefits of the development trajectory of the country. Both these goals can be accomplished if adequate attention is paid to the main problems that the country is beset with.

For this all the concerned people and agencies need to make a course correction and fine tune their efforts to achieve the real national goals. By going to so much near to the ideal approach of dealing with the bigger problems first and treating the root causes first a lot of progress can be made in respect of the rest. By preventing the maladies, and curing the existent ones real progress, prosperity and sustainability can be ensured and not by mere killing of the symptoms.

Preferences need to be reset and perfected in accordance with the real national, goals and objectives. Else problems are there to stay.

The grandest and glorious legacy: ‘Statue of Unity’

Opinions

kalyani06

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2 December 2018

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The grandest and glorious legacy: ‘Statue of Unity’

On 31 October 2018, India has been honored to become home country of one of the grandest commemorative architecture in whole world i.e. “Statue of Unity”, world’s tallest statue with a height of 182metres (597ft.) with a building cost Rs 2,989 crore (US$ 420million).

It’s a tribute to ‘Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’, who played a very crucial role in integrating 562 princely states under the Indian Dominion to maintain peace, harmony and unity. He was the one who unified and uplifted India’s feet to stand as one Nation post-Independence. His efforts during and after Independence crowned him with different titles such as ‘Iron Man of India,’ ‘Patron Saint of India, ‘and ‘Unifier of India.’

As our Honorable Prime Minister said, “The world’s tallest statue would remind the entire world, the future generations about the courage, capabilities and resolution of the person who did this holy work of thwarting the conspiracy to disintegrate Mother India into pieces.”

“This (statue) is a source of unity…with this sentiment that we should march…. and march with a dream to make the country ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ (One India, superior India),” he added.

But at one side where our Prime Minister was busy in honoring and expressing his gratitude toward this legendary man and rewarding our country with such an aw-inspiring gift, the other side opposition parties, their leaders and the so called liberal media was busy in fussing, grumbling about this whole idea.

Main opponent Mr. Gandhi blamed this idea by saying that it has been done to woo a specific caste and community in Gujarat state as well accused Modi government of ‘Treason.’ Several people and the political parties criticized the expenditure for the statue over other priorities like women’s safety, education and agricultural schemes. Even an UK MP, Peter Bone called this (statue of unity) ‘Total Nonsense’ and added that UK should do away with giving aids to India.

But what’s this fuss is all about? Is it because first time India has witnessed something on this grand scale? Is it because Mr. Modi, a BJP chief is inaugurating and celebrating the credibility and greatness of a Congress leader who doesn’t belong to the dynasty of Nehru and Gandhi? Is it because opponent parties don’t like to celebrate the eminence of such a charismatic leader and always wanted him and his memories to be back seated. Or is it really the cost?

Although, this is not the first time when a public monument is getting criticism over its grandness and cost. The most apprehensive example is “Spring Temple” of China. The second tallest statue in the world now “Spring Temple Buddha” in Lushan county of China, had also been criticized as “Buddha Mania” because of its grandness, gold and cost (which took 11 years to complete, stands more than 208 meters tall, is plated with 108 kilograms of gold, and cost an eye-popping 1.2 billion yuan to build).

Another example is a very popular and world-famous’ Statue of Liberty’ (officially called Liberty Enlightening the World) which had also faced an uphill climb regarding its financing and criticism of the statue itself designed by sculptor ‘Frederic Auguste Bartholdi ‘with assistance from ‘Gustave Eiffel’. There was grumbling that France should have also provided the base for sculpture including other parts as the statue project unfolded in the 1870s and 1880s amid severe economic depression and labor unrest in the United States.

But both monuments are now world famous and celebrated. These monuments are one of the most visited places by tourists. Both monuments have their enormous effect on their respective societies, traditions and culture since decades.

Now the Spring Temple is just not a statue, it represents a culture, a tradition, a way of life, a sense of living which has mingled with Chinese Soil. Now China has got a worldwide recognition with maximum number of Buddhist followers and missionaries. It has shaped the cultural aspect of Chinese society on a very wide level which can be felt just by having a glimpse of The Spring Temple. Similarly, ‘The Statue of Liberty: Transcending the Trivial’ has continuously enlightened inspired and encouraged everyone either an American or Immigrant visiting United Sates of America. And now it has become a monument of American national unity, political liberty and freedom around the globe.

Even in Indian History from Mughal Architecture to British Imperialism, every tomb, fort, palace, parks and museums, all of them were built and preserved to glorify their legacy, their era, their power, which has been carried from generation to generations.

During Congress regimen of 50 years several monuments, parks, museums were built on the name of Nehru and Gandhi. Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh Mayawati had built Ambedkar Memorial, Ambedkar Stupa, Bahujan Samaj Prerna Kendra and her own sculpture with Kanshi Ram to mobilize and immortalize the legacy of Dalit icons . As anyone can take a deep dive into Mayawati’s vision and its execution in Lucknow on such a grand level in a very interesting article by Dr. Melia Belli Bose: ‘Monumental Pride: Mayawati’s Memorials in Lucknow.‘

Now what everyone needs to understand either opponent parties or biased media and fellow citizens that any public memorialization (sculpture, colossal, monument or memorial) especially of that grand scale like ‘The Statue of Unity’, is not just a sculpture made of bricks or cement or gold or any metal, for which anyone could count it’s worth in term of money. It is something which carries a legacy,a charisma, a vision, a glory of that person and his time.

These colossal are like golden historical souvenir to pass that legacy through decades, keeping them alive in everyone’s heart and for coming generation to know about that person, his/ her qualities and achievement. It is something to which we can look at and get inspired, encouraged, overwhelmed. It is something which stays inside our heart from decades to decades get transferred through generations. It’s an honor and privilege to be a part of legacy of such a charismatic leader, which must be rejoiced not reviled.

Pakistan’s dream route for Kashmir via Kartarpur

Opinions

Shubham Singh

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2 December 2018

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Pakistan’s dream route for Kashmir via Kartarpur

Recent Kartarpur Sahib ground-breaking ceremony at the Pakistani side was presided by Pakistani PM Imran Khan has been used as a stage to target Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was used as a great opportunity by Pakistan showing India about it’s mischievous thoughts for Kashmir. It also reflected Pakistan’s anti India approach.

Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, has been continuously spreading venom against India by openly projecting India being Pakistan’s biggest enemy. Navjot Singh Sidhu who is a Minister in Punjab Government gave a big hug to this same General Bajwa during the Imran Khan’s swearing in ceremony in which he was invited personally.

Sidhu was again present at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Sahib. He was given visa for his personal visit as he was not sent officially to this event from India’s side. Sidhu was looking very happy while coming back to India as if he has won a cricket match. Sidhu forgot, it’s the same Pakistan which have always made disturbances in Kashmir and repeatedly says that it have exclusive right on Kashmir.

It is astonishing to see that the same Pakistani government which encourages and perpetuates this cycle of violence, and at border violence it is still going on, more than 20 terrorists being killed, three soldiers sacrificed their lives just in few days. How easily it can give its consent to the Kartarpur corridor. Nobody could believe.

A list of Journalists was presented having the names of those who were given visa to cover the event. Well these all were having one thing common and that is, all have a soft corner for the Pakistan. Enjoying a chocked throat hospitality, these people just neglected to see the Pakistan’s real agenda.

Navjot Sidhu with Gopal Singh Chawla (Photo posted on Facebook)

Pakistan’s army chief was posing pictures with Khalistan leader Gopal Singh Chawla. This man stopped the Indian officials from entering Gurudwara Panja Sahib on Baisakhi day. His dangerous plans can be listened in his video posted by him on his social media accounts where he talks about his plan for the formation of Khalistan and giving threats to India. He has very close relations with LeT chief Hafiz Saeed also. Later Sidhu also greeted with Chawla at the event and on asking Sidhu about his meet, Sidhu was seen avoiding the question and pretending as if he is totally unaware about Chawla.

Pakistan, has always created a link between terrorists in J&K and Khalistani Separatists. Kashmir issue has always been a center of talk between India and Pakistan and that is not new. Drugs smuggled through Kashmir are being pushed into Punjab where a fairly large consumer base already present. However Khalistans call hardly finds any resonance in Punjab today.

The opening of this corridor may be a welcoming step by many. But it could be a threat too, as terrorist activities may increase and we have already faced such issues with Samjhauta Express in the past.

It could also become a heaven for the drug dealers, smugglers and criminals. There are high possibilities of human trafficking. Necessary security mechanisms have to take in place from both the sides.

There would be attempts by Pakistani intelligence agency ISI influencing Indian Visitors and even recruiting agents. Indian security agencies must make appropriate counter strategies. Though the time has been targeted of one year to complete the corridor, it’s a long period and circumstances takes no time in getting changed.

Pakistan has invited India for the next SAARC Summit. Summit which was rejected by India in 2016 and with India, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh also boycotted the summit. This time again Sushma Swaraj the external affairs minister has already rejected the invitation. Pakistan was expecting Narendra Modi to accept the invitation but New Delhi has clearly given the message that terrorism and peace talks cannot go together.

For Pakistan it’s an open opportunity to wipe all the allegations on it and this is only possible if all goes well. Pakistan is fighting on many fronts and one is the Economy which is deteriorated. Any wrong action would be disastrous.