Question 2: If the army has been given a free rein to control the extremist activities in Kashmir, how did so many of them with so much firepower cross over from the other side of the border?
Question 3: If the people of J&K are indeed happy to see the back of Article 370 and be split into 3 administrative regions, how are armed terrorists conducting assassinations of local residents and being able to operate with such impunity that only comes with on-the-ground support?
Question 4: If the political process is now back and the situation is once again ‘normal’ (whatever that means), why are civilians and military men being killed in broad daylight?
Question 5: If lack of communication and coordination due to the shutting/slowing down of the internet in the valley made operating as a cohesive force impossible for the armed militants, why are they still managing to be more than a few steps ahead of the military and law & order agencies in Kashmir?
And I am not even beginning to ask about the situation with China in Ladakh yet. Or in Arunachal Pradesh.
Lastly, not to put too fine a point on it, but 4 of the 5 soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice were from the same stock of people this government so easily, viciously, and without a sliver of shame slanders as ‘Khalistani’, viz., the gallant Sikhs.
Beda gark kar rakha hai unpadh gavaaron ne.
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This is my space. To ramble, rant, or ruminate. You are welcome to join me. You can see more of me here. I am an IAF+Air India brat (my father and my kid brother, both have donned the wings of the Indian Air Force) growing up in cantonments across the nation, and attending 12 schools before graduating as an Electrical Engineer from Pune University in 1994.
I speak, read, and write English, Hindi, and Marathi (in that order of proficiency), and am very active on social media (mainly Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and lately, Threads and YouTube too), though I do not engage beyond first or at most second level comments. My philosophy for writing can be found here.
Professionally, I am consulting with young people heading their own startups. If you are a startup and need an impartial Entrepreneur-in-Residence to bounce your ideas off, get practical advice from, and basically have around for the 33 years of hard-earned experience in starting up, running, and even shutting down companies, then I am your man. To start a conversation, mail me here.
Personally, I am deeply and passionately engaged in educating (and learning with) my daughter (who was born on my 42nd birthday!) in a non-formal setting and chronicling her (and my) journey. Indeed, unlike most kids who want to become pilots and firemen, actors and doctors, and so on, during my childhood, when I was asked what I’d want to be when I grew up, I’d always answer, ‘Father.’ So, in a way, I am living my dream. I consider myself the luckiest man on Earth (until life is discovered on other planets).
In my spare time, I love to ride/drive, travel, try different foods, watch movies (I love murder mysteries, war movies, and heists), read (mostly non-fiction), debate, and sometimes play golf or squash, or if it’s low enough stakes, poker.
I am politically promiscuous, in the sense that I do not follow a specific political or social party or leader but, from instance-to-instance, choose the argument (and hence, the side making that argument) that best suits my ideological stance of secular humanism. You can find my posts about politics here.
I love dogs and horses (though it’s been a rather long time since I rode one) and am an avid biker with a Royal Enfield 650 Interceptor, who I call BattleCat III. Follow my travels and travails on the bike here.
About my opinions, they are how I like my morning tea: extra strong, piping hot, somewhat dark, grounded in earthy aromas and spices, something that instantly wakes you up, and served without standing on ceremony.
Try me. Start a conversation! What have you got to lose?
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