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Dhaka’s Arms Desire The caretaker government of Bangladesh is now adopting a look-West policy to augment its arsenal after having benefited immensely from China, its traditional arms supplier, all these years. Readers would do well to know that till May this year, Bangladesh’s missile programme, much like its entire range of defence arsenal, was guided, mentored and sustained by China. Its navy inventory includes, apart from the Chinese-built Osman frigate, four 175-ton Hunagfeng class guided missile patrol boats, five 68-ton Houku class PTGs and other Chinese vessels including a torpedo boat, patrol boats, submarine hunters, minesweeper, landing craft, tugs and survey craft. Likewise, Bangladesh’s air force is equipped with two squadrons of Chengdu F-7Ms and Guizhou FT-7s, one squadron of Nanchang A-5Cs and Shenyang FT-6s, and one trainer squadron of Nanchang PT-6s. On the other hand, its army is equipped with Chinese W-531 class 85 armoured personnel carriers, Chinese T-62 light tanks and T-59 main battle tanks, 65 large calibre Chinese artillery systems and 18 122-mm howitzers — the bulk of which was procured after Chinese General Chen Bingde visited Bangladesh in August last year to discuss military sales and cooperation. It has also come to light that Bangladesh has an enhanced strike radius of its missile arsenal. Its radar-equipped missile can carry a 165-kg warhead, backed by a guidance equipment whose anti-jamming capability is so strong that it is extremely difficult for the targeted ships to intercept the missile. The hit probability of Bangladesh’s Ying Ji-802 missile is about 98 per cent, and it can be launched from aircraft, ships, submarines, and even land-based vehicles; its worth for Bangladesh can be gauged from the fact that the missile is considered to be at par with US Harpoon, the best anti-ship missile system of the day. Bangladesh chose to import Ying Ji-802 missiles from China because these missiles are not covered by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) that controls the export of ballistic missiles delivering over 500-kg warheads and having a range of over 300 km. It is crystal clear that without China’s succour Bangladesh would not have had such a reliable defence arsenal, and that China’s supply of arsenal to Bangladesh is also a leverage against India, given Beijing’s knowledge of the strained India-Bangladesh ties. By empowering Bangladesh China has sought to establish its influence in South Asia in relation to India, giving the impression that smaller countries like Bangladesh have none to fall back on in the eventuality of India turning hostile except Beijing. And this in turn has emboldened Bangladesh — whose arms desire China has satisfactorily responded to — in its dealings with India. Now that Bangladesh is looking West after acquiring the best possible arsenal from China, India must keep a close watch on Dhaka’s arms overdrive and its desire to be counted as one of the formidable forces in the region. What ought to inform India’s strategic debate is the fact of its hostile neighbourhood and the axis that China, Pakistan and Bangladesh — all of whom share a strategic camaraderie, given Chinese supply of its best arsenal to both Pakistan and Bangladesh — have come to represent. This is all the more serious if one considers Bangladesh having emerged as the latest hub for jehadis and the free, illegal flow of its population to India — especially to reverse the demography of Asom. It is time for extra care and caution.

Jehad’s T-text After having lost many of its cadres in suicide missions, and the realization that not many among even the most indoctrinated would carry out suicide attacks in changed circumstances, Al Qaeda seems to have embarked upon a new mode of action — as is the indication. The theory is: if one can live another day to inflict another huge damage on the target, let it be; there is no need to die, rather live and direct more attacks, more sophisticated. In other words, Al Qaeda would now shift its focus from suicide attacks to a more technical terror methodology, such as the use of remote controls, vehicles, robots and model airplanes loaded with explosives and aimed at targets from a safe distance. There are reports of Al Qaeda’s technical experts working meticulously on the details and reliability of such operations that would make suicide missions unnecessary and save the jehadi for a more sophisticated terror act. Which also means jehad’s new text — technology text — will call for a new response system in the face of the change in the profiles of terrorists, who will be highly educated and precise in their terror technology. Times are changing for the worse.

Why Modi is Winning ON THE SPOT Tavleen Singh In the eyes of the media Narendra Modi remains a monster because of the pogrom of 2002, but for some time now big businessmen have been saying that when it comes to administration, he is the best Chief Minister in the country. Having heard this not just from businessmen but from important bureaucrats in Delhi, I took the chance last week to visit Gujarat’s most backward district at the invitation of the government. There are dangers of being given a guided tour when you accept a government invitation but it is also the only way to find out if there are administrative improvements happening. And, if you have your wits about you there are ways of branching off from the guided tour and seeing things as they really are. A high official of the Gujarat government and I drove from Baroda to Dahod. It took two hours along an excellent, new road and it gave me a chance to ask the official what Modi had done to improve governance. He said that basically the change had come through the Chief Minister taking a personal interest in project implementation and motivating his officials through special training camps and the announcement of special schemes. The motivating scheme for 2008 is the healthy child or arogya balak. Last year it was the environment that was emphasized through the Nirmal Gujarat programme. We spent the night in Dahod at a beautiful old British circuit house that has been destroyed by ugly new interior design efforts like white tiles on walls and a hideous new annexe. T he next morning I was introduced to Dahod district through an audio-visual briefing over Gujrati breakfast. The district has 696 villages and the population is mostly Adivasi: 11,36,859 out of 14,80,110. Dahod is seriously backward with 77,230 of 2,15,962 households living below the poverty line. The officials wanted to show me what they were doing to alleviate poverty through irrigation schemes, skills training, micro-finance schemes and computer training for Adivasi children. Our first stop was in Dahod town where I met young Adivasi men and women learning how to use computers. We then drove through lush, green countryside to the village of Raliyati where an NGO is helping villagers harvest rainwater and use it for irrigation. I veered off the guided tour and went into the mud and thatch hut of Santoben Damol who lives below the poverty line. Inside the hut were beds, blankets, clothes lying in heaps on the dirt floor and two large speakers. Santoben said she made some extra pocket money by leasing them out for weddings. There was electricity in the hut but no consumer goods. I then visited the slightly better appointed hut of Ditabhai Parsingh who wore a T-shirt with David Beckham’s face on it. He said he did not know who Beckham was and had bought the T-shirt in Anand where he earned Rs 90 a day working as a mason. He owned a black and white television set, a cycle and a mobile phone. Four of his eight children were going to school. In other villages I saw how poor farmers were being helped to increase their production by being provided better seeds and by diversifying their crops. In the village of Neemuch I met a farmer called Somabhai whose life had changed because he switched from growing maize to soya bean. He made three times what he used to and had bought a tractor and made his hut into a pucca house. The most impressive moment of the day came in the village of Panchwada where I went into a primary health centre that was not part of the guided tour. Having seen primary health centres across India I expected the usual broken down shed with absent doctors and no medicines. I was stunned to find the first fully functioning primary health centre I have ever seen. There was a young Adivasi woman doctor called Deepali who sat at a table covered with boxes in which there were different kinds of pills. She took us around the centre and I saw a labour room and laboratory that were cleaner than many I have seen in big hospitals in Mumbai and Delhi and even toilets that were surprisingly clean. The next day I mentioned this to the Chief Minister when I met him at a Teacher’s Day function in Ahmedabad and he was pleased and immediately showed me a new machine they are introducing in hospitals in Gujarat that will record patients’ grievances. It is part of his concerted effort to put Gujarat at the top when it comes to the human development index. In his speech to students and teachers he talked almost entirely of the importance of healthcare and education and with a special emphasis on the girl child. When I asked him if he considered these things more important than anything else he said, ‘‘What can be more important? This is what I am working for. What can be more important than creating a population that is healthy and educated?’’ From what I saw during my travels in Dahod district, the difference in people’s lives is happening because of the Chief Minister’s emphasis on giving them the tools of empowerment. Better schools, better healthcare, water for drinking and irrigation, electricity 24 hours a day in their homes, skills training and even public gardens in villages as part of his vatika scheme. Not bad for a man we continue to see as a monster. BOB’S BANTER Robert Clements And Now the I-Phone..! Most everybody, including my children, seem quite embarrassed with cell phone I carry. ‘‘Dad, put it back in your pocket, don’t let the others see it!’’ they whisper whenever I take it out. ‘‘It’s too big for my pocket,’’ I earnestly explain, ‘‘It bulges like a hernia!’’ ‘‘Then put it somewhere else, the waiter’s coming!’’ they whisper urgently. Sometimes to please friends and not offend the kids I try hiding it but when urgent call shrills out, I hurriedly pull out objectionable set, and a silence descends. I look up after animated conversation to find all and sundry smiling apologetically at next table and waiter and manager, then bringing tiny little fancy mobiles which without fuss or fluster they place on table as if to tell waiter and manager that they have means to pick up tab even if they be forced to keep company with a cheapskate! ‘‘What is that?’’ I ask gentleman sitting on my right. ‘‘What is what?’’ he asks. ‘That,’’ I said pointing to his little gadget... He then rattles off numbers and foreign sounding names, then shows how pink light lights up screen and ear when he places it next to his face to talk. ‘‘Why d’you want to light up your ear?’’ I ask and table laughs and looks at me, ‘‘Ignorant fool,’’ they seem to say, ‘‘do you know what you are missing by not having a lit ear!’’ My ears shine red. The waiter returns to look at array of lit instruments and smiles in relief. I pick menu and looked expectantly at my companion, he murmurs and mutters, ‘‘You don’t like the dishes?’’ I ask flustered. He continues discourse with himself. ‘‘He is busy on the phone,’’ the waiter explains. ‘‘What phone?’’ I ask and notice tiny gadget stuck to my friend’s ear that would have put grandma’s hearing aid to shame. My telephone rings. I place it on ear and look around. They stare with horror at ancient set, including waiter, manager and those at next table. ‘‘Hello,’’ I shout, and switch off the phone, ‘‘Hello,’’ I continue mischievously, ‘‘Ah its Dr Alexander Graham Bell! How are you Mr Bell and what kind of set are you using there in heaven? A big handset! Ah the small ones are used only in hell!’’ I sit down. The crowd roars good- humouredly. ‘‘Thank you Dr Bell..!’’ I whisper, putting my monstrous piece on the table, ‘‘And Dr Bell, I’ll be calling you again one of these days, what with everybody carrying an I-phone!’’ ‘‘What’s an I-phone, Bob?’’ asks imaginary voice from the past. ‘‘If you don’t know, how would I?’’ I ask the inventor of the phone as waiters, manager and next table laugh appreciatively. Not a word as my giant set sits proudly on table after that. Army’s Role in Nation-building Jasbir Sarai An environment of normalcy is fast gaining a foothold in Jammu and Kashmir after almost three months of upheaval in the wake of the Shri Amarnath land allotment controversy. The movement was political in nature but the factor of escalation severely challenged the government agencies, especially the Army, that was called upon to render multifarious services ranging from road opening to maintenance of law and order. With emotions and sentiments hitting stratospheric proportions, the task was unenviable to say the least. Most important was to apply the right proportion of flexibility and firmness that would ensure management of the situation without creating avoidable acrimony. The first challenge was to ensure the smooth conduct of the Shri Amarnath Yatra. The volatile situation greatly escalated the threat of terrorist strikes on the pilgrims and, under the circumstances, a successful terrorist strike could have led to a disaster. It is to the credit of the Army, the police and the paramilitary forces deployed for the security of the pilgrims that the Yatra was concluded peacefully despite the turmoil. There is no denying that in the performance of their duties they were helped, in ample measure, by the local civilian population without which success would not have been achieved. As the agitation gained momentum the Army was called upon to perform internal security functions that involved conduct of flag marches and deployment for crowd management. This under circumstance wherein enhanced vigil on the border was necessitated due to an increase in incidents of firing from across the border and a spurt in infiltration attempts by terrorists. The Army adopted a mature, understated, responsible and patient approach for performance of this sensitive task. Without raising a hue and cry it bought in reinforcements so that the vigil along the border and in the hinterland was not compromised. It struck a rapport with the agitators in a manner that precluded the need to resort to overwhelming force. In the valley it did not interfere with the responsibility of the police and paramilitary forces deployed in the cities but kept a vigilant, albeit tacit, eye on the rural areas that formed part of its responsibility and by so doing motivated them to maintain calm. By adopting this approach the Army contributed towards keeping the agitation under control and thus saved the region from being sucked into a cycle of violence. Most important was the task of securing the Jammu-Srinagar highway where the threat of disruption by miscreants and IED attacks were matters of grave concern. The Army worked round the clock to keep the communication channel open and ensured that the Valley was provided for with all basic necessities. Under the prevalent circumstances some disruption was unavoidable but the situation never attained the proportions of an economic blockade as insinuated by the separatist leaders. It is to the credit of the media that they called the bluff of the separatists and proved to the nation that talk of a blockade was a fallacy. There is no denying that the Army has once again conducted itself with utmost sincerity in its attempt to come to the assistance of the people of J&K in their time of crisis. Its humane approach was the direct offshoot of its close bond with the people. This is not the first time that it has come forward to assist the region in an emergency. The natural disasters that afflicted the State in 2005 in the form of a heavy and unprecedented snowfall in the month of February and March followed by the massive earthquake in the month of October drew a spontaneous and committed response from the Army in providing relief to the people. On both occasions the complete resources available with the Army were mobilised and the troops worked ceaselessly, with no concern for personal safety, to save human lives, provide sustenance and restore infrastructure. In both instances people were rescued in some cases by frantic digging with bare hands, casualties were evacuated by helicopters that plied well beyond prescribed safety norms, ration was distributed and later adjusted against the authorization of the troops, and relief camps were established and run for a period long enough to facilitate rehabilitation of the affected people. The results are available on ground for all to see. In fact, there are innumerable such instances wherein the Army has, out of heartfelt concern for the people of J&K, extended a helping hand even without being called upon to do so. The moot point is that projection of the Army as an anti-people occupation force and definition of the Kashmir region as a militarized zone is nothing more than base propaganda spread by forces who would benefit by creating a divide between the Army and the people of the region. There is no denying that cases of excess do occur once in a while but such aberrations are seen everywhere in normal civilized society. Newspapers the world over are full of stories about excess committed by some police station or the other. All these merit utter condemnation but they cannot be wished away. The answer lies in providing timely justice to the aggrieved and punishing the wrong doers, and the Army does have a very good track record in this aspect. The service is known to investigate and try all cases of excess in record time and mete out exemplary punishment to the defaulters. The propaganda being spread by vested interests can be offset by concerted joint efforts of the Army and the people of J&K. If they repose trust and faith in each other and make an attempt to understand each other’s point of view, then the problem would automatically head towards a solution. (ADNI)

source: sentinel assam