India 's Black Wednesday- Delhi Terror

Today  America   remembers   and  mourns  for  the  tragedy which took  place  10  years   ago while  India   is  reeling  from  shock and  grief in   the  aftermath  of  another  terror attack  in    the  nation 's  capital.

A high intensity blast outside the Delhi High Court on Wednesday (Sept 7th) morning claimed 13 lives and left 76 injured. This is the second terror attack near the High Court in four months. The earlier attack in May was a low intensity one with no casualties. Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), an Islamist fundamental outfit operating mostly from neighbouring Bangladesh, has sent out e-mails to several news organisation claiming responsibility for the attack.

The bomb was placed in a suitcase near gate number five of the high court where more than 200 people had gathered to collect passes to enter the premises. Wednesday is a busy day at the court since Public Interest Litigations are filed on the day. The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals — Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital.

The blast caused a four feet deep crater at the spot, indicating it was a powerful bomb. The police said there were traces of ammonium nitrate and pentaerythritol tetranitrate and it appeared to be a sophisticated bomb

Security personnel secure the site of the blast outside the Delhi High Court in New Delhi on Wednesday . Subhav Shukla/PTI

There was no CCTV camera at the sensitive location. The Delhi Police has released sketches of two suspects based on descriptions provided by eyewitnesses. The metal detectors at the gates were also not functioning.

The e-mail sent by HuJI, says the death sentence awarded to Afzal Guru, the 2001 Parliament attack convict, be revoked. It threatened to target major high courts and the Supreme Court of India if it was not done. The veracity of the mail is yet to be ascertained. The case has been handed over to National Investigating Agency (NIA), which will supervise the probe with a special 20-member team, according to government sources.

“We take the mail very seriously,” said NIA chief SC Sinha.

Speaking in Parliament, Home Minister P Chidambaram said the government will not be intimidated by terrorist groups and it is “determined to track down the perpetrators of this horrific crime and bring them to justice”.

He regretted that the blast happened despite sharing of intelligence among several agencies. “Intelligence agencies constantly share intelligence inputs with Delhi Police. Intelligence pertaining to threats emanating from certain groups was shared with Delhi Police in July, 2011,” he said.

Reacting from Bangladesh where he is on a tour, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the as “a cowardly act of a terrorist nature”. He added, “We will deal with it… we will never succumb to the pressure of terrorism.”

“This is a long war in which all political parties, all the people of India have to stand united so that the scourge of terrorism is crushed,” he said.

Meanwhile, the BJP and the Left parties have asked the government to explain whether there was any intelligence failure.
(Source  Firstpost.com)

When  I  was  a  child the   words  terrorism and  terrorist were mere  shadows and  not  to   be  confronted  with. Now  they  have  become  words  ans  images  of   almost  daily  usage

Anna Hazare- India' s New Messiah

 Protests, rallies,marches,  demonstrations, strikes etc.  are  quite  common  in India,  the  world 's  largest  democracy. People  express  their  angst and  emotions through them. They  demand justice,  social action  and  government intervention. Most  of  this  public  activity  is  politically  motivated. Every  now  and then we  come  face  to  face   with   them.

But   the  month  of  August  saw  the  mother of  all  campaigns which  united  the   whole   of  India and  made  the   ruling  coalition government sweat profusely.

Anna  Hazare,  the  74  year  old  crusader against  corruption  lit  a  fire which   spread   all  across  India

Middle  class  Indian  society  joined  in to  oppose  corruption  and  scams which  have  caught several  politicians  and  VIPs  in their  net.
Mr  Hazare  went   on  a  fast  which  lasted   for  12  days  and  kept  everyone  on  tenterhooks and  glued  to  the  TV.
I  am quite   skeptical  of  the  Lokpal  Anti  corruption  bill which  is   the  bone   of  contention  between   the  government  and   social  and  civil  activists.
It  will  take  more  than  a  law  to  eradicate  or   at  least  lessen the  corruption an d moral  decay  which   has  seeped  into  our   society.  A change  of  heart  is  required.

I  took  some  photos   at  the  local  demonstration,  marches and   speeches  in  the  city  center.

(A  BBC  report)

Mr Hazare's campaign to strengthen an anti-corruption bill has received widespread support, with tens of thousands of people attending protests across the country.

The Indian government has been rocked by recent corruption scandals including an alleged telecoms bribery scam that may have cost the country $39bn (£23bn), suspected financial malpractice linked to the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games and accusation that homes for war widows were diverted to civil servants.

Critics of the government say the scandals point to a pervasive culture of corruption in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's administration.

A recent survey said corruption in Asia's third largest economy had cost billions of dollars and threatened to derail growth.

A  model  of  Anna  Hazare

The  horrific   face   of   corruption

Social  activists taking  a  stand

The  young  and   the  old  join  in  patriotic  fever.

Campaign  merchandise. I  bought  a  cloth  cap.

A  local  politician giving   an  interview.

I   am  calling  Anna  Hazare  , India' s  new  Messiah  because  he  was  able  to  rally  toegther  his   countrymen  of   all  ages, backgrounds  and  walks  of  life  together  for   a  common  cause. They   found   a  role  model  in  him,  an  idealist,  a Gandhi like   hero.