Global Voices » Kamla Bhatt

India Remembers Horrifying Mumbai Terror Attacks

Kamla Bhatt — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:31:23 +0000

26/11. Image by Flickr user -g-r-a-c-e-. Used under a Creative Commons License

One year ago, Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment capital came under a well-coordinated terrorist attack that lasted for 3 days. Downtown Mumbai, or “town” as it is popularly known was the target of 10 young men who reportedly arrived by boats from Pakistan and attacked the railway station, the main artery for commuters and a series of luxury hotels, a popular bar and a Jewish home. At least 200 people died in the attack and at least 308 people were injured. All but one young Pakistani attackers survived. That lone survivor Kasab is in India and has been the primary source of information about the attack. Nobody has claimed the body of the 9 young men, who launched the attack and paralysed Mumbai.

Only one word, fear! Collage by Flickr user Keerthi. Used under a Creative Commons License

For three days people around the world witnessed the brutal carnage unfold on their television sets. In hindsight it appears that the 10 young men were receiving instructions from a source in Pakistan on how to execute the attack.

Earlier today on the eve of the first anniversary of 26/11 the Government of Pakistan announced that it has charged seven suspects for organizing the attack. The seven arrested men have not pleaded guilty to the charge according to reports.

Madhavi at The Trajectory blog writes that Pakistan's actions comes after a year of “vehement denial” of the attacks. She continues:

“The most high profile name among those charged is Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, head of the banned militant group Laskar-e-Taiba.”

Madhavi's post has an interesting twist in the end when she asks:

“Pakistan has handed India an anniversary gift for 26/11 in the form of Lakhvi & company’s verdict; the people of India are still hoping to receive forgotten anniversary gifts. March 13th 1993, December 13th 2001, July 11th 2006, November 26th 2008…how many more strikes do we need before even a single mastermind of these terrorist attacks is punished by the Government of India?”

Nita at A Wide Angle View of India wonders why are the foot soldiers (the Mumbai police) being blamed for doing an effective job in staving off the attack? It is not the foot soldiers that need to be blamed, but the top politicians and security folks of Mumbai. She writes:

“So many died in vain, but not a single person has taken responsibility for the carnage. We need to mourn the dead, but we also need to ask for the answers. It is the top cops and the politicians who are to blame. For the lack of coordination and action. It is really pathetic and in really bad taste to see television channels blast the foot soldiers. Try and shame those poor unequipped men who had rifles that were rusted, men who ran helter skelter because they had no leader to direct them. Men who weren’t even sure where the terrorists were, how many there were, what they were up to. […]

The foot soldiers in Mumbai had nothing. If some of them ran, let us not blame them.”

While there were lots of articles written and many recommendations made in the immediate aftermath of 26/11 not much progress has happened, writes Filter Coffee. He writes:

“Sadly, barring a few cosmetic rearrangements, not much has changed in India, and no one, least of all Mumbaikars seem to care.”

Nyaypati Gautam of India Story appears to echo the feelings of Filter Coffee about the lack of change in the past year. But, he wonders what it is that he can do to bring about some change? He writes:

“We continue to be as apathetic as before. If any terror strike were to happen today I fear that the same things would get re-enacted. I hope I have got it wrong but I have a dirty feeling that I am not. It is so frustrating. What can I do to channelise this anger in a meaningful way?”

Many people used Twitter to share news and express their opinions. Here are a few examples of those messages:

RodrigoRMorais: USA Today is saying “Mumbai commemorates one-year anniversary of terror attacks”. What is there to commemorate about?

aniljayakumar: A minute for Mumbai………….

NitinNDTV: all of us will forever remember 26/11,but let's not forget victims of earlier attacks & the brave men who continue to die in defending India

madhavgk: Politicians abused after 26/11 last year… politicians abused after 26/11 this year… nothing changes in Indian politics!

nsohanlal: 26/11 Jingoism on twitter today… Alas will be forgotten as a mundane Monday come Sunday!

For more background information on the 2008 Mumbai Terror Attacks please go to our special coverage page.

Indian Elections 2009: Reading The Digital Tea Leaves on ‘Who Will Win?'

Kamla Bhatt — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:15:29 +0000

Election commentary in Marine Drive, Mumbai. Image by Dannybirchall and used under a Creative Commons License

Now that the 15th general elections are underway in India, the big question in every body’s mind is who is going to win? Will one party take it all or will there be no clear winner, which means a coalition government or a political patchwork quilt at the center?

To form the next government, either one party or a coalition of parties must prove they hold a majority in the Lok Sabha (Lower House) of the Indian Parliament. There are 543 seats to the Lok Sabha with thousands of candidates fighting to win the seat from literally over a thousand different political parties. Here is a snapshot of the number of seats in some of the key states. The Northern state of Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of seats: 80. Andhra Pradesh and Bihar are next with 42 and 40 seats, while Tamil Nadu has 39 seats, Gujarat has 26 seats, Orissa has 21 seats and Kerala has 20 seats.

The results of the elections are expected to be announced by May 16th and a new government will be formed by June 2nd, 2009. Prior to the elections it seemed that the race would be between the ruling Congress Party and it coalition and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that was ousted in the 2004 general elections. However, psephologists, analysts, observers and digital tea readers have been left scratching their heads with some recent developments. Oh, and let us not forget the astrologers.

Prior to the start of the election this was the broad thinking about the outcome: that either the Congress or the BJP will win the elections with support from various regional parties including the Third Front (yes, yes, I know the Third Front, esp the Communist elements have repeatedly said they will not go with Congress or BJP. But, never say never in politics and that is why the phrase politics makes strange bedfellows). The thinking was that the chances of a Third Front victory was a remote possibility with perhaps Mayawati as the candidate for Prime Minister. But, it seems that broad thinking on the election outcome will have to be tweaked. Analysts and various media reports say at this point it is anybody’s guess which party or parties are going to win and form a new coalition government. I guess one thing is certain: it will be a coalition government, but will be the mix of parties is still an unknown element.

Here are some reasons why analysts are revising or hedging their bets on the outcome of this general election in India.

The rise of regional parties: It appears that neither the Congress (and it allies) nor the BJP (and its allies) will win with a clear majority. There are over 1000 parties contesting the general elections in India, and a handful of these regional parties will play a key role in the formation of the next new government in early June. For the past 20 years the trend has been some sort of a coalition government at the center. The interesting trend to note is the the number of coalition partners required to form the government at the center has grown in number (increasing fragmentation) over the years and that clearly underscores the rise and importance of regional political parties.

Since the 1980s there has been a steady proliferation of regional parties in India, and they have come to play a key role at the Federal level. Along with the rise of the regional parties there was also devolvement of power from the center to the state governments. Mrs. Indira Gandhi was perhaps the last Prime Minister of India who wielded an iron fist when it came to center-state relationships. (Note: approx 40-45 percent of India’s current population was born after the brutal assassination of Mrs. Gandhi in 1984)

In the 2004 general elections in India there were no clear winners and the Congress hastily cobbled together an unwieldy coalition of different parties, including the Left party left by comrade Prakash Karat of Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI (M).

And in this general elections the musical chairs and constantly shifting alliances between various regional parties means that many of the key regional parties are hedging their bets and want to play it by ear. Take the case of Orissa’s Chief Minister Navin Patnaik. According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ):

“the Biju Janata Dal, broke off an 11-year partnership with the BJP, contesting the state’s 21 seats on its own for the first time since Mr. Patnaik created the party in 1998…(he) has signaled that while he’s open to other options, he won’t throw his support behind either Congress or the BJP.”

Or, take the case of Andhra Pradesh as WSJ points out, “where the Congress alliance with the local parties collapsed and it went to the polls alone in this Southern State that has 42 seats.”

The 2 states to watch out will be Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh (also Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka) BJP’s Narendra Modi has been Gujarat’s Chief Minister since 2001 and has a fairly stronghold there because of the economic development of the state. BJP’s LK Advani is contesting from Gujarat. Voters generally vote with their pocket book and that just be the case in Gujarat in this election although there could be an erosion in BJP’s influence in the state. For instance, Mallika Sarabhai is running against LK Advani in Gujarat and her campaign style and the issues that is raising is vastly different from Modi/Advani platform. She is targeting the youth and women voters, two important voting blocs in this election.

The second state to watch out for is Uttar Pradesh, which is a battle ground state with all the major and regional parties duking it out. Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) made a triumphant return as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2007 by her skillful social and political engineering. Mayawati harbors strong ambitions to become the next Prime Minister of India and has flirted with the newly formed Third Front without having officially joined them.

BSP’s main opposition is Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party that counts Bollywood actors Jaya Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt as its supporters. Singh is part of a loose conglomeration of regional political parties called The Fourth Front that includes the South Indian-actor turned politician Chiranjeevi from Andhra Pradesh. Then there is the Congress Party’s quest to regain the state that is spearheaded by Rahul Gandhi. Uttar Pradesh has been the traditional stomping ground for the Gandhi family starting with Allahabad and then Amethi. And finally there is the BJP, which has a fair degree of hold in the state but all that may have been eroded by the Varun Gandhi episode in Pilibhit.

In both Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh religion and caste play a strong role in the political arena.

Political Campaign 2.0 - Image by Flickr user baxiabhishek and used under a Creative Commons License

The rise of independents: In this year’s general elections there is an interesting new trend: the rise of the independent candidates who are fighting the elections. There is Meera Sanyal who is fighting from South Mumbai, Captain CK Gopinath from South Bangalore and Mallika Sarabhai from Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Both Sanyal and Capt Gopinath have a strong business background and are fighting the election on local issues. Sanyal is the head of ABN Amro, while Capt Gopinath was a co-founder of Deccan Airlines, a no-frills aviation company that was acquired by Vijay Mallaya’s Kingfisher. Both candidates are using a combination of old and new media to reach out to their voter base and appear to have succeeded in mobilizing their voter base. It will be interesting to see the outcome for both these elections. The more interesting thing to watch out for is whether more independent candidates will contest the election at a future date. Could it be that middle-class professionals, who have traditionally stayed away from politics might finally step in and start contesting the elections?

Youth and Women Voters: One of the fascinating thing about this general election in India is the various ways in which you slice and dice the numbers. There are over 714 million voters with about 25 percent of them under the age of 35 year. Roughly half the voters are women. The two blocs to watch out for is the youth and women voters. How will they vote? Will they vote based on issues or pocketbook? Do they have enduring party loyalties like some of the older voters might have? How these two groups vote might yield interesting result.

I don’t think many of the political leaders have a crystal clear idea of what might appeal to the younger generation, who grew up in a very different economic, political and social framework. This is a generation that has a strong sense of the culture of information technology. This will perhaps be the first election where the beginnings of what makes the next generation of voters tick emerges. India is one of the youngest countries in the world where 60 percent of the population is under the age of 35 years and they are the ones who are going to shape the future of the country.

There are lots of other variables that could influence the outcome of this general elections in India. Yes, while it seems that there may be no clear winner in this election it is also important to remember that there is almost a month left before the elections conclude. And a lot could happen in a month.

Who will win in this Indian election is the $64 billion question. Could comrade Prakash Karat become the next PM? Or, will it be LK Advani? Is it conceivable that Mayawati might become the default PM? Or, could Manmohan Singh make a comeback? Or, is there a political dark horse lurking in the background?

What is important is that India needs a stable and secular government at the center, especially given the recent developments in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Moving forward what India needs is a government that will focus on stability and economic growth and this is something that many savvy Indian voters are acutely aware of and hopefully each one of them realizes that their vote can make a difference.

This post is part of the Global Voices special coverage on Indian Elections 2009

Some Interesting Factoids and Trivia About the Indian General Elections 2009

Kamla Bhatt — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:55:40 +0000

On April 16th, 2009 the first phase of the voting for the Indian general elections will begin and conclude on May 13th, 2009. This is the 15th general elections in India since it became independent in 1947.

Over a million electronic voting machines:

There are 714 million people that are eligible to vote. About 1,368,430 electronic voting machines have been deployed across the country.

Restructuring of constituencies:

This is the first time where quite a few states have been redistricted to allow more urban representation. Karnataka, especially Bangalore, is a case in point, where because of the redistricting there is an increase in the number of seats from the urban areas, when compared to the rural ones.

40 million more voters:

India’s population is over 1 billion and about 60 percent of the population is under the age of 35 years. There has been a well-coordinated multi-pronged media strategy to reach out to young voters, who form a significant chunk of the Indian electorate. Perhaps for the first time filmmakers and actors from the Indian film industry, especially Bollywood have stepped out of their comfort zone and pitched in to help in either election campaign and voter mobilization. According to one media report there are 40 million more voters in this election, when compared to the previous election held in 2004.

Explosion of online information resources:

What is significantly different about this general election is the amount of information that is available to the Indian voters through different media channels and languages. For instance, tech giants Yahoo! and Google have pitched in and created election special sites that is a mashup of maps, videos, audio and print. Most mainstream media have created election special sites for their online, broadcast and print versions. And then there is the ubiquitous mobile phones where every mobile user gets targeted SMS or voice messages from various political parties.

The Election Commission of India has made available a wide range of information right from how to become a registered voter to political candidates, who have been disqualified to contest in this general elections.

Over a thousand political parties taking part:

According to the Election Commission of India there are a little over 1,000 political parties contesting at the local and national level according to this rather absorbing list of the various political parties and their political symbols. The Election Commission has done such a thorough job that they have also printed a list of free symbols that can be used by the political parties including kite, pressure cooker, diesel pump and kettle among others.

The Election Commission has made available a lengthy document that is 333 pages long that lists 3423 candidates, who have been been disqualified to participate in this election. And perhaps for the first time there is an online website called No Criminals that is geared towards educating voters about political candidates that have a criminal record and stop them from contesting elections. According to one news report the Congress Party has the most number of rich politicians in the country: 121 members.

Myths and predictions:

There are quite a few myths that have built over the years about the Indian electorate. Yogendra Yadav, a well-known psephologist breaks some of the myths in this article published by the BBC. One of the myths that Yadav dispels is that currently more Indian women exercise their right to vote when compared to Indian men. Also, there has been a decline in the number of women, who turn to their husbands for political advice when it comes to voting. But, he does point out that Indian women tend to follow in the footsteps of their husbands when it comes to voting for political parties.

When it comes to the youth votes in India Yadav points out:

There is no evidence to suggest that the young are politically more active than others. If anything, they are less politically active - obviously they have other anxieties in life, like preparing for a professional career.

One of the myths that Yadav did not address is the role of astrology and astrologers and their influence on politicians and their astrological predictions on the election outcome. Already reports have started streaming in from various astrologers that this election will result in a hung parliament meaning no single party wins a clear majority. I wonder if the astrologers based their predictions on the opinion polls that predict there will no clear winner in this election. What do you think?

This post is part of the Global Voices special coverage on Indian Elections 2009

Celebrity Power in Indian Elections

Kamla Bhatt — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:17:32 +0000

Salman Khan (center), a Bollywood super star, campaigns in support of Congress party candidate Milind Deora at a rally in Mumbai

Photo by Al Jazeera English and used under a creative commons license.

In India movie stars and filmmakers wield enormous influence and that point was drawn dramatically by Danny Boyle in the movie Slumdog Millionaire (hint: it is the toilet scene). Interestingly, the entertainment industry's (especially Bollywood or the Hindi film industry based in Mumbai) involvement in Indian politics was pretty marginal with a few a actors and some film makers participating in the election campaign process. But, there was an exception. The Southern state of Tamil Nadu, which is the first state in the world to effectively harness and use the film medium for political purposes right from the 1940s. During the late 1960s this nexus between politicians and the Tamil film industry reaped handsome dividends for Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and led to the formation of the first non-Congress government in the state. Since then various offshoots of DMK party have alternately been in power in Tamil Nadu. By the 1980s there was a steady trickle of entertainers into the political arena. In some cases they successfully contested and formed governments (like NTR and his Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh) or were voted/nominated to the Indian Parliament.

Fast forward to 2009 and the involvement of entertainers from Bollywood (or the Hindi film industry) based in Mumbai and the Tamil and Telugu film industry have registered a significant spike in the election campaign. Telugu actor Chiranjeevi launched a new political party in Andhra Pradesh, while Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt failed to get nominated because of his criminal record in the 1993 Mumbai blast. In Tamil Nadu former actress and Chief Minister Jayalalitha is in the running after being defeated in the previous elections. But, it is the involvement of Bollywood folks that has captured peoples' imagination.

Bollywood actor cum blogger Amitabh Bachchan offers a glimpse of his thoughts on the upcoming Indian elections. He writes:

“The elections are upon us. Elections in the largest and most thriving democracy in the world. TV has nothing else to offer but the electoral scenario unfolding upon us. Exit polls and analysis and who will win from where and who said what to whom and why. Even the media questionnaires that come across to us are full of queries on politics. Friends have become foes, foes have become friends. Games and manipulations all parties play to come to power. To win for the next 5 years and remain in governance. To them politics is an aphrodisiac, an elixir, that compels them to perform.”

Bachchan's wife Jaya Bachchan has been active politically for a few years now.

What could be the driving force that has prompted so many Bollywood actors to step out of their comfort zone and do their bit for this Indian election campaign? Gaurav Shukla of India Election 2009 might have unearthed the answer to that question. He writes:

“Celebrities who used to keep politics at an arms length have surprisingly chosen to rally around the need to vote this time. Industry experts suggest that the Mumbai terror attacks in November last year may be the reason for this change…Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, John Abraham, Kamal Haasan, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Anurag Kashyap, Shriya Sharan, Shruti Haasan and Sushmita Sen are among those who have joined the chorus.”

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan helped launch a voter awareness campaign for Association of Democratic reforms with the tagline: “Sachche ko chune, Achche ko chune” — meaning “vote for the honest, vote for good people.” Besides being the face and voice of the voter awareness campaign, Khan went one step further and helped produce the videos and audio pieces. AamirKhanblog writes:

“The ads have been made by the actor’s production company, Aamir Khan Productions, free of cost. An ‘A’ list Bollywood ensemble has put together this campaign. The creative head is Prasoon Joshi of McCann Erickson, Rakyesh Mehra is the director, Avinash Gowarikar the still photographer, and Shashi Sinha of Lodestar Media the media planner for the campaign. Everybody is working for the campaign gratis.

The ad campaign is being aired in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Assamese and Oriya so that it can reach out to the masses.”

Aamir Khan, who is also a blogger reminds Indian voters to make an informed choice when they cast their post. He wrote in his blog post:

To all Indians, remember to vote, and make an informed choice. Meaning, check out all the candidates from your area before you decide who to vote for.

Khan is vacationing in Montana, but according to media reports will fly back to Mumbai and cast his vote on April 30th, the day the commercial and entertainment capital of India goes to the polls.

Besides Khan, a whole slew of Bollywood actors and filmmakers have volunteered their time for various election mobilization and awarness programs. Perhaps, the most significant one is the involvement of the entertainment industry in the non-profit organization called Jaagore (that translates to “Wake up”). The NGO has created powerful short video clips like this one where Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor points out that average age an Indian is 23 years old, while the average age of a a cabinet minister in the Federal Governmnet is 62 years old.

Or, watch this video clip by Bollywood film director Rakeysh Omprakash, where he points out that in the state of Rajasthan a politician won the elections by one vote.

This post is part of the Global Voices special coverage on Indian Elections 2009

India: Reactions to Slumdog Millionaire

Kamla Bhatt — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:19:58 +0000

If you have not heard about Slumdog Millionaire then you must have missed all the buzz and the word of mouth publicity the film has got over the past few weeks. This surprise “underdog” film that almost did not make it to the movie theaters has won 4 Golden Globe awards and 10 Oscar nominations. Made on a shoestring budget of $15 million by British director Danny Boyle the film is based on Q and A, a novel written by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup. The film consists of new and unproven film stars except for a couple of well-known Indian stars like Anil Kapoor and Irfan Khan. The film (without giving away spoilers) is about Jamal, a poor, young man from the slums of Mumbai, who through a stroke of luck appears in the wildly popular TV game show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.” What happens? Does he win or not?

Danny Boyle. Image by Flickr user stits and used under a creative commons license

The film was shot by a mix of British and Indian crew in Mumbai, India and released late last year in the US and Europe. Last week the film was released in India. While the film got fantastic write-ups and reviews in the US, the film has got mixed reviews in India. Unsurprisingly, the film's music track by AR Rahman has got a consistent thumbs-up in India. The reviews and feedback of Slumdog Millionarie cover a fascinating array of opinions. Perhaps, the one blog post that created a lot of buzz are the remarks of Indian superstar Amitabh Bachchan. A prolific blogger, Mr. Bachchan had this to say about the movie in one of his earlier posts:

“On blog, comments for the film ‘SlumDog Millionaire' and the anger by some on its contents, prompt me to say the above. If SM projects India as Third World dirty under belly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky under belly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations. Its just that the SM idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a Westerner, gets creative Globe recognition. The other would perhaps not.”

Predictably, Mr. Bachchan's comments were subjected to intense scrutiny by the media and bloggers. Just Jo writes in his post You Have No Idea Sir jee that while he has not seen Slumdog Millionaire that the slums featured in the movie are a reality in Mumbai, India. He writes:

“And if you haven't noticed, Sirjee, Hollywood has time and again featured the bad and sad elements of their society in their movies. Going by your argument, after watching Hollywood movies the world should be thinking that America is a country that consists only of criminals, racists, rapists, pregnant teenagers, drug-peddlers, pedophiles etc etc. But is that the case? They used this wonderful medium of Cinema to fight against those evils, Sirjee. And you become angry when the same is done here. Oh, in the process, you were also angry at the legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray too!”

Since that first post on Slumdog Millionaire Mr. Bachchan has written another post clarifying his statement and speaking to director Danny Boyle and Anil Kapoor, the actor.

Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and head of Infosys, India's largest IT services company has an very interesting post where he talks about how films in India are the “zeitgeist” of the generation. Nilekani draws a comparison between Indian movies of the 1970s and Slumdog Millionaire and notes the difference in the world views of the these two generations. He writes:

“The movie is at its heart, about aspiration, and about dreams coming true. This ‘common man' Jamal, is not angry, like the Indian men of the 1970s. He is both hopeful and relentless, defiant and proud of his origins even as the people around him call him a 'slumdog'. He knows better - that it doesn't matter where you come from, only where you are headed.”

But, what do the young Indians think about the film? Do they think it is a hopeful film about aspirations and dreams coming true? It appears that not every young Indian subscribes to the hopeful note in the film. PH of Desicritics writes that he did not find Slumdog Millionaire “engaging” and points out:

“Unlike his counterparts from the American South, Jamal never quite becomes the everyman's voice of his period in Indian history; we never hear him telling us other people's interesting stories from his vantage point as an ‘outsider' …All this makes Slumdog a half-hearted, comme ci, comme ca endeavor that wants to both be a fairy-tale and capture urban poverty but falters on both counts.

PH concludes that:

“Slumdog, then, is at best an attempt to cook a saccharine dish in a bitter sauce.”

Meera Sinha, a young Indian American who is spending a year in India saw the film. She draws our attention to the reaction from from Mumbai slum dwellers, who have protested against the term “slumdog” to describe them. More importantly, Meera draws our attention to the debate the movie has generated and writes:

“This kind of healthy critique of popular culture will help us understand our relationship to the media and its representations of us.”

Whether people like the movie or not, the fact is that Slumdog Millionaire has started a conversation in India about poverty, entrepreneurship and Indian films. Hopefully that conversation will yield results.

Thumbnail images by Flickr users Richliu & dq, used under creative commons license.

Obama and India

Kamla Bhatt — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:01:43 +0000

The election of Barack Obama was a keenly watched event in India. Obama appears to have been the choice for President for many bloggers in India. Here is an quick snapshot of the initial reactions from bloggers in India about the historical significance of Obama's election. Interestingly, an underlying theme in a couple of blog posts is how and when will India's equivalent of Obama appear? Change is needed not just in America, but also in India appears to be the message from these bloggers.

Kakisi's World captures the mood and how history was created with the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the USA. The blogger writes that what India needs is an Obama:

“Barack Obama as President of the United States is a small step for humankind, a giant leap for America. All nations of the world take interest in the American elections, for America is not just a country but an idea, a dream. Only country that surpasses that dream is India for the idea of India is far more ambitious than people anywhere else would possibly imagine.”

Randeep Ramesh of ‘Asian Musings' writes about ‘Obama Nationlists' in India and says:

“Like the rest of the world, India woke up this morning agog at Obama's victory. His speech as President-elect was relayed live on every one of the three dozen local language news channels this morning displacing the usual blizzard of crime, stock market and cricket statistics.”

Randeep goes on to make a telling comment and compares the democracies between India and USA. He underscores the fact that the American version of democracy is very different from the Indian version. He adds:

“There is a presumption that democracies are all built the same…In India this is not true. People have yet to break the boundaries of gender and social-standing in India and are unable largely to choose a life for themselves. The reality is that identity – be it caste, class, race or religion - is central to the character of India's public life. It matters where you come from and who your father was in way that Americans would find bizarre.

Democracy in India is too immature to produce a President Obama. Although the country has had a Muslim nuclear scientist as president, a Sikh economist as prime minister and a Roman Catholic woman as leader of the biggest party these are merely outcomes of patronage.”

Rashmi Bansal of Youth Curry writes an interesting post about what Obama's victory means and wonders when India will get its Obama:

“And here in India one has to wonder when we will see an ‘Obama' who will help us rise above our differences. And lead us into ‘change we can believe in'…

Not in 2009… but someday for sure.”

Appopt of Daily Kos is in India and shares his thoughts about Obama fever in India and how he wished he was back in the USA just for the elections:

“I actually cried a little during Obama's speech. ….I got a little choked up during McCain's speech as well. Both made me realize that, while I enjoy traveling and seeing the world, I really do love the U.S. of A. And for a few minutes, I was tempted to email my old bosses to see if they'd take me back.”

Democrats Abroad consisting of American expats in Bangalore organized a breakfast meeting (because of the time difference between India and the USA) to watch the election results. Robin King of Bits From Bangalore shares some pictures and writes:

“Here in India they are worried about protectionism with respect to outsourcing, but overall there is great hope of a more enlightened and less boorish role for US in the world.”

India-USA Relationship Enters A New Era

Kamla Bhatt — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:41:13 +0000

Earlier this month the US government lifted its 30 year moratorium on nuclear trade with India. US President Bush signed a bill that allows US assistance to India's civilian nuclear energy program and in return India will allow its nuclear facilities for inspection by International Atomic Energy Association.

Riding the Elephant thinks that with this deal the US-India relationship has reached a new era, a new watershed. Is it true? Certainly, many in mainstream media think so and there has been a lot of heated debate both in India and US about the deal, but it is very puzzling as to why there is very little debate among Indian bloggers on this important subject.

Jayashree Bajoria of Council on Foreign Relations spells out the pros and cons of the US-India nuclear deal (also known as 123 agreement) which she points out is a watershed in the relationship between US and India.

DeepitA of Desicritics writes, “This (the nuclear agreement) has been among the most heated and debated agreements in recent times.” She highlights the opposition that both countries faced for pushing through the agreement and notes:

“The United States also had to face opposition internally, both within the Administration, and outside in the strategic community; people were reluctant to approve any exemptions to the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty); thought was that this gave India the right to use its uranium resources to push its military weapons program; also that this gave the wrong signal to others such as Iran and Pakistan.”

Here are a couple of observations from an American perspective about the agreement. Interestingly, both the Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain were in favor of the agreement writes Siddharth Varadarajan in his blog post.

Shashi Tharoor, who was formally with the United Nations, has this to say in his post ‘Why India Loves Bush‘:

“The fact is that the Indo-US relationship may well be the Bush administration's most significant (or perhaps only) international achievement of the last eight years. Look around the globe, and all you see are foreign policy shambles: five years of war in Iraq, accompanied by Abu Ghraib, torture, and rendition; a never-ending “global war on terror,” with Guantánamo a symbol of the Bushies' disregard for international law; rock-bottom opinion polls across Europe; a seething Middle East, a glowering Russia; and hostile powers from Iran to Venezuela. If there is a glimmer of light - one place in the world where the Bush administration leaves a better relationship than the one it inherited—it can only be India.”

Debate Over India-US Nuclear Deal

Kamla Bhatt — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:22:19 +0000

For the past few months there has been a heated debate in India about its its nuclear deal with the USA. This is an issue for which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has lobbied hard and tried to get political consensus. In fact, some analysts and observers point out Mr. Singh was ready to go for snap national poll, if required.

The Left Party led by Comrade Prakash Karat, which is an important coalition member of the current government in power has not been in favor of the nuclear agreement with USA. The Indian Political Blog writes:

And then, suddenly, like a Jack in the Box suddenly popping out, the Congress and the Prime Minister appear to have outsmarted the Left.
…
Where does this leave the Left ? It has an alltime high of 59 MP’s, but Kerala is famous for changing its political mind quickly, and the Left suffered some major reversals in West Bengal local elections, thus ensuring that early next elections could see a much reduced Left MP count. Even now, it could almost seem like that they are no longer relevant.

This past week the government was able to garner the necessary votes and support in spite of the Left Party's opposition.

Touchbase has a succinct post that demystifies the US-India Nuclear deal right from the 123 agreement to the Indian Left party's opposition to the deal. He writes:

So the deal contains many loopholes when it comes to national security. But at the same time helps to satisfy India's growing need for power. So its going to be a tough time for this minority government to finalise a decision regarding the deal.

Prof. T. T. Ram Mohan of Big Picture writes that the India-US nuclear deal has been reduced to a test of patriotism. He goes on to present two contrarian views about the nuclear deal and concludes:

Chellaney is right. This deal is about a strategic alliance with the US to counter the rise of China, it is merely being presented as an energy proposition for political and diplomatic reasons. The real worth of the strategic alliance lies in the transfer of a whole range of advanced dual-use technologies- these technologies cannot be transferred unless India's status as a nuclear power changes.

There are a couple more steps before this deal can be ratified by the US Congress. These steps include getting approvals from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Supplier's Group.

India: Tibet, the Olympic Torch and the Dalai Lama

Kamla Bhatt — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:02:10 +0000

In this week's roundup of virtual India we look at Tibet in India. Next week the Olympic torch arrives in India. First, Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia pulled out, and now Supercop Kiran Bedi has pulled out. However, well-known Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar will be carrying the Olympic torch writes enga. area and adds:

“Sachin actually volunteered himself to carry the torch.Sachin called Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi and expressed his wish to join the other sportsmen who are selected to participate in the Olympic torch relay.”

Tendulkar's decision to carry the Olympic torch was greeted with mixed reactions. Kartikeya of Desicritics writes:

“A great sportsman like Tendulkar should know better than to carry the Olympic torch when others like Kiran Bedi have refused to do so. We can blame the politics of it all, but the simple point is, that it is our Government, and it is our character which is revealed. We ought not to sacrifice it at the altar of “interest”.

While quite a few well-known Indian celebrities have pulled away from participating in the Olympic torch rally it looks like the Left Parties in India have remained consistent in their stand in supporting China or the People's Republic of China (PRC). Jokes From Indian Left writes in his post titled Hypocrisy of the Indian Left Parties:

“Concerned that Tibetan protesters may succeed, CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury called upon the government on Wednesday to see that there were no disruptions. Mr Yethury, It so sounds like you are more worried that Fire may get Hurt when a person attempts self-immolation bids.”

Prem Panickar underscores the dichotomy in Comrade Prakash Karat's stand vis-a-vis China and the USA. Karat is a well-known communist leader and is the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Panickar writes:

“The Prakash Karats of this world, who spout reams about “national sovereignty’ when it comes to discussing the India-US civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, seem to be totally a-okay with this—a Chinese team on India soil to take over security responsibilities of a public event that should be the internal concern of India’s police and security apparatus alone…”

Well-known travel writer Pico Iyer's new book about the Dalai Lama is a timely one and has once again drawn the world's attention to Tibet. Iyer's new book: The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama has received some wonderful reviews and Abhi of Sepia Mutiny writes:

“Instead of treating him merely as a figure to be awed, Iyer describes him as “Forrest Gumpish,” simple yet revolutionary. He is a religious leader who is actively attempting to weaken the dogma of his own religion.”

Read the rest of the post and also discover what novelist Pankaj Mishra has to say about Iyer's book.

I wrote a post summing up the various interviews and review of Pico Iyer, Dalai Lama and Tibet:

“What runs as a red skein in the various reviews and interviews with Iyer about Dalai Lama is the non-violent way in which the Tibetan leader seeks to resolve a long-standing issue over the autonomy of Tibet with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It is close to 50 years since the Dalai Lama fled Tibet and settled in India.”

What about the Tibetans, who live in India? What do they think of their homeland and going back there? Outside of Tibet, the most number of Tibetans live in India. They live in different parts of India in states like Himachal Pradesh (where Dharamsala is located) to Uttaranchal, Karnataka and New Delhi. What goes through the minds of the young Tibetans, who live in India? Mayank Sufi Austen talks to a young Tibetan who went back to Lhasa and says;

“I was a foreigner in my homeland. I didn't know Chinese and it was everywhere. In restaurants, menus would be written in Chinese and I would ask stewards what was what. I would pass by the city's only theater that screened Hollywood films, dubbed only in Chinese. It was difficult to make out things. I was lost.”

India: The Olympic Torch and Tibet

Kamla Bhatt — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 08:25:57 +0000

It seems like Tibet refuses to go away from people's mind. Tibet continues to be the dominant topic of conversation and is clearly gathering a lot of public support, especially in virtual India. Baichung Bhutia, India's well-known football player has refused to carry the Olympic torch when it comes to India in mid-April. Bhutia is a Buddhist from the Indian state of Sikkim. Bhutia told the Indian media that this was his way of standing up for the people of Tibet, and clearly Bhutia's stance has resonated with many Indian bloggers.

Sushbh of Insanity Rediscovered writes that he is very pround of Bhutia's stance on Tibet and not carrying the Olympic torch, while Sudharshan writes that he does not care if the Indian football team makes it the world cup final, and is very proud of Bhutia's decision. Patrix writes that finally we have an Indian celebrity who can stand up to China.

However Avinash differs and writes that Tibet should be discussed but now now since the Olympics is a global event. What Avinash is pointing out in his blog is that Tibet and Beijing Olympics issues need to be de-coupled.

While Bhutia has decided not to carry the torch, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan announced that he will be part of the Olympic torch. To say that Aamir Khan's decision to carry the Olympic torch has created a buzz would be a bit of an understatement. Khan,(probably the only Bollywood actor with a blog) writes about his decision to carry the Olympic torch:

“I categorically state that I am absolutely against any form of violence, and certainly I am deeply upset whenever the basic rights of human beings are violated anywhere in the world.”

He adds:

“I request those of you who have asked me to stay away from the Olympic Torch Relay to understand that when I do run with the torch on the 17th of April it is not in support of China. In fact it will be with a prayer in my heart for the people of Tibet, and indeed for all people across the world who are victims of human rights violations.”

Khan's blog post has created quite a bit of reaction from the bloggers. Raman's Strategic Analysis in his open letter to Aamir Khan writes:

“You have millions of admirers as an artist all over the world. You will continue to have millions of admirers what ever be your final decision. But many of them will have feelings of vacuum in their hearts over your failure to distinguish between the right and the wrong.”

Prasanna Vishwanathan of Benched@Bangalored finds Khan's explanation “convoluted” and writes:

“(Khan) he cannot camouflage the fact that commercial consideration motivates his decisions rather than any lofty intentions .Or it could well be that oppression in Iraq or Afghanistan by US could or NBA agitatation against Modi government is what strikes emotional chord in Aamir Khan's heart.The selective heart-bledding has been consistent hallmark of left liberal intelligenstia.”

India: Tata, Jaguar and Rover.

Kamla Bhatt — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:33:22 +0000

Earlier today it was announced that Tata Motors of India is acquiring Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motors, which was once one of three automotive giants of Michigan. Tata’s acquisition of these two high-end automobile brands is one of the central topics of conversation in global mainstream media and blogs.

Within a short span of three months Tata Motors has creates quite a bit of ripple in the global automotive industry. In early January Ratan Tata unveiled its people car “Nano” aptly dubbed as the “people’s car” in New Delhi. What caught many people by surprise, especially from the automotive world, is the price point of the Nano: $2500. That makes Nano the cheapest car in the world. Earlier today Tata Motors created yet another major ripple when it announced that it is acquiring Jaguar and Land Rover, two well-known auto brands from the struggling US auto giant Ford Motors. Tata Motors will pay $2.3 billion to acquire Jaguar and Land Rover. Mark Silva captures the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover by tracing back the British roots of these two automobile companies and in a way points out the irony of the sale.He writes:

The empire was turned on its head today: With Ford Motor Co.'s announced sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to India's Tata Motors, the ownership of two of Great Britain's legendary motor marques will pass this year from one former British colony to another.

This isn't so much a story of globalization as it is a tale of the globe turned on its axis…Today, in the history of an upended world economy, India's Tata bought two of the proud motor marques of England, Jaguar and Land Rover.

John Elliot of Riding the Elephant wonders if Ratan Tata can break a cycle of decline of these two high-end automobile brands? Elliot thinks that Ratan Tata has a chance of pulling it off, but wonders about who will step into Tata’s (70 years old) shoes once he retires:

It is Tata who has provided the personal drive and leadership to turn Tata Motors into a business that can produce the Nano and buy two world famous brands - in the same year. There’s a big job waiting for someone – and Tata is not yet saying who.”

Truemors, a Silicon Valley blog takes a friendly and humorous dig at Tata's acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover. Jaguar is expected to become affectionately known as the “left Tata”, while the slightly larger Land Rover will take the role of “right Tata”.

Krishna Raj of My Capital Market Weblog sums up the key points of the deal in his blog post.

Ford will also supply power trains, stamping, and other components. Along with that, it will provide engineering support, including research and development. Ford Motor Credit will provide financing to JLR dealers for 12 months. There will be no change in the terms of employment for JLR employees. Ford added that the deal comprises of brands, manufacturing plants, and IPR. The deal will be closed by the end of the next quarter.”

Gaurav Shukla of brandfaqs writes that the Tata Group has almost 98 companies in its fold and provides a nice overview of some of the major companies.

AutoPandit points out that Tata Motors is now the maker of low-end as well as high-end luxury cars. Nishant Kaushik points out that 10 years ago such a thing as an Indian company buying a well-known company was unheard of. His blog post underscores how far India has changes since then.

India: Between Tibet and China

Kamla Bhatt — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 08:33:34 +0000

Over the past few day the focus of the international community is on Tibet and Chinese Government's handling of the uprising, but over in India there has been quite a bit of debate over China's actions in Tibet and the role of Tibet in India-China relationship. What should India's stand be on the issue of Tibet? The Tibetan Government in Exile headed by the Dalai Lama is in “Little Lhasa” or Dharamsala in India. The Dalai Lama fled from Tibet to India in 1959 and has continued to live there since then. Additionally, there is a sizable population of Tibetans who have continued to live in India since the 1950s.

Raman's Strategic Analysis draws our attention to the role of the Tibetan Youth Congress in the current uprising and writes:

It has made the Tibetan people in Tibet and Sichuan rid themselves their fear complex and assert their rights in their homeland. ‘Tibet for the Tibetans” is its policy…It (Tibetan Youth Congress) differs from His Holiness' policy of genuine autonomy and calls for total independence. It is not against the Beijing Olympics.

A quick survey of Indian blogs shows that quite a few of them have questioned India's stand on Tibet and wonder if India needs to take a stronger position vis-a-vis China. Acorn; draws our attention to Tibetan leader Tenzin Tsundue's attempt to lead a peaceful march from India to Tibet and writes:

The only reason for this was to save the Chinese government from the embarrassment of having to deal with the situation (most likely, having to turn them back).

Sudharshans argues in his blog that India needs to take a stronger position. He writes:

Come on, India. We need to support the Tibetans in their quest for freedom. The easiest thing India can do is make a statement by boycotting the Olympics…I do not understand why we are trying to tango with China. Are we worried because our kids cannot play with cheap toxic toys? I would not be surprised if the Govt. is pissing in the pants that the politburo would withdraw its support to the center for acting against their comrades in China.

Brahma Chellaney, a security analyst has a pretty incisive article about Tibet and its role in the India-China relationship and points out that India cannot afford to overlook what happens to Tibet because it has strategic long-term implications for India. Chellaney argues that the time has come for the Indian government to evaluate its policy.He points out:

They cannot grasp the simple fact that between appeasement and confrontation lie a hundred different options. A false choice — pay obeisance to Beijing or brace up for confrontation — has been used to block any legitimate debate on policy options.

Chellaney outlines three things that India needs to do with reference to Tibet one of them being that India should stop referring to Tibet as part of China. He quite correctly points out a major change in the tone of the relationship during the recent visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to China. He writes:

Last January, Manmohan Singh became the first PM to return from Beijing without making any unwarranted reference to Tibet to please his hosts. The ‘T’ word is conspicuously missing from the joint communiqué — a key point the media failed to catch.

RIP: Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan

Kamla Bhatt — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:16:58 +0000

Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto (54) was assassinated in Rawalpindi earlier today at a political rally. Ironically according to media reports Rawalpindi is one of the most secure cities in Pakistan and teeming with security folks. In another irony according to a report on the BBC Benazir was assassinated in almost the same place as Pakistan's first Prime Minister.

Her assassination puts the future of Pakistan's political future in turmoil and there are questions being raised if Pakistan will plunge into a civil war.

Benazir was the first woman to be elected twice as Prime Minister of Pakistan.

What a tragic end for a leader, who was fighting for democracy in Pakistan. Her return to Pakistan earlier this year started off on a wrong foot when an attempt was made to bomb her cavalcade that was traveling from the airport to her ancestral home. With this sudden death the political future of Pakistan is once again on an uncertain footing. The question is whether elections will be held next month.

A controversial leader, Benazir's political views were shaped by her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a former Prime Minister of Pakistan. A seasoned orator and writer Benazir studied in UK and the USA before returning to Pakistan and joining her father's political party Pakistan's People's Party (PPP) and was was the Prime Minister of Pakistan. At Metroblogging Lahore, a blogger states that despite not supporting Bhutto's politics, the sudden death of the political leader is a tragic event.

I personally have never supported Ms Benazir and her party (the PPP). But this, by all means, goes beyond the immediate politics of pretty much everything. It goes without saying that no one, and I mean no one — even for a moment — deserves to go this way, to die in such an unnatural manner and for such obnoxiously stupid reasons. Fate, as we already should know, is not without a sense of irony; Benazir has died (primarily) due to gunfire wounds while leaving a political gathering at Liaquat Gardens; Liaquat Gardens is not only named after, but is also the same place where the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Khan Liaquat Ali Khan was murdered with a bullet.

India: Bengalooru Bangalored!

Kamla Bhatt — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:55:34 +0000

With due apologies to Prof. TT Ram Mohan who came up with this creative title for his post, and which I have happily borrowed from him.

The emergence of Bangalore from a laid-back garden city to a city of steel and glass buildings and and a major IT hub in India is a source of fascination for journalists, bloggers and others. Over the weekend Outlook, a well-known national magazine in English ran its cover story on Bangalore, the capital of the southern state of Karnataka that has made into the IT lexicon of many languages. The cover story had an attention grabbing headline: Why Bangalore Hates The IT Culture. Predictably, the story has created quite a bit of buzz in the online world.

Prof TT Ram Mohan writes his post Bengalooru Bangalore-d:

“What precisely are the grievances that people in Bangalore have against IT folk? The litany of complaints includes: rising property prices thanks to the IT employees' purchasing power, grabbing of prime land by IT companies, the bar and disco culture and IT employees being preferred in the bridal market.”

Clearly, there is some kind of rift within Bengalooru and Prof Ram Mohan wonders aloud about an effective solution for the city. He writes:

“So, what do we do? Throw IT out? Not at all. Can greater philanthropy help? To some extent, maybe- for instance, a classy university run at affordable prices on IT endowments might help assuage popular sentiment.
But the biggest corrective, I reckon, will come from the very economic environment that created IT's prosperity- no more concessional land, a decline in profitability from a rising rupee and its attendant costs (including layoffs in the IT sector) and a greater focus on the domestic economy on the part of IT firms in the face of a rising rupee.”

Over at Churumuri there is a heated debate about the Outlook article and Why Bangalore Hates The English Culture? Point your mouse to the post to find out what the denizens of Bangalore have to say about their city and what the article failed to cover.

But, should the IT sector be blamed for the state of Bengalooru? Abi of Nanopolitan writes:

“While reading it, it appears to me that people — even those who should know better — are attributing to the IT sector what should really be placed at the doorsteps of governance.”

It is just not the Outlook article that has folks talking about Bangalore, it is the local politics and the general state of affairs of the state that has folks in far off cities talking about Bangalore as bad business. Jaideep VG, a journalist and media consultant, who lives in Bengalooru writes in his blog Out of India:

“Last week, during lunch with a Dutch businessman who has lived and worked in India for 12 years and a young professor at the prestigious Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, the topic of Bangalore as a feasible base for business came up. The Dutch entrepreneur, who has spent a significant amount of time in this city working with the preserved foods industry began with a long rant against former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and his son, the former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. “I've been around, doing business during the SM Krishna administration and also during this mockery of a coalition government. How these people (Gowda and Kumaraswamy) have treated businesses and businessmen disgusts me,” he said. “I visit Bangalore often (he lives and works in Dindigul) and frequently speak to businessmen and entrepreneurs about the costs of doing business in Bangalore, and off late, have been hearing the same thing: it just doesn't make sense for people to set up new businesses in this city. In fact, Hyderabad and Chennai are talked about as preferred destinations,” he added.

On a personl note and as a resident of Bangalore I was not a happy camper after I read the article. Like many others I kept thinking what about the role of the Government in Karnataka and Bengalooru?

State of Emergency in Pakistan

Kamla Bhatt — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 18:37:48 +0000

Earlier today President Musharaff of Pakistan declared a state of emergency and bloggers have been busy trying to get a handle of the latest political developments in Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto, who left for Dubai is reportedly back in Pakistan. President Musharraf is expected to address the nation sometime soon. (It is 11.44 pm on Saturday at the time of writing this post.)

Manan Ahmed of Informed Comment, Global Affairs writes:

The move is hardly surprising considering the chaos engulfing Pakistan at the moment - from political (Supreme Court deliberations on the fate of the “election”) to military (the tribal/militant conflict has spread to Swat and Peshawar) to ideological (Baluchistan) to international (Rice has decided she wants democracy).

According to the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) declaring emergency, the steps were taken because of the recent terrorist attacks, the release of terror-suspects by the judiciary, the lack of oversight of the judiciary and the low morale of police and army in the nation. See the text here [pdf].

Free Pakistan blogspot has video clips about the current situation in Pakistan and here is a link about the army's invasion of Pakistan's supreme court.

Metroblogging Karachi has an account of how and when emergency was declared in Pakistan.

After binary-zero's instant reporting on private TV channels being taken off-air around the country amid speculations of emergency rule in the country, the rumour has been confirmed as true.

Even, the state media including Pakistan Television Network (PTV) has confirmed the news and has announced that General Musharraf will be adressing the nation sometime tonight.

Media and judiciary have been the first targets under emergency-rule as almost all major private channels still remain off-air and according to one TV channel, the army has entered the Supreme Court building.