Important Dates

What are the most important dates in your life? Your birthday? Maybe, but for me a couple of dates I can never forget are the ones on which I got my job offers and the days I quit those jobs :) I don't know why I just remember those days crystal clear.

Then there are those dates which you dread to forget. Like your girlfirend's birthday or your best friend's birthday. Its hard to say who keeps the grudge for a longer time:) I usually am angry when a close friend forgets my birthday, however that only lasts a couple of days. Come August and there are a host of such dates I have to remember.

August in more ways than one also marks the start of the festive season in India. Rakhi, followed by Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi. Ofcourse October brings Durga Puja with it. For me those are the five most important days and night of the year. In those five days I get enjoyment of a lifetime. I keep tracking dates of Durga Puja almost a year in advance. However this year, perhaps first time in 26 years, I won't be in Bombay for Puja. Believe me, I stayed in Pune for 10 years but for Puja I had to return to Bombay. Nothing matches up to the festive spirit of Bombay. Whether it's Ganpati,Durga Puja, Navratri, Diwali or New Years, Bombay is the place to be!

Terror Outsourced

When the 9/11 bombings happened and then the 7/7 bombings in London, India took pride in saying that there were no Indians involved in the attacks. Infact some senators and top officials in the Bush government had recently pointed out that India has a vast Muslim community which is very moderate and had not been involved in terrorist activities against the 'West'. Alas, the facade has given away. The truth is out. The latest Glasgow bombings have Indian links and the fact is that we have extremists in our country just like Pakistan,Iran,UK,Saudi or US for that matter. Saying that terrorism is preached by some radical Islamic groups and young educated Indian Muslims are getting attarcted towards this thought process would be over simplifying the matter. The fact is that extremism gives birth to extremism. The very fact that these highly educated youths were convinced that terrorist attacks are the right path to take raises big questions. Why would someone so educated and intelligent go for such activities?
Maybe we need to introspect. Isn't this a result of the extremism practiced by Indian political parties since the Late 80s? Isn't this a result of extremism practiced by Modi in Gujrat? Isn't this a result of extremism practiced by Bush?
Why Bush? Well, thats simple. If he would have attacked only Afghanisthan and claimed the war was against terrorism then it would be acceptable as Afghanisthan was encouraging terrorist activities and terrorists(just like Pakistan). However, misuse of this opportunity to control Iraqi oil, is the reason why we are in the situation we are in today. Bush did not attack Iraq because Iraq was a terrorist state. He attacked it for business purposes. Today the whole of West and South Asia is paying the price for his stupidity. Fighting terror is the last thing Bush has done in this war. All he has succeded in, is in creating more hatred towards the West and thus more terrorists.

In no way am I justifying the acts of this Bangalore doctor but we should take a step back and think that why our youth has got misguided. Earlier terrorsits were being produced in the Middle East, in UK and Central Asia. Now, it seems terrorists can be produced and exported more economically and efficiently from Bangalore, just like software.
I am sure this would be the first outsourcing project Bangalore would refuse and say NO THANKS. Alas, outsourcing is not always profitable.