The Curious Case of Velupillai Prabhakaran

OTHER than Vaiko, by now everyone believes that Prabhakaran is dead. Vaiko needs a "Prabhakaran" to continue his passionate support for Eelam; so we can understand his plight. I sympathize the sorry state of Vaiko - he lost election from his own constituency; he said there will be blood bath if Prabhakaran died but no such thing happened; and he spent days and nights supporting and agitating for LTTE but the people rejected all this drama. So, let us spare him further agony.

Prabhakaran was once an icon of courage and valor among Tamil youth. There was a time when I admired the military operations he conducted - bringing the Lankan army to his feet.

When he took up arms to fight Lankan oppression in 1980s, he had the blessing of India. Mrs.Indira Gandhi supported and encouraged the LTTE. They were allowed to use TN as training grounds. Back then, nobody was concerned about the violent methods LTTE used. Maybe it was necessary at that point of time to stop Lankan genocide against Tamils.

Rajiv Gandhi's initiative to bring a political settlement to the crisis gave rise to the Indo Lankan pact of 1987. I believe, he truly intended to resolve the conflict amicably. The LTTE initially agreed to it reluctantly. They even started surrendering their arms to the IPKF. Soon, disagreements broke and LTTE joined hands with Srilanka and drove our IPKF out, saying "Lankans and Tamils are brothers ! Who is India to interfere !". Thus, the LTTE stalled the headway made in this political settlement. If LTTE had co-operated, India could've pressurized the Lankan Govt to act according to the pact and agree for a devolution of power to Tamils.

But, Vellupillai Prabhakaran had a different dream about Tamil Eelam. He wanted a Tamil nation carved out of the island where he and his associates can be the sole rulers in an autocratic setup. He never believed in democracy. To achieve this dream, he was ready for any proportion of bloodbath - no matter whose blood it was - Tamils or Sinhalese or Indians or whoever. Sadly, this was not what Tamils wanted.

Slowly, he turned his organization from a liberation movement into a blood thirsty terrorist movement - assassinating anyone who disagreed with him - including our former PM. His acts of crime overshadowed the Tamil cause for which he once started fighting. More than 32 countries banned LTTE, and he was in the "Wanted" list of law-enforcement agencies worldwide like Interpol, CBI, and FBI.

Rajiv's assassination was not only a deadly crime, but it was a stupid move by the LTTE. They lost their only supporter in this region - India.

After May 21st 1991, India understood the consequences of doing business with a guerilla group. All these years, we never thought the LTTE would harm us; it was after all our foster kid that grew with our support. But now, our own security was at stake. We realized that this was not a group we should've associated with from the very beginning! They have proved to be ruthless killers. If we had really cared about Lankan Tamils, we should have interfered more directly into the matter and pressurized SL, instead of supporting and supplying arms to these guerilla rebels. India as a nation should have stepped in. But instead, we made friends with the wrong group.

It is a shame that the LTTE is still portrayed by some as representatives of Tamils in SL. They lost that identity long back. They have killed Tamil leaders and Tamil citizens without any mercy. A recent BBC video showed LTTE herding Tamil civilians with guns and firing at those who were trying to escape. They deliberately squashed all attempts for a political settlement. They were nothing but a group of fanatics who fought for the personal cause of a rogue leader called Prabhakaran. They strayed away from their liberation path a long time ago.

It is good they were silenced once and for all. Congratulations to the Lankan President for standing firm amidst so many pressures. But, we do not know what he has in mind after this. Would he be true to his words and give equal rights to Tamils? We don't know. But, he sure knows that the international community is watching. India should ensure that justice is done for Tamils there. It is a good time to remind Srilanka of the Indo Lankan pact.

As far as people like Vaiko and Ramadoss are concerned, they can continue to joke around like clowns; it helps to keep the political scene entertaining.

"Saving" India from Pub Culture

Girls and boys who were hanging out in a pub in Mangalore were brutally assaulted by a Sena party. The video on NDTV site showed girls being beaten, dragged and humiliated. So, let's all understand one thing clearly. Pub culture is indecent. It is from Western countries. So, we should all oppose it.

Right ? Understood ? Ok wait, listen further.

Dragging girls by their salwar, beating them, pushing them around, standing around them & slapping them - are all ancient Indian culture - and we should all uplift and save it. Wow, what a great eye-opener ! For all those confused people who were trying to understand the difference between Western culture and Indian culture - the Sena party has given a clear definition.

I started wondering how Sena would react in another situation. In Tamil Nadu, illicit liquor production happens here and there. I have a doubt if that is ancient Indian culture or Western or Latin or whatever. In any case, I am sure the Sena party of Mangalore incident would take strong action against these men also. They might run into such illicit liquor areas, and pull off the dhoti from all men there. Unfortunately, girls are not present in such areas. So, the Sena party may not be able to prove their ancient Indian culture on girls. But, I am sure, they will strip men of their dhotis and enforce their party's principle. (Hopefully NDTV will upload that video too)

"Fire Bath" - The Great Tamil Culture

Nowadays, you hear many incidents of Tamilians self-immolating themselves. This "fire bath" sounds like a good method, given the fact that water scarcity is a century-old issue in TN. They should also invent "fire soap", "fire shampoo", "fire body wash", etc. After all, Tamilians are known for their cleanliness. I wonder why the big leaders never self-immolate themselves, but merely praise and pay homage to those who die from it. Wouldn't it be a great show if all Tamil leaders tried self-immolating themselves in the middle of the road, and NDTV covers the event live - and Barkha Dutt runs round and round the scene giving live commentary ! Wow, what a scene to imagine !

Instead of rubbishing such stupid acts, Tamil leaders stand in queue and pay homage to these self-immolators. What a shame ! Taking one's own life is unlawful. It is a sin. It is a coward's act. Leaving all your dependent family members on the road and killing yourself - is the worst form of stupidity. And this is what Tamil leaders praise and support. Karunanidhi would write poems for them; Vaiko might tear off his shirt and shout slogans for them; and Ramdoss might go on an"indefinite" hunger strike for 8 hours (and drink orange juice in the end)!

Wow, what a Tamil Culture ! If anyone opposes this, he would be termed anti-Tamil, anti-Eelam, and many more "anti"s. So, why take risk ! Let me also try writing a poem for all these fire bathers.

It is to be noted that, the only leader who didn't praise these cowardly acts is Jayalalitha. Hats off to her. (I am no ADMK supporter)

To Poach or Not To Poach

After the Satyam disaster, Infosys got itself into some muddy waters by the remarks of its HR and Mr.N Murthy. First, they said, they will not poach on Satyam employees. I looked at some dictionaries and understood that "poach" actually means to unfairly or illegally benefit from a situation. Well, in that case, it appeared there was nothing wrong in what they said. After a while, they stirred the mud a bit more as if the earlier statement wasn't enough. "We will not recruit Satyam employees" ! Now, here comes trouble ! IT people from all companies started throwing stones at this remark. All sorts of allegations were made at Infosys. Some took oath never to join Infy in their life. One guy said Mr. Murthy can never become President of India because of this one remark (as if he was dying to become President).

Now, why all this hungama ? We are talking about a company - Satyam - that fell on its own face because of its fraudulent activities. When my competitor falls like this - due to all the fraud he committed over the years, after cheating all stakeholders and violating the laws of this land - why on earth should I not use that golden opportunity and crush him out of business ! If this happened to Yahoo, will Microsoft and Google sit back and shed tears? The next moment they would be setting off like roaring lions to finish off the bleeding prey. There is absolutely nothing wrong in it. Business is war, and if a competitor falls because of his mistakes it is nothing wrong of others to use that opportunity.

But, if Satyam had fallen because of a natural disaster like earthquake or flood - or a terrorist attack on its facilities - then it makes sense for others to show some sympathy and lend a helping hand.

The best help other IT companies can do to Indian software business now - is to do everything possible to take over Satyam's clients and employees - and ensure that our image isn't affected in the global arena. Without any hesitation, we should welcome Satyam employees into our companies - and people can call it poaching or whatever - but I feel that is absolutely right.

Wake Up Call to Dr. Manmohan Singh

Someone has to tell Dr. Manmohan Singh to close that Economics book he is reading, and try reading "How to become an effective leader in 21 days" or something of that sort. Mr. Singh is definitely a nice man, a scholar, a man with clean hands, etc etc. But, all these traits can only make up a College Professor or a lab scientist or an Economist or whatever - but definitely not a LEADER.

India needs a leader, who is courageous, who can take stern decisions without fear, who can rally the masses behind him, who can command and order - and who can send a clear signal to terrorists that he is a roaring lion and not a meowing kitten. We are in a time when we don't need Manmohans, but rather need Sardar Patels, Churchills and Indira Gandhis.

Shivraj Patil was glued to his chair - even after the entire nation gave him the Most Inefficient Home Minister award. It needed a massacre like the one that happened in Mumbai to finally show him the way out. No idea how Mr. Chidambaram would perform, but he would obviously be better than Mr. Patil (looking at the pathetic track record of Mr. Patil). But, a lot more is expected from Mr. Chidambaram. A lot lot more.

We definitely need a separate law to deal with crimes of terrorism. Terrorists cannot be treated the same way like other criminals. They should be shown zero-tolerance and the harshest of punishments, in addition to curbing privileges like appeals, bails, etc. Well, what if this law is misused ? In times like this, when the security of a whole nation is at stake, we cannot be handicapped by the fear of misuse. We can try to minimize misuse, that's all we can do. We have to definitely make some sacrifices - because this "terrorism cancer" has gone to the last stages. (FYI, any criminal law is prone to misuse !)

In Tamil Nadu, we have a separate form of pro-terrorism - in the name of "Saving Lankan Tamils". Why was Vaiko released from prison even after he openly supported LTTE? People like Vaiko should be tried under the same anti-terrorism law that is applied to terrorists. Either he should face the same fate of terrorists, or should be asked to leave the country for good. He can settle in Kilinochchi, play "kabadi" with Prabhakaran, and live happily ever after. Why bother India !

In a few months, the Mumbai attacks will be forgotten. NDTV will start covering some other scandal. The only-captured terrorist may sit in jail and enjoy meals 3 times a day (with our tax money). Or who knows, he may appeal and appeal, and get bail, and have dinner in Taj. Some human rights group may actually demand for his release (because achooo...he was brutally beaten by interrogators). All this...until finally... one more attack comes. This is the protocol we have been following these years.

Let's see if it changes.