On the Events in Bangladesh (As on 26 Aug 2024)

Harpreet Uncategorized

(This chain of thoughts was tweeted on the morning of 26 Aug 2024)

Last night just as I was about to hit bed, this short thread landed up on my TL.

My first reaction was that this was inevitable!

Sharing some thoughts on this latest development. Let’s see how it goes ..

First and foremost, I will share this video of Dacca University, taken in March 1971, aired by NBC News 10 months later.

THIS is how the endgame of 1971 commenced – with the West Pakistani occupiers killing students and professors .. MUST watch the video and hear the commentary

It seems almost like a Deja Vu all over again, doesn’t it?
Given that the levels of violence for the time being aren’t of similar nature, but students clashing with armed wings of the state is a dire reminded of what happened not very long ago ..

Screenshot 2024-09-09 142321

The glamour associated with carrying out a revolution is now over. That high of ousting a government is gone and what is left is the same old country with the same old problems.
Who’d have thought there was so much hard work to do after this anarchy, no?!!

And on top of that, they are now ‘led’ by a Nobel Laureate who is even older than the allegedly senile President of the USA!
Tell me whether you are surprised at the turn of events in Bangladesh from mayhem to well .. MORE mayhem!
I, for one, am not!

In fact, I’d say that the typo wherein this handle inadvertently writes Prawns instead of Pawns is a very ironical one, given the current situation and what is likely to follow in the near future!

To put it very bluntly .. Bangladesh had a relatively stable govt and a relatively good economy, which is something to have been proud of, given the general state of other countries in SAARC. And then they decided to screw it up and take their country back by atleast two decades!

The poor ‘prawns‘ thought they were doing it of their own volition, not realising that they were merely a ‘catch’ being reeled in fast to be savoured by the vultures. But then, who can deny the heady winds of freedom to the ‘oppressed’ ones, no?

Atleast now they are free to get beaten up by their own, brand-new ‘revolutionary’ govt’s agencies! They are well and truly screwed, for the short and medium term atleast.

Even if this even quickly dies down, worse is yet to follow.

So what comes next?

Well, first and foremost, I’d say MORE CHAOS.

And I say it not with glee, or sadness, but as a very neutral observer of things going own within a sovereign country, which will soon be celebrating 53rd year of sovereignty granted to it by India.

Oh, and also the electricity bill that is due for payment to the Adani Group! People say they owe as much as $800Mn to the Adani Group. Also, the GOI has recently empowered them legally to cut-off electricity to Bangladesh in case of default!

Oh, and the erstwhile ‘fastest growing economy in Indian Sub-Continent’ also owes Rs 100Cr to Tripura for electricity supplied by them as well. Sadly, Tripura has already started demanding their legitimate dues!

Screenshot 2024-09-09 142928

Btw, before moving ahead, let me also just leave it here that leader of the largest political party in favour currently, Khaleda Zia, herself is nearly 80yrs old!

Of course she is the perfect leader for the ‘new’ country born out of this ‘new’ revolution!

Getting back to the issue of electricity, ever wondered why Adani still hasn’t turned off the switch? Would you say that this is India messaging to Bangladesh to beware of mucking things up more than they already have? Of course their yahoos STILL continue to attack minorities for most absurdest of reasons.

Bottomline is that the delusions of Bangladesh ‘burning’ India up for all their imagined grievance is just not going to happen.

But then, they are most welcome to burn their own country in the process .. which is the ‘natural’ outcome of a ‘grand revolution’ anywhere in the world.

Continued chaos in Bangladesh helps all major actors involved in it.

The only losers are the foot soldiers who are rapidly turning in to cannon fodder. Just like the March 1971 video I shared above in this blog post.

Mind you, I’d say that the currently ongoing chaos suits India as well.

India has been far too benign with her neighbours, thanks to our civilizational ethos.

Even when Khaleda Zia led BNP was ruling Bangladesh, we continued to help them. Maldives is another example. But just look around the neighbourhod and see all that hatred and resistance against India!

The yahoos justify these with the flimsiest of reasons, thanks to continued brainwashing by the usual suspects.

Might this chaos be a trigger for a change of heart amongst them? Or might it be a trigger for a ‘benevolent strictness’ on part of India?

भय बिन होए न प्रीत, right?

I wrote this about 10 years ago in context of Pakistan. It just underscores my point above.

This is the curse of geography, I’d say.

India is far too big a neighour in all respects for the immediate neighbourhood to NOT feel overwhelmed of. Thus, despite the immensely benign nature, there is a natural ‘small neighbour syndrome’.

What they don’t realize is that India is actually driving the economy of entire SAARC (less Pakistan, of course) in most respects. And we know the state of Pakistani economy, that has actively delinked itself from India.

If being benign doesn’t help, then a little bit of ‘tough love’ should be the natural outcome.

I guess, this is what Maldives saw not very long ago. And this is what Bangladesh will be seeing for the next few months as well.

At the end of the day, India’s primary concern is the safety and security of our borders and our own citizenry. Add to that the urging of PM Modi for Bangladesh interim govt to ensure protection of its own religious minorities as well.

Mind you, the way I look at the choice of words from the Indian Prime Minister in the tweet above is both in the form of a request as well as an advice.

Yes, you may read the above statement again.

Plus, it is also about India giving a long rope to Bangladesh.

Now whether they use it to rescue themselves or hang themselves with, is entirely their choice!

What happens next?

Well, first we wait for the monsoons to get over and the floods to recede so that poor ‘revolutionary’ folks can stand on dry ground again, before anything else can move ahead!

These events should NOT be seen in isolation.

The world at large is headed for a major churn. In many ways, we are already seeing the initial stages of it. The amount of chaos all around will only increase over the next few months and possibly, years.

The first major event I am waiting for, is the upcoming Presidential elections in the USA. In the meanwhile, Europe is already merrily burning itself up!

Soon to follow the US Presidential election that will herald more chaos, is the likely elections in Bangladesh. I will NOT be surprised if these get postponed for ‘some’ time.

Also coming up is the 53rd anniversary of liberation of Bangladesh. THIS is what I am personally looking forward to, just to see the yahoos back on the street cursing the very country that gave them their independence from their West Pakistani ‘brethren’!

The same West Pakistani ‘brethren’ who are now gloating at a coup against India in Bangladesh of all places. Of course they are free to believe that it is they who are making things happen and that Pakistan is not another pawn in the big game!

But I am also sure that sizeable sections in Pakistan’s ruling echelons themselves, including the Brown Panted Ones must also be alarmed at some level, lest the same treatment be meted out to them by their own yahoos! Well, that is a thread for another day, perhaps!

So as I wind up this blog post, the one point that I would like to emphasize is that IMO, chaos in Bangladesh for the time being is not bad for us. It gives us time to explore our own options. It keeps Bangladesh itself unhinged, thereby increasing our options.

I would STILL not rule out another refugee crisis on our borders with Bangladesh.

I would STILL not rule out another Mukti Bahini coming into its own, given the current state of Bangladesh.

And I would STILL not rule out a limited military action, if the GOI decides it is needed.

And I would STILL not rule out a Pig’s Neck replacing the Chicken’s Neck!

If the Bangladeshis don’t need Indian ‘help’, they are free to NOT take it. But if they think they will break apart the ‘Seven Sisters’, then all I have to say is that neighbours are not permanent!

If they were, then East Pakistan would still be around!

Screenshot 2024-09-09 144222

Of course, the above sounds a bit too jingoistic and best solution is definitely one without use of arms. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep our powder dry!

In the end, I will just reiterate what I wrote three years ago.
The world as we know it, is in the midst of a massive churn.
Brace yourselves, folks, for more chaos is on its way .. FAR MORE CHAOS!

Screenshot 2024-09-09 144419

Thank you for your patience, folks!
I close this chain of thoughts now.
I will leave this blog post that was tweeted just a few days ago as the revolution in Bangladesh had just ‘succeeded’!
Happy Janmashtami!
:Fin:

On the Events Currently Underway in Bangladesh (As on 08 Aug 2024)

Harpreet Uncategorized

(This chain of thoughts was tweeted on 08 Aug 2024)

Sharing some thoughts on the #Bangladesh issue that has flared up over the past few days.

Thoughts are still unstructured, let’s see how this goes ..

I will start by saying that If you STILL cannot hear the drums of war, you must be deaf indeed!

The wheels of history seem to be moving with increasing urgency lately, getting greased with more and more blood. Sad, as it may be, it is just history repeating itself.

The events that have transpired in Bangladesh over the past few days and weeks and months have been reported fairly widely, so I won’t delve on them much. But fact remains that it is just the latest in a series of countries ending up in chaos over the past couple of years.

Just look around anywhere in the world and as an Indian, try to find a country or a region that can boast of being actually peaceful. I tried this small experiment some weeks ago and in the end I realised that India was still one of the best places to call home.

It still is, mind you.

But challenges are rapidly evolving and increasingly reaching our very doorsteps. This is the price to pay as you grow in heft and willingly or even unwillingly, end up with a potential interest of the current ‘great’ powers.

You cannot wish it away. Period.

A peculiar thing about our geography is that India is literally a GIANT State by all benchmarks, but one surrounded by massively outsized neighbours. So the ‘Big Brother Syndrome’ is a natural phenomenon which has been dealt with by India being benign towards them thus far.

The most recent example is that of Maldives.

Ultimately, Geography is Destiny is a very true adage. But then, there come times wherein one needs to actually SHAPE their Destiny, even if it comes by shaping geography.

This is what I tweeted 11 years ago 👇

image

What we are witnessing slowly and steadily, is a ‘Manthan‘ that is creeping closer and closer. We cannot avoid it anymore. But we will be failing in our Dharma if we do not act in our national interests in the midst of all this chaos that is going on in the world.

What has happened in Bangladesh, has happened. Whoever be the invisible hand behind this – USA, or China, or even Pakistan – they are only doing what they feel is good for their own interests.

Now, I’d say it would be VERY discourteous of us to not act similarly. Of course, we have been doing so in our own way throughout our history, but now that traditional ‘benign’ veneer of India may actually need some reinforcing by other means – covert or overt or both.

Remember, this is how the current world order came into being:

Screenshot 2024-09-08 161652

Dare I say, a new world order that is already in the making, too wouldn’t happen without similar sacrifices.

Nothing comes your way on a platter.

You have to earn it. By Blood.

Period.

The most glamorous part of the current event in Bangladesh has been accomplished by hordes who think they are the ones who are making things happen.

What comes next is what will define the future.

It is only the overthrow that has been accomplished so far.

Screenshot 2024-09-08 161652

The likely new Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, is 84 years old.

For comparison, Shri Joe Biden of the US of A is ‘merely’ 81!

Yup. Let that sink in a bit.

One can only hope, for the sake of stability, that his health keeps up as he goes about ‘rebuilding’ Bangladesh. Currently, he seems to be the only non-controversial person available who can ‘calm down’ the hordes, if at all.

Of course, he is NOT a politician. Has never been one, notwithstanding the extremely short-lived flirtation with politics in 2007.

Now what happens when a non-political person becomes the head of state, you asked?

Well ..

Of course, all this is assuming that Younus actually has the authority to assert himself, instead of being a puppet.

Atleast Zelensky came to power on a democratic vote.

In case of Yunus, no one even spoke of him as the ‘revolution’ gained steam!

So what next?

Well, the Hindu minority of Bangladesh is paying with its blood for being, well, Hindu .. notwithstanding the ‘Enthusiastic Zeal’ with which they participated in the very revolution that has now turned on them.

Yup.

The MSM may choose to be ostriches and ignore the ‘inconvenient’ truths all that they want. But fact is that being an Ostrich and hiding your head in the sand only leaves your backside gloriously exposed. #JustSaying

The chances of a refugee influx are really high.

While there has always been a migration into India from Bangladesh (Notwithstanding the fact that Bangladesh is 32 ranks above India in the Happiness Index!), it may turn into a deluge now.

In fact, I see this incident of yesterday wherein BSF foiled an infiltration attempt by a large group of Bangladeshis, as a trial run of what might come to be pretty soon.

1971 Deja Vu, anyone?

That event also started with large-scale violence against Bengalis in general and Hindu Population in particular, by the Pakistan Army, leading to a large-scale refugee influx into India which forced military action in Dec 1971.

Screenshot 2024-09-08 163322

So, in case of a potential refugee influx can India repeat a similar feat again as many are asking?

Especially, with the precedent of 1971?

Well, of course! And dare I say, existence of precedence is NOT a prerequisite for acting in National interest

But the bigger question is – Is it time yet?

Or, whether it is even warranted at this point in time?

My answer to both is a resounding NO, atleast under the current circumstances when the violence is mostly confined to within Bangladesh and there is no refugee crisis, yet.

But also and importantly, because the heavy monsoons currently underway will not permit large scale military manoeuvres in any case. This was exactly what General Manekshaw had said when he Guaranteed Defeat to Mrs Indira Gandhi when asked to go in just before monsoons in 1971

Further, the other two ‘difficult’ borders with Pakistan and China too need to be taken into account, as does the rapidly deteriorating situation in Myanmar.

‘Exciting’ days, no?

Of course, the rapidly developing humanitarian crisis for the ‘Largest Minority’ in Bangladesh too cannot, and should not, be overlooked.

So what do we do next? Well, I’d say, we weigh our options first, not just in Bangladesh, but in the larger neighbourhood itself.

We must choose our battles. And once chosen, fight them with all our might.

There is always an opportunity, even in adversity.

In fact, folks on this platform are already talking about doing something about the Chicken’s neck. Heck, someone even DM’ed about making it a Pig’s Neck!

Then there was one tweet that I came across, talking about the Chittagong Hill Tracts as well.

Remember, the original plan in 1971, as some say, was to carve out an enclave in then East Pakistan for the Bangladesh govt to establish roots and take back their refugees. That we ended up in Dhaka within 13 days, was testimony to the Brown Panted Rapists who just surrendered!

So yes, it can still be done. On that note, I will also leave this recent tweet here:

Screenshot 2024-09-08 171628

But then, the question to be asked is – What Next?
THAT is where the true essence of Statecraft would lie.
Would we be in a position militarily to open up another active border, in addition to Pakistan and China?

Food for thought, no?

One way to obviate that is to be quick, aka 1971, and be done with it once and for all.

It has been done before. And if played well, it can be done again. Possibly, with the Chicken’s Neck turning into a Pig’s Neck as well!

But time for that may not be right now. That said, one can only assume that GOI and its relevant arms are already working actively to shape up the situation in Bangladesh to our own advantage.

Now there are two more events that are fast approaching, and with the recent template of Bangladesh, it only becomes a more exciting wait, especially in case of Pakistan as their own Independence Day approaches.

Chaos will only intensify everywhere.

But to be fair, there will be challenges within as well. In fact, initial utterances to that effect have already been made by quite a few jokers within. So it would be unwise to jump into a situation on or across own borders without securing the internals.

Screenshot 2024-09-08 172137

What do we do now?
At the cost of sounding defeatist, I would say – Nothing overt, atleast for the time being.
Sad as the loss of innocent lives & destruction of temples in Bangladesh is, right now may not be the best time to jump into a fire which is still being actively fuelled

This is what I wrote in Oct 2023. There is far worse to come over the next few years as the ‘Manthan’ continues, IMO.

Mind you, we have talked about Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar and China from our neighbourhood.

But one more country that I would be watching out for is Nepal, which too has just had a change of govt and the supposedly Chinese backed guy is back in power!

Just imagine the Chicken’s Neck area squeezed between an actively hostile Bangladesh and a defiant Nepal, with the Chinese in Chumbi Valley / Doklam not very far away.

A sobering thought, no?

Hence the need to watch before we leap.

Events currently underway in our neighourhood in particular and the world in general, will be the history that our grandchildren will be taught in school!

We are living in a time to be able to witness them first-hand as they develop.

One doesn’t know what future holds.
All we can do is wait and watch.
And do our own bit in shaping it favourably by whatever way we are able to!

With that, I think it is time to close this blog post.

As a parting thought, all that I will offer is that India’s borders with Pakistan & Bangladesh are UNNATURAL, and ARTIFICIAL ones. They cannot sustain in the long run. What changes in future, is what remains to be seen.

:FIN:

On the Reasi Terror Attack

Harpreet Uncategorized

Folks, sharing some thoughts on the Reasi attack of 09 June 2024. Let’s see how it goes ..

I’d like to begin with this tweet on the day when the 2024 General Election results were generally known even though counting was still underway: (Link)

100_0142

Why I wrote the above tweet was for the simple reason that Paakis were jumping with joy at the ‘drubbing’ that was supposedly received by PM Modi in the election. I will come to the ‘drubbing’ part later in the thread. First I want to talk about the joyously jumping Paakis though.

The poor bastards smelled a looming weakness in the GOI in the coming days, and being the simple-minded, binary-thinking idiots that they are, they decided to ‘send across a message’.

Mind you, this wasn’t the first time they did this to coincide with change of govt in India.

If you remember, even in 2014, just a couple of days before the new GOI was sworn in, the Indian Consulate in Herat came under a deadly attack. The date was 23 May and IIRC, the next GOI was to be sworn in on 26 May.

That time Nawaz Sharif was also coming over for the oath taking ceremony. It is believed that the Brown Panted Ones wanted to :

a) Embarrass Nawaz for attending the oath-taking ceremony

b) Do this by taking Indian diplomats hostage & force attention towards Herat instead of Delhi

Thankfully, none of the attackers could even make it to the outer perimeter wall of the Indian Consulate, due to the ITBP detachment protecting it, as well the Afghan security forces.

In 2019, they were still licking their wounds in the aftermath of Pulwama, Balakot and the subsequent loss of an F-16. Their airspace was still closed to ALL traffic. The reason for the Brown Pants being EXTRA Brown that time was this: ‘Qatal ki Raat’: How PM Modi Declined Imran Khan’s Midnight Call

Another reason, possibly, was the much improved mandate that the GOI had returned to power with. And this brings me back to where I started this blog post from – A reduced mandate and a supposedly ‘weak’ PM Modi. Let me talk about my take on this mandate first.

I normally keep politics away from my TL and this time too, what I write is purely my understanding of the mandate as a neutral observer. So take what I write next for whatever it is worth to you. I am not going to indulge in any discussions on this due to difference of opinions.

With 240 seats with the ruling party, there were only two possible outcomes of this election result:

a) PM Modi returning to power, or

b) Hung Parliament and re-election

Thankfully, the winning alliance staked claim and has now formed the govt.

In either case, the incoming GOI can hardly be called ‘weak’ by any metric.

With 240 seats with the largest party, junior members of the coalition don’t have as much of a veto as people might think because in case they withdraw support, there is no alternative but fresh elections. And in case of fresh elections, the tally of the ruling party is very much likely to increase from the present figure of 240.

Once again, I am no psephologist and what I write is my own opinion. Feel free to disagree if your opinion varies from mine.

But fact remains that this is NOT a weak govt by any metric whatsoever, IMO.

Now back to the Reasi incident. I do feel that the Brown Panted rulers of Bhikharistan feel differently from me and truly believe that now there is a ‘weak’ govt in Delhi. So they gave a go-ahead to their soldiers in mufti to do what they do best – Kill unarmed, innocent ‘Infidels’.

This they did with brutal and clinical perfection. And they timed it near perfectly with PM Modi’s oath-taking ceremony.

What exactly happened in Reasi yesterday is fairly well-known, thanks to the mainstream and social media. But I think, this was about all that the simple-minded terror masters in Rawalpindi planned. Beyond that, they only had one plan – DENIAL!

As has been their template from 1947 to 1965 and all the way to Kargil, 26/11, Uri, Pathankot, Pulwama and such incidents is to profess their utter and complete innocence and promise cooperation in subsequent ‘investigations’.

It wasn’t for nothing that Zia ul Haq had once famously remarked that ‘A Muslim is Permitted for a good cause’ or something like that. And in this case, killing of Indians, esp those belonging to the majority is definitely a ‘good’ cause in eyes of the Brown Panted Ones, I’d say.

Hence this attack, specifically on Hindu pilgrims travelling in a bus.

Before moving ahead, let me once again share the horrific visuals of the attack. In fact I think just this one visual will suffice.

May God Bless this little one who lost his life in a battle he had no idea of ..

Pretty soon, people were pointing fingers at TRF for having carried out the attack.

Now what is TRF, you might ask.

Well, TRF is just JuD branded in a different packing which itself is LeT in a new Salwar-Kameez, so that the truest ‘strategic assets’ of Bhikharistan cleverly stay one step ahead of possible sanctions, especially when the country itself is going begging to one and all for money.

Of course, fact remains that whatever shade of salwar-kameez they wear, they all are ultimately working on behest of the Brown Panted Ones sitting comfortably in Rawalpindi.

In fact, even this is something that isn’t too hard to believe:

In case you have any doubts on why I too endorse what @colhunnybakshi wrote above, then I have a white coloured building in Agra to sell to you!

Of course, promptly came the denials by the TRF and the PAFF and their likes.

It wasn’t us, they are crying.

But too bad for them, no one believes them, and for good reason too.

Of course, the Brown Panted Ones in Pindi might still be sitting smugly, patting themselves on their backs for yet another spectacular ‘success’. There are thousands of expendables of TRF and PAFF for them to use and throw.

Talking about ‘spectacular successes’, it is only in order that I once again share the video of this gloating, self-congratulating pig from the Bhikharistani Parliament in the immediate aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. A MUST WATCH:

Of course, it would be fair to assume that this abomination of a human being would be dancing away all over again at the latest ‘success’ of Reasi.

Btw, just go thru his Twitter TL over the past month or so, for his own views of the recently concluded Indian election!

But on a more serious note comes the question: What Comes Next?

Simply speaking, due to the sheer monstrosity of the attack and the horrific visuals of it, it would be extremely ‘discourteous‘ on our part if a suitable response is not given.

Which once again brings back to the present day GOI.

They have two choices – Either to retaliate, or not.

In either case, the collective opposition will cry merry hell because if they retaliate, then they will be accused of ‘milking’ the terror attack for political gains & if they don’t retaliate, then they will be accused of being weak.

In short, they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

Feel free to disagree with my statement above.

That said, I think a retaliation is quite in order for that very reason – it is better to be damned for retaliating than for NOT retaliating. That, and of course the reputations of the past two NDA govts of strong military retaliations to far lesser provocations than this.

Of course the timing may vary a bit over past such incidents, but then one can only offer one’s own interpretations of such events without any insights whatsoever into what the GOI is actually thinking.

Yet, retaliation, when it comes, absolutely HAS to be accompanied with equal visuals as of the attack itself. This, I believe is also due to lessons learnt during past such retaliations including Surgical Strikes, Balakot and the shooting down of the PAF F-16.

Retribution not only HAS to be visited on the perpetrators, but also be SEEN as having been visited upon them. And by perpetrators, I don’t mean the cannon fodder of TRF / PAFF or such, but the Brown Panted puppet masters sitting in Rawalpindi.

The true locus of the terror industry in Pakistan lies in Rawalpindi and till the time they are not taken out for good, disposable assets in form of these terrorists or even regular foot soldiers are hardly a loss to them sitting there.

I’ve said it before. And I’ll say it again.

Period.

Screenshot 2024-06-11 192616

(Link to the tweet screenshotted above)

Unfortunately, all we can do is wait.

One thought process also says that if we wait long enough, then Bhikharistan will end up destroying itself without any major help from anyone else. But that path, though possible, will inevitably end up costing more innocent Indian blood.

I’d rather have the blood flow West of the LoC and if needed, the International Boundary as well.

But then, that is just me. What the GOI does is entirely up to them and totally beyond the control of social media warriors like myself!

Yet, I get a feeling that this blatant challenge to the very legitimacy of a GOI that had not even taken oath of office at the time of the incident simply cannot go unpunished. What form that punishment takes, remains to be seen.

Going by this report where not only faces, names and NATIONALITIES are revealed, but also the names of the front organisations of the Pakistan Army, I’d say overt retribution is more likely to happen. But then, that’s just my opinion.

In the end, I’ll just leave this short video comparing lives on either side of the LoC : Formula 4 in Srinagar Vs Donkey Race in PoK.

Try as they may, they just cannot stop or even slow down India’s inevitable march towards much better lives than them.

:Fin:

On the Hamas Attacks on Israel (As on 08 Oct 2023)

Harpreet Uncategorized

(This chain of thoughts was shared on Twitter on the night of 08 Oct 2023 and chronicles events / observations as on that date and time)

Folks, sharing some thoughts about the ongoing events in Israel. Let’s see how it goes ..

But first, let me take you 50 years back – to 06 Oct 1973.

That day, sometime in afternoon, the Egyptians executed a brilliant crossing of the Suez Canal and rushed ahead into the Sinai Peninsula that was theirs till 1967. At the same time, Syrians too attacked Israel from North.

As for the Israelis, they were caught with utter and complete surprise. Add to it the fact that it was the Yom Kippur Day, most of them were actually celebrating the festival at homes when Egypt and Syria crossed into Israel in a feat of military brilliance.

Not just was the Israeli intelligence caught napping, but the aggressors’ planning too reflected sheer brilliance. The very survival of Israel was on very shaky legs for quite some time, before they regrouped and halted the aggressions in their North and South.

The Yom Kippur War ended in a ceasefire on 23 Oct 1973 and Israel ultimately withdrew from Sinai a few years after that. I did a short, ten-tweet long thread on the 50th anniversary of that war this Friday. May have a look before moving ahead:

Moving on, THIS 👇 was the question I asked at the end of that particular thread.

I guess we know the answer by now, especially with the benefit of the events over the past 40 hours or so.

Exactly 50 years and one day after that audacious Egypt + Syria attack of 1973, Hamas entered Israel from the Ghaza Strip again. As of right now, Israel has declared war for the first time since 1973; such is the magnitude of devastation caused by the Hamas.

I don’t intend going into the morality part, or the right/wrong of what Hamas did or what Israel is doing/will do. I shared my views on that earlier today via this tweet. This applies equally to both sides, I’d say, and recent events corroborate that.

What I intend to do is to make a sense of ‘what’ and ‘why’ of this latest incident between Israel and Palestine.

Firstly, it should be looked at with respect to happenings in a geography much much beyond the Middle-East, i.e. Ukraine.

Just see the major countries supporting Hamas vs those supporting Israel. A bulk of them are to be found on opposite sides of the Ukraine War as well. Take that for what it’s worth, but I will also add something that happened in a different continent not very long ago.

Remember the recent coup in Niger?

Remember the fact that France didn’t want to accept the coup but was forced to, along with paying market prices for Niger’s resources?

Also, remember the appearance of the Russian Wagner Group there to ‘help’ Niger?

Noticed Russia NOT coming out in favour of Israel, but instead, giving out a statement which can be termed neutral at best?

Well, I personally am of the firm belief that these are just the latest fronts opened up against the collective West as a continuation of the Ukraine War.

One moment of silence for Zelensky and Ukraine might be in order, because regardless of the intricacies and monkey-balancing by the US Administration, fact remains that aid to Israel WILL come at the cost of aid to Ukraine, be it monetary or military aid.

Before moving ahead, let me just once again put out a disclaimer that what I write in this thread is purely my opinion based on my own reading of events! Take it or leave it; I am totally fine with what what the random strangers on Twitter think of my chain of thoughts!

Moving on, the world is clearly divided into ‘With them or Against Them’ camps, atleast with respect to this Israel-Palestine thing. Even India that has remained mostly neutral on the Ukraine issue has come out strongly in support of Israel, with PM himself tweeting about it.

Interestingly, India and Russia seem to be in different camps atleast as far as this issue is concerned. Equally interestingly, India and the entire Middle East seem to be in different camps as well.

Well, there are many different ways to look at it, but PM Modi’s tweet and the way it is worded, might offer some clues. I’ll just leave it at that. What is even more interesting is that China has remained studiously silent on this escalation in the Middle East!

What has happened is that with the opening of yet another front in the proxy war between Russia and USA, this time it is the USA which I believe will get stretched more.

With their own economy facing severe challenges, it might not be the best time for USA to have another military conflict to handle, but then, they no longer have a choice in that matter. That said, a $6Bn package to Iran not so long ago does raise some very interesting questions!

What happens next in this interplay of big powers will be a really interesting thing to watch.

Sad as the massive loss of lives in the immediate battlezone might be, there are much larger things at stake.

The world order as it obtained till not very long ago, was a result of two world wars and a failed League of Nations. It saw a wobble when the USSR disintegrated and the geopolitical vacuum was filled up by the collective West. Now, with Russia on the ascendant, along with China and an India that is also rapidly enhancing its clout, there are multiple challengers to the world order that has existed for the past 30+ years.

These are challengers that will work individually, as well as collectively when it suits them, in order to carve out a geopolitical space for themselves in the coming days and years. To think that there won’t be bloodshed would be foolish.

In fact, like it or not, there will be a LOT of blood that will be shed in the coming days and years. This was one of my first reactions on the Israel-Hamas fight that is currently on.

As I said, this is indeed just the beginning.

Or perhaps the beginning was in Feb 2022 when the first Russian soldier entered Ukraine?
This is what I wrote as my first chain of thoughts on the war, about a week after it began.
I’d like to repeat the BRACE YOURSELVES phrase here all over again, btw.

What comes next is anybody’s guess.

Will attacks on Israel intensify?

In fact, I believe Hezbollah too have opened up the Lebanon front already.

Will Israel’s retaliatory actions include kinetic attacks on Iran?

Does Israel even have the capability to strike Iran?

Will the USA go kinetic against Iran?

What happens to oil supplies and by association, oil prices if the Persian Gulf route is disrupted?

With the US Strategic Petroleum Reserves at an all time low, how much escalation suits them?

Lastly, is it the death of OPEC and their privilege of being the sole arbiters of oil prices? Will Russia now get a greater say in the same, ‘caps’ on Russian oil prices notwithstanding? And what about the Saudi-Israel ‘warming-up’?

Quite an interesting bunch of questions, no?

As far as answers go, all I can say is .. well .. we will need to Wait and Watch!

So, instead of looking for answers for the questions I listed above, let me try and offer some opinions on how this ongoing war between Israel and Hamas / Hezbollah might pan out.

It is a no-brainer that the Israelis got caught by absolute and complete surprise. It is also a fair call that the Hamas attacks were planned in great detail, including capture of hostages. That is also the reason I believe that Israeli casualties might even top the figure of 1000 by the time the dust settles.

That said, it is also true that by the sheer numbers horrific visuals that Hamas and others in Ghaza let loose on social media, Israel has got a full pass to react with as much violence, if not more.

Quite understandably, they have declared war. Not that they had a choice.

Also left unsaid, is the part where the question of With us or against us? by Tel Aviv has been mostly answered by most countries in clear and unambiguous terms.

This was the only possible option left for Israel – to go all out, and with extreme violence. I am holding myself from using the word indiscriminate before the word violence, but that is how Israeli response WILL get painted, rightly or wrongly.

Already, the usual suspects are crying buckets of tears at the destruction that has befallen Gaza within a few hours of Israeli response. However, the visuals of the same Gazans gleefully celebrating Israeli deaths, makes their case a bit difficult to defend.

Mind you, I am saying this from a neutral point of view, without going into the right or wrong of it.

As far as Israeli prisoners in custody of Hamas are concerned, there is a good chance that they will be used as a bargaining chip. But there are two issues related to that – firstly, bargains can only happen once guns stop shooting, even if temporarily.

Secondly, and more importantly, concessions by Israel will set a precedence whereby Israeli citizens kidnapped / captured through various means will become a norm.

To be fair, Israel has bargained with Hezbollah in return for its soldiers in the past, but this time the sheer numbers of Israeli captives will make any bargain deals that much more complicated. Hamas would want to extract concessions which Israel may be unwilling to give.

Thus, sad as it is to even type it out, I believe that a majority of Israeli captives may not make it back to their homes alive. The passions and anger on both sides of this war will make it extremely difficult for them to get back to their loved ones, if not impossible.

What will happen in return is the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of Palestinians in Gaza / West Bank. Israeli aircraft are already in the air over Gaza, their Navy has tightened the cordon on the seas and the Army is getting their men, women and equipment there as well.

Gas and electricity supplies to Gaza are already cut-off.
And more punitive measures from Israel must already be on their way.
It is not to say that it would be smooth sailing all the way for Israel either, but their intent is absolutely clear – RETRIBUTION.

Of course, it will lead to visuals that will only add further to the crying ‘liberals’ who champion the cause of Palestine day in and day out. But given the Israeli anger as well as the initial visuals of barbarism by Hamas fellows, I doubt Israelis would be very perturbed by it.

 

Also, this retribution by Israel will continue for atleast a few weeks, if not months, in varying intensity. But at that same time, once the immediate anger within Israel subsides, there will be uncomfortable questions that the Govt of the day will need to answer about the massive intel failure wherein they failed to see the planning and build-up for such a complex operation that would have taken months to prepare for.

Also coming soon would be questions about the condition of captured Israeli citizens, esp since Hamas wouldn’t let go of the excellent bargaining chip that they are.

All said and done, I expect the Israeli military response to be ruthless and devastating, but at the same time, I also see great political changes coming by in Israel over the next one year, as a direct result of this attack.

The entire Middle-East too will be ‘hot’ for the foreseeable future as well, especially with a hyper-charged populace that has seen the great ‘successes’ of Hamas and will now see the great ‘suffering’ of Palestinians due to Israeli retribution. There already has been atleast one reported case of murder of two Israeli tourists in Egypt.

Dare I say, this is not the last attack on Israelis or Israeli interests after the latest escalation.

As I close this thread, let me talk a bit about Indian interests and impact on India.

First and foremost, the IMEEC project might get a bit delayed, but in the long run, it will become a reality. Feel free to disagree.

Next is the case of Bhikharistan that lies to our immediate West. There already are reports of widespread orgasms in Bhikharistani populace who are once again fantasizing about similar attacks on India as well, just like this joker below.

Why I chose this particular joker from amongst the hundreds such orgasming Paakis is the fact that his Twitter Bio claims that he is Chairman National Peace Committee for interfaith Harmony!!

Irony just strapped a suicide bomb and blew itself, btw! 😂

But what will Pakistan do?

Of course, knowing their true nature, they won’t hesitate in orchestrating a similar incident in Kashmir, or even in other parts of India. But they are also quite well aware of the repercussions, given the experiences post Uri and Pulwama attacks.

However, and more interestingly, what would they do in a HYPOTHETICAL situation of a US-Iran shooting match?

Now THAT would be a show I would be willing to buy a ticket for!

Yet, within our own borders too, communal situations might develop in the coming days, thanks to the increased passions in the immediate aftermath of this Hamas attack on Israel and the retaliation thereto. This assumes greater criticality since the Nation is gearing up for the next General Election in less than 5 months from now.

While external fallouts of the Israel-Hamas conflict can be managed by various means, it is the internal challenges that need a more serious look, esp in the short term. THIS is what most directly affects you and me in a very short time frame, and hence, merits the greatest attention.

In the end, all I will say is that the Kaal Chakra keeps moving unimpeded, regardless of war or peace in the world. Just look at the national borders in the Middle-East. All of them are UNNATURAL, straight lines, including for Israel and Palestine. I’ll not say much beyond that.

Millions of people died in wars in just the first 50 years of the last century. Compared to them, our era has hardly seen any bloodshed.

Dare I say, it might be about to change.

So as I mentioned in the beginning of this thread, BRACE YOURSELVES for whatever lies ahead.

Oh, and I’ll just leave this little conspiracy theory here in this end of this thread. Take it For What It’s Worth!

:End of Blog Post:

On the latest Trudeau Fiasco regarding a Canadian Terrorist’s Death

Harpreet Uncategorized

So this tweet was tweeted on the morning of Sunday, 19th Sep 2023, after the hilarious allegations by Shri Justin Trudeau Ji, Prime Minister of Canada, in the Canadian Parliament :- 

Later that night, I tweeted a chain of thoughts which I shall be chronicling here in my blog.

So folks, sharing some thoughts on the latest fart that Shri Trudeau Ji let out in the Canadian Parliament not very long ago! 

So, where did this begin, one must ask.

Well, the seeds of Canadian support to Khalistan were sowed much before Justin Ji was out of his diapers .. when his own father was the Canadian Prime Minister who not only saw the killing of 300+ Canadian citizens by Canada based terrorists that bombed an Air India plane, but was also the head of the govt that oversaw what I would say a DELIBERATE bungling of the investigation that followed. This is a thread dedicated to that shameful incident.

MUST go thru it. I INSIST

(Here’s the above thread in this very blog – West and Terror – The Story of The Kanishka Bombing)

I guess it is fair to assume that little Justin, having grown up in a household (however dysfunctional it may have been, given that his parents ended up divorced) where Khalistanis were more likely to be patronised than shunned for what they are – Terrorists, he might just be carrying fwd the family tradition of ensuring that Canada is okay with terrorists not only living on its soil, but also ACTIVELY seeking to carry out acts of terror abroad.

But then, the poor fellow’s ‘Coalition Dharma’ provides him with an AWESOME alibi to look the other way!

Will come to the ‘Coalition Dharma’ of Shri Trudeau Ji in a while. Let me just talk about the latest happenings first.

But before that, just a bit about the joker that the Canadians elected to be their Prime Minister, even if with support of Jagmeet Singh and his bunch of Khalistanis.

THIS is the Canadian Prime Minister – a bumbling idiot that nobody actually cares about!

 

Remember his 2018 trip to India, the one with fancy costumes and garish dances .. and also that one Khalistani in the entourage who had to be dispatched back after a lot of humiliation at the hands of the GOI?

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Well, even if you don’t, it doesn’t matter.

TRUDEAU doesn’t matter!

So he came again to India for G20, only to be kicked in his backside once again for terror factory running from sovereign Canadian territory!

This statement by the MEA on 10 Sep 2023 was perhaps the most BRUTAL they had ever given out!

Do read it before moving ahead.

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To be fair, Canada has been a habitual offender when it comes to Khalistani terror against India. Heck, six months back too, the top Canadian diplomat in India was called to the MEA for a dressing down.

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Of course nothing much changed, because .. well .. Coalition Dharma!

At this point, I am reminded of the famous Indian saying about ‘Kutte ki Duum’ and this nine year old tweet of mine!

 

 

I guess the GOI knows this as well, which is why when the poor clown Trudeau was stuck in New Delhi for two full days after the G-20 summit, practically no one of note in the GOI found the time to meet him, even if just to keep him busy!

Instead, there was atleast one Indian news channel that spent more than NINE straight minutes of airtime just to de-pant him, and to spank (figuratively of course!) his dirty white bum! And no one felt any remorse for doing this to a very deserving candidate!

So what does this sore-arsed guy do when he reaches back home?

Well, he suspends the FTA dialogue with India!

Boo .. Fucking .. Hoo, Canada!

With your own economy going down the shit-hole, LESS trade is exactly what you deserve, especially with India!

Go suck a lemon, I’d say!

Not quite satisfied with the suspension of the FTA dialogue (perhaps due to India not giving a Ratatouille?), he drops yet another BIG piece of turd in the Canadian Parliament a few days later!

(Note: Ratatouille is how his Khalistani fans pronounce Rat’s Ass. You are welcome)

INDIA KILLED A CANADIAN CITIZEN WHO WAS ALSO A TERRORIST, ON CANADIAN SOIL, he alleged! Yes, ALLEGED, because in his own sermon to the Parliament, he acknowledges that they have no proof, but just allegations!

The lunacy displayed by the idiot who has been elected as the Prime Minister by Canada was there for all to see!

He had no proof!

The ‘investigation’ was ONGOING!

Yes, it was quite a load of TURD that Trudeau let loose in the Canadian Parliament!

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But, I must say, no one can better this comment by Shri @YearOfTheKraken Ji! Perhaps because it might be the CLOSEST to the TRUTH!

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He was followed by a V.E.R.Y aggrieved Foreign Minister, Sushree Melanie Joly Ji, who said that “If proven true this would be a great violation of our sovereignty”

Then that idiot went announced expulsion of an Indian Diplomat!

On an allegation NOT YET PROVEN!

Bloody Nincompoops!

 

What followed was YET another well-earned spanking of Canadian Govt by all and sundry, diplomatically and undiplomatically as well! This is a personal favourite ‘undiplomatic’ spanking ‘coz it’s delivered by a former diplomat!

MUST WATCH first two mins!

Of course, the Indian Govt summoned the Canadian High Commissioner. And judging by his seething ‘Walk of Shame’ after the meeting, one is inclined to believe that he might have been given more than just a verbal lashing!

 

So angry was the His Excellency Bastard at being shown the true AUKAAT of his country that he didn’t even care whether the reporter, who is also another fellow human being, got hurt in the process of he slamming the door in the most undiplomatic way.

Btw, some ppl say this is an artistic rendition of what happened to the His Excellency of Canada in the MEA. But as of now it is just speculation. To quote the idiot Foreign Minister (refer a little above in this blog post), “If proven true this would be a great violation of our sovereignty” 🤣

 

Of course, being the geopolitical minnow that Canada is, they reached out to fellow G-7 countries for ‘moral and diplomatic’ support. Judging by this statement of that joker Trudeau, one can imagine the kind of support he must have got for this latest idiocy of his! 😂

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Yup, he had to eat his words, dipped into a truckload of humble pie I’d say, perhaps delivered in one of the trucks that participated in the recent truckers’ protest in Canada which this ‘CHAMPION’ of free speech and peaceful protest so brutally suppressed.

But, saannu ki!

If you noticed, the clown once again said that he had no proof. So technically speaking, he chose to expel an Indian diplomat and get a Canadian diplomat expelled in lieu as also get his High Commissioner spanked (perhaps literally too!) in New Delhi!

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Talking about international support, here’s what the UK Prime Minister had to say on the latest bout of diarrhea by Shri Trudeau Ji in the Canadian Parliament – ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! 🤣

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So why would Trudeau take such a drastic step? And that too when the world is already more or less divided thanks to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict?

Let me spend some time on this particular question.

Could it be to reassert his .. err .. manhood, figuratively of course, after the brutal spanking in New Delhi during the G-20?

Could it be to avoid discussion on the major issue of Canadian economy going down the drain, by creating an even bigger fuckup?

Or might it have been to reassure his Khalistani constituency that he still has some ‘mojo’ remaining in him?

Especially since his own party relies on Jagmeet Singh and his Khalistanis for support?

The idiot is being led on to do their agenda by the Khalistanis because they hold a virtual veto over his govt! This meme explains it beautifully, but I don’t think even the original artist would have noticed the bulge in the pants of the gentleman with the stick!

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Trudeau thinks that he needs Khalistanis to last till the end of his term in 2025, and that he should do everything they want. But someone with even an average IQ would have realised that even the Khalistanis need him, in order to stay in power themselves!

And then there is the China angle!

Against India, it is only and only speculation .. but against China .. well ..

 

 

I am reminded of this nearly three-year-old tweet of mine about the recent ‘love affair’ between Trudeau led Canada and the PRC!

 

But in doing so, Canada has received YET ANOTHER slap from India.

Perhaps they didn’t expect such a tight one.

Perhaps THIS is the reason why the Canadian His Excellency was in such a foul mood?

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And it is not that White Canadian settlers don’t have any skeletons in their own closets, mourning or no mourning! Do read the BBC report in this tweet below:

 

A Khalistani terrorist killed on Canadian soil gets an Indian diplomat expelled WITHOUT PROOF within three months, almost as a three-month anniversary ‘gift’ to his fellow Khalistanis, but dare they talk about a fellow Pakistani murdered on their own soil!

 

Btw, contrary to the statements by the idiotic duo of the Canadian PM and his Foreign Minister, it is actually doubtful that Nijjar was even a Canadian citizen! But then, NEVER let technicalities or legalities come in the way of your agenda!

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But then, it seems to be a govt filled with idiots, cheats and liars!

Here’s one more example – the NSA himself, who accompanied Trudeau to India in order to do some ‘plainspeak’!

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite happen as planned, because THIS report came out!!

‘Ulta chor…’: From ‘duping’ parliament to currying ‘undue favour’ for son, know who is Canada’s NSA Jody Thomas

No wonder, Canada is the laughing stock of the world!

But then, where do we go from here?

That’s an interesting question, no? 

So on the question of what comes next, well Canada will eat crow for sure. Indicators are already in place with Shri Trudeau Ji having made the grovelling ‘Non-Apology’ less than 24 hours after the wild allegations!

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Of course, his massive ego will NOT let him cancel the expulsion of the Indian diplomat without proof. But we can live with that, especially with the video of a red-faced Canadian His Excellency walking out in great anger from the North Block to keep us entertained, I’d say!

So here is what WILL happen. Firstly, the Khalistanis will be further emboldened.

Heck, Canada based terrorists have already committed one murder in India within hours of Trudeau’s ‘Trud-Drop’ in Canadian Parliament : On Cam: Congress Leader Shot Dead in Punjab, Canad-based Khalistani Terrorist Claims Responsibility

Since Canada has already DEMANDED Indian cooperation in the killing of Nijjar, would they not be willing to ‘cooperate’ in the murder of an Indian politician inside his home, with a Canadian Khalistani citizen having gleefully announced his role in it?

Or would they try and be selective, while Trudeau shields his Khalistani brethren for the sake of the votes that they throw back at him?

Does that not make Canada a State Sponsor of Terror?

Don’t worry, I am not asking you to answer that question.

But that said, It would gladden my heart no end to see the GOI ask Canada to bring that bastard to justice for having VERIFIABLY committed a crime inside India, unlike the mere allegations that Trudeau and his Foreign Minister were crying hoarse about.

Will Canada oblige?

Or is it the responsibility of India to prove innocence because White Man has pointed a finger at us?

Or is it that only Canadians are permitted kill fellow Canadian citizens, aka Kanishka bombing?

Because the botched investigation points at Govt endorsement.

Regarding the dying Khalistanis, dare I say, that WILL continue.

Trudeau’s whining allegations be damned.

Who kills them is anyone’s guess. It is Canada that nurtured these snakes on their soil. It is Canada which will see them fall on its soil. It is Canada’s problem, NOT mine!

In fact, Trudeau has put their lives in further danger, because any more dead Khalistanis are great news for vested interests!

This might be a ‘tongue-in-cheek’ article, but it does hold a valid premise : Gurpatwant Singh Pannu next? Not killed by ‘Indian agents’, but Pakistan: What some in Intelligence believe might be fallout of Justin Trudeau’s shenanigans

That said, I for one wouldn’t be shedding any tears!

On the diplomatic ‘pinging and ponging’, I would say that the GOI wouldn’t do anything more, atleast overtly and atleast for the time being. But .. expect more focussed and sustained pressure from India on Canada now onwards on all issues, not just Khalistan.

The sanctimonious bastards have already been given a glimpse of their Aukaat in the recent days.

It now needs to be hammered down their heads. Lack of support for this latest bout lunacy by Canada from fellow white countries has also been duly noted, btw.

It might have to do with internal politics and bruised egos at being shown mirror after mirror while in New Delhi, but the idiot that introduces himself as the Prime Minister of Canada has definitely bitten more than he can chew.

Of course, the nakedness of Emperor Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada which is a STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM will only be announced with more and more vigour for the entire world to see : Canada a hotbed of separatists, requests for deportation ignored: India

And ordinary Indian netizens tagging FATF is just that extra ‘dhaniya-mirchi’ that people here are so fond of! But as they say, every single drop matters. Who knows which drop creates an entire deluge, especially with smoking guns in plain sight!

 

I think it is time to wind up this chain of thoughts now.

Firstly, I would like to compliment each and every reader who, despite my account’s shadow ban, took time to read this thread and YET no one pointed out the deliberate spelling mistake in Trudeau’s name in the first tweet embedded in the very beginning of this blog post!

Well done!

Lastly, let me just say that I don’t think this latest bout of Trudeau’s lunacy has anything to do with his wife leaving him, as some folks on social media have been speculating. Nothing could be farther from truth, in fact.

Why?

Because he’s been an idiot since much b4 that!

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Heck, he is merely following his ‘equally illustrious’ father’s footsteps, who too couldn’t make his marriage last. Of course, it was his wife that was blamed due to mental illness!

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I am sure, growing up in a dysfunctional household contributed a bit to Trudeau Jr’s mental growth!

But that is his personal problem, not mine or anyone else’s.

What concerns me is he and his ego pointing their dirty fingers at my country, while not even attempting to hide the crap in their own.

Of course Komagata Maru points to institutionalized racism since long.

In the end, all I will say is that yesterday was a beautiful Ganesh Chaturthi, heralding many new beginnings, right from inauguration of the new Parliament building to the expulsion of a Canadian diplomat from India!

Ganpati Bappa Morya!

I’ll just add this tweet here. Spks volumes about the kind of people Canada actively ‘welcomes’ to its folds. I’m sure they would’ve done a background check on Nijjar, YET accepted him as a citizen. Perhaps because he perfectly represents Canadian Values?

Nijjar had an Interpol Red Corner Notice against him when granted Canadian citizenship!

Canadian support for Khalistani Terror against India CANNOT get any more blatant!

This harshly worded advisory that clearly mentions POLITICALLY-CONDONED, is a good slap from Bharat.

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Some thoughts on the Mahabharata

Harpreet Uncategorized

Two Volumes spanning 1574 pages.

Started reading on 26 May after taking four days to gather the courage to actually start!

Finished on the night of 21 June.

Spent the better part of three weeks ignoring every task because I just couldn’t let go of this masterpiece. Sharing some thoughts ..

First and foremost .. JUST ORDER A SET FOR YOURSELF!

The narration is brilliant, broken down into small chapters so as not to make reading it a daunting task. On the other hand, this makes the books difficult to put down, given the greed of reading ‘just one chapter more’!

A true masterpiece of human relationships and politics from a different age altogether, from a churning of ages in fact. Just a cursory reading gives you so many insights and so many epiphanies that one ends up kicking oneself for not having read this much earlier.

The biggest realization that dawned upon me while reading this masterpiece was the fact that killing of folks who were against Dharma wasn’t frowned upon. It was in fact, considered to be one’s bounden duty to do so. No courts were assembled to pass verdicts either.

That said, there were very few mortals that were infallible.

Even Yudhishthir had to atone for the sin of telling a half-truth to Guru Drona in the battlefield, before he was accepted into heaven. That said, he only told the half-truth because there was no other way for Dharma to prevail. That, and the fact that he was ordered to do so by Lord Krishna himself! Thus Yudhisthir was justified in doing what he did.

In fact this was almost the underlying theme throughout the Mahabharat – The constant tussle between Rajdharm and Swadharm. At different times, one or the other prevailed, depending on the situation and sometimes, gentle nudging by the Lord himself.

In fact, thousands of years later, even Chanakya guided Chandragupt Maurya with much the same advice.

Then there is the overwhelming tide of fate which no one, not even Lord Krishna himself, could turn back. This too was used as a perfectly acceptable justification of various actions by various players throughout the Mahabharat. So much so that even Gandhari’s curse regarding the end of the race of Yadavas and of Lord Krishna himself too was humbly accepted by the Lord, stating that it was indeed what was fated.

That said, when the time for the inevitable came, even the Lord himself hoped against hope that some miracle might save his clan. After all, he too was in a human avtar!

However, fate prevailed, as always, including the death of the human form of the Lord himself.

This was yet another underlying theme of the people that lived in that age – Unquestioning acceptance of the inevitability of fate when the time came. This was as true for Duryodhan as it was for Bheeshma or Dronacharya. Yet they carried on doing their Dharma, awaiting their fate.

Duryodhan took a long time to understand this. And the loss of a number of his best warriors, including Karna. But realize this ultimately, he did.

Even on deathbed, he held Yudhisthir in high regard, implicitly knowing that he was indeed the Dharmputra and without any malice.

Drona knew that Dhrishtadyumna was born with the specific purpose to kill him. Yet when he was sent to Drona’s ashram for education, he taught him everything he knew and ensured that he became an excellent warrior. Dhrishdyumna was the Pandava Senapati when he killed Dronacharya on the battlefield when he was the Kaurava Senapati.

There was a lot of hue and cry over the way Dronacharya was killed, when sitting in Dhyan, unarmed.

Yet, it was Drona himself who had told Yudhisthir about the only way he could be killed.

And this, in the middle of the war when the Pandavas had no answers to their Guru’s valour! Dharma wasn’t yet fully dead.

This was the case with Bheeshma as well, when he himself told the Pandavas that only way to kill him was to have Shikhandi give him battle. He knew, it was Amba who had come to claim him for herself after her humiliating end two lifetimes ago. He gladly accepted death at her hands.

Then there was Karna .. the ultimate tragic hero.

He made it a point to have a moment with all his four brothers on the battlefield wherein he disarmed them gave them the gift of life. After knowing the truth post war, these were the most cherished moments for them all.

A major highlight was the Geeta. It took me four and a half decades in this lifetime to realize that the Geeta was called thusly because the Lord actually sung it as a geet to Arjun on the Battlefield!

Such beautiful insights in the short excerpt of the Geeta within this book!

It is the primal truth, which deep down I think most of us know .. atleast those of us who hail from these lands of Bhaaratvarsh for sure. Yet, in the midst of short-term goals of our mortal lifetimes, we lose sight of the ultimate goal – Mukti.

It might actually be a good idea to take a break from the urgent and focus on the important every once in a while. But then, there needs to be a healthy balance in performing your manifest duties and yet, striving towards Mukti.

Ultimately, what I feel perfectly summarizes the message is the fairly popular shlok:

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।

मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥

Bottomline: Just do your dharma without any attachment to the final outcome.

So long as you remain true to your cause, and detached from the end result, you are doing good. The atman is neutral, as unaffected by good as it is by bad. Ultimate aim is to become one with it!

The one thing that I had no idea about, was the knowledge imparted by Bheeshma to Yudhishthir after the war, while he waited for the Sun to change its direction to Uttarayan before he left his body.

Such wise words of wisdom and knowledge were imparted by him to his grandson that it merits to be studied in its own right, especially by politicians and public servants of today.

Sharing some nuggets here in this blog post.

1. When time comes, never hesitate to wage war! Yudhishthir, this policy applies not only with enemies, but friends as well.

2. Greed is the single root of evil. Greed destroys dharma and punya.

3. Restraint is the quintessential dharma.

4. Time is always shorter than we believe, and a man must acquire virtue as quickly as he can. So, my child, avoid procrastination in your life.

5. It is desire that makes a man sin.

6. Abstinence from wine and meat is superior to celibacy.

7. When a man realizes how ephemeral this world is, he sees the truth; then death holds no fear for him. For, the fear of death springs from attachment.

8. If his spirit is enlightened, it doesn’t matter if a man lives in his home or in the forest. He is a sannyasin.

9. When a man is unattached to objects of pleasure, he is liberated.

10. What a King does depends on the times, and the King who does not hesitate to do what the time demands seldom fails. While a King who is unbending, seldom succeeds.

11. The King, on whom his people rely, must never hesitate to be ruthless with his enemies. It must not be beneath him to use treachery, fire and poison against them.

12. A King’s first dharma is to worship the Gods, and to honour the Brahmanas who are illumined men. But he himself should always be a karma yogin, a man of deeds.

13. I would even say that a king’s deeds are more powerful than destiny.

14. There is also a fifth man, who serves only dharma. This kind is rigid, and a king should exercise caution while confiding in him.

15. A King’s demeanour should be unafraid and straightforward. He must not be too mild. He will be disregarded if he is, and his subjects will have no respect for him. That doesn’t mean he should be harsh or tyrannical, and that his people should be unduly frightened of him.

These are just a few of the many nuggets of great wisdom imparted by Bheeshma to Yudhishthir. As I mentioned earlier, Bheeshma’s discourse to Yudhishthir merits an entire study by itself.

Bheeshma’s too was a life lived on a razor sharp understanding of dharma, even though he ended up fighting for Adharma in Kurukshetra. Yet, despite knowing that the winning side would be the one where the Lord himself stood, Bheeshma fought a good fight, true to his dharma.

Till the very last day of the war, he kept telling Duryodhan that his was a lost cause. He even accepted all barbs that came from the mouth of Duryodhan when the war wasn’t going his way. Yet, he was always aware of the larger picture, and kept loving Duryodhan till the very end.

Millennia after Maharishi Ved Vyas Ji wrote the Mahabharat, here was yet another warrior from the lineage of such illustrious ancestors who quoted the Mahabharat from his own final battlefield:

 

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हतो वा प्राप्स्यसि स्वर्गं जित्वा वा भोक्ष्यसे महीम्।

तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिशचयः।।

These immortal words inspired Arjun to once again pick up the Gandeev and prepare to battle. These same words continue to inspire warriors such as the one above, even to this day.

Of course, even during the war, Arjun still had some moral dilemmas, especially when it came to fighting Bheeshma Pitamah and Guru Drona. At these times, verbal barbs by Lord Krishn were duly administered in order to remind Arjun of his Kshatriya Dharm.

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Yet, Lord Krishn was still forced to summon the Sudarshan Chakra when Bheeshma was effortlessly cutting down the Pandavas’ army, while Arjun was unable to summon the Will to stop his Pitamah.

For Bheeshma, it was as if the Lord was coming at him not with a weapon, but a blessing instead. A blessing to rid him of the responsibilities and the weight that he had borne for so long. However, Arjun was able to hold back the Lord by promising to fight with all his might.

The one occasion that Lord Krishn actually used the Sudarshan Chakra was when Arjun had sworn to kill Jaidrath for his role in the killing of Abhimanyu. Arjun’s vow to immolate himself if he failed, gave an avenue to Drona and Duryodhan to win the war by just defending Jaidrath!

Lord Krishna wasn’t very happy with Arjun’s vow either, and he made his displeasure known on more than one occasion. Yet, he prepared to ensure Dharma prevailed, i.e., for which Jaidrath would have had to die.

Thus came the Sudarshan Chakra, to hide the Sun and fool the Kaurava’s into thinking that Arjun had failed to keep his vow!

Now, would you call it deception?

Or would you call it Adharma?

Regardless, what you or I think doesn’t matter one bit. Bottomline was that Jaidrath had to die. And the Lord ensured it.

Which brings me to another aspect that these books cover regarding the war – Lord Krishn too had his worries about the ultimate outcome of the war at times.

He worried about the Shakti that Lord Indra had given to Karna.

He worried about Karna himself.

Of course, Bheeshma and Dronacharya had already told the Pandavas about how they could be killed; this too at the Lord’s insistence at they asking their elders candidly!

Mind you, he was the Lord Himself! He knew what was fated.

Yet he being worried is something that I find quite amusing. His wards, the Pandavas, had their own free will and there definitely were occasions when they had to be guided, gently or sternly, as be the case.

All that I can say is that He played his part in human form perfectly – that of the सूत्रधार of this saga!

He worried when he needed to, he smiled when he needed to, and he celebrated when he needed to. Yet, he was The One, who otherwise sits unperturbed in the heavens above.

Coming back to Karna, Lord Krishna made him use the Shakti on Ghatotkacha, in order to ensure the safety of Arjun in his moment of reckoning.

Karna himself already knew that he was to die at the hands of Arjun.

He also knew that he would forget the mantras to invoke his Devastras.

He also knew his true identity and lineage.

He had been told of it by his mother herself, as well as by Lord Krishna, both of whom requested vehemently that he join his brothers, the Pandavas in the war.

Karna chose not to.

Karna had no choice.

Karna was one of the very few who was not just obligated to fight for Duryodhan, but who actually saw the good side of him. He was also one of the very few people whom Duryodhan could actually call a friend. He just could not betray him. So Karna fought as hard as he could.

Of course, he was fated to die, thanks to the curse of Lord Parshuram and that unknown Brahman. Lord Krishna didn’t waste time in prompting Arjun to kill his eldest brother when he was not just busy trying to free the wheels of his chariot, but had also in fact, implored Arjun not to shoot in this duration.

Yet Arjun shot the final, fatal arrow in this very moment when Karna was at his most vulnerable.

It was fate.

It was the Lord himself ordering him to do so.

And thus he did.

Karna too, like many others, was a good guy fighting in the wrong side. He had to die. Yet his death wasn’t an occasion of joy. I’ll quote from the book about this moment :

When he kills Karna, Arjuna raises his conch, the Devadatta, and blows on it, and Krishna sounds his Panchajanya. Neither blows a joyful note. It is as if they, his enemies who killed him, are sad he is gone. Arjuna feels a part of his own life has ended.

Unquote

Karna had played the role of the eldest brother of the Pandavas as well as the inseparable friend of Duryodhan, to perfection. The way for reconciliation was to die during battle. Yet, he had humbled each and every Pandava in battle once, including Arjun, before dying.

One other aspect that kept jumping out at me was the fact that even these mightiest of warriors weren’t beyond a tactical retreat in face of enemy if things weren’t going their way. These included Duryodhan, Karna, Dronacharya and even Bheeshma himself.

In fact, all of them together were forced to retreat by Arjun when he fought for Uttara Kumar at the end of his Agyatvaas.

But as I type this particular chain of thoughts, another one jumps at me – Not once did any of the Pandavas chose to, or have to leave the battlefield.

Being firm in Dharma ensured that they prevailed each and every time. Of course, Dharm Dev himself killed them all, except Yudhishthir, when he came as a Yaksha to test him by the pond where they wanted to drink!

All in all, the Lord ensured that the Pandavas prevailed. He used all means required to ensure that. It wasn’t always what you may call to be in perfect sync with us mortals’ understanding of Dharma.

But the Pandavas had so totally surrendered themselves to Him, that they never questioned Him.

They didn’t need to either!

That said, there are far too many lessons to be learnt even for modern days.

Most importantly, when it is a question of the interests of Rashtra, swadharm can always take a backseat This is the burden that a King has to bear, for his Rajdharm is to ensure that his people flourish.

Vyasa Muni tells this to Yudhishthir in to help him overcome his grief after the War: A King has no right to indulge his own grief. A just King’s time has always belonged to his people, and only to them .. His task is just to rule them; beyond that he has no other truth, or life.

As I conclude this blog post, I’ll just jump back to the ‘questionable’ means used by Lord Krishna. He is crystal clear in his explanation to the Pandavas – ‘If we had not used some judicious deceit, this war would have been lost .. For me, nothing could be worse than that.’

This is what the Lord told his elder brother, Balaram, when he wanted to kill Bheem for delivering the unethical blow to Duryodhan’s thighs:

Quote: If you did not fight against evil, atleast you must not fight for it. Kali Yuga has come to the world. Nowhere on earth shall pure dharma be found any more, but only mixed with Adharma. The fault is only time’s. Evil and violence are the signs of the Kali. Destiny fulfills herself darkly in the fourth yuga, and this is only its beginning. Unquote

Of course, Duryodhan himself went in peace, assured of his place in heaven, for having died a Kshatriya’s death as well as doing further penance by lying on the battlefield in unbearable pain, before passing on. And he did find Swarga, as did all the Rakshasas who had been born as his brothers, not only by dying on the battlefield but also due to the immense virtue accumulated by their mother herself.

I close this blog post by yet another quote by the Lord: All things in this world exist for a purpose; when their purpose is served, the cease to be. And so it is with men, Arjuna. It is so with all of us: even Me.

Thanks for your patience, folks.

I found this book immensely enjoyable to read. And my kids too will read the same in the days to come.

Do read yourselves too, if you can. 

 

 

Ukraine War – One Year On

Harpreet Uncategorized

Folks, sharing some thoughts on the Russia-Ukraine War that has just crossed the one year mark. Strictly my opinions, so feel free to disagree.

Let me begin with this horrific video montage of relentless bombardment of a major city, housing millions of non-combatants.

Btw, the above visuals are from the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the great US of A and Even Greater Britain, plus a host of other ‘willing’ partners. Interestingly, next week will mark two decades of that invasion on an utterly false premise, for which the culprits didn’t face ANY sanctions whatsoever! Neither were any warrants issued by any International Courts against the chief perpetrators, as in the case of Vladimir Putin some hours back!

Instead, the victim country was destroyed to the extent that they are still struggling to stand up.

Btw, the same culprits are today collectively united in their ‘horror’ at the invasion of Ukraine by Russia!

So we know why the USA and others invaded and destroyed Iraq. They had irrefutable proof that Iraq had WMDs!

Proof, that was pulled out of thin air! Proof, that some say wasn’t pulled out of thin air, but from some other body part in the nether regions!

But then, that hardly matters, right? No one even talks about that anymore, despite the millions of non-combatants that died.

Well, who will dare talk about Iraq and the horrific abuses there, especially when the culprits themselves are the self-appointed custodians of the ‘Rules Based World Order’, no?

PS: When was the last time you hear about Abu Ghraib? Let me refresh you a bit :-

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But then, it is Ukraine that I am supposed to be talking about in this thread, so let’s go there now!

Let me start by replugging this 11 yr old tweet here:

Throughout our history, war has been a constant. So those that are aghast at yet another war, are merely trying to imagine a utopic world which has never existed. Instead, this cacophony of voices on social as well as mainstream media is, IMO, due to the fact that the collective West sees it as an opportunity to get an advantage over Russia.

It is no secret that Russia has been one of their Principal adversaries. So much so that at the end of the cold-war, instead of reaching out to co-opt broken and hugely malleable Russia as a fellow traveller in the world order, they decided to push the knife deeper.

With the disintegration of the USSR, instead of scaling down NATO (and actually promising to do so), it instead galloped closer and closer to Russia, with newer and newer members. The Georgia War of 2009(?) was one Russian reaction that should have told them that NATO was getting too close to Russian borders for their own comfort.

Of course, I am aware NATO is a voluntary organisation and any country has the right to aspire to become a member of the organisation.

But by the same logic, a country that is the exclusive target of an ever-expanding and an ever-closing military alliance to has the right to feel concerned and consequently, secure its own interests, no?

Of course, a pragmatic neighbour would have seen such red-lines, especially from a much larger and powerful neighbour and even if begrudgingly, accepted them and made their peace. But then, you had this in Ukraine:

The war started not on 24th Feb 2022, but instead in 2014 when a democratically elected govt in Ukraine was toppled with the help of Maidan protests and replaced by one that was decidedly Anti-Russia and Anti Ethnic Russians in their own country. This resulted in the Russian invasion of Donbas in Aug 2014, followed by the Minsk Agreement in Sep 2014. However, it broke and Minsk 2 Agreement was signed in Feb 2015.

Interestingly, this brought into focus, the ‘Little Green Men’ that were said to have fought against Ukraine!

Now why I bring out ‘Little Green Men’ in the tweet above was because the same phenomenon is being repeated, but with a Green Screen instead!

The ‘show-man’ is putting up a brilliant show indeed!

And he is being feted by the entire ‘civilized’ world too, as these visuals from his recent Europe visit indicate!

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In their own eyes, he is winning against the big bad wolf too! But I shall come to that in a while.

To be frank, atleast in my opinion, Ukraine is just an expendable entity so long as it is able to impose some cost on Russia before dying. Here is what folks are saying about Ukrainians being expendable, with increasing frequency!

Btw, If not the first one to say, but I think I was atleast the first one to claim copyright on this phrase – They will fight Russia till the last Ukrainian!

Heck, even Putin Ji is saying this!

And jokes apart, he isn’t wrong about it either. This is exactly what will happen.

Thanks to its unique circumstances, Ukraine was always doomed to be a fighting arena for great powers, just like Afghanistan and even Tibet have been.

Coming over to the military operations, thanks to their experiences in Chechnya and Georgia, as also Donbas, it is fair to assume that the Russians miscalculated the time required to achieve their military aims.

In addition, by delaying the launch till end of winter olympics in China, the snows thawed out & cross-country movement became much more difficult for their military vehicles.

But most importantly, they miscalculated the amount of military support the West would give Ukraine!

It pretty soon turned from a ‘Special Military Operation’, to an existential war for Russia. They took some time to recalibrate their actions. But the West took it as a sign of collapse and were V.E.R.Y quick to declare victory!

Result: Hubris set in pretty solidly.

Resultantly, the collective euphoria in the West made it nothing short of blasphemous to even talk about Russia having a point of view about their security interests wrt Ukraine! As mentioned above, Zelensky was feted all over.

And why not .. he had stood up to Putin after all!

All Russian voices were drowned out and even de-platformed by the so called CHAMPIONS of free speech!

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What that caused, however, was for the West to become prisoners of their own propaganda IMO. Now they just can’t walk off without their citizens crying out bitterly in protest!

Not one of those govts tell their citizens that they kept pushing NATO closer & closer to Russia, and that now they blame Russians for being close to NATO!

They had imposed so many sanctions on Russia that it was bound to fail in its nefarious designs, they told their citizenry instead!

But apparently the sanctions didn’t have the desired impact as had been in the case of .. say .. Iraq!

In short: Whether they like it or not, but from Russia, now it has become an existential war for the Western Nations themselves. Such has been the hubris in them, in fact, that the German Foreign Minister declared war on Russia on behalf of the Entire EU!

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Of course, she had to eat her words pretty quickly!

Btw, it is the same Germany that has suffered a direct & massive blow by the sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, some say done by its own allies! They tried to blame Putin, but by he not reacting to this bait, they are tripping over themselves to apportion blame to someone!

Neither do they tell their citizens that Russia is already in possession of over 20% of Ukrainian territory which they are unlikely to give back! Despite throwing billions of dollars in cash & military aid, all that they have to show is merely a slowed down pace of Russian advance.

And of course, a large number of bank failures! Oh wait, that happened in the USA .. My bad!

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So perhaps it is correct to say that all those sanctions have essentially failed?

Ok, so time for a short break from all that you might have read so far. Here’s a video of a reporter and her reporting of the horrific attacks on Ukraine from last year!

(PS: I should’ve said : ‘horrific reporting’ instead of ‘horrific attacks’! My Bad!)

Carrying on, let me start by posing a question: Can Ukraine even dream of a ceasefire if its western benefactors don’t want one? Especially with the leverage that they have created over Ukraine with the 100s of billions of dollars ‘invested’ in the war?

Technically, it is no longer Ukraine fighting Russia.

It is already NATO fighting Russia, with Ukraine merely as a front.

They throw money and equipment in the war, with Ukraine gambling away its sovereign territory and sacrificing the lives of its people.

Not a very bad deal for the West, no, this ‘outsourcing’ of war?

Btw, for all that have been shouting hoarse about the Wagner Group of Russia, I find practically no one even making a peep about the Ukraine Foreign Legion!

Yes, THAT’S the power that comes with the ability to control flow of information and narratives! Of course, it also helps extinguish ‘provocative’ channels broadcasting a harmless event!

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But for all the shrill narrative building, the upholders of ‘free’ speech seem to have actually painted themselves into a corner by not leaving any scope for an end to this war short of utter and complete humiliation of Russia, which, btw, doesn’t seem to be happening!

So let’s try and see what the future holds as far as this mess goes .. Some days ago when Germany placed a destroyed Russian tank in front of the Russian Embassy, instead of celebrating it, there were protesters laying flowers, seeking peace.

Fatigue and economic pain is real.

And this DESPITE their foreign minister already having declared war on Russia on behalf of the entire EU!

Btw, it is the same Germnay that is now importing much more expensive LNG from US and other sources than what it would have been getting via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia. Who destroyed the pipeline, is anybody’s guess because neither Russia nor Germany did that!

Going ahead, one thing is for sure – the moment the Russian Parliament passed a resolution to annex certain areas into the Russia State, any negotiation with respect to those is off the table.

As far as Russia goes, fight is now to ensure that Ukraine ceases to be a politico-military problem of any worth. They don’t want a Pakistan on their borders, that’s for sure. So any negotiated end to this war will be at huge cost to Ukraine – geographically as well as otherwise.

A few possible endgame scenarios that might happen are as under:-

Stalemate

Negotiated Settlement

Breaking up of Ukraine (will delve on this a bit more)

Ceasefire, followed by negotiations

Ousting of leadership, either in Ukraine or Russia or both.

Of course, there is one more potential endgame scenario that some folks are talking about in hushed tones. It is this:

The questions I asked in this tweet above still stand. I’ll add another one to it: Might it give them an excuse to finally end the war?

Unsurprisingly, there are idiots who are actually salivating even at this horrific possibility!

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Coming over to a more pragmatic (in an ideal world) solution – that of a negotiated settlement. Question is, who will ensure a fair negotiation acceptable to both sides?

The experiences of Minsk 1 and 2 agreements are all too recent and too well known in any case.

In any case, Ukraine stands to lose a LOT of territory East of the Dneiper River even in case of a negotiated settlement. However, what happens to the rest of Ukraine? Can it reasonably expect to survive as a sovereign entity in the aftermath?

Or will it become a state entirely dependent on Western aid to survive, especially after losing much of its productive lands in the East?

And most importantly, will Russia accept this?

Another question: Who will pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine? The comedian is already DEMANDING to be paid hundreds of billions of dollars to keep fighting. Do you reasonably think that his successors will not demand even more monies for reconstruction?

Will the West be able to mount a Marshal Plan for Ukraine?

Will they seek reparations from Russia instead?

Well, we all know how the reparations thing will pan out in any case.

To cut a long story short, I personally don’t see any outcome that does not involve complete and utter end to Ukraine as it existed on 24th Feb 2022. All that can be done is to try and salvage as much of it as can be done.

All in all, it is a very pessimistic outcome that seems likely. Yet, the earlier we get to it, the better it is. Western sanctions on Russia and assistance to Ukraine has not worked as they had anticipated.

If not controlled now, the war seems quite likely to expand in scope, with levels of involvement (and stakes) of outside powers may end up going even higher. The recent incident with the Russian aircraft and the American drone over Black Sea is a pointer in that direction.

Of course, there is already talk in more than just a handful of world capitals regarding getting access to nukes, in order to ensure their own safety. Poland, Iran, Japan, S. Korea come to mind as far as this goes. And they do have a logic they believe in.

Of course, one positive outcome of this war could be the revival and scaling up of the American MIC which will only come in handy in case things with China go kinetic in the near future, just like they almost did during Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last year!

As I end this chain of thoughts, all I will offer is that the era of globalization is well and truly finished. The best outcome is to cut losses and sue for peace, instead of shouting about an imaginary big bad wolf outside your house.

The world order as it existed till Feb last year is well and truly finished. It took two world wars and a failed League of Nations to have come to that world order. A new one will come with much more pain, IMO.

In the end, I’ll just add this graphic here without any further comment:

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JMTs

Thanks for your patience!

On the Current Mess in Pakistan

Harpreet Uncategorized ,

Ok folks, sharing some thoughts on the current state of Pakistan.

Strictly my opinions. Feel free to disagree!

Been a while since I did a blog post, lets see how this one goes ..

First and foremost, I would like to start with an undisputable fact:

This is the longest that the Pakistan Army has NOT directly ruled Pakistan!

Yup, you may read the above statement again and take some time to do some mental mathematics if you so desire!

Now, why might that be, one might ask.
Well, it is NOT because they have decided to stay in their constitutionally mandated role instead of meddling in politics (and business as well, but that topic is ‘out of course’ for the time being). Instead, I would blame the Kerry-Lugar Bill of 2009(?) that forbade any aid to Pakistan in case of a military coup!

Heck that was the reason why the first elected govt of Pakistan could complete its full term under a single head of govt!

But then, the key word in the tweet regarding no direct military rule is the word ‘DIRECT‘!

The Brown Panted Ones may have gone in the background, but they never let go of their political power, so to say! In fact, they seem to have developed a taste for backseat driving!

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There can be no greater testimony to the fact that Brown Panted Ones are the real rulers of Bhikharistan, than the various political entities still vying for the ‘attentions’ of the Army in order to further their own political fortunes as Pakistan heads out to the next election.

I will come to that in a while. But first let me get on with the current situation out there in Bhikharistan. It goes something like this:-

1.   On the verge of default.

2.   Riots and murders for as little as a bag of flour.

3.   Political paralysis (as always).

4.  Increasing centrifugal forces.

 

It isn’t the first time they have faced these challenges. But it does seem a bit ‘different’ this time, no?

Perhaps because the world is no longer just throwing money at them?

Heck, even the almighty Amreeka is ignoring them!

(PS: Pl don’t bring up the Bhikharistanis dancing in ecstasy when the USA pulled out of Afghanistan not so long ago, crowing that they have defeated ‘Yet Another Superpower’! PPS: Pl also ignore the kicks on the Packie backsides being delivered daily by the same Afghanistan!)

Basically, their economic model of Begging, Borrowing (and printing FICN) to sustain their economy is under a LOT of stress because neither are they able to beg (to their heart’s content) or even borrow due to the chickens finally coming home to roost!

All those pledges for flood relief fund that the smug Bhikharistanis ‘extracted’ just a few weeks ago, turned out to be vague promises of loans that would .. GASP!! .. need to be repaid!! Understandably, there are food riots on their streets!

Do Watch this video below:-

So .. will Pakistan FINALLY default?

Well, this is a question I asked nearly five years ago, leading to yet another thread which carries on still!

Basically, they’ve been in hand-to-mouth situation since a really really long time and have somehow at the last moment someone throws some crumbs their way and they are able to live to beg another day!

In fact that should be the new motto of Bhikharistan: Live to Beg Another Day!

Of course, that penury and poverty doesn’t apply to their feudal elites or their Brown Panted Ones who continue on the path to ‘prosperity’ as is adequately indicated by their ever growing bellies!

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And as far as the mango people go, well, they can eat cake, no?

Heck, the feudal lords will at times personally deliver those cakes!

So what comes next?

This is what I will delve upon further on in the thread. The one thing that I am waiting for (and Insha’llah, it would happen soon) is their forex reserves going below the $4Bn mark.

THAT would be a good psychological blow, IMO, since it’s been a while since their forex reserves went to the ‘Three Point Something’ mark!

But Will they default?

Seems increasingly likely too. But then there is always a billion or two that benefactors can throw at them!

Any additional money thrown their way will only result in kicking of the can a bit further down the road before the inevitable happens. Now I’m no economist to hazard a guess as to how the situation might pan out in case they do default, but then I can make a guess!

Sri Lanka scenario of some months ago gives a template of what might happen. Massive protests .. toppling of govt .. occupation of mansions of the elites .. you name it!

But Bhikharistan is a bit different.

And no, I’m NOT talking about nukes!

Instead, what I am talking about is a rabid, fanatical population armed with perhaps the largest inventory of weapons with civilian citizens after America. Once they become a mob, things would be really interesting to watch!

But that might still be some time away, especially if the Brown Panted rulers can somehow ‘divert’ their attention away from empty plates within and an enemy outside.

You get my drift, right?

It may not be too long before they accuse India of stirring up troubles on their borders. But then, if they indeed do so, what happens next?

Will they muster the courage to ‘teach India a lesson’?

Especially with the experience of Balakot & loss of an F-16? And of trembling legs?

Interestingly, the average Pakistani citizen is more and more apprehensive of and at some level, even enamoured with the rapid growth that India has achieved. They do realise that India has pulled so far away that there is no way Pakistan can ever hope to catch up anymore.

Hence, heightened tensions on the Durand Line might be one way to rally their starving population!

But then, knowing the absurdities they are known for, they might STILL choose to poke India yet again! This quote from a senior military officer sums it up!

Yet, we see peace overtures (only to be quickly made contingent upon handing over Kashmir to them!) from Bhikharistan. What I make of it is pure and simple signalling to benefactors that ‘Look, we are seeking peace. Now give us alms!’

Kashmir is something they just can’t give up.

Kashmir has been the reason for their existence.

Kashmir will be the reason for their downfall!

They’ve been having wet dreams ever since their very birth about ‘freeing’ Kashmir. And to think they will move on now, is pure stupidity!

This is a song from Pakistani film Bedari of 1957. They copied the song from ‘Jagriti’ of 1954 & added the RR about Kashmir! 1957!

And u think they will give up just because they’re a few billion dollars short today?

There can never be peace till the time Pakistan exists! Period!

They are fast approaching a critical mass of sorts. Thereafter, gravity takes over and things become irreversible, even for the Brown Panted ones to be able to take care of.

Whenever the Pakistan Army have found themselves in such a situation, they have had no choice but to lash out. They have two options when it comes to lashing out – Either outside their borders, or inside.

Let me explain ..

Firstly, their default option for lashing out is of course, outside their borders. But that only happened once – in 1971. Yet that too was because they had lashed out within on their own Bengali population and things spiralled out of control!

Remember, for all the fake bravado, the survival instinct of the Brown Panted Ones is really strong. That’s why, when in trouble they mostly lash out on their own people.

After 1965, there was an internal coup and Ayub Khan was thrown out.

Thereafter, once the rout of 1971 was reasonably distant, they hanged the Prime Minister and ushered in yet another dictatorship!

Same happened after 1999 humiliation as well, when Musharraf ‘gifted’ himself to Pakistan.

Get my drift?

I fully expect another internal crackdown soon, or perhaps another military man in power, IF they are unable to create a situation on their borders. But then, as I said in the beginning of this thread, that’s just my opinion!

That is not to say that the Pakistan Army itself isn’t under any stress. This is the first time perhaps that so many of their subjects (or as they are called in normal countries, citizens) are openly abusing them! Their own rank and file too aren’t blameless either.

The intoxication which comes with unquestioned power, has really made them believe themselves to be a ‘class apart’ from the hoi-polloi! Heck, even their ‘better’ halves are in on the game. Do go thru this thread below! I insist!

Of course, it is only fair to assume that the rank and file of the Pakistan Army too wouldn’t stay untouched with all that is happening in their country. A ‘Daadhi-Wala’ Vs ‘Daaru-Wala’ clash within the Brown Panted Ones in the near future cannot be ruled out either, especially if things go farther south.

Now that would be fun, right? 😀

In such a scenario, would they swallow their pride and sue for genuine peace? Or would they go Kamikaze with an aim to take down as many ‘Kafirs’ with them as they can, just like this guy in the video below dreams of doing?

In case they do go Kamikaze, would they only concentrate on Kafirs in India?

Esp since their missiles can reach Israel?

Heck, the same missiles can even reach China!

Food for thought, no?

Basically, they are well on their way to becoming the entire World’s problem instead of merely being India’s problem. The world too is beginning to realise this. Hence the reluctance to dole out free monies any more. Of course the Ukraine War too has diverted their attention!

For the time being, it suits everyone to keep Bhikharistan on liquid oxygen – on the verge of default being their default setting – so that they are kept busy within!

Yes, there can be a future scenario wherein India sees an influx of refugees from a failed/failing Pakistan.

What might we do then, right?

Especially with the loonie brigade within, whose hearts bleed for their Pakistani ‘brethren’, even at the cost of national security! I touched upon this thought some time back.

The option I found to be the most suitable then was to establish refugee camps within Pakistani territory. I still stand by this. There is absolutely no way we can let in the hordes of radicalized loonies into our borders. Feed them. But keep them away!

Of course, that contingency may still be a long way out, if at all.

But remember, this is a civilizational conflict. It will not end with the failure of Pakistan.

It will only end with the failure of the IDEA of Pakistan.

Do read the above statements once again, if you must.

It is THIS that we need to keep in mind as we move ahead to our rightful place in the comity of Nations. The world at large is headed for days of geopolitical uncertainty over the next decade or so. We too are unlikely to remain unaffected.

That said, we need to be well prepared to achieve what we wish to/need to. For that, we need to know the desired end-state in our neighbourhood.

Might it be multiple Pakistans instead of one?

Or successors of current Pakistani State, but friendlier?

Or even an Afg on our borders?

Remember, during the first Taliban regime in Kabul in the 1990s, India didn’t have a diplomatic mission there. This time, however, not only does the Indian diplomatic mission in Kabul continues to function, but also actively engage the Taliban. What might be the reason?

Think!

As I wind up this blog post, let me come back to Bhikharistan.

In the immediate future, I don’t see any improvement in their situation because of the very fact that they might be looking at it as a problem for the next Govt, given the elections that are fast approaching!

But I wouldn’t be very surprised either if they decide to ‘make a concession’ and ‘permit’ India to sell them essential food items in the near future! Packie PM’s recent statement on this account might have been a test balloon which sadly got punctured by non-response from India!

All in all, buy some popcorn and enjoy the show unfolding out there! I finish this thread with this video of a Bhikharistani being shown his true worth. Thanks for your patience!

 

And this one too!

:End of Blog Post:

Kashmir – A ‘Different’ Take!

Harpreet Uncategorized

Came across this blog post from a veteran officer who revisited Kashmir as a civilian. A mighty interesting piece. Highly recommended reading.

Different take on Kashmir

Totally worth the 3 minutes of your life that it asks for. Sharing some thoughts on it ..

Here’s the tweet that brought out the blog post to my TL.

Now this is something really interesting since in a decade plus of my Twitter existence I don’t think I ever came across such an account of viewing Kashmir Valley from a different perspective.

I’ve read the blog post a quite few times since this morning. It is a short account of an army officer who has served in the Valley with a gun in his hand, and now returns for a different business altogether, in his new role in the organized retail sector.

A wonderfully penned chain of thoughts that has triggered this thread. The contrast in both the situations couldn’t be more different, as is aptly depicted by the two photographs used in the blog.

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The first picture depicts the person while in uniform, a gun in hand, possibly on a shooting range since one can just about make out what seems to be a practice target ahead.

The second pic of of the same person, this time NOT in uniform, standing in what looks like a saffron field. You can still see some uniformed persons in the background, however they aren’t there because of the blogger, or for him!

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I’ll go thru the blog post in a while. But what I intend to write before that is a perspective from two different perspectives – One of a fauji and the one from the locals that @different_take interacted with as part of his new job.

Firstly, the young employees of his organized retail chain that he had gone to meet and possibly, assess/review their work.
One strand that stands out constantly is the optimism in their hearts, regarding their future.
This is a HUGE marker of current situation.
I’ll explain how.

You see, this is a generation of Kashmiris that was born AFTER the Valley erupted in violence in the 90s. Most of them would be under 30 years old. All that they would have seen in their young lives would be the fight between Pakistan sponsored terror and Indian security forces.

In short, I would call this a generation brought up in the shadow of guns and death ever since they first opened their eyes.

An entire generation that would, in all probability, be suffering from some sort of PTSD in varying degree, both individually as well as collectively.

If you think I am kidding, I’ll remind you that Burhan Wani was alive till just over six years ago, and the intense demonstrations and stone pelting after his killing would have had atleast a few of these same people or atleast their acquaintances too throwing stones.

Mind you, I make the above statement from a totally neutral point of view, just as a statement of fact. Especially since the areas that @different_take talks about in his blog post included some of the most violent ones in that phase – Anantnag, Pampore, Bandipur, Baramula ..

Going further back in time, their school yrs would have seen long closures thanks to the never ending Bandhs called by various ‘stakeholders’!

Talking of bandhs, when was the last time you heard ANY news about Hurriyat Conference? Or anyone even talking about them? Get my point?

One can only imagine these kids growing up into the young adults that they are today – With not even a stray strand of hope for a ‘normal’ future.

Yet, here they are, excited to be on the cusp of a journey that will bring about prosperity to their lands.

These are not my words, mind you!

I am merely paraphrasing from the blog post!

Imagine a veteran who would have planned over and over again when going through these areas, now doing so in a taxi, and working out of there .. just as he would anywhere else in the country!

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Moving on to the men in uniform who been a permanent presence over the past few decades, they too are stakeholders in the situation in the Valley, IMO. Heck, they put their very lives on the stake, losing cherished brothers ever so often in the line of duty.

Yet here is one of ‘them’ who now walks the same streets without a weapon and without any worry either! The locals too are slowly getting used to NOT having security forces everywhere on their streets. The last statement in this screenshot sums it all up beautifully!

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Of course, the positive impact of such a large number of troops on the local economy over the years too is not lost on the local traders.

Before moving ahead in this blog post, let me take a step back and go back a few steps, to the two photographs shared above. Will talk a bit about the sheer symbolism that I see here.

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This photo is from his days in uniform. The person has his back turned towards you. A weapon in hand. Body language that is not very communicative, and even ‘cold’ if you may call it so.

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Now contrast that with this pic – A carefree smile. Relaxed demeanour. And what seems to be an identity card of the current employer around the neck!

I’d say it is this very contrast that quite sums up the rapid changes that the situation in Kashmir has seen – from the never ending stone pelting, violence and deaths to the current state when individuals on both ends of the earlier reality – faujis and locals – are not only working together without any fear, but are also looking towards an even brighter and prosperous future in these very lands where both would have seen dear ones die.

A LOT have been accomplished by all concerned, especially since the abrogation of Article 370 and thereafter.
The govt has made the separatists and vested political interests, irrelevant.
The security forces have ensured continuing peace, occasional incidents notwithstanding.

But most importantly, the LOCALS have embraced the change. They are the ones that are working hard towards a better future for themselves. And mind you, those born after 1990 are doing so without any prior reference point, or experience of any bit of lasting peace in their lands!

And of course, there are the ever present tourists from Gujarat!

But jokes apart, it is a really heartening blog post to read. So much so, that I have actually read it more than just a few times.

Of course, difficult times are always hiding just behind the next corner. One is aware that enemies outside & within would do anything to ensure that Kashmir gets to a boil again, since it would suit them. Even if it is at the cost of the very Kashmiris they claim to represent!

Who knows, they might yet succeed in scuttling the current development. But then, that fear is not something that should actually stop the good folks from aspiring and actually working towards a peaceful and prosperous future. Hence, the gladness I felt on reading this blog post!

Mind you, THIS was Pampore sometime in 2016. An attack that took the lives of quite a few security personnel.

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And here is the same Pampore and someone who was part of the same security apparatus now travelling as any local or tourist would do. And it felt safe!

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This in itself is a huge commentary on how far we’ve come as a Nation in securing our crown.

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I’ll end this chain of thoughts here. I just had to write it after I went thru the blog. Hope I’ve made some sense.

Do read the blog for yourselves.

Here’s praying for an even brighter future!

:fin:

On the Russia-Ukraine War (As on 17 Oct 2022)

Harpreet Uncategorized

Folks, sharing some thoughts on the still ongoing Russia-Ukraine War, esp in light of recent developments. Let’s see how it goes!

At the outset, I’ll begin with a sincere ‘R.I.P Ukraine’.

I’ll explain my POV further on in this blog post. Feel free to disagree.

However, before moving ahead I’ll leave this chain of thoughts blogged just over 9months ago here. Glad to see I was atleast partly correct!

On the Russia-Ukraine Issue

Anyone with a reasonable thinking head on his shoulders would have come to a conclusion by now that Russia is just not going to stop before either Ukraine is utterly destroyed, or a Russia-friendly regime replaces the Kiev Comedian that has gone amok. However, that doesn’t mean they would just back off from interfering in Russia’s backyard, especially after repeated assertions of this being construed as a Redline by Russia!

On the contrary, nothing would please them more than to see Russia getting into a prolonged war. 

I’d say that the ‘wounds’ of Vietnam and Afghanistan are still fresh enough for the ‘Civilized’ World, or America, in other words, to seek the same for Russia as well. Yet, there remains a crucial difference – Ukraine is pretty much Russian backyard, unlike USA that was fighting an enemy thousands of miles from home. However, parallels with the relationship of Cuban Missile Crisis to the Americans, with the prospect of a Western Stooge Ukraine for Russia will never be heard. It would be a bit too ‘inconvenient’, to say the least.

In the meantime, thousands of common Ukrainians will keep dying, just so that the big powers can play their shadow games on their lands, at their expense. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – They will fight Russia till the last Ukrainian. Period.

Don’t believe me?

Well, I’d say this report shines a light not on the efficacy or accuracy of Russian weapons, but rather on the lack of Ukrainian civilian casualties!

Now THAT would’ve been great PR for warmongers, no?

Once again, just my opinion. Feel free to disagree!

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So .. on the topic of PR, what could showcase a true Wartime LEADER, than videography ahead of a green screen, hainji? Especially, when ‘heroic’ background can be added at leisure subsequently!

Nope, this is NOT the misinformation campaign that ‘free’ media cries about bitterly!

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I think in video, it seems even ‘cooler’, no? I’m sure that Shri Goebbels Ji would wholeheartedly endorse this propaganda from the nether world where he must have taken up residence after his death!

That is not to say that the ‘brave’ camera crews are not putting their own lives at risk, what with missiles and kamikaze drones flying about freely in Ukrainian skies!

Moving on to the other side of the borders, news of the mobilization by Russian last month seems to have already been forgotten, thanks to what has followed since then.

But remember, post WW1 and WW2, I don’t think Russians ever ordered such a mobilization.

This announcement by itself should have been an alarm bell for the West.

Do note I didn’t say Ukraine, but instead, I said ‘West’. That is because IMO, the Ukrainian leadership have already handed over control over what comes next, to the West.

Once again, feel free to disagree.

What caused Russia to mobilize was a series of setbacks on the battlefield, thanks to the uninterrupted and unparalleled influx of advanced weaponry from the West into Ukraine. They chose NOT to see the fact that thus far Russian attacks were kept relatively localised to what was assumed to be lands inhabited mostly by ethnic Russian peoples.

Pretty soon came the referenda in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, this time backed up with a Russian military that was rapidly increasing the number of troops on Ukrainian borders.

A sensible leadership would have read the tea leaves and sought a negotiated settlement, even if from a relatively weaker position.

But for that, you need a politician leading the country, not a showman recording statements in front of a green screen!

On the contrary, I’d say Ukrainian leadership was egged on to ‘keep fighting’, perhaps with vague promises of over military help (remember the charade of admitting Ukraine to NATO some weeks back that was vetoed by some members?).

And predictably, they fell for it!

They needed to do something ‘spectacular’. Hence came the attack on the #CrimeaBridge. The entire western world went into a frenzy of backslapping each other and patting their own backs as well.

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But just like their other pet, Pakistan, they failed (or maybe chose not) to wargame how Russia would react. That bridge wasn’t merely a key logistic infrastructure, but a symbol of Russian resurgence and assertiveness as well.

It was an attack on their national pride, I’d say.

To think that Russians would just roll over and go back to their bases after such an attack, would have been idiocy of the highest level. Of course, the inevitable happened – the war became truly ‘all-encompassing’ for the Ukrainians.

 

What was a localized conflict, now expanded to the entire Ukrainian landmass, with the latest round of attacks over Kiev happening earlier today. I still remember visuals of the ‘BESTEST‘ Air Defence Systems being gifted to Ukraine. But this is what it came down to ultimately:-

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Of course, the voices of ‘outrage’ became even shriller as the days went by. However, if you noticed, there was one thing that was constant in all this right from the beginning of the conflict – It was Putin’s war against Ukraine.

It has always been Putin that was painted as the bad man hell bent upon destroying a smaller country.

Never mind, that the smaller country itself is being egged on with vague promises of NATO membership by the same folks who now act aghast at the punishment being meted out to it!

Of course, a NATO membership for Ukraine would never have happened in the best of the circumstances, not to talk about what shit it is in as of right now. For all their boom and bluster, they are happy to fight the Russians so long as their own soldiers aren’t the ones dying.

What followed soon after the missiles over Kiev was one expert after another, talking about the possibility of Putin using a tactical nuke against Ukraine. In fact, some idiots were actually looking forward to it. Climate change, you see!

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A lot of sabres too were taken out from the storage and rattled loudly!

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But fact of the matter remains that however sad that day might be, but in case Putin decides to actually use a nuke, even a tactical nuke, over Ukraine what will the West do?

Will they nuke Russia in return? And risk a nuclear retaliation on themselves?

Or will they sanction Russia?

Oh, wait! Haven’t they done that already??!!

In fact, the sanctions have instead hurt the Western economies much more than Russia!

Being a critical supplier of much needed gas and oil, Russia has been able to weather the sanctions storm much much better than Europe or even the USA!

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It is bound to be a cold winter for much of Europe.

In fact, this is the reason that they continued to buy Russian gas throughout the war, effectively funding it, even as they supplied weapons to Ukraine and blamed India for purchasing Russian oil!

But as the war dragged on (majorly due to Europe and USA’s own hyperbole), they realised the need for gas in the fast arriving winters. Already, common people in Europe were feeling the heat, even if merely figuratively, since there was little gas to actually heat up their homes!

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No wonder, they were having second thoughts! Because instead of merely Ukrainians, their own citizens were now suffering!

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And VOILA .. the NordStream pipeline got MAGICALLY damaged!

Or was it sabotaged by ‘someone’ out of a ‘necessity’ to remove any hope of gas supplies in winter, thereby removing any reason for civil protests against their warmonger govts?

Never mind. No need to answer that question!

Coming on to what comes next ..

Well, one thing is for sure .. the war will NOT end as long as Zelensky is in charge. Some might say the same for Putin as well, but thanks to the info blockade on Russian perspective, one isn’t really sure whether a successor would cease the war!

Btw, I hope that the very casual way that I talked about Putin’s successor highlights a thought that I have been having for some days now: By making it Putin’s War against Ukraine and scaremongering about nukes, is it correct to say that the West is positing for an assassination?

All said and done, in the long run there is only one outcome for Ukraine out of two possibilities that I see: Either accept the curse of geography and learn to live with Russia; or die trying to do otherwise.

All the rest is a matter of inconsequential detail.

The world is fast heading for a major shake-up. In fact, I’d say that we are well into one. How that ends up will only be known once the dust settles, which might take upto a decade or even more. But one thing is for sure – the current world order is dying fast.

Dare I say, India too won’t be left untouched.

Multiple hits have already started ever since the West realized that India doesn’t quit appreciate a ‘With us or Against us’ kind of scenario and has its own interests as a priority instead. And no, it isn’t for the first time that India has acted in its own self-interest either!

However, the West does realise the seriousness of the war they are fighting this time round. Many say that they won the cold war. But with the benefit of hindsight, they are still fighting it.

And it seems to be getting HOTTER each passing minute, even as their citizenry freezes!

This is what puts into context the increasing hits against India by the likes of the UK, US and even Germany. But what they don’t realise is that we live, and actually thrive, in far more contradictions everyday than they can even dream about!

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Just take a Rs 10 currency note and count the number of languages printed on it and you will understand what I wrote above. Tolerance for ambiguity is something that is no less than a critical survival skill for politicians / govts in India.

And dare I say, we are working in our own way to find our own footing in the rapidly transitioning world order. We may yet fail in our endeavour but atleast that won’t be for the lack of trying; this is something that I am sure of.

Currency swaps, gold purchases, internationally growing UPI network, controlled foodgrain exports are but a handful of steps that are overtly visible. One can only imagine the number of equally or even more critical steps happening behind the scenes that you & I may never know!

As far as the UN is concerned, well, it has been and continues to be inconsequential. It came about as a result of two world wars and a failed League of Nations and reflected the global balance of power at that time. That balance is rapidly changing.

They are struggling to adapt!

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It is indeed an ‘exciting’ time to be alive. Dare I say, if we are lucky to be alive at the end of the next decade, the world that we die in, would be much different from the one we were born in. Whether that would be good or bad for you and/or me, needs to be seen!

As far as Ukraine in its current form is concerned, they already are collateral damage. In fact, history and geography had predicated this outcome for them. This is what I tweeted more than 8 years ago. It is a wonderful book, btw. Even more relevant today.

Btw, talking about the UN and its priorities, I think this tweet is a perfect specimen of where they are headed!

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Refer a few paragraphs above regarding the Nordstream sabotage. THIS is what they were banking upon, even as they continued to arm Ukraine against Russia. A possible understanding might have been continued gas supplies, as happened even during the heights of the cold war, perhaps?

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They failed to realize that in a fight for the very survival, something would have to give way. And that their own hands might be forced by an undersea sabotage!

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Talking about gas shortages, I’ll just leave a few screenshots that I found amusing, to say the least! The last screenshot of a tweet by @ThePollLady is a personal favourite!

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On a more serious note, what is happening in the world today is not some fluke, or due a megalomaniac Putin. Instead, it was something that was pre-planned, but got delayed due to Trump getting elected! “2017 will be the year of offense” – Lindsey Graham (PS: Don’t miss the gleeful hand rubbing!)

 

 

So what comes next, you ask?

Well, my reply to that would be ‘Who Knows!’

All I can say is that a lot of actors are involved, all at the same time. This includes India, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and even Pakistan.

How this interplay of power and money pans out, is going to be really interesting to watch and follow. What I genuinely believe is that a new world order is round the corner. But to achieve that would require a LOT of blood, since the wheels of history do not move without that.

So Brace yourselves, folks! From a de-dollarized economic order, to a multipolar world order or even an entirely chaotic interplay of nations & countries, anything is possible! Till then, wait & watch it is.

Karmic Cycle carries on, for nations, civilizations as well as individuals

Thank you for your patience. I’ll finish this chain of thoughts here, with this self-congratulatory tweet!