AMERICAN progress, a powerful Washington DC based think tank has termed the Mumbai attack by Pakistani based terrorists as unique in more than one way. In a recent report, it said , “On November 26, "coordinated terrorist attacks struck the heart of Mumbai, India's commercial capital," kicking off a three-day showdown between gunmen and Indian authorities that left nearly 200 people dead and over 300 injured, including at least six Americans. Entering the city by sea, the group of 10 to 15 militants " brought India's largest city to its knees" with a sophisticated attack that spanned 10 sites.

After landing, the gunmen fanned out across the city, most likely in groups of two or three. Within half an hour, they had hit about five sites: the city's main rail station, a Jewish center at the Nariman House, the Leopold Cafe, and the Oberio and Taj hotels." The terrorists "dug in for sieges" at the two hotels, taking hostages and battling the Indian military for days, before finally being subdued on Saturday. Though early reports said that the attackers were "singling out Americans and Britons," the killing now appears to have been indiscriminate, as the gunmen sprayed gunfire into crowds; the majority of those killed were not foreign-born. On the first night of the attacks, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a televised statement that he believed that "the well-planned and well-orchestrated attacks" probably had " external linkages" and were launched by a group "based outside the country," a not-so subtle reference to Pakistan. The Pakistani government denies that it had any role in the attacks. With Indian and American investigations increasingly focusing on "evidence that a Pakistani militant group based in Kashmir, most likely Lashkar-e-Taiba, was responsible" for the attacks, recent efforts at reconciliation between long-time rivals India and Pakistan are now at real risk of being derailed.

In recent years, India has faced an onslaught of terrorist attacks, including a 2001 assault on the Indian parliament and coordinated bomb attacks in Northeast India last October that killed 61 people. Initially, U.S. officials cast the Mumbai attacks as fitting the mold of al Qaeda, noting that the terrorists had staged "simultaneous attacks on high profile targets in the heart of a city's financial district." But various elements mark the strike in Mumbai as something unique. As Time magazine's Bruce Crumley notes, the attacks in Mumbai mark "the emergence of an unprecedented hybrid of terror tactics." "This is essentially a small army sent into the heart of society with orders to kill and keep killing as long as possible," French terrorism specialist Roland Jacquard told Crumley. "So this is more like terrorism fused with insurgency and guerilla warfare." Counterterrorism experts told the Washington Post that the "the scale, sophistication and targets involved in the Mumbai attacks were markedly different from previous terrorist plots in India," suggesting that the assailants received training from outside of the country. "This is a new, horrific milestone in the global jihad," said former CIA South Asia analyst Bruce Riedel.

AN ESCALATION OF TENSIONS: With indications that the attackers may have been supported by groups outside of India like Lashkar-e-Taiba, the "fragile peace process between New Delhi and Islamabad" is at risk. Though Pakistani government denies it had anything to do with the attacks, the Indian government has accused "elements in Pakistan" of having culpability for the violence. "We are a nation outraged right now. And such incidents are always a grave setback to the peace process between India and Pakistan. This time our response will be very serious," Anand Sharma, India's deputy foreign minister, told the Washington Post on Sunday. Sharma, along with other Indians, accuse Pakistan of reneging on a promise made in 2004 not to allow its territory to be used for attacks against India by any groups. The Pakistani government is promising to investigate the role that " nonstate actors" may have had in the attacks, though officials claim India has not presented them with any proof that Pakistanis were involved. On ABC's This Week yesterday, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, said that "we should not see this heinous act in the context of India-Pakistan relations. We should see it in the context of international terrorism." But Indian officials are considering retributive actions such as "calling off the ongoing dialogue with Pakistan or suspending the five-year-old official cease-fire on the border."

A REGIONAL PROBLEM: A recent Center for American Progress report by Caroline Wadhams, Brian Katulis, Lawrence J. Korb, and emphasizes that "Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan are inextricably linked, and U.S. policy must be formulated accordingly." "These regional challenges will require a fundamentally different U.S. approach that eliminates the bureaucratic separation in Washington between diplomacy, development, intelligence, and military activities in Islamabad, Kabul, and New Delhi," write the report's authors. But the finger-pointing between Pakistan and India over responsibility for the Mumbai attacks could have "deep consequences" for such an American strategy in the region. Both President-elect Barack Obama and new Centcom Commander Gen. David Petraeus view reconciliation between the two countries as an important step that would allow "Pakistan to focus less of its military effort on India, and more on the militants in its lawless tribal regions who are ripping at the soul of Pakistan." But the attacks appear as though they will "sour relations, fuel distrust and hamper, at least for now, America's ambitions for reconciliation in the region."

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Indian Health Minister opposes entry of genetically modified food

IN Tamil Nadu’s city of Kancheepuram , Union Minister for Health Anbumani Ramadoss declared his strong opposition to any move to introduce genetically modified food or seeds in the agriculture sector.

At a State level farmer's conference, organised by the Thamizhnadu Uzhavar Periyakkam, he declared, "As a Central Minister I will oppose any move to introduce GM food or seeds in India." His party , Pattali Makkal Katchi had taken a policy decision to oppose introduction of genetically modified seeds.

He said efforts were being made by certain quarters to introduce Bt.Brinjal, a genetically modified variety, without conducting any test on Indian soil. "The Ministry of Health will oppose it and will not allow introduction of such a variety without conducting proper tests." He promised if the PMK is voted to power in Tamil Nadu, would present a separate budget for agriculture.

Dr.Ramadoss warned that if the trend of "taking away" cultivable lands from farmers for setting up special economic zones were to continue, it would lead to a revolt. If it happened, no government would have the strength to face such situation. Twenty-five resolutions, including a demand for a separate budget for agriculture, industrial status for agriculture, fair and justifiable rate for agriculture produce, setting up of special agriculture economic zones and free distribution of seeds were adopted at the conference.

Earlier, members of Tamil Nadu Organic Agriculturists Movement, Tamil Nadu Women's Collective, Workers' & Peasants' Party and Greenpeace drew the attention of the Minister to the various concerns related to GM crops/foods and the farmers presented him with a memorandum. The Minister, in his speech said, "When there are so many indigenous varieties of brinjal in each region of India, where is there a need to borrow this Bt Brinjal from other countries?".

The Health Minister's statement in this meeting is unsurprising given that PMK, his party, was the first political party to take a clear stand against GM crops in India. Further, Dr Anbumani Ramadoss is known for his progressive political stand on issues like tobacco and alcohol.

On December 4th, a group of doctors from different streams of medicinal systems sought to meet with the Health Minister to express their serious concerns with regard to GM foods. They submitted a memorandum to the Minister pointing out that Genetic Engineering in our food and farming is inherently risky and irreversible and that decision-making in India is currently happening based on the crop developer's data without any independent research for assessing long term effects.

The Minister has also been receiving thousands of faxes from all over the country as part of the "I Am No Lab Rat" campaign launched by the Coalition for a GM-Free India and Hamara Beej Abhiyan. So far, more than 70000 Indians have endorsed a petition to the Health Minister saying that they refuse to become guinea pigs in this experimentation with GE foods.

Consumer, environmental, women's and organic farming groups from all over the country reacted by thanking the Minister for the progressive view he took on this matter, with his scientific background and for putting the interests and health of ordinary consumers of India at the centre of his policy with regard to GM crops/foods.

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Starship Saptarshi
India to resurrect night sky’s seven sages

INDIA has announced plans to install an artificial constellation of 7 geostationary satellites to meet the new demands for vehicular navigation systems. Within the two years starting 2010, India will complete installation of the seven satellites, all of which are expected to be launched by India’s indigenous PSLV.

For an observer on earth, the geostationary satellites appear to be fixed at a spot above the equator. These satellites however, face a couple of disadvantages in that it is harder receiving signals from these at places that are farther north. The other disadvantage is a little bit of a signal delay due to the high altitudes of these satellites.

But India’s Space Research Organisation claims to have solved some of those issues, and if all goes well, we will have satellite navigation for all our cars, trains, trucks, maybe even auto-rickshaws in another 5 years.

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