US foreign policy on Pakistan is damaging Britain, says British Cohesion Minister

The UK must distance itself from American foreign policy if Pakistani youths are to be prevented from growing up hating Britain, according to the government’s social cohesion minister.

The comments by Sadiq Khan, who has just returned from a fact-finding trip to Pakistan, follow the arrests of 12 men - 10 of whom were Pakistani nationals - in the north-west of England last week on suspicion of planning a terror attack. They are likely to be given short shrift from Number 10, which has been keen to ally itself to the Obama administration. Earlier this month Gordon Brown stressed the two allies were united in their fight against terrorism in Pakistan.

But Khan, London’s first Muslim MP, said the UK must differentiate itself from the US after attending meetings at universities in Pakistan. “I listened to the anger and pain over the challenges that young people growing up in Pakistan face, including the anger and frustration over US drone attacks,” he said.

The attacks by unmanned US drones have provoked fury in Pakistan, where scores of militants have been killed in the country’s remote border regions, along with innocent civilians.

“The anger and frustration at the drone attacks was huge,” Khan said. “The view they [the students] had was that the UK was somehow responsible for this. They haven’t understood this was purely a US matter. They lumped us together with the US, which to me is a poison. It demonstrates to me we have a big problem.”

Khan, whose parents are from Pakistan, suggested the UK should look to reach out to disaffected Muslim youths by emphasising the close links between the two countries. “Much of the Pakistani population doesn’t realise the good we are doing,” Khan said: the UK is to double aid to Pakistan to £180m by 2011.

Crucial to winning hearts and minds, Khan said, was dismantling the perception that the US and the UK were one and the same over foreign policy. Acknowledging the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq had mobilised Muslim opinion against the UK, Khan said: “Because of things that happened in 2003, there is an uphill battle. We need better to explain that there has been a distinct change in UK foreign policy.

“For example, this month the last troops will come home from Iraq: that’s very different from the US. The drone attacks are US, not UK; our development policy doesn’t have the strings that come with US aid.”

Is OUR humanity dead yet?

During the last American elections, I watched the people of US vote for a different party. I watched them vote for a different candidate. I watched them vote for a different man. I watched them vote for a different race. I watched them vote for a different colour. I watched them vote for a different back ground and even a different religion (at least linked to). Through the US elections, I watched the ordinary Americans wanting a change through to get away from the atrocities that Bush caused on this earth and innocent humans. People thought that this time the new leader will make this world a better living place for all of us, but they couldn’t have been more wrong. The murder of those who have nothing to do with 9/11 still continues. The murder of those who only want the US to leave their land alone still continues, as if it was the birth right of the Americans, to be on that land and to treat the common Afghans worse than a pet dog living in the US. The trigger happy Americans would not hesitate for a second before killing a few Afghans/Talibans/Muslims while on the other hand; they build special air conditioned rooms for their security dogs…..

Perhaps the Afghans should have happily welcomed the US army with a bunch of roses. This is a foreign invader who first imported “Mujahidins” into Afghanistan, trained them, armed them, and then “converted” them into “Talibans”. Obviously that was not enough, the US then carried on and entered Afghanistan supposedly in the pursuit of the same people (now renamed “Terrorists”), who were there in the first place by the American orders and support. Talibans (aka terrorists) were the same people who were paid 43 Million dollars in May 2001 by the US govt. But an important question we should ask ourselves here is, who is most disadvantaged in this whole deal, American trained Talibans (The trainee), the American army (The trainer) itself or just the common Afghans?

This so called “war on terror” should be renamed. It is a shameful war on humanity and the common citizens. It is a disgust that will stay with the word “America” like a twin brother for a very long time. Perhaps a better name would simply be “war on humanity”. Every time a military operation is carried out in Afghanistan or the Pakistani border, it leaves scores of children and other civilians dead and injured. The attacks in Afghanistan and even in Pakistan are increasing from both sides. So a question we must ask ourselves is: are the Talibans actually decreasing or increasing in numbers? After so many years of the US invasion since 7th October 2001, and millions of people dead, injured or directly affected by this war, we must ask ourselves what are the real motives behind first creating, training, befriending and sponsoring a monster, and then destroying whole countries and their citizens to supposedly catch this “monster” which in fact seems to be on the increase?

While the war carries on, and we all stand by to watch death of humanity, I ask ALL Pakistanis here to please think and if possible reply with their thoughts on my questions below that I often think about :

• Why are Pakistanis fighting someone else’s dirty war?
• Why must Pakistanis do the dirty work for others?
• Why should Pakistanis die in this war while the Americans themselves are relaxing thousands of miles away and still pointing fingers at Pakistan to “do more”?
• What have we achieved by selling our souls to these western nations?
• Is Pakistan richer than before?
• Is Pakistan safer than before?
• Why should Pakistanis have the blood of hundreds of thousands of other humans (Afghans and Pakistanis) on their hands?
• Even if for money, how can this blood money do any good to our children when it is a payment for killing other children in the first place?
• Is this the Pakistan you want to leave for your coming generations, and is this the “wealth” you really want to leave for your children?

When will enough ever be enough?

RAW Terrorists active in Pakistan

Mumbai attacks have served as a real alarm not only for India but for Pakistan too, as it has brought out true colours of the Indian govt being pushed by terrorist Hindu parties such as BJP and RSS. It has reminded Pakistanis, Pak police and the govt realise the dirty game the extremist Hindu parties are capable of. Although a local Indian group claimed full responsibility for the attacks, Indian authorities have always insisted that ISI and even the Pakistan govt itself is involved in these attacks. Indian govt actively rejected the confessions from Deccan Mujahidins, and instead blames LeT. LeT on the other hand has always maintained that Mumbai attack is not their work, and denied any involvement with Deccan Mujahidins too….

Usually the groups responsible for such attacks will be proud to announce their responsibility for the attacks. There are exceptions though, for example Samjhauta express bombing was a such cowardly act where the attackers had kept quite untuil they were found out by an honest investogator Karkare. later this very investogation caused karkare his life, after having received many death threats from the Hindu terrorists. Karkare, the ATS chief was finally murdered within a few minutes during the Mumbai Stage Drama.

Despite Indians already knowing the fact that LeT has denied any involvement, and that Deccan Mujahidin has accepted the liablity, they still insist on pinning down the blame on Pakistan govt. It is kind of like saying “Mera Kaa chitta ee eh”. But when RAW terrorists was arrested and confessed involvement in Lahore blasts back in December, India kept pretty much quite. A few days later, when an unknown group “Ansar Wa Mohajir” claimed responsibility, Indians were probably the first ones to believe their claim. See the news of RAW terrorists arrested HERE and HERE, and then the confessions of this unknown group HERE. The statements that come out of the Indian media are extremely hypocrite to say the least.

India had already violated Pakistan’s “international borders” in 1972 to break up East Pakistan, which later became Bangladesh. This was done openly, and by the orders of the Indian Govt. This itself is enough for India to be a Terrorist country, with a Terrorist government that has used its army time and time again to attempt breaking up Pakistan. Indian army involvement in Samjhauta express bombing is another such example. India is still very much active in this game while using RAW to create trouble in the tribal regions. Terrorist indian govt is still sending RAW agents to Pakistani cities. Apart from the 7 RAW agents arrested from Lahore back in December, on 30th of January 3 more Indian Terrorists were arrested, see below:

Three Indian spies arrested in Lahore:
Source: OUR STAFF REPORTER January 30, 2009

LAHORE-City police with the cooperation of intelligence agencies has foiled a deadly plan to carry out large-scale bloodshed through a series of terrorist activities and arrested three RAW agents here on Thursday.
The terrorists were assigned target by the Indian agency to destabilise the law and order situation especially in the provincial capital. Police recovered remote control bombs, explosives and sensitive documents besides huge cache of sophisticated weapons and maps/drawings of different sensitive installations from their possession.
The arrested terrorists are identified as Muhammad Fayyaz alias Feja, a resident of Mundyanwala, Burki, Muhammad Akram alias Mian Akram and Shahzad Bhatti of Mauza Ludhar, Burki.
Capital City Police Chief Pervez Rathore said this while addressing a Press conference at Police Lines Qilla Gujjar Singh here on Thursday.
DIG investigation Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera, SSP Investigation Zulfiqar Hameed, DSP CIA Umer Virk and other senior police officers were also present on the occasion.
Pervez Rathore said that the arrest of the terrorists was a big success of the police which foiled nefarious designs of the anti-Pakistan elements.
He said that the arrested terrorists during investigations confessed their involvement in smuggling across the border from Pakistan to India.
Terrorists have further confessed that during their visits to India they had managed to establish their contacts with Indian Intelligence Agency RAW, he added.
He said that RAW officials used to help the terrorists in crossing the border from Gate number 139.

The above arrests were almost a month after the first successful arrests of the RAW agents involved in Lahore blasts. it has been almost a month again, and we have another success by Punjab Police that arrested 3 more RAW agents yesterday (Saturday the 7th Feb 2009):

Pakistan Cops Arrested 3 Indian Militants in Lahore

Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 12:00 pm

Three spies of Indian intelligence agency RAW have been arrested from Baidyan, an area located in the outskirts of Lahore.According to sources, Pakistan’s intelligence agencies after arresting these agents shifted them to an unknown place.Fake ID cards were recovered from the Indian spies in which the names of these agents appear as Muhammad Akmal, Sardar Ayhmed and Muhammad Umer.
Three ID cards, as many spy cameras, passports, photos of important religious figures besides maps of the major Pakistani cities have also recovered from their possession.
The arrested suspects have been transferred to undisclosed place for interrogation, sources said. The accused have confessed that they were collecting information about security and movement of a religious leader, the sources said.

I wonder why the Indians don’t realise that their Hindu extremist parties are killing their own people via dramas like Mumbai attacks. I wonder why the Indian govt doesn’t hand over the India Terrorists that Pakistan has demanded in its list handed over to India. I wonder why India time and time again hands over the same list of names to be handed over (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS). I wonder why the list contains names such as Wadhawa Singh, Paramjit Singh Panjwar, Lakhbir Singh Rode, Ranjit Singh Neeta and Gajinder Singh, what do they have to do with the Mumbai attacks. I wonder why Pakistan should hand over any one unless the terrorists required by Pakistan in its list are handed over too.

All these questions come into my mind, but sadly I dont see the Indian govt or the Indians providing any satisfactory answers, while they carry on expecting Pakistan to do “more”.

Is it too much to expect from India to have a good, open and transparent relationship with any of its neighbours or her own minorities even?

‘Internal hand involved in Mumbai attacks’ Tells Modi

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Singh Modi criticises ruling Congress for not taking action against any local group

NAGPUR: Indian Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Singh Modi hinted on Sunday that the Mumbai terror attacks could not have been carried out without internal help – comments that are in sharp contrast with claims by other Indian officials who hold Pakistan solely responsible for the attacks.

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said, “If we single out that one incident (Mumbai attacks) and ask any person in this country … with basic information and knowledge, they will say that such a big terror attack on India cannot take place without any internal help from the nation itself.” ……Criticism: He criticised the Congress-led coalition government for not taking action against any local groups involved in the Mumbai attacks.

Modi’s new theory contradicts India’s official position, and came just hours ahead of Pakistan’s reply to an Indian dossier of information given to Islamabad.

Addressing a BJP convention here, the Gujarat chief minister also slammed the policies of the ruling Congress party.

According to Hindustan times, Modi also made a scathing attack on the Gandhi-Nehru family, alleging that a conspiracy had been hatched to promote the family, posing a danger to the future of the country.

“A conspiracy to promote one family’s past is posing a danger for the future of the country,” Modi said without directly naming the Gandhi-Nehru family, but the indication was obvious. online/daily times monitor.

Incredible India: Are You Proud to be an Indian ?

There is no arguing that the Indian economy is growing and the country is doing far better economically than let’s say 20 years ago. Indian movies are watched all over Pakistan too, but most of the times, the stories presented by Bollywood are very much of a dream. Most of the people who watch Indian movies and have never been to India would naturally get a picture of India which Indians themselves dream of. The world must not become blind to the reality though. The same goes for all those who think “I am proud to be an Indian”. While India claims to be the “biggest” democracy (this is based on the high population alone), we must not forget that it is the respect of human rights and democratic values, and not mere population and territory that is the gauge of declaring a country democratic. It is definitely big, and uncomfortably populated (very mildly put) but is it a democracy at all? There are many interesting facts about “The Incredible India” today that are incredibly alarming to say the least. But as there are always two sides to the coin, I hope that Indians while being patriotic, can also appreciate the facts presented here as an opportunity of improvement.

India, allegedly a VERY rich nation, has the world’s largest child population, and one would understandably expect the government to prioritise and reflect this in their general policy making. But the numbers (presented below) show that while being ruled by corrupt, bribing, short sighted, wrongly focused politicians, this sham of a democracy is in fact responsible for some of the most horrific human catastrophes known in the history. I just wish that India was feeding its young, innocent and needy citizens before sending a metal object to the moon, or increasing its defence budget even further. After all, what is the point of spending money on “defence” of a nation that is being murdered via malnutrition by the its very own government? who to defend the country for if the young are not even fed, let alone taken proper care of. After all, they wont be there to reap the benefits of this army protection, and those who survive this hunger will simply be physically and mentally unfit for the army in future.

Here are some interesting facts about the “Incredible India” for those who say they are proud to be an Indian. This data is provided by CRY India and is based on its experience of working on a range of children’s issues across all regions of India. The statistics are grim. What is worse is that very little is known of what it means to be a part of such horrific numbers:

India has world’s largest child population (below 18).

Malnutrition is more common in India than in Sub-Saharan Africa. SEE UNICEF REPORT HERE.

More than half of India’s children between the age 6 and 14 do NOT go to school.

1 out of every 10 children is disabled in India.

1 out of every 10 children born in India, die before their fifth birthday.

1 out of every 14 children born in India, die before their FIRST birthday, that’s approx 2 million children dying before they are even one year old, every year.

1 out of every 6 girls does not live to see her 15th birthday. 3 out of 4 of India’s children below the age of 3 months are anaemic.

3 out of 5 of India’s children below the age of 2 years are not even immunized.

7 to 8 Lakh (800,000) children die every year from simple illnesses like diarrhoea.

More than one in three women in India and over 60% of children (all ages) in India are anaemic.

Almost one in every five children in India below the age of 14 suffers from diarrhoea.

3 out of 4 married women in India were married under age.

While one in every five adolescent boys is malnourished, one in every two girls in India is undernourished. See discrimination against girls in Indian families HERE

Every second child in the country is malnourished.

Every second child habitant in the country doesn’t even have a primary school available to them.

Every 4 out of 5 children habitant in the country do not have a secondary school available to them.

Every other girl in India fails to enrol in a school; those that do are likely to drop out by the age of 12. See discrimination against girls in Indian families here

Every other child aged 6 to 18 does not go to school.

Every sixth girl child’s death is due to gender discrimination.

1 out of 4 girls is sexually abused BEFORE THE AGE OF 4. See details HERE

Female mortality exceeds male mortality in 224 out of 402 districts in India.

Death rate among girls below the age of 4 years is higher than that of boys. Even if she escapes infanticide or foeticide, a girl child is less likely to receive immunisation, nutrition or medical treatment compared to a male child.

More than half of the Indian girls in the age group of 5 to 9 years are illiterate.

1 in 4 victims of commercial sexual exploitation in India are below 18 years of age.

Poor and bonded families often “SELL” their children to contractors (pimps?) who promise “lucrative jobs” in the cities and the children end up being employed in brothels and other such establishments.

There are approximately 2 million child commercial sex workers between the age of 5 and 15 years and about 3.3 million between 15 and 18 years.

Every 2 out of 5 commercial sex workers in India are minors.

500,000 children are forced into this “trade” every year.

3% of India’s children are mentally/physically challenged. If they survive the abuse from elders, they enter politics and rule the rest of the 97%.

20 out of every 1000 rural children are mentally/physically challenged, compared to 16 out of every 1000 urban children. They mainly join RSS (Sangh Shaka) and then also make their way into politics.

1 out of every 10 women reported some kind of child sexual abuse during childhood, chiefly by known persons such as immediate family members.

100 million child labourers in India work in hazardous or exploitative conditions. They work for 12 - 15 hours a day and earn LESS THAN Rs.3 per day.

I feel ashamed even while writing these lines. A government that will spend more money to buy arms, a country that produces enough food to even export out of the country while her own poor can not afford to buy it. While the greedy, venal and mendacious govt officials fill their pockets, get fat and die of heart attacks, the poor children of this country are simply dying of lack of food.

Apart from the problems that exist in India due to its dishonest, corrupt, money hungry, senseless and ignorant government, the blame also goes to parents who themselves are choosing to kill their daughters even before birth, and treating them worse than their sons if born, and even selling them, pushing their children as young as 10 into prostitution and forcing them to sell their bodies for as low as 50 Rs a go.

I wonder sometimes, what has become of the Indian society today, where is the inner human, why there are Indian children still dying just because of diarrhoea, what happened to the good old humanity every society is supposed to have, what happened to protecting our own children from the evils of this world instead of letting them die out of hunger, how a society can come to this stage when every other child is malnutritioned, at the same time when the government spends more money on trying to develop arms that often fail anyway. what use is a 7% GDP when the poor and their children are cursing the rich politicians and the government, how can any kind of god (that they may believe in) be on their side when they can not even look after their own young and innocent, how possibly can they sell God’s children on God’s earth, where is this Indian society heading to? Would I be correct to say that this nation that holds the biggest number of children in the whole world is not fit to bring up their next generation?

India has the world’s most uneven and inequitable society (mainly Hindus) that’s plagued by discrimination of the caste system and the class system etc. The richer getting filthy rich, while the poor children dying of hunger being fed worse than a rich man’s dog.

I think I would be correct to say that “Indian nation is a prostitute nation, wasting their money and energy on a fruitless arms race with its neighbours, whilst MOST of its children don’t even have enough to eat including those who are forced to sell their bodies, making India THE WORST country in the world for child malnutrition and child prostitution”.

Are you still proud to be an Indian?

I certainly am not, fortunately my human values are more important to me than the 7% GDP and a prosperity that comes at such a heavy price of so many human lives.

Another Drama Staged by The Indian Police

It seems that the Mumbai drama was not enough for some. Perhaps the Lucknow ATS (Indian Anti Terror Squad) has been feeling left out, and wanted to stage one of its own too. This too has all the hallmarks of Bollywood stories, only this one has been revealed by the Indian media itself as having many loopholes, just like the Mumbai production we all saw recently. Perhaps it was the fear that drove the Lukhnow ATS to this ridiculous "performace", fear of being murdered just like the ATS chief karkare (for being honest), or was it the lack of honest leadership that lead to this Kullywood performance after karkare's death? Here is how it happened according to the ATS :

According to the additional director general of police (ADGP) Brij Lal, while briefing newsmen in Lucknow, the ATS team started screening vehicles.....

Israeli Forces Using Illegal White Phosphorus to Burn Children of Gaza

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CNN confirms and shows evidence of phosphorus bombs in Gaza

A doctor shows phosphorus bomb injuries in Gaza. Warning: contains graphic footage of war injuries Link to this video

Video showing injuries consistent with the use of white phosphorus shells has been filmed inside hospitals treating Palestinian wounded in Gaza City.

Contact with the shell remnants causes severe burns, sometimes burning the skin to the bone, consistent with descriptions by Ahmed Almi, an Egyptian doctor at the al-Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

Almi said the entire body of one victim was burned within an hour. It was the first time he had seen the effects of what he called a "chemical weapon".

The Israeli military has denied using white phosphorus during the assault on Gaza, but aid agencies say they have no doubt it has been used.

"It is an absolute certainty," said Marc Garlasco, a senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch. He had seen Israeli artillery fire white phosphorus shells at Gaza City, Garlasco said.

The shells burst in the air, billowing white smoke before dropping the phosphorus shell.

Garlasco said each shell contains more than 100 incendiary rounds, which ignite and pump out smoke for about 10 minutes.

Severe respiratory problems can result in anyone exposed to the smoke and burning chemical particles that rain down over an area the size of a football pitch.

According to the International Solidarity Movement, many patients at the hospital near Khan Younis were suffering from serious breathing difficulties after inhaling smoke.

Human Rights Watch compares the use of white phosphorus shells over Gaza to the impact of cluster munitions, which scatter "bomblets" over a wide area. Children may kick and play with a lump of phosphorus, stirring up the embers and producing more fire and smoke.

The use of white phosphorus as a weapon – as opposed to its use as an obscurant and infrared blocking smoke screen – is banned by the UN's third convention on conventional weapons, which covers the use of incendiary devices. Though Israel is not a signatory to the convention, its military manuals reflect the convention's restrictions on using white phosphorus.

Israel initially claimed that it was not using white phosphorus. It later explained that shells being loaded for a howitzer, identified from photographs as phosphorus rounds, were empty "quiet" shells used for target marking. However, images of exploding shells and showering burning fragments are now acknowledged by independent observers as having been phosphorus.

At the centre of the controversy is the way white phosphorus air burst shells have been used in heavily built-up urban areas, with an overwhelmingly civilian population.

The M825A1 rounds, which are the kind identified as being fired by Israeli forces, are made primarily for use as a smokescreen in a way that limits their effect as an incendiary weapon, experts say.

Neil Gibson, a technical adviser to Jane's Missiles and Rockets magazine, said the shells did not produce high-velocity burning fragments like conventional white phosphorus weapons once did.

Instead, he said, they produced a "series of large slower burning wedges which fall from the sky". The wedges would then ignite spontaneously in the air and fall to the ground, burning for five or 10 minutes, he said.

Qatar, Mauritania suspend ties with Israel

Qatar and Mauritania have decided to suspend their ties with Israel following a regional summit in Doha to discuss the war on Gaza.

"Mauritania and Qatar have decided during a meeting behind closed doors to suspend their ties with Israel," a Mauritanian diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Qatar has hosted an Israeli trade bureau since 1996, while Mauritania has had diplomatic ties with the Israeli regime since 1999.

The Nouakchott government called back its ambassador to Tel Aviv after Israel refused to heed international calls to halt attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Tel Aviv launched Operation Cast Lead on December 27 to put an end to rocket attacks against southern Israeli towns. At least 1,133 Palestinians have died during the offensive, while some 5,150 others have been wounded.

Hamas, the democratically-elected ruler of the impoverished Gaza Strip, demands a cessation of an 18-month Israeli blockade on the coastal enclave -- home to some 1.5 million Palestinians -- before its fighters suspend retaliatory rocket attacks.

The UN Security Council adopted resolution 1860 which calls for an immediate end to the ongoing crisis. Both sides, however, have rejected the resolution.

The decision by Mauritania and Qatar to suspend ties with Israel comes after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called on Arab countries at the Friday meeting to severe all 'direct and indirect ties with Israel' and close their embassies.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also called for a boycott on all Israeli goods.

Turkey: Israel must be barred from UN

Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkey's Prime Minister has called for Israel to be barred from the UN as long as it ignores international calls to stop war on Gaza.

"How is such a country, which does not implement resolutions of the UN Security Council, allowed to enter through the gates of the UN (headquarters)?" Recep Tayyip Erdogan inquired on Friday.

The remarks came before UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's arrival in Ankara to discuss the conflict and amid growing outrage in Turkey over Israel's attacks on Gaza.

Erdogan lashed out at the Israeli army's raids on civilians under the pretext of targeting the Palestinian fighters in the territory. He also accused the Israeli media of falsely suggesting that Hamas uses civilians as human shields in the Gaza Strip.

The UN chief, who traveled to the West Bank on Thursday, has urged an end to the 'unbearable' situation in Gaza and called on Israel for a unilateral humanitarian truce.

Last Thursday, the UN Security Council approved a resolution which demanded an "immediate" and "durable" ceasefire leading to the "full withdrawal" of Israeli forces from Gaza. It also called for "the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including of food, fuel and medical treatment."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, however, vowed to resist outside pressure and push ahead with the military action against Gaza, while Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Israel would act 'only according to its interests'.

Weeks of ceaseless Israeli airstrikes and tank shelling have so far killed more than 1,133 Palestinians across the impoverished coastal sliver, which has been under Israel's crippling blockade since June 2007.

On Friday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul renewed calls for an immediate cease-fire and urged US President-elect Barack Obama to focus on a comprehensive, long-lasting and fair solution to the issue once he is in office.

Bolivia to take Israel to The Hague International Criminal Court over Gaza Genocide

Israel ignores international calls to end Gaza invasion.

Bolivia is seeking to take Tel Aviv to International Criminal Court over the brutal atrocities the Israeli forces have committed in Gaza.

The Andean state says it is intended to make regional allies take a unified stance against "the Israeli political and military leaders responsible for the offensive on the Gaza Strip" and make it to stand trial at the international body in the Hague, said Sacha Llorenti, whose portfolio covers civil society.

Moves to begin the legal process will begin "probably next week," Bolivia's deputy justice and human rights minister Wilfredo Chavez told journalists during the visit to Geneva, AFP reported on Friday.

Bolivia followed in the steps of its ally Venezuela and severed diplomatic ties with Israel over its massacre of the Gazans and snubbing the international calls for an 'immediate' and 'durable' truce, said the Latin American governments.

The Bolivian president Evo Morales told a group of diplomats in the administrative capital of La Paz that he will request the International Criminal Court (ICC) to file genocide charges against Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

The ICC is competent to adjudicate war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed after 2002.

Israel and its closest ally, the United States, are not among the 108 signatories of the Rome Statute creating the Hague-based court in 2000 to investigate and prosecute war crimes.

After 21 days of non-stop bombardment and aggression, the Israeli invasion of Gaza has left 1,133 Palestinians killed and more than 5,200 wounded.

Incredible India: Rape Capital of the World

India has developed rapidly during the last few years and along with that some “unwanted” developments have also taken place in the criminal world. Amongst other growing crimes, rape has become the fastest growing crime in India. Rape cases are pouring in from all over the country even against foreign tourists at an alarming rate. Based on Indian National Crime Records Bureau reports, Times of India says that there is an eight fold increase in the number of rapes committed since 1971. With this phenomenal increase, India is almost on top of the world’s list for rape cases, behind only two other countries (US and SA), and hence New Delhi has been named the “Rape Capital of the World” as it counts for nearly 30% of the total rape cases.. Incredible India may claim to be the fastest growing economy, but it is truly appalling to see that the crime against women in mega cities is growing much faster (22.9%) than its economy every year despite the rising literacy levels.

Statistics:

The NCRB data also points to the profile of the average rapist - over 75% were known to the victims. Nearly 10% were relatives. Another disturbing aspect was that about a quarter of the rape victims were minors. Sometimes, it is a brutal rape and murder by a stranger, gang-rape of a girl by her acquaintances or in many cases rape of a girl by her own father or elderly relatives, or by someone else with permission from the girl’s father or husband. In 1997, a report was released by the Sakshi Violence Intervention Centre based on a survey done with 350 school girls in New Delhi, 63% of the girls had experienced child sexual abuse at the hands of family members. Nearly one-third of the girls said the perpetrator had been a father, grandfather or male friend of the family. A society perverted to this level which seems to be applying karma sutra on close family members, needs more than just a growing economy in today’s civilised world. It doesn’t seem so strange now that India has an extremely high number of suicides too, because a girl molested by her father, grand father, or close family members who are supposed to protect her, and not treat her as if she is a walking sex object of the family will probably loses all her faith in her loved ones and her will to live on.

According to NCRB figures, there were 20737 cases of rape in India in 2007. That’s 56.8 rapes every single day on average. This is approximately 1 rape every 25 minutes. According to the Global Sisterhood Network only one out of 70 rape cases are reported. So while we read the data from NCRB about the reported cases of rape, we must also consider the reality of huge numbers that have gone unreported. According to this figure, altogether there are 4058 rapes in the Incredible India EVERY DAY. That makes it a HUGE 169 rapes EVERY HOUR, and almost 3 rape cases EVERY MINUTE. So while you are reading this, some poor sod somewhere is being molested, raped, and probably even killed by someone in the Incredible India EVERY 20 SECONDS. Lower class and lower caste women are raped by upper caste and upper class men. The good news for some Indians is that most of these women are probably Dalits or Christians, and the higher castes may not have such a huge worry on their hands (until one of their own daughters come home after being raped and sexually molested).

Among 35 cities with a population of more than a million (10 lakh), Delhi topped the list of crimes against women with 4,331 cases (nearly one-fifth of the total crimes against women). One-third of the rapes and a fifth of the molestations took place in the city. Hyderabad was second most dangerous for women with 1,931 cases.

It is very strange though, that NCRB started keeping general crime data since 1950s but only started keeping data for rapes from 1971. NCRB has been unable to provide any justification for this delay in their report, however thinking of the culture in India, they probably didn’t think that rape was a “crime” before 1971 !!

Reasons:

India today claims that literacy levels are raising within India. People are becoming prosperous, but one can not avoid thinking then why this barbaric, horrendous trend in today’s Indians? Why these and many other crimes are on the rise if people are getting education? Why this prosperity, globalisation and westernisation of the Indian youths are pushing them to carry out these inhumane crimes against their own society increasingly? It almost seems as if India is paying a very high price for its westernisation and club culture. Some of the reasons may be the degradation of family values too, especially in cases where females are assaulted by their own family members. It might also be linked to the ever increasing sexy nature of Bollywood movies that portray women as mere sex objects for men (obviously a movie generates more revenue if it has more nude scenes). Bollywood industry seems to represent an India that doesn’t actually exist, and people who follow Bollywood may try to actually follow the gangster, violent, and sexual nature of these movies, not to mention the huge increase in porn industry during the last few years. It is impossible these days to turn on an Indian satellite channel (which are almost all uncensored) and not see scenes of sexual nature within the movie / drama, or advertisements like condoms etc showing intimacy that requires use of condoms. These TV dramas and Indian media in general, present nudity as a fashion trend and symbols of higher life style. Today’s youth (including males and females, as blaming rapes on women themselves is as awful as a robbery blamed on the one robbed) falls pray to this “high life style” trap as they become more and more fond of this “fashion” and the violence that’s presented as “cool” in the Indian media.

Westernisation of the media ideally should mean teaching good values from the west such as hard work, discipline, dedication, honesty, respect, justice and equality. But these qualities of the west have been ignored by the media and the public both, and instead crime, nudity, drugs, drink culture and moral degradation are the lessons now commonly found in the media, causing the society to come to this shameful state, where a woman is raped every 20 seconds in India.

Foreigners Also Not Spared

Not only Indian women, but crime against foreigners is also on the rise in India. There have been at least a dozen cases of molestation and rape of foreign tourists so far in 2008. These rapes are suppressed by the local police and media, as probably instructed by the government to carry on earning revenue from the poor unaware tourists. These rapes have been often blamed on the foreign women themselves, for being in the wrong place (India?) and having “provoked” this horrific crime. It seems that it is too difficult for the Indian men to resist a bit of the fair skin of foreigners who come to visit India. Hence guidebooks and travellers often suggest that women wear loose, long clothes as a way of avoiding unwelcome attention. This is also evident within the western countries, where Indians shamelessly perve and stare at women, making them feel uncomfortable, be it in a club, or on the street. Indian men justify it by calling “Eve teasing”.

Here are some examples of foreign women raped in India. Please click to follow the story:

1 Indian police deliberately covered up the murder of the 15-year-old British teenager Scarlett Keeling

2. Seven foreign women and girls raped or molested within 20 days

3. British tourist in Goa raped, assaulted

4. German tourist raped in Jodhpur

5. Japanese woman raped by a hotel manger

6. German tourist raped in Chandigarh

7. Swiss girl raped by the hotel owner

8. Two Japanese women raped in Agra

9. South Korean woman raped by her tourist guide

10. Tourist pulled out of a bus and gang raped in Orissa

Tourism advice for tourist heading for India: The above list is not complete and Indian news is full of rape victims local and foreigners. So my advice to foreigners visiting India would be to please re-consider for your own safety. Be safe, not sorry. Unless you are already prepared to be raped, and killed.

The sad reality that suddenly hit me while writing this article and gathering statistics today is that (please click on the link to see the full story):

Women in India are not safe in the womb, not safe in their own homes, not safe from their own family members, not safe from in-laws, , not safe from their husbands who may want them to have sex with their brothers and friends, not safe in a police station, not safe on the streets, nor the tourist attractions.

Times Of India Presents: Myths about Pakistan

I came across this very interesting article published in The Times of India by a former PAF pilot Mohammd Hanif. Hanif is the author of a book about Zia-ul-haq's suspicous death in C-130 "A Case of Exploding Mangoes". He left PAF a month after Zia's death. He worked as a journalist since then before moving to London in 1996. He has also worked for BBC Urdu service, and The Guardian. He was nominated for the Guardian first book award. He returned much to the surprise of his colleagues and friends, to his homeland Pakistan, after spending 12 years in the UK (See here).

Incredible India: Incredible Food

India is increasingly becoming prosperous by day, although some think that the Indian eonomy is a bubble waiting to be burst, as its now more and more dependent on the US $, and the NRI’s abroad. But while people become more educated, and the country spends around $80 Million US Dollars on their recent unmanned space mission re-inventing the wheel, and spending around $125 BILLION on an aircraft program, this prosperity and expenditure is also helping the Indian culture including its food "evolve". There are some VERY INTERESTING (to say the least) Indian dishes being invented in this prosperous and "Incredible India".

“Today’s India”, Decreasing numbers within an ever increasing population!

When we talk about a religion going back 5000 years, we quite rightly expect the religion to have advanced to catch up with the current times. One would normally also expect the population to have grown to huge numbers which of course is depending on the religion itself too up to an extent.

Historically tribes and nations have needed men for the protection, and women to take care of the family life. Hindus also follow this tradition, but traditionally there has been a huge preference for baby boys, instead of baby girls. Although this preference has existed in almost all societies, and traditionally other societies have tried different methods to have baby boys instead of girls, ranging from different diet, different sleeping positions, and praying etc. But Hindus seem to have taken it to a “different” level and taken nature’s matters into their hands quite literally!

There are THOUSANDS of baby girls being “murdered” on DAILY basis in Modern India today. According to the UNICEF report regarding this matter, there are around 7000 baby girls disappearing EVERYDAY in India. This is one of the most horrific facts about HINDU dominated India. A whole gender is being exterminated so quietly that even most of the neighbours of these cruel parents are unaware of this ill practice.

“We are slowly becoming a prostitute economy. We can treat foreign patients but deny basic healthcare to our own people,” said Punit Bedi, a renowned doctor and activist for the cause of women.

Aravamudan has written a book, “Disappearing Daughters“, about the gruesome practice in the Hindu-majority country, including stories of women forced to endure successive pregnancies to produce male children and of others forced to have up to four abortions in five years.

“Female infanticide is akin to serial killing. But female feticide was more like a Holocaust,” Aravamudan writes.

My own grand mother who is still alive, worked as a midwife all her life, and has a huge experience in this field. She has worked as a midwife for many years prior to partition too. Being from a Sikh family, she knew the importance of having men in the family, but at the same time, being a woman, and a mother of two girls (and three sons) she already appreciated the importance of having girls in the family too. She says “boys are the arms of the family but girls are the heart”. She has herself told us quite a few stories she heard from other midwives working in the same town.

Although she refused to take part in any of these sickening methods, she was very well informed of what went on. Traditionally she says the baby girl would be killed straight after birth by suffocating them by pressing in the centre of the neck, or by simply closing the nose etc. She remembers quite a few cases in Hindu families around, where “dead” girls were born, and no one pointed a finger ant any one, but almost every one knew of this practice. Not all families followed these sickening practices, but she says it was pretty “normal” to have a dead baby girl while she remembers almost no baby boys being born “dead”.

Some of the other gruesome methods used in the older times also included drowning in milk, burned alive in sealed mud pots or fed milk laced with poisonous seeds. These horrific acts were performed by mostly the parents themselves, and sometimes by paid midwives, who were mostly Hindu, and valued money more than life.

Above experience doesn’t seem like the only one, see below:

“One of the most disturbing revelations came from a midwife who said she had killed hundreds of newborns,” journalist Gita Aravamudan told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in an interview wired Friday, July 20.

“She had lost count…”

But Nowadays, in the “INCREDIBLE” India, technology has advanced, and baby girls are not being suffocated, burned alive in sealed pots, or poisoned. Now the baby’s sex can be confirmed during ultra sound as early as 20 weeks, and doctors can predict the sex even earlier than 3 months which is when most women start to show growth.

The British medical journal The Lancet has put the loss of females at 10 million over the past two decades.

“With technology making it easier to find out the gender of a foetus in earlier stages of pregnancy, these numbers will only increase,” said Aravamudan in his book, “Disappearing Daughters”.

Apart from many reasons already understood by many around the world, Hindus traditionally consider girls to be a “burden” on the family, who will “consume” bread of the family but will not be bread winners. Also a son is supposed to light his parent’s pyre (cremation).

Treatment of Hindu Mothers and their feelings for their new born:

The cultural preference for boys leads to further neglect of girls who do survive to birth, the UN report said.

“After birth, son-preference continues to persist, leading to the neglect of girls and their lack of access to nutrition, health and maternal care in the critical early years,”

Traditionally Hinduism considers women as sex objects purely for male pleasure. They live a very oppressed life under Hinduism. For example the main features of chaturvarnya as elaborated in the “Manusmriti” include:

• Shudras as well as women of dwija varnas are denied the right to get education.
• Treating women as unequal. Women, that is, even women belonging to Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya varna are not entitled to upanayan and the study of the Vedas.
• For them, marriage is equivalent to upanayan and service of their husbands is equivalent to the study of the Vedas in the gurukul.
• Even when the husband is morally degraded, engaged in an affair with another woman and is devoid of knowledge and other qualities, the wife must treat him like a god. Please refer to this ancient Hindu picture of men helping himself to a female donkey, while his woman stands besides him, hiding her face. Also it is ironic to notice another man standing naked towards the front of the donkey in an unexplainable way.CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS PIC

• A widower is allowed to remarry but a widow is not.
• Women are not considered fit for being free and independent. They should never be allowed by their guardians to act independently.
• A woman must never do anything even inside her home without the consent of her father, husband and son respectively.
• She must remain in control of her father in childhood, of husband in youth and of son after the death of her husband.
• The varna-vyavastha is most unfair to the Shudras and the untouchable women. They are denied respect, knowledge, power and wealth. They are denied access to occupations considered respectable, just as they are denied access to men of upper varnas for marriage.
• A majority of Hindu marriages are still within the caste and very few Hindu women actually claim or get a share in father’s property.

While the living and grown up Hindu girls are subjected to the above practices and worse, during their lives, it doesn’t come as a surprise that they agree to killing their own daughters. Many Indian women are infact more than determined to abort them if they find their foetus is a girl to spare her a nightmarish life that they have had to “live”.

“Better to send her straight to heaven rather than make her endure this beating and kicking around,” one woman is saying in Aravamudan’s book.

Others said they are simply are overpowered by their husbands.

“What do you want from me? What power do you think I have over my womb? None,” said another woman. “Do I have the right to decide if I can keep the child if it is a girl? No.”

The problem has been so widely practiced that it has created a shortage of women to marry. This has pushed the society to even buy women. In some cases women have been forced by their husbands to share their beds with other men such as husband’s brothers etc.

Aravamudan’s book tells of Tripala Kumari, 18, whose husband killed her because she refused to have sex with his brothers!!

Steps taken by the Indian govt:

To stop the gruesome practice, India has introduced tough laws against tests to determine foetal gender for non-medical reasons, but the practice is widespread and shows no signs of slowing. Wealthier populations are the worst offenders, since they can afford the cost of testing for gender identification. In such a corrupt society, the rules are widely flouted by doctors for a small amount of bribe, in what activists say has now become a multi-million-dollar business. The tests are done secretly and are often hard to prove.

This ill, inhumane practice carries on at its peak as the wealth and prosperity grows, in what is now known as “Incredible India”. It is a true shame to all human kind, and sadly makes us worse than animals.

Hindu extremists offer rewards for killing more Christians

I came across this very interesting story while on the net. It kind of shocked me, because India which is supposed to be the biggest democracy in the world, allows this practice to carry on by turning a blind eye to it, and by using their “dream world” Bollywood movie industry to present an “Indian dream”.

The article I saw is almost completely talking about rewards offered for killing Christians, but we can imagine that this probably went on during the masacre of Sikhs during 1984, and in Gujrat against Muslims too.

A country where over 200 freedom/independence movements are thriving currently, the likes of RSS, Bajrang Dal, (probably) BJP and other Hindu fundamentalist parties are calling for a “minority free” India. And this through a paid mass murder system that is funded by religious, and political parties of India.

In the picture above: Members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) party take part in a ‘Weapon Worship’ ceremony in Bhopal. Even children are being trained to be terrorists by this organisation, to kill Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs. Britain has refused to bar members of the radical group.

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk

Extremist Hindu groups offered money, food and alcohol to mobs to kill Christians and destroy their homes, according to Christian aid workers in the eastern state of Orissa.

The allegations follow the British Government’s refusal to prevent members of two radical groups linked to the worst antiChristian violence in India since Partition entering Britain.

The US-based head of a Christian organisation that runs several orphanages in Orissa – one of India’s poorest regions – claims that Christian leaders are being targeted by Hindu militants and carry a price on their heads. “The going price to kill a pastor is $250 (£170),” Faiz Rahman, the chairman of Good News India, said.

A spokesman for the All-India Christian Council said: “People are being offered rewards to kill, and to destroy churches and Christian properties. They are being offered foreign liquor, chicken, mutton and weapons. They are given petrol and kerosene.”

Ram Madhav, a spokesman for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the largest hardline Hindu group, denied the claims. “The accusation is absolutely false,” he said.

Orissa has suffered a series of murders and arson attacks in recent months, with at least 67 Christians killed, according to the Roman Catholic Church. Several thousand homes have been razed and hundreds of places of worship destroyed, and crops are now wasting in the fields.

In recent weeks the violence has subsided but at least 11,000 Christian refugees remain in camps in Kandhamal, the district worst affected. “They are too scared to go home. They know that if they return to their villages they will be forced to convert to Hinduism,” Father Manoj, who is based at the Archbishop’s office in Bhubaneshwar, the state capital, said.

The violence was triggered in August by the murder of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati, a senior figure in the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a hardline Hindu group, who had campaigned against the alleged forced conversions of poor Hindus by foreign-backed Christian missionaries.

Maoist militants claimed responsibility for the killing, but the VHP blamed Christians and called for revenge. This week extremists said that if Mr Lakshmanananda’s killers were not caught by December 15 they would begin a day of violence on December 25.

A group of Catholic bishops from Orissa believe that the attacks have a sinister objective.

In a letter to the state’s chief minister they wrote: “This conflict is a calculated and preplanned masterplan to wipe out Christianity from Kandhamal in order to realise the hidden agenda . . . of establishing a Hindu nation.”

This month Lord Malloch-Brown, Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, turned down a plea for members of the RSS and the Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the VHP, to be barred from entering Britain.

“Neither organisation is proscribed in the United Kingdom or in India, nor do the Indian Government classify either as a terrorist organisation,” Lord Malloch-Brown said, in reply to a question from Lord Patten of Barnes. There have been calls from members of India’s ruling government coalition for the RSS and Bajrang Dal to be banned but analysts say the Government is unlikely to act for fear of alienating Hindu voters in the run-up to general elections in the spring.

The RSS has been outlawed temporarily three times; the first in 1948, after a former member assassinated Mahatma Gandhi.

In order to complete the project of wiping out Christians in Orissa, the fundamentalists are also enlisting women, who receive specific training in centers set up by the Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the nationalist Hindu party Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

Sources in the AICC affirm that in addition to the rewards, the Bajrang Jal has begun training programs specifically for female soldiers to be used to exterminate Christians in rural areas. “They meet in secret,” says the spokesman of the Christian movement, “and they are trained to use swords and clubs to fight and kill.”

BJP Government and Hindu fundamentalists BOTH against Christians in Orissa

New Delhi (AsiaNews) Catholic authorities in Orissa have decided to appeal to the central government to stop an anti-Christian campaign launched in this eastern Indian state by local Hindu fundamentalists, police and media.

The Times of India yesterday reported three Christians were assaulted suspected of converting residents in the village of Gopinath, Balasore district. In another story, police reported a man was beaten by Christians for refusing to convert. Such contradictory accounts are part of a trend targeting “conversions”.

Mgr Thomas Thiruthalil, Bishop of Balasore, told AsiaNews that the issue of conversions “is a tool easily used by extremist groups who want to arouse communal passion”.

“Anti-social elements are taking advantage of the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act,” the Bishop said, “to intimidate Tribals with the knowledge and consent of the local administration”.

The Act prohibits forced conversion but is used as a legal instrument to threaten Tribals most of whom are illiterate and easily swayed by fundamentalists and politicians.

Bishop Thiruthalil, who is also chairman of the Orissa Bishops’ Regional Council, said he was going to write the Home minister to urge him to investigate this matter.

John Dayal, President of the All India Catholic Union, said that claims about forced conversions are fabricated by fundamentalists whilst stories about anti-Christian violence are all true.

“Why,” Mr Dayal asks, “is the Orissa police not as zealous in investigating anti-Christian incidents as it is when just the word ‘conversion’ is uttered?”

Orissa is under a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) administration, a party that till May of this year also controlled the Union government. It is also a stronghold of Hindu fundamentalism. Groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) or World Hindu Council, the BJP’s extremist religious wing, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or National Volunteer Corps, a Hindu paramilitary organisation, are very active in the state. They are well known for their anti-religious minority ideology.

Source:Link

The news above is a prime example of so called democracy in India, but it is clear from the news, and Indian history too, that in the Indian dictionary the word should have been replaced with HINDU DEMOCRACY.

My message to the minorities of India incl Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Dalits, is to try and stop these Hindu terrorists in India. Please rise against such genocidal govts before its too late, and crush those who discriminate on the basis of birth, colour, or caste. And my appeal to those Hindus who do not support such barbaric acts of terrorism against other human beings, is to not allow these fundamentalist groups such as RSS, BJP, VHP and the likes to manipulate the common peace loving people of India. Enough is enough, these govts in India have inflicted pain and death on hundreds of thousands already, please don’t allow them to flourish such terrorist organisations any further, as that may burn India in its own fire within, given the amount of minorities that co-exist. And that wont help any common man in India or Pakistan in any shape or form. It will be a loss for every one concerned including those politicians who manipulate religion to gain votes.

Incredible India: Suicidal India

Indians may dream to become the world super power one day, and may want to have an unparalleled economical presence on the globe, but a nation who wants to such heights also needs a strong mind set, and the ability to deal with pressure and crisis, be it economical pressure, social, domestic, or political. In the current situation where India seems to be doing far better than 10 years ago economically, Indians seem to be losing the ability to deal with the hardship of life. When the going gets tough, the Indians are increasingly turning to suicide as a solution. Times of India reported a staggering 336 suicides EVERY DAY during the last year (more than 1 suicide every 5 minutes), based on the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau of the Incredible India. With this astonishing number of suicides taking place every few minutes, one can not stop wondering if this suicidal nation is in a fit state of mind at all to possess nuclear arms. After all, those in govt seats are also from this suicidal nation !!

Another sad factor that came out of this report was that more Indian men were ending their lives compared to the women, whereas traditionally in the Indian macho image, men were supposed to be mentally and physically stronger, and be able to support their families and the country, through rough times.
In addition, out of every three cases of suicides reported every 15 minutes in India, one is committed by a youth in the age group of 15 to 29. Even in Kerala, the country’s first fully literate state, some 32 people commit suicide in Kerala every day. Many questions arise about the education system, parenting, social system, govt actions and the current political situation which seems to be more of a dog fight to be fair. Politicians are at each other throats, using every dirty trick on the innocent common man in their fight. To be honest, it seems more like a jungle, where the fittest survives, and a common man, well, suicides.

A wise man once said, “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” Every problem has a solution, and every good and bad time passes by. As this cowardly act is on the increase, especially amongst the educated, I am hoping that the Indian Govt is not ignoring the problem still. And along with the numbers from my other article about 7000 baby girls being murdered every single day in the “Incredible” India , now the numbers look even higher with one suicide every 4.2 minutes!

Welcome to the “Incredible” India.

Although National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data confirm an appalling 1.5 lakh (150,000) farm suicides between 1997 and 2005, the figure is probably much higher. Worse, the farmers’ suicide rate (FSR) - number of suicides per 100,000 farmers - is also likely to be much higher than the disturbing 12.9 thrown up in the 2001 Census.
In the five years from 1997 to 2001, there were 78,737 farm suicides recorded in the country. On average, around 15,747 each year. But in just the next four years 2002-05, there were 70,507. Or a yearly average of 17,627 farm suicides. That is a rise of nearly 1,900 in the yearly averages of the two periods. Simply put, farm suicides have shot up after 2001 with the agrarian crisis biting deeper. On average, one Indian farmer committed suicide every 32 minutes between 1997 and 2005.But now there are 48+ suicides by farmers EVERYDAY after this increase. That’s one suicide EVERY HALF HOUR by a farmer in the “Incredible” India”.

The main causes of farmers’ suicides are:

• absence of adequate social support infrastructure at the level of the villages
• uncertainty of agricultural situation in India
• indebtedness of farmers
• rising costs of cultivation
• plummeting prices of farm commodities
• lack of credit availability to small farmers
• relative absence of irrigation facilities
• repeated crop failures (largely blamed on GM crops)

Some Horrific Statistics from the “Incredible” India:

SOURCE: ALL These statistics are taken from “Suicidal Deaths in India” report from National crime Records Bureau, India

2007 saw More than one lakh (100,000) persons (1,22,637) in the country lost their lives by committing suicide during the year 2007. This indicates an increase of 3.8% over the previous year’s figure (1,18,112).
The graph below shows the total number of suicides committed from 2003 to 2007, indicating an ever increasing weaker Indian mind, to escape from what life throws at us every day.

Although suicide was a nationwide phenomenon, five states - Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka - registered consistently higher number of suicidal deaths during the last few years.
Maharashtra has reported the highest number of suicides (15,184) accounting for 12.4% of total suicides followed by Andhra Pradesh (14,882) accounting for 12.1%. The other States which have reported higher number of suicides during the year were West Bengal (14,860), Tamil Nadu (13,811) and Karnataka (12,304) accounting for 12.1%, 11.3% and 10.0% respectively. These 5 States together accounted for 57.9% of the total suicides reported in the country. The remaining 42.1% suicides were reported in the rest of 23 States and 7 UTs. Uttar Pradesh, the most populous
state (16.6% share of population) has reported comparatively lower percentage of
suicidal deaths, accounting for only 3.2% of the total suicides reported in the country.

Mass/Family Suicides in the “Incredible” India:

A cowardly act as some may consider it, was traditionally done as individuals, but it seems to have entered its advanced shape in the “Incredible India”. A Mass or Family suicide is when family members have committed suicide jointly under a common pact 264 deaths at the national level under common pact of Mass/Family suicides consisting of 118 males and 146 females were reported as per the information available. The available statistics reveal that there were 25 mass suicidal deaths consisting of 13 males and 12 females in mega cities.
The highest number of cases were reported from Kerala (39) followed by Andhra Pradesh (34) and Madhya Pradesh (12) out of 100 cases.

Causes of Suicides in the “Incredible” India:

The number of suicides due to ‘Dowry Dispute’ showed a sharp increase of 34.8%
as compared to previous year, followed by ‘Unemployment’ (26.6%), ‘Not having children’ (24.8%), ‘Professional/Career Problem’ (16.7%), ‘Suspected/Illicit relation’ (14.6%), ‘Cancellation/Non-settlement of marriage’ (13.8%). Ten States/UTs have reported higher percentage share than the All India average in suicides with causes such as ‘Illness’. Similarly, Eleven States/UTs have reported higher share than the all India average in suicides caused due to ‘Family Problems’ during the year.

The States/UTs which reported higher share of suicides due to ‘Family problems’ after Puducherry (50.3%), were Chandigarh (47.6), Kerala (42.3%), D & N Haveli (42.1%), Meghalaya (34.5%), Maharashtra (34.3%) Tamil Nadu (31.4%), Himachal Pradesh (28.4%), Orissa (27.4%), Tripura (25.5%) and Uttarakhand (24.2%).
8.4% suicides in Kerala were due to ‘Bankruptcy or Sudden change in Economic
Status’. 22.9% in Punjab, 17.0% in Goa and 16.7% suicides in A & N Island were due to ‘Insanity/Mental Illness’. Similarly, 9.6% in Uttar Pradesh and 9.3% suicides in Madhya Pradesh

Teens of the Incredible India:

According to a study conducted by the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, teens have the world’s highest suicide rate.

Globally the suicide rate stands at 14.5 deaths per 100,000, with suicide being the fourth leading cause of death in the age group of 15 to 18. However, in the CMC study, suicide was the number one cause of death among Indian adolescents.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, about 2,555 adolescents ended their lives in 2005 in India - among them 1,328 boys and 1,227 girls. The suicide rate went up by 175 percent from 1967 to 1999, the figures said. According to the current statistics in 2007, it has now gone above 300 percent.

Diamond Suicides of the Incredible India:

Nine suicides in 15 days: depressed diamond workers in grip of death wish!!

There has been a recent surge in the diamond mines in India, and 9 Indian miners have committed suicide in 15 days when this report was published on 30th December 2008. According to the report, no official statements were made regarding the suicides, and the authorities were even bracing for more death in what the Indian press called the “Diamond Suicides”.
The diamond industry provides employment to over 10 lakh people in Gujarat.
“The average age of diamond cutters and polishers is between 15 and 30 years. Most of them are school dropouts and have no other skills,” said Gaurang Jani, a social psychologist and professor in Gujarat University.

It seems incredible that this suicide phenomenon is so common and advanced amongst Indians that they have even named for different classes of suicides.

Only in the INCREDIBLE INDIA.