A Tragedy Live-Streamed

"There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen"--Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

What has been happening at Kabul's HKIA airport from 15 August 2021 onwards has been surreal, incredulous and depressing all at the same time.

Having been through this airport many times, and seen the many layers of its heavily armed perimeter,  it was amazing to see how thousands of people managed to get past its gates, all the way to military aircraft on the runway. It has been a week now and thousands of people continue to remain there all day, blocking the approach roads, clambering atop aircrafts, sitting inside jet-engine air-vents, getting shot at by security guards, and getting killed in the resulting stampede.

Much has already been said about the levels of desperation and panic in parts of Kabul. What has come as a big surprise to me is that for a city that has been under blanket electronic and police surveillance for decades, mobile networks continue to function normally, streaming live video from people all over the place. 

One particular video clip stands out.  This is a C-17 US military plane attempting to take off from Kabul airport. It is a monster of an aircraft - over 50m long, and capable of carrying over 275 tonnes, but here, as it lumbers on the runway, we see thousands of men were running alongside; some are waving cheerfully at the cameras, a few perched on the wheel carriages or flaps. Among them was one man in a dark Pathan suit, sitting precariously over on a winglet, looking intently looking into his mobile phone!

Incredibly, there is also a clip titled "Last video from the plane" in which we have a man in the same group recording the almost festive spirit of the group perched precariously there. Even as the jet engines rev up into a roar, he is talking a selfie shot, smiling into the camera, panning it around to show his companions waving cheerfully at his friends. Apache helicopters can be seen flying alongside, trying in vain to disperse the crowds. One can almost feel the wind lashing on on those faces, the roar jet engines drowning out the crowds. 

Then another phone records the C-17 taking off. As it climbs up sharply a few men can be seen slipping off and falling to their deaths. One was seen tangles in the concertina wires of a boundary wall, another spattered on a rooftop, and in yet another mobile, recording from inside the aircraft, the body of a man can be seen flailing in the winds, like a rag-doll stuck on a dumpster.

Not one of them would have survived. One can only imagine the levels of desperation and ignorance that led these men to their deaths. One wonders how the "last video" managed to reach FB and Twitter, and how many of them really thought they could get away sitting out there?

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LINKS

*  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/08/17/human-remains-found-c-17-wheel-well-after-takeoff-kabul/8170724002/

Down the Road to Chaos?

Once again, Afghanistan has hit the headlines; once again for all the wrong reasons.

Unlike my earlier post which was written after the most recent attack on Kabul University, this one is triggered by a global event - the withdrawal of USA and its allies after over 20  years in Afghanistan. The withdrawal has enabled the Taliban to sweep across the country with almost daily reports of deaths in bombings, attacks and counterattacks. A sense of uncertainty about the country seems poised to spread across its borders, to the rest of South Asia and the world.

As someone with a bit of experience in Afghanistan(2018-19), I have been approached by friends for an opinion on how things are going to unfold in the months to come. This was my response in a WhatsApp group a few days ago:

Ethnic and tribal loyalties are becoming more important than the "Afghan" identity for surviving this crisis.

Did you see that clip where a Talib asks a man if he's a Hazara and then shoots him dead? The Hazaras will avenge that. The 22 commandos who were killed after they surrendered; the Afghan ambassadors daughter who got abducted in Islamabad today... these too will be avenged, and at the tribal level all this will fuel old blood-feuds on both sides of the Durand line.

About ~$10 billion of annual aid that drove the Afghan economy is now the turning off... resources are limited... people are losing jobs, schools and small businesses are closing down, families are getting split and displaced...a whole new generation is dealing with the jehadis and their insular, medieval mindset.

So far there is no sign of a strong unifying national leader,  so the Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras (Shias) will fight against the talibs (mostly sunni Pashto)...and the Pashtos tribes will fight each other to control the border posts (tax revenue) and poppy fields.

The Pakistanis will of course try to push more of these displaced jehadis into Kashmir/India.

Sad days ahead 😞

I hope my rather simplistic assessment is wrong. I hope an amicable solution will be found to prevent a repeat of the devastation that visited Afghanistan two decades ago. I hope all the good work done by the UN and other international agencies - especially in primary education, infrastructure and agriculture - will not go down the drain.

And yet, an interview I saw recently seemed to confirm that this is going to be another long bloody struggle. A retired Pakistani general, Tariq Khan, a Pathan officer who led a government offensive against the "Pakistani Taliban" or TTP, seemed quite sure that the Taliban will take over Kabul in a few weeks because the city is already under a "soft siege" because supplies to the city - especially of fuel - is already being disrupted. While this may be true it is not clear if the Taliban have what it takes to dominate the rest of the country - especially non-Pashtun areas.

Unlike the Soviet occupation era when the mujahids had a strong backing in terms of armaments (USA) and petrodollars (Saudi Arabia), things are a lot more complicated now. This time, money is not so easily available; there is some in Afghanistan's biggest exports - Poppy - but the Taliban is known to be against it;  the non-Pashto groups are better armed and may not give up the cities without a bitter fight, and there seems to be little in terms of common ground between the countries that have a direct interest in the final outcome -- Iran, Russia, China, Pakistan, USA, Turkey, and India.

If the Taliban continue with their refusal to share power with people who represent half the country, what they ultimately get may be a Pyrrhic victory, and the peaceful silence of graveyards. This may not come as an explosion of a grenade with a missing pin but as a slow, painful descent to chaos. 

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LINKS & REFERENCES:

* 26 July 2021 - Turkey eyeing a new sphere of influence in Afghanistan - https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/868701-turkey-eyeing-for-new-sphere-of-influence-in-afghanistan

* 18 July 2021 - Gen. Tariq Khan's interview - https://youtu.be/Tb8hMrqBXP4

White House, Black President, Grey Matter

A big fat book by a lanky ex-President. I have been seeing it in our bookshops for a year now but being innately suspicious of politicians - especially slick ones - I had flipped through the tome, and put it back on the rack. It did not seem worthwhile to spend time reading about the intrigues of a distant country. 

This attitude changed a couple of weeks ago when I came across an audio version of the book narrated by the author himself. Instead of sitting down with a fat book, now I had the option of listening to it while getting other things done. Now, after seven+ hours of listening I must admit that I am not at all disappointed.

Like any other accomplished politician, Barack Obama too is a great communicator who has mastered the skill of walking a tightrope - at striking a balance between what needs to be revealed to maintain a certain image, and what to leave unsaid.

Rather than a dry, clinical account of his first term as the president of the United States, the book deftly switches back and forth between two lives - the personal and the professional. He starts with the people who inspired him - writers, philosophers, labor organisers, and of course, family members starting with the values he learnt from his mother - "...how you could build power not by putting others down but by lifting them up".

Along the way you also learn about the peculiarities of the US electoral system - of caucuses, electoral colleges, the tussles between the GoP/Reps and the Dems; the "institutionalised procedural mischief—the Senate filibuster—which...would prove to be the most chronic political headache" of his presidency while lamenting the difficulties of getting bipartisan support in the face of "egregious pork-barreling, logrolling, and patronage-dispensing tactics Senate leaders had traditionally used to get big, controversial bills like the Civil Rights Act or Ronald Reagan’s 1986 Tax Reform Act, or a package like the New Deal, passed".

Yet what caught my attention was the way in which Obama describes the compulsions of domestic politics spilling over to distant corners of the world with devastating effect. The pressures of not wanting to be perceived as a "weak" president, the consequences of displeasing certain interest groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful bipartisan lobbying organisation dedicated to ensuring unwavering U.S. support for Israel.

Also while lending context to the way in which top generals try to box in POTUS, Obama refers to the long history of West Point, and, in retrospect, the not-so-glorious line of military brass who led the country into a bigger mess - 

"It was impossible not to be humbled and moved by the tradition those men represented, the service and sacrifice that had helped forge a nation, defeat fascism, and halt the march of totalitarianism. Just as it was necessary to recall that Lee had led a Confederate Army intent on preserving slavery and Grant had overseen the slaughter of Indian tribes; that MacArthur had defied Truman’s orders in Korea to disastrous effect and Westmoreland had helped orchestrate an escalation in Vietnam that would scar a generation. Glory and tragedy, courage and stupidity—one set of truths didn’t negate the other. For war was contradiction, as was the history of America." 

In what way did MacArthur and Westmoreland escalate the crisis in Korea and Vietnam? I don't know yet. If the current situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya is anything to go by, one can be sure that the art creating a global mess out of regional conflicts continues to be a US speciality.

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LINKS & REFERENCES

Obama, Barack (2019): A Promised Land - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55361205-a-promised-land

Swartz and the Free Internet

Until today I had not heard of the name Aaron Swartz. A dive down one twitter rabbit-hole led me to this documentary and I was quite amazed to learn about this child prodigy, this teenager who was one of the founders of Reddit, an architect of Creative Commons, the slayer of draconian legislations that restricted internet freedom, and conscientious young man who was driven to kill himself by MIT and the Obama administration. 

As if all these were not achievements enough for a lifetime, Swartz also gets the credit to enabling the discovery of a test that leads to the early detection of pancreatic cancer!

A friend who studied at MIT thought there was nothing new or shocking about MITs role in making a scapegoat out of Swartz. "It is difficult to admire MIT if you're a thinking person", he said, "Most of the research there is centred on war weapons and the best way to kill". So it may not be surprising that the Obama government wanted to make an example of a man whose principal crime was to get past the JSTOR paywall and download years of public-funded research papers.

Until last year I would have thought such a move went against the very grain of USAs self-proclaimed   position as a 'land of the free'. The aggressive rise of China, the Covid-19 pandemic, Galwan, and the nine-dash-line leads me to a more hardline position against authoritarian regimes who are trying to turn this freedom into some kind of liability.

If internet freedom and free access of research from US universities only leads to a one-way flow of information and technology, it may not be a bad idea to temper the zeal of youngsters, who, for all their deep knowledge, are unable to see the big picture of global geo-politics.

Oil Wars

It takes humor to make truth palatable.

What is it that actually triggered the first World War? What lies behind USAs grand plans to "bring Democracy to the Middle East"?

Robert Newman uses the stand-up comedian's routine to teach us a thing or two about history and realpolitik.

Clearly worth 45 minutes of your time.

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Books Mentioned:

* Knight, Ian (1999): MARCHING TO THE DRUMS - https://www.amazon.com/Marching-Drums-Eyewitness-Accounts-Massacre/dp/1853673722

* Heinberg, Richard (): THE PARTY'S OVER - Oi, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies - https://www.amazon.com/Partys-Over-Fate-Industrial-Societies/dp/0865715297

* Brow, Lester (): WHO WILL FEED CHINA? -- https://www.amazon.com/Who-Will-Feed-China-Environmental/dp/039331409X

Crowdfunds at Work

What is common link that connects Glif, a nifty stand for smartphone cameras, a wooden remote-control stand, a touchscreen stylus and a whole range of cocktail party accessories?

The latest issue of Wired profiles a two-man company called Studio Neat which is focused on "solving interesting problems and delighting customers". For the past five years they have been creating and selling a diverse range products out of a garage in Austin, Texas.

However incredible this may sound, the fact is that Studio Neat has been one of the pioneers in a space that is now known as "crowdfunding". It all stated with a video pitch posted by the duo on Kickstarter, an online forum that helps 'bring creative projects to life'. When the crowd response turned out to be three times more than anticipated, the founders decided to meet the demand by outsourcing everything.

Manufacturing went to Dragon Innovation, and then to a more value-for-money outfit called Premier Source. A company called Shipwire was contracted for order-fulfilment; Shopify handles all of the shopping carts and credit card numbers, and Amazon acts as the main shopfront on the global marketplace.

Does such an ecosystem exist in India?

According to Quora, we do have a dozen crowdfunding platforms in India but obviously it takes more than just crowdfunding to get an innovative product on the market-shelf.

Dragon CEO Scott Miller conveys this gap very eloquently:  “If A is the idea and Z is the product in somebody’s hands...everyone assumes that by the time they have a prototype they’re at M. In practice, they’re at D. At every one of these steps, a small miscalculation or oversight can cost a company money."

We have a long, long way to go.

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LINKS & REFERENCES

• WIRED - Kick Starter Kings - http://www.wired.com/2016/03/studio-neat-kickstarter-kings-taught-world-how-to-crowdfund/#slide-1
• Studio Neat - http://www.studioneat.com/
• Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/about?ref=nav
• Dragon Innovation - https://www.dragoninnovation.com/
• Premier Source - http://www.premiersource.us/

Hi Honey!

Honey is often refered to as "the only food that never spoils". There have been (unverified) claims of archeologists digging out 2000-5000 year-old jars of honey from sites in Egypt and Georgia. And today specialized honey's are counted among the most expensive foods in the world.

In 2014, a small consignment of Elvish honey from remote caves in Turkey sold in France for about USD 6,800/kg!

How does India fare in the world of honey exports?

According to APEDA, India exported 29,578.52 MT of natural honey to the world for Rs. 535.07 crore during the year of 2014-15. This comes to just ₹ 180/kg ($ 2.7)!

It is worth noting that we export almost no honey to Europe. In 2014, the European Union imported more than 315,000 tonnes of honey, most of which came from China. Despite all the barriers erected by EU, there does not seem to be much of a cost advantage here. Chinese honey costs just ₹ 20/kg more than Indian exports.

The amazing thing that emergers from these numbers is that the export value of Indian honey is far below the cost at which it retails within India!

Why do Indian exporters sell honey to the Arabs for ₹ 180/kg when they can get ₹ 600 to 900/kg in the domestic retail market? Or was I missing something here?

According to my friend H, the missing element here is Volumes. When it comes to getting agriculture commodities to the markets, one of the most important things to consider is scale of operations. Just as Indian honey is exported for a fraction of its domstic price, Basmati rice too earns our exporters pretty thin margins compared to the domestic market.


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REFERENCES & LINKS

The Chemistry of Honey - http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/08/21/chemistryofhoney/

10 most expensive foods in the world - http://www.worldfoodist.com/2013/01/25/the-worlds-most-expensive-foods/

Oddity Central - most expensive honey in the world - http://www.odditycentral.com/foods/worlds-most-expensive-honey-costs-as-much-as-a-small-car.html
- Elvish honey from Turkey - $ 6,800 / kg

World's top-5 honey - http://www.justfoodnow.com/2010/12/22/honey-the-five-best-in-the-world/

BeezHoney India - http://www.beezhoney.com/

Yemeni  Hone - http://www.honey-foryourhealth.com/the-worlds-most-expensive-honey-and-why-you-should-run-to-buy-this---yemeni-honey.html
Yemeni Sidr Honey - quality page - http://www.yemensidrhoney.com/index.php/quality-safety

USA - honey.com - http://www.honey.com/
Wikipedia on Honey - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey

- Certifications: HACCP (Hazard Analysis for Critical Control Points) - http://www.22000-tools.com/what-is-haccp.html
- ISO 22000 - for food safety - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_22000

- (IT, 2010) - Contaminated Honey in India -- http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/unhealthy-bitter-truths-about-honey-in-india/1/112833.html
. Only Hitkari was found to be free of antibiotics

Trade Stats - Honey in Europe (2015) - https://www.cbi.eu/sites/default/files/trade-statistics-europe-honey-2015.pdf

- APEDA Honey exports - http://apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/SubHead_Products/Natural_Honey.htm
. exported 29,578.52 MT of natural honey to the world for the worth of Rs. 535.07 crore during the year of 2014-15.

- Myth-buster - no honey in ancient Egyptian tombs - http://bumblehive.com/honey-was-not-found-in-pharaohs-tombs/

On the MAT

"There were only two things certain in life: death and taxes."

Ben Franklin was quite right when he said this. In India, however, some certainties turn up as an after-thought. MAT is one of them.

Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) was a term that was perhaps coined by the Americans, and borrowed by the Indian taxman in 2010. The dilemma he faced was fairly straightforward. Under the Income Tax Act (1961), he was expected to tax companies at a standard rate of ~ 30 percent.

Yet, when he went around checking with companies on tax deposited, he found that even the most profitable companies (including those paying dividends), were showing nil or negative income in their tax returns - thanks largely to various provisions under the Companies Act that permitted deductions, depreciation, etc.,

So we had a strange situation where companies would proclaim to its own shareholders about how well their company was performing, but when it came to the tax man, it was a different tune.

The solution was to give the tax payers two choices - calculate your returns the normal way, under ITA(1961), or at 18.5 percent of your book profits under MAT - and pay whichever was higher!

Now the problem with such a blanket rule was that firms located in the so-called "duty-free" zones like SEZs also had to shell out MAT, adding to their woes about doing business in India.

No wonder the SEZ developers are praying for some relief during the forthcoming Budget Session of the Parliament!

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LINKS

* http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/inside2.php3?filename=bnews_detail.php3&newsid=5638

Fracking Away

Everybody knows the importance of technology & innovation. But when it comes to turning theory into practice, very few countries have been able to actually create an enabling environment that encourages real innovation.

In recent times, nothing illustrates this better than Fracking.

Geological surveys had revealed decades ago that vast reserves of energy lay hidden beneath impermeable layers of rocks. It took a geologist named George Mitchell nearly 50 years of persistence to find a cost-effective way of extracting shale gas and oil from these rocks.

Today, nearly 40% of USA's natural gas comes from fracking. It has not only made the country a net gas exporter but also changed international power-politics by reducing the bargaining strength of Russia and the Gulf states.

The interesting part here - one that is often sidelined - is that Mitchell's technology would not have been a success without the support of various government agencies. Three key inputs that he got were -- mapping and confirmation of large volumes of gas reserves available underground; development of diamond-studded drill bits and a tax credit (part Jimmy Carter's 1980s law to tax 'windfall profits'), for drilling out unconventional natural gas.

On the sidelines of this revolution, there have been some unexpected success stories in India. Farmers who cultivate Guar (cluser beans), have seen their profits shoot up. Last year (2012-13) 90% of India's production - 406,000MT of guar-gum, worth Rs. 21,000 Cr (~US$ 5 billion) - was exported to USA, China and Australia.

What is the connection between a legume grown as cattle-feed in arid Rajasthan and Gujarat, and the newfangled oil-drilling technology?

Well, somebody found out long ago that guar-gum is a pretty strong water-soluble lubricant. In 1998, when Goerge Mitchell was in his 80s, his team started using guar-gum with water instead of expensive foams and drilling gels. The rest, of course, is history.

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LINKS

• The Economist - Schumpeter - The Father of Fracking -- http://www.economist.com/news/business/21582482-few-businesspeople-have-done-much-change-world-george-mitchell-father
• Interview (Aug, 2013) -- http://www.economist.com/node/21582461
• NYT Obituary on George Mitchell -- He Fracked Until It Paid Off -- http://www.nytimes.com/news/the-lives-they-lived/2013/12/21/george-mitchell/
• Why Guar Beans Matter -- http://www.pri.org/stories/2012-06-15/why-guar-beans-matter
• APEDA on Guar Gum Exports -- http://www.apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/SubHead_Products/Guargum.htm
• 
  

Blind Spots and Khobragade

Thanks to a lady named Sangeeta Richard, its a lot easier now to drive around in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. Gone are the ugly concrete barricades painted in blue-red. Private security guards have been hemmed in; an encroached avenue has been restored to the public.

USA needs to be thanked for reminding us that we too have rule books. And for telling us on our face that they care two hoots for India's laws and regulations.

One thing that amazes me about this controversy is  the blind-spots that figure in arguments put forth by those who stand on both side of the divide. In almost each and every article I have read in the Western press, there is no mention of the fact that the maid's family was sneaked out India by the US embassy officials, two days before the 'arrest' and cavity searches (for what? unpaid dollars??). Not one mentions the fact that the employer-maid dispute was already sub judice in an Indian court.

On the other hand, in India, most of our commentators seem to be closed to the possibility of the maid having a genuine grievance with her employer. To them, she is just another opportunist fishing for a US green-card. And lets not even start on Preet Bharara, that despicable quisling desi trying to lick up to the goras.

If Devyani Khobragade falsified her documents, there is no doubt that she should be punished for it. What rankles Indians is the fact the the US State Department was sneaky about the whole thing. Instead of keeping their counterparts in the loop and easing her out of US, steps were taken to deliberately embarrass India.

As Mukul Keshavan pointed out, it is silly of US to talk of law enforcement and justice after the Raymond Davis episode. Ultimately, everything seems to come down to the motto,  ‘Don’t do as I do, do as I say’. Preach from a high horse when an application form is fudged, but when it comes to murder, damn the laws and regulations of other countries!

The Khobragade episode has served as an enema for all those who had rosy notions about India's diplomatic services and India-US relationship. Now that all the crap is out of the way, we can get down to real business in the true Spirit of Reciprocity.

You respect my laws, and I'll respect yours.

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LINKS

Kishore Mahbubani, Indian Express, 13Jan14 -- http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/two-shades-of-immunity

Shashank Joshi, The Interpreter, 13Jan14 - http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/india-demands-ouster-of-us-diplomat-allegedly-involved-in-nanny-pay-dispute/2014/01/10/2652c510-79fd-11e3-a647-a19deaf575b3_story.html

Ellen Barry, NYT, 10Jan14 -- http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/01/11/world/asia/indian-diplomat-flies-home-after-indictment-in-us.html

Mukul Kesavan, The Telegraph, 9Jan14 -- http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140109/jsp/opinion/story_17765020.jsp#.UtLKzfQW39U

Sandeep Roy, FirstPost -- http://www.firstpost.com/world/devyani-khobragade-row-why-the-us-emperor-has-no-clothes-1331155.html

Life in Privelege - http://contrarianworld.blogspot.in/2013/12/devyani-khobragade-life-in-privilege.html

Entreprenur's 'Letter to an Indian nanny in New York' http://www.indianexpress.com/news/letter-to-an-indian-nanny-in-new-york/1210913/0?SocialMedia

Former diplomat Prabhu Dayal's oped http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2528046/Fear-loathing-New-York-Former-diplomat-Prabhu-Dayal-reveals-Indian-envoys-US-fall-victim-maids-pursuing-American-dreams.html

Reconsidering North Korea

Think North Korea and what are the images that come to your mind?

A 'hermit kingdom' full of goose-stepping soldiers, precision parades and ballistic missiles. Of anachronistic 'great leaders' who spend so much on their military that they have little left to feed their own people. Images of a generous and prosperous South Koreans trying hard to be nice - only to be thwarted by their petulant siblings across the 38th Parallel.

What if this picture is  incorrect? What if you turn around and realize that all this while you've been hearing just one side of the story?

An American author, Bruce Cumins, has been trying to do just that - presenting the other side of the story - through his book, "Korean War - A History".

Cumins starts by pointing out that Korea had most prerequisites for nationhood long before most other countries: common ethnicity, language and culture, and well recognized national boundaries since the tenth century. Over the last 1000 years it has also developed the Yangban - one of the world's most tenacious aristocracies, which had survived because it "fostered a scholar-official elite, a civil service, venerable statecraft, splendid works of art, and a national pastime of educating the young."

Trouble started with the Japanese warlord , Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion.  As a performance incentive to his soldiers he linked their rewards to the number of noses they severed and brought back home. Then, in a gesture that is touching, sensitive and callous at the same time, the Japanese erected lovely memorial mounds for this vast collection of chopped cartilage.

A few centuries later, the Japanese returned again. This time they stayed longer, and left in their wake a deep sense bitterness and suspicion that lasts to this day.

Cumins's narrative runs completely contrary to popular notions about North Korea. In this version, a new picture emerges of a proud people who stood up to bullies; Of leaders who gladly sent their men to help China in its fight against the combined strength of the European and Japanese imperialists.

If it were not for the tactical error of leaving Incheon undefended in the summer of 1950, North Korea could have easily routed the quislings who dominated the South Korean ruling elite. US intervention would have come to naught, and the history of neighboring countries like Vietnam too would have taken a completely different turn.

 Bruce Cumins's book, "Korean War - A History" reminds you that history, even if it is written by victors, needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Perception Giap

General Vo Nguyen Giap, one of the greatest military strategists and leaders of this century passed away yesterday. India was unmoved. What a shame!

Not one talking head in India's strategic community thought of paying a tribute to him. Where are our military historians who are all crawling out of the woodwork whenever anybody whispers 'Pakistan' or 'China'?

Indian newspapers merely reproduced the obituaries prepared by Western newswires. Times of India picked stuff from AP; the Hindu reprinted an obituary from the Guardian, UK, while the Indian Express lifted one from the New York Times. Surely we could do better than this...

By all accounts, Gen. Giap was as earthly, realistic and practical as any great leader would be. He was trained to be a teacher and a journalist, not a soldier. Yet he went to to lead his troops - both men and women - through some of the most brilliant military victories that liberated Vietnam, first from the French colonial army (Dien Bien Phu, 1953), and then from the relentless US quasi-colonial intervention that ended with their retreat from Saigon in 1975.

Yesterday, on our prime-time TV, retired army generals and other assorted hawks were blowing hot and cold over Pakistani 'infiltration' in the Keran sector of Jammu & Kashmir. Perhaps the TV anchors did not consider Gen. Giap's legacy worthy of a discussion. Or maybe the NDA-OTA-IMA types don't think much of a teacher who switched tracks to become a soldier.

Either way, if we don't study modern Asian history carefully, the loss is ours.

....................................................

Postscript: Finally, in today's IE, an economist has chipped in an op-ed on Gen. Giap. Small mercies.
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LINKS:

NYT - Gap Remembers (1990) -- http://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/24/magazine/giap-remembers.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
NYT -- http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/05/world/asia/gen-vo-nguyen-giap-dies.html?pagewanted=all

Hookway, James (2013): LEGENDARY VIETNAM GENERAL VO NGUYEN GIAP DIES, Wall Street Journal, 8 Oct., 2013, URL -- http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20131004-706371.html

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-10-04/rest-of-world/42716060_1_nguyen-giap-south-vietnam-dien-bien-phu

The HIndu -- http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/gen-giap-vietnam-war-hero-dies-at-102/article5201303.ece?textsize=small&test=2

Alagh, Yoginder K (2013): GENERAL VISION, Indian Express, 8Oct13 -- http://www.indianexpress.com/news/general-vision/1179603/

Fall, Bernard B (): HELL IS A VERY SMALL PLACE --
- Good Reads- http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/113486.Hell_In_A_Very_Small_Place
- Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Hell-In-Very-Small-Place/dp/030681157X