Intelligence speak: Needed, raw political will

Vikram Sood
Former RAW chief

The fidayeen attack on Mumbai is not only one of the biggest terror attacks in Indian history; it is the first of its kind. The terrorists have been misleading the media by claiming to be members of Hyderabad Mujahideen. The fact is that the audacious attack is part of a deep conspiracy against India that I am sure will gradually unravel. We are still to get the total picture.

This terror onslaught is much like the 1993 Mumbai serials blasts to avenge the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. These latest attacks were extremely well orchestrated and carried out with the help of foreign elements. My own feeling is that even the underworld could be involved. And of course nothing of this scale could have happened without liberal assistance from locals. The underworld must have provided them with the logistical support needed to carry these out. Now, after Afghanistan and Pakistan, it is the turn of India to become the terrorists’ target.

Among the questions that must be answered soon is how the terrorists were at all able to land in Mumbai with their huge arms caches. Also, how did they reach these hotels? Were they or were they not frisked by the security men posted there? An intensive probe is needed to ascertain just how the terrorists managed to sneak in. This is why I say that they were helped and protected by local elements. An attack of this complexity could simply not have been planned in a day. The terrorists must have come to Mumbai and been around for long enough to do a meticulous recce of the areas they targeted. What particularly baffles is why the police so miserably failed to get wind of their movements. There is thus a persistent question mark on the efficiency of the Mumbai police.....Continue

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom Planman Technologies Planman Financial Planman Motion Pictures GIDF The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank
The Sunday Indian

Ring of confusion

Everyone knows that if you want to estimate the age of a tree, you count the number of rings that make up its trunk. But would you do the same thing if you wanted to estimate the age of the rings?! Rings of planet Saturn, that is. Scientists are trying to calculate the age of these mysterious rings, and have estimated it to be 100 million years old. They reason that since the rings are shiny and reflective, the particles they contain are young and therefore the rings themselves are very young. Others however feel that with the age of our solar system being much older (4.55 Billion years), Saturn’s rings can’t be such a recent development. Who’s right? Sit back – it’s going to take a while....Continue

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom Planman Technologies Planman Financial Planman Motion Pictures GIDF The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank
The Sunday Indian

IIPM

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management

Astro-psephology: who will win?

Starting with 1998 elections, psephologists, and what can arguably be termed ‘swingologists’, who changed their predictions hourly as reports of vote counting came in, looking at a swing here or a curve there, have all failed. So have the exit polls. Not just that, each exit poll (depending on which news media house was doing it, may be) contradicted the other, all going wild and none scoring a point, let alone the bull’s eye. The classic example of exit poll malfunction was in 2004, when most polls gave Bharatiya Janata Party a sweep. Congress romped home in a coalition instead. Recent times has seen politicos increasingly looking up to the galaxies and their readers for predicting their futures. So TSI decided to give it a go. Here are some astrological predictions from famous fate readers, each contradicting the other, many contradicting themselves too! And let’s wait till the results to check out which wins: psephology or astrology.......Continue

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom Planman Technologies Planman Financial Planman Motion Pictures GIDF The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank
The Sunday Indian

The BJP’s five-year term in Madhya Pradesh has fired the imagination of a lot of people who are keen to contest on the party ticket

What is the main election plank in Madhya Pradesh?
It has to be Congress’ inertia; its complete failure at all the fronts. In fact, being an opposition party, Congress does not have any issue that it can raise against the government. In fact, it is unable to raise questions on the performance of the government.
Congress has leveled serious allegations against the government including her inability to stop crime against women, arrest the increase in communal skirmishes and hunger deaths among others…
What can I say on that? I mean the work done by the government is there for all to see. There is no doubt that BJP’s tenure has been exceptional.
BJP’s prospects in the state can take a hit with the entry of parties like Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party and Bhartiya Janashakti Party…
The state has witnessed a two-party struggle since 1962, I believe. And I am pretty sure it won’t change this time around too. In fact, this time too, only BJP and Congress are claiming to form the popular government. I mean there is no space for other parties here. Yes, they might gain a few seats here and there because of the delimitation. However, it is highly unlikely that they will be successful in increasing their share of vote.

But will it make a dent into BJP’s share of vote?
Some people get this bizarre idea that the party is dependent on an individual. BJP is a cadre based party. It is not a one family show. People who think like that are going to face a reality check in these elections. I am pretty sure that BJP will have a surprise return.

Do you have the cadres to take the message of the government?
Yes we do. We are ready. ...Continue

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom Planman Technologies Planman Financial Planman Motion Pictures GIDF The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank
The Sunday Indian

Bhattacharjee's pipe dream!

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's claim that his state is an island in the dark sea of law and order stands shattered. Union ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitin Prasad learnt this bitter lesson when they were returning after the foundation ceremony of Jindal Steel Works at Salboni, West Midnapur district, on October 26. Within 30 minutes of CM's departure from the site, a massive bomb blast took place, barely 20 metres away from the car carrying the ministers and JSW chairman Sajjan Kumar Jindal.

It is a measure of law and order failure that even after this, it was not the police which informed Bhattacharjee that his guests had been targetted. Rather, it was Paswan who called the CM up and told him. On November 3, Paswan sent a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking proper security, especially while travelling in West Bengal....Continue

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom Planman Technologies Planman Financial Planman Motion Pictures GIDF The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank
The Sunday Indian

Just a minute dmitry...

IIPM Publication

It was no accident that Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, announced a fresh missile deployment within hours of Barack Obama's election as US president. It was an attempt to knock the new entrant off the nerve; however, it also underlined Russian position vis-à-vis US design to deploy missile shield in Eastern Europe – Russia’s playground since time immemorial. While it offered the Russian leader a chance to charm the domestic audience who have had enough of western bullying in years when Post-USSR Russia lied low after its cold war defeat; it is equally true that given the Democrats’ indisposition about the missile shield in comparison to the Republican hawks, Russia jumped gun too early this time around.

Over the years, in an endeavour to bolster NATO members in the east of reciprocal security guarantees, the US and other western NATO states have time and again infuriated dormant Russia. However, a blatantly one sided approach of the west on Georgian affair and proof of American provocation of its headstrong President Mikhail Saakashvili, has made Russia come out of its cocoon. Medvedev's military message was also intended to daunt the Poles and the Czechs, who are to host the bases for the Pentagon's silos for 10 ballistic missile interceptor rockets. The missile that has been finalised to be deployed in retaliation in Kaliningrad is Iskander-M......Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).