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Acknowledgement If we believe the recent reports published in the various leading Pakistan news papers then it can be said that Pakistan Government has admitted that Ajmal Aamir Kasab is a Pakistani. Though Pakistani foreign secretary Salman Bashir and information minister Sherry Rehman has denied the reports of ‘confirmation’ but it cannot be denied that Pakistan’s mindset has changed and it will open new diplomatic options for both of the countries to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure situated in Pakistan. Pakistan’s leading news paper Dawn had published the related news but Pakistani establishment has refused to confirm the reports on official basis.

Sacking Another news has also been published in the media that Pakistan’s national security advisor Mahmud Ali Durrani has been sacked after a few days of his acknowledgment that Kasab could be a Pakistani. It has been said that he had given the statement without taking the Pakistan government into confidence. Prime Minister House had given a brief statement on behalf of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani that Durrani has been sacked “for his irresponsible behavior (of) not taking Prime Minister and other stakeholders into confidence and lack of coordination on matters of national security”. It is being believed that Durrani’s comments on the nationality of Kasab have irked the Pakistan government that is persistently denying that Kasab is not its national. Gilani had told a Pakistani news channel that Durrani’s comments have given a big blow to the Pakistan government’s image at the international level and are against the ‘government policies’.

Real Power Centre This move of the Pakistan government is totally different to what Information Minister Sherry Rehman and Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq had told the reporters. The difference between the statements of some Pakistani ministers and officials and the stand of the Pakistani government indicates that there in not a single ‘power centre’ in Pakistan. Pakistan’s civilized government has its own stand, military has its own. The weaknesses of the Pakistan’s civilian government and more than one power centres have increased India’s problems. At the same time Pakistan’s elected government is under tremendous internal and external pressure in wake of the Mumbai attacks. Pakistan’s ‘one step ahead two steps backward attitude’ is the result of this internal and external pressure. When international diplomatic pressure increases Pak government takes some ‘positive steps’ but they prove out to be only an ‘eye-wash’. The recent developments indicate that Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan’s democratically elected government are only a mask and there is some one else who is pulling the shots from behind. And this ‘undercover’ power centre is not a single person but an organization that has complete control on whole of the establishment.

Manmohan Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, for the first time on Tuesday squarely blamed Pakistan’s ISI backed terrorist outfit Lashker-e-Taeba for the Mumbai terror attack. He said that terrorism is state policy of Pakistan. He did not even spare the Pakistani government by terming it ‘fragile in nature’ which is evident from, ‘Pakistan’s responses to our various demarches on terrorist attacks are an obvious example.” He also told that India has enough evidence to prove that Mumbai attack had the support of some official agencies of Pakistan. His statement has directly pointed towards the involvement of Pakistani military and ISI into the Mumbai attack.

Evidence India has made it clear to Pakistan that it wants ‘action not words’ against the terrorist infrastructure that is responsible for the Mumbai massacre. India has handed over the Mumbai attacks evidence to Pakistan on Monday. Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan had handed over the ‘investigated material’ in the Mumbai attacks to the Pakistan Foreign secretary Salman Bashir. And with this move India has increased its efforts to create more international pressure on Pakistan to dismantle terrorist infrastructure that is still intact and is getting some underground support of government agencies. Addressing a press conference External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said,” What happened in Mumbai is an unpardonable crime; we ask Pakistan to implement bilateral commitments it has given at the highest levels”. India has briefed almost all the government of various nations on the same through its diplomatic channels.

Pakistan Links India has taken this step after Pakistan’s persistent denials that it’s national were responsible for the Mumbai attack. Pakistani government had refused to accept that the Aamir Kasab, the captured terrorist, is its national though the leading Pakistani newspaper ‘Dawn’ has claimed of interviewing the father of the terrorist. During the interview he had accepted that Aamir Kasab, is his own son. Pakistan’s opposition leader Nawaz Sharif himself had claimed that Kasab is a Pakistani national but had later on backtracked from his statement. Indian security forces had recovered a lot of ‘material’ that indicated towards the Pak links with the Mumbai terrorist attack. Except it, US secret agency FBI is assisting the Indian investigation agencies in the case and has recovered the data from those phones that were used by the terrorists during the Mumbai siege. It came to light that during the Mumbai siege, terrorists were in constant touch with their Pakistani mentors.

Chidambaram In a separate interview, Indian Home Minister P. Chitambaram had said that Pakistan’s power centres, whether it is the civilian government or the army, will have to give a ‘cast iron guarantees’ that its soil will not be used to launch Mumbai carnage like terror attacks against India. ‘These are guarantees that have to be given to the international community,’ he said. Commenting on the possibility of repetition of the Mumbai like attack he said, ‘See, the price they will pay if this is repeated, I think [it] will be an enormous price.’ He also said that,’ A crime of this scale and size cannot be committed without active help’ and the planning and sophistication indicates that ‘aid and help continue to flow from the state’. ‘Somebody who is familiar with intelligence and who is familiar with commando operation has directed this [Mumbai] operation. And that cannot entirely be a non-state actor.’ This was a hint at the results of Indian investigation into the Mumbai attack. Though he has not named any Pakistan government agency or part of Pakistani establishment but his comments indicate that some elements in the Pakistani establishment had the prior information of the Mumbai attack and at some point, were involved in the planning and execution of the attack

Crackdown Pakistan had offered the joint investigation of the but Chidambaram termed it a ‘meaningless offer’ when Pakistan says that its ‘citizens have no connection at all’ with the Mumbai terror attack. Joint investigation mechanism can never work successfully. We have historical facts that indicate that Pakistan government had always shielded the anti-India elements and have given active support to them to carry-out terrorist activities inside India. Pakistan’s so called ‘crackdown on the JuD and LeT militants is only a face saving exercise. It is the repetition of the steps that Pakistan had taken against the same people after the suicide attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001. But those arrests proved out to be only a ‘protective arrest’ to the militants.

Leadership But all of these developments are being seen as ‘time pass’ methods by the Congress led UPA government. It must be learnt that Lok Shabha elections will be held during the months of April and May this year. And during these months Indian public will be gripped by the election frenzy. Thus it will eradicate the harsh memories of Mumbai terror attack from the Indian minds. So the ‘war of words’ between both the leadership of both of the countries is only a ‘time pass’ method and at the other end is strengthening the democratically elected government of the Pakistan. It will be wrong to say that Indian government is taking ‘concrete steps’ to prevent the repetition of similar incidents. The establishment of a centralized investigation agency will prove out to only a futile exercise as most of its members will be on deputation from other secret agencies. And after some time it, too, will become another example of the failure of the Indian intelligence. India’s population has increased manifolds but the number of the security personal have not been increased according to the population. In such circumstances, police and various security forces can not provide adequate security to the India public. Without modernization of the police and other security forces such attacks cannot be prevented and it is totally impossible when India’s neighbor has the ‘state policy of terror’.

Eye-Wash If Pakistan has taken some ‘positive’ steps against the ‘non-state actors’ then they are only an ‘eye-wash’ and the result of international pressure. Whether it is the democratically elected government or dictatorship, Pakistan has always followed the anti-India policy. We cannot expect a total ‘change of heart’ of the same government that has always supported the militancy. If US, UK, Russia, China, Israel and India are suffering from militancy it is because of Pakistan’s state policy of ‘terrorism’. Earlier it was the state policy of the Pakistan under dictators but now it has become a business for the ISI-military dominated country. Though Pakistan is ruled by a democratically elected government but it is the military that is the most powerful part of the establishment and Asif Ali Zardari and Yusuf Raza Gilani are only the masks. On the other hand the so called international pressure on Pakistan can never satisfy Indian concerns. Whatever pressure has been created by US and UK over Pakistan it is motivated by their own interests in Afghanistan. Years of fundamentalist education has polluted the Pakistani minds and it will take years to purge those ‘brainwashed’ people. But it can never happen because of the prevalent infrastructure in Pakistan. And none of the power centre in Pakistan neither have the will nor the courage to dismantle such an infrastructure. In such circumstances only a ‘fool’ can expect that Pakistani government will take a ‘U-turn’ and punish its own ‘foot soldiers’.

All such possibilities turned out to be true when on Sunday Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi refused to hand over Mumbai terror attack suspects to India even if the allegations against them turn out to be true. Sighting the absence of an extradition treaty between both the nations Qureshi said,’ we do not have an extradition treaty with India’ and they will respond only after receiving ‘something officially from India’. This is the clear indication of the mindset of the Pakistani leadership.

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Games Impact of India’s rising economy was seen in every field especially the games. Except Hockey India improved its world ranking and previous records in various games. But the sensation of the year was the Indian Premier League cricket tournament that was played between different teams having national and international cricket players. This tournament lasted for a month and the event was watched by millions of people world-wide. This tournament added a lot to the popularity of the game but also created danger to the longest version of the game. The final of the game was played between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. Australian veteran Shane Warne led Rajasthan Royals won the final tournament comfortably. The popularity and success of this tournament is the indications of the bright future of the game.

Hockey 2008 was another disappointing year for the Indian hockey. The Indian team had failed even to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. Internal factionalism, financial crunch, Government apathy and red tape collectively added to Indian hockey’s death. Some people blamed the undemocratic handling of the affairs by the Chief of the Indian Hockey Federation K.P.S Gill. But Indian junior hockey team brought back smiles to the Indian hockey fans. The Indian junior’s team with their all-round performance retained the junior’s Asia Hockey Cup. In the semifinal India had defeated its archrival Pakistan which brought back the memories of the historical encounters between both the teams. In the final, India defeated South Koreans and retained the Asia cup. This win was seen as another milestone in the revival of the Indian hockey.

Weightlifting Another sports body that remained in headlines for wrong reasons prior to the start of the Beijing Olympic Games was Indian Weightlifting Federation. Allegations of corruption were made against some official of the federation. It was said that one of the official of the federation has accepted Rs.5 lakh as bribe to select dope tested Shailaja Pujari instead of one silver and two bronze medal winner, Monika in 69 kg in the Asian Championship. It must be learnt that Shailaja was caught for doping and IWF had to face two years’ of ban for it. But with this controversy it came to light that ‘why Indian players fail to perform well at the world level events.

Tennis 2008 proved out to be a turning point in the emergence of Indian tennis and cricket. During this year many Indian tennis players marked their presence to be felt at the international arena. Indian due of legendary Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi was once again seen playing together in the Ordina Open tennis tournament in s’Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands). They had united after a long gap and it was viewed as their preparation for the Beijing Olympic Games. They had bridged their personal differences and had decided to play together once again to win a medal for their country in the Olympic Games. But they could not turn their hopes into reality and were defeated in the quarterfinal round. But in the month of September Leander Paes gave a cheering news to Indian tennis lovers by winning the US Open mixed doubles Grand Slam final. It was his career’s eighth grand slam title.

Badminton Saina Nehwal emerged as the rising Indian Badminton star. Though her hopes of winning an Olympic medal were dashed in the quarterfinal round but she had stunned the world five and four seeded Wang Chen in the tournament. She overcame her Olympic debacle and won the Chinese Taipai Open 2008 by defeating Malaysian player Li Ya Lydia Cheah in the month of September. Except it she also won the Indian National Badminton Championship and World Junior Badminton Championship. She also won a gold medal at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games. Except it, she had reached the finals of some tournaments but had lost.

Boxing Indian boxers gave rise to the hope of winning some more Olympic medals when three Indian Boxers had succeeded to reach the quarterfinal rounds of their respected categories. But only Vijender Singh succeeded in winning a Bronze medal for his country when he lost to his Cuban opponent Emilio Correa Bayeaux in the semifinal of middleweight (75kg) category.

India’s another Olympic bronze medal was won by grappler Sushil Kumar who had lost in the very first round of the game but defeated three opponents on the trot to win the medal in the repechage.

Archery and Shooting Except Abhinav Bindra none of the Indian archers and shooters could win an Olympic medal for their side. Abhinav Bindra India’s Olympic gold medal drought by winning the individual gold medal in men’s 10m air rifle shooting event. Rest of the Indian archers and shooters disappointed with their dismal performance and failed to win even a single medal.

Cricket India emerged as a leading power in the game of the cricket. India first challenged the Australian supremacy and defeated them at the various venues. India won the 5-one day series from the Sri Lankans but lost the test series. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh won top ICC awards. Dhoni became the first Indian to win the ICC ODI Player of the Year Award. Yuvraj Singh was awarded with a special prize for his massive six sixes off Stuart Broad’s over in a match during the Twenty20 World Cup. India won the 3-test match series from Australians and thus poised a big challenge to their number one position. During this serial two prominent Indian cricketers announced their retirement. They were legendary leg spinner Anil Kumble and left hand batsman and former Indian cricketer Sourabh Ganguly. Earlier in the month of in the month of June, Ganguly had been adjudged Castrol Asian cricketer and Asian Batsman of the Year awards in a function held in Karach. After Australia it was the England team that visited India. They were defeated in both the longest and shorter versions of the game. It will be injustice to not the mention the name the master blaster Sachin Tendukar whenever be talk about the Indian cricket. During the India-Australia test series he became the leading test run getter after surpassing Brian Lara’s record of 11,953 test runs. During this year he also created a record of hitting most centuries in both versions of the game. With every run he is creating a world record now.

Literature, Bollywood and Related Fields

There were some encouraging news for the Indians in the fields of literature, cinema and related fields. Bollywood lost some prominent figures of the industry during this year. Some of them were, B.R Chopra and playback singer Mahendra Kapoor. But Bollywood continued to grow and expanding its popularity base around the world. It was because of the Bollywood’s increasing popularity that drew many Hollywood directors, actors and actresses towards Indian entertainment industry. A deal was signed between Bollywood dirctor Sajjid Nadiadwala and some Hollywood actors that brought both the entertainment industries close to each other. Aamir Khan’s directorial debut film ‘Taare Zameen Par’ was nominated for the Oscar race. It must be learnt that he himself had produced, directed and acted in this film. Earlier his ‘Lagaan’ had also been nominated for the Oscar award in the year of 2002.

The Hindustani Classical Music legend, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi of ‘Kirana Gharana ‘ was awarded with India’s highest civilian award ‘Bharat Ratna’. Indian Novelist Aravinda Adiga became the one of those three novelists who has won the prestigious 50,000 pounds ($87,000) Booker Prize for their debutant novels. He was awarded with this award for his debutant novel ‘The White Tiger’.

Establishment Pratiharas were another famous dynasty that ruled a large part of northern India form the 6^th century to 11^th century. It is believed that they were or Bargurjur or Gujjar origin. The first Pratihar ruled was Harichandra who laid the foundation stone of the Pratihar dynasty in 6^th century. He has established his rule state named Marwar at the modern Mandore near the pink city. There is no evidence of his successors but it is believed that they had expanded their state to some adjoining areas. The second well known Pratihar ruler was Nagabhata who ruled the state for almost 30 years from 730 to 756. He conquered Malwa and some parts of the modern Gujarat. It is said that he had extended his rule to Gwalior and the port of Bharuch that is situated is Gujarat. His capital was Avati in Malwa. He was the first Indian ruler who confronted the Muslims and defeated some Arabs who had settled their rule in Sindh. After his death two weak rulers succeeded him before the power went into the hands of Vatsaraja in 775.

Expansion Vatsaraja tried to expand his rule and invaded Kannauj unsuccessfully. His ambitions put him into conflict with Bangal and Deccan rulers. Rashtrakuta ruler Dhruva of Deccan defeated him in 800 and won Kannauj. Vatsaraja died in 805. After his death Nagabhata II became the next Pratihara ruler who restored the lost glory of his kingdom. In the initial years of his rule he met some setback one of which was his defeat in the hands of the Rashtrakuta king Govinda III. But after some time he defeated the Rasthrakutas and some other neighboring princely state and expanded his rule to some more vast areas that his predecessors had won. He brought Kannauj, Malwa and Bihar under his control and defeated the Muslims who were becoming a major threat from the western side. He also rebuilt the Somnath temple of Gujarat. During his rule Kannauj had emerged as a famous business and military center. He died in 833 and was briefly succeeded by Rambhadra. Rambhadra ruled the state for a short span of three years from 833 to 836.

End In 836 Mihirbhoj or Bhoja I became the next Pratihara ruler. In the initial years of his rule he met some set backs in the hands of Bengal king Devapala. But after his consolidating his position he recovered most of the lost areas and won some new areas under his flag. Hisrule was expanded from Sindh in west to Magadha in east and Narmada in south. He died in 886. His son Mahendrapala succeeded him and ruled the state till his death in 910. He expanded his kingdom towards east by bringing Magadha, Bengal and Assam under his rule. He was briefly succeeded by Bhoja II (910-912) and Mahipala (912-914). But during that time many feudal lords declared themselves independent and had established their own states. Paramaras of Malwa and Chandelas of Bundelkhand were some of the famous clans that were to emerge as major powers in the coming centuries. Pratiharas’ power continued to deteriorate because of simultaneous fighting with the Turks, and Pala attacks from the east. In the following decades they were completely removed out of Rajasthan by the other Rajput clans. By the end of 10^th century their power had been limited only to a small kingdom centered in Kannauj. Mahmud of Gajini’s attack furthered the end of the Pratiharas. In 1018 when he invaded Kannauj the then king of the state, Rajapala fled and was captured by Chandela ruler Gauda who later on murdered him. Rajapala was succeeded by Trilochanpala and Jasapala but in in 1036 with jasapala’s death, Pratiharas rule in Kannauj ended for forever.

Another Pratihara state that was centered on Mandore, Marwar remained in power till the 13^th century but were defeated by the Rathores. A Pratihara Raja named Dara Singh had established a very small state of Nagod in 1344 which was ruled until India got independence from the Britishers.

Democracy and Politics The year 2008 will be considered one of the worst year for the Indian politicians but a ‘purging’ year as fro as the democracy is concerned. During this year the public of India saw the changing characters of Indian politicians in a very short span of time during Manmohan Singh government’s trust vote motion in the month of July. Many ‘on sale’ politicians switched their sides after ‘hearing the call of their conscience’. No matter their conscience is called ‘rupee’ in monetary terms. It happened for the first time in the history of India that wads of currency were brought inside the parliament by the opposition leaders who claimed that these rupees were given to them by SP leader Amar Singh as a bribe to vote in favor of Manmohan Singh government. There is no doubt that Indo-US deal was in favor of India but at the same time it also exposed the ‘hollowness’ of the character of Indian leaders.

Man of Character and Determination But among the ‘unstable’ leaders there was one face that remained unchanged even after pressure from all sides and held the higher values of Indian democracy and set an example for his successors. It was Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Cahtterjee who was expelled from his party for not following the party ‘dictate’. But he won the appreciation of the public and the fellow politicians for his honesty and determination to honor the democratic values. He put an end to every kind of discussions by announcing that he will retire from active politics after the end of his present term instead of seeking return to his party.

Leaders A LJP MP from Balia named Suranbhan Singh was held guilty by a Bihar court for murdering a farmer over a land dispute 16 years ago. An infamous BJP MP Babulal Katara, who was found to be involved in human trafficking case was expelled from Lok Sabha . He was arrested by Delhi airport authorities along with a woman and a boy whom he was allegedly trying to take abroad using the passports of his wife and son. There were many instances when some state level leaders of various parities were found involved or were blamed for their involvement in various cases of corruption and criminal activities. In an unprecedented decision Punjab assembly stripped of former Chief Minister Amaninder Singh of the membership of 13th Punjab Vidhan Sabha for the remaining term. A house committee had indicted him in a graft case. During this year we saw the expulsion of some MPs from the Lok Sabha for various reasons also. Some MPs were expelled from the house for voting against their party orders during the trust vote motion in wake of the Indo-US nuclear deal. It was not the MPs but some main leaders of various parties were in the limelight for their ‘out of line’ behavior. SP leader Amar Singh and BSP leader were mainly in focus for their rivalry.

Terror Ruling party Congress that was under tremendous pressure for its failure to tackle the terrorism used the ‘Hindu terror’ card to deflate BJP’s campaign against it. Some anti-national elements were arrested by the security agencies but Congress led government used it as an issue to score points over BJP and used this card when elections in six states were being held. This not only ended here but some parties crossed the ‘laxman rekha’ by showing their sympathy to terrorists who were found to be related to or involved in serial blasts in some cities. This was done to win the sympathy of a particular community in wake of the forthcoming state and centre elections.

Elections Assembly elections were held peacefully in six states and a more than 60 per cent turnout was recorded in these states. In three four states Congress formed its governments and in two states BJP governments were formed. Elections were also held in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and gave a big blow to the Pakistan backed separatist Hurriyat leaders with the huge turnout even in the Hurriyat dominated areas. More than 60 percent turnout was recorded in J&K which is second best after the 1987’s assembly elections. These assembly elections are being considered to be the semifinal for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and Congress’ victory in these elections are the positive signs for its return to power in the centre. But many political analysts have ruled out this poll verdict as positive sign for Congress as different issues dominate during the assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

Divisive Politics There were many instances when some politicians tried to use ‘divisive issues’ to pull the attention of public. In this line MNS Chief Raj Thackeray has the number one position that launched an anti-north campaign but it led to huge agitations in other parts of the country. Congress led Maharashtra government also gave its underhand support to MNS chief but it created problems for the Congress led centre government when some of its allies from northern states threatened to withdraw support to it. But it was the public that showed mirror to Raj Thackeray like leaders whenever they used such kind of divisive issues. Even some prominent leaders like L K Advani and PM Manmohan Singh, too, had to face the public wrath whenever they tried to use the ‘Mumbai terror attack’ during their election campaign in various state assembly elections.

Mumbai terror attack shook the nation and huge public demonstrations were held in various parts of the country. But in the initial staged of this development state as well as the centre government tried to ignore it by terming it as ‘another terrorist incident’. But the public wrath forced the Maharashtra Chief minister and home minister to resign from their posts. Union Home minister also had to follow the same path though he tried his best to remain stuck to the ‘chair’. It must be learnt that Maharashtra home minister termed the Mumbai terror attack as ‘choti choti batein’. It was not only the Mumbai attack when Politicians’ ‘criminal negligence’ to such kind of issues put the national unity into danger. Orissa communal riots also gave a severe blow to the unity of the nation. In these riots almost 500 people mostly Christians were killed. According to the official reports only 70 people had died in the violence and thousands rendered homeless. These riots revealed the dark faces of the religion based politics. It must be learnt that states NDA government was equally responsible for the situation. In the initial stages of these riots state government did not took adequate steps and was also accused for its criminal negligence.

N-Deal During this year world’s largest and oldest democracies, India and US came very close to each other. It happened with the signing of the civilian nuclear deal between both the nations. With this deal Indian democracy got a special status and emerged as a major global player at the international level. It must be learnt that India has not sign the nuclear test ban treaty and non-proliferation treaty but has remained stuck to the rules of these treaties on its own. US influence played a major role over the NSG nations to waive the nuclear sanction. Nuclear deals were signed with other nations also that included France and Russia the traditional friends of India in the field.

Status The year 2008 will be remembered a major transformation year in the history of India as India emerged a new rising world power. Indian economy passed into another stage of ‘maturity’ that is called ‘walking stage’ by the economists. It was ranked the second fastest emerging economy after China. But it was only one achievement as far as a nation is concerned there are many achievement that increased India’s ‘status’ among other major world powers. India entered into the elite club of those nations who have sent successful lunar missions. India sent Chandrayaan-1 successfully in a record time as it was planned by the Indian space scientists. October 21 has a special status in the history of India. As on this day as India launched its maiden unmanned lunar mission successfully and the on the same day Indo-Pak relations headed towards a new stage as both the nations opened trade routes across the LoC.

Threats In this year India faced many internal and external threats and was one of the most militancy effected nation. After the month of June many Indian cities were rocked by serial bomb blasts in which almost 1000 innocent people were killed. A new terrorist outfit, Indian Mujahideen, took the responsibility of these serial bomb blasts which was later on found to be the changed name of SIMI. .It was not only militancy that emerged as a major threat to the unity of the nation. Maoists also emerged as ‘one of the biggest threats to the unity of India’. Maoist struck some big blows to various states and killed many policemen and political leaders. It were not only the militants that affected the nation adversely but communal violence also broke the social harmony and mutual trust between communities. India saw one of the worst communal violence in Orissa in which almost 500 personal mostly Christians were killed and thousands rendered homeless. The violence had broken out on the issue of killing of a VHP leader and religious preacher Swami Laxmananda in the Kandhamal district of the state. Thousands of people had fled from there native place to save their lives while NDA alliance government of the state did not take any adequate steps in time to put an end to the violence. Anti-Christian violence was not limited to the state of Orissa but some states also witnessed some incidents but it was the timely action of those state governments that prevented those small incidents to turns into big problems. After Orissa it was Assam that witnessed one of the worst communal violence in the history of India. Just in three days of time more than 100 people had been killed and thousands had been rendered homeless. Many villages had been burnt and inhabitants had been forced to flee from the place to save their near and dear ones. There was a good news also as for as the militancy is concerned. It was on September 30 when 305 ultras from the United Liberation Front of Barak Valley (ULFBV) joined the mainstream in front of Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

But the state of J&K surprised everyone including not only the Indian leaders but also the Pakistani agents collectively called Hurriyat. PDP’s ‘power lust’ inspired it to turn ‘Amarnath land transfer’ like non-issue into an issue and the state saw one of the worst agitations led by Hurriyat after late nineties. Hurriyat took over the reins from PDP and projected the agitations as the freedom struggle. But a major voter turnout in the state assembly elections deflated their so called ‘freedom struggle’. India had not just recovered form the earlier terror blows and the Indian secret agencies were licking their wounds when Pakistan’s ISI and military backed terrorists took India by surprised and attacked its ‘financial capital’ Mumbai on 26 November. In this incident almost 200 personal including the nine terrorists were killed. Mumbai police lost some of its top cops. But one Pakistani suicide bomber was caught live by some Mumbai police personal who later on spilled the beans that how he was trained and by whom. Mumabi terror attack is being considered India’s 9/11. Pakistan was under tremendous world pressure but it once again started to play the blackmail game not only with India but also with US. This incident put hold to the normalized Indo-Pak relations and also strained the mutual relations.

Indian Defense All these terrorist attacks exposed Indian secret agencies’ failure and vulnerability of the Indian security system. In some cased Indian secret agencies and the security agencies had the prior information but even then they failed to prevent the catastrophes. These incidents also exposed the necessity of the modernization of the Indian security system and the upgradation of technology. When terrorist struck Mumbai they were lased with world’s best technology and weapons while on the other hand NSG which is considered India’s best Commando force were not equipped even with some ‘required’ equipment that all of world’s elite forces posses. All these incidents have revealed security loopholes and it is being said that now India will emerge world’s biggest spender on defense.

Indian Navy started to play a role of a global player when in November it took lead against the Somali pirates who had emerged a biggest threat to the sea business in the Gulf of Aden in recent months. They had abducted many merchant ships of various countries in recent weeks and had freed then only after taking ransom of billions of dollars. Indian Navy not only escorted some merchant ships to safety that were under attack but also destroyed a pirate mother ship.

In. September India became the forth nation after US, Russia and Israel who have anti-missile shield. India has built and tested it twice and the project is almost near to the completion. This inceptor missile can track the enemy missile and destroy it inside endo) and outside (exo) of the atmosphere of the earth. This system has given India an edge over China and Pakistan who have a wide variety of missiles. In February India had tested a nuclear capable missile from an undersea platform. This missile was named K-15 and had a top range of 700 kilometers. Except it India had conducted many other missile tests during this year that included Brahmos, Shourya and some other missiles also. In November it had tested its main battle tank Arjun after some modernization and some necessary changes. It had showed some encouraging results. India has also signed deals to strengthen its navy and make its one of the best forces on sea. It is being said that in 2009 India will be having some more nuclear powered submarines. In 2008 India defense forces conducted military exercises with some friendly nations which also enhanced its military-to-military cooperation with these nations. India has signed many deals with other nations to upgrade its defense forces and replace its Soviet era weapons. In this cooperation Indo-Israel and Indo-US defense relations have a special status.

Military Movement The tension between India and Pakistan have eased to some extent after the military-to-military talks between both the nations. Tensions were very high after the militant attack on Mumbai and reached the highest point after Pakistan had shifted its thousands of troops from the Afghanistan border towards its eastern border. It is being said that India, too, had taken the precautionary measures and had ordered the movement of troops towards its western border. Movement of heavy military equipment towards border was also seen in both the nuclear armed nations which had given rise to the war talks. Pakistan military and air force had increase its activities near the Indo-Pak border which was being considered as a provocation by the Indian public.

Pak Stand A group of ten Pakistani militants had slaughtered 180 Indian and foreign people in India’s financial capital Mumbai. After the militant attack, tensions were high between both the nations and Indian public was demanding some strict action on the part of its government. Pakistan had earlier promised a strict action against the perpetrators of the terror attack who are sitting in Pakistan but later on had backtracked from its commitment when evidence established links with ISI and Pakistani military. After that their were many ‘turns and U-turns’ in Pakistan’s stand which exposed its real face in front of the international community. It is being believed in India that without tough action Pakistan will not ‘come on to the track’.

Blackmail Tactics But on the other hand Pakistan government chose the ‘denial’ mode in wake of increasing international pressure. Pakistan government even started to use blackmail tactics by shifting its troops from FATA towards Indian border. It must be learnt that Pakistan has deployed its thousands of troops along the Afghanistan border in support of the US led coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan against the Taliban militants. If Pakistan moves its troops from the Afghan border then it will become impossible for the coalition forces to win the ‘war on terror’.

Changing Attitude According to some media reports senior Indian and Pakistani military officers had contacted each other to defuse the tensions. The tensions had reached at such a point that it could start a sub-continental war. According to the report the Directors-General Military Operations of both of the countries, India and Pakistan, discussed the matter with each other on hotline on Sunday. Both of the countries claimed that these talks were on scheduled basis. But according to the norm top military official of both the countries contact on Tuesday on a routine basis but it is for the first time that they have made ‘an extraordinary move’ and talked on hotline. Pakistani Army Chief’s remarks have further de-escalated the tension. During the talks with Chinese vice foreign minister He Yafei, who is visiting Pakistan, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani ‘highlighted the need to de-escalate and avoid conflict in the interest of peace and security’. This is for the first time that Kayani has commented on the situation. A change has been noted in Pakistan government’s attitude towards India after China and Iran swung into action to defuse the tensions between the neighbors. Yafei is in Pakistan on a two day visit and will later on travel to India. Prior to his visit to the region he had spoke to his Indian and Pakistani counterparts respectively on the situation in the subcontinent and had asked them to move ahead with the peace process to maintain stability in the region.

Attention Diversion But these war talks by Pakistan are being considered as the tactics to divert the attention from ISI, military, militants’ and Taliban nexus. But it has not succeeded in its purpose. India, from the starting, is demanding a strong action against those ISI, military and Lashkar-e-Taeba persons who are directly involved in the Mumbai attack. Mumbai terror attack was not only a well planned but also a well structured terror attack which could not be carried out without the active support of ISI and military. Pakistan is trying to divert the attention and is creating hurdles into the investigation by creating ‘war hysteria’.

Terrorist Nation Thousands of Pakistani traveled hundreds of miles to gather in Garhi Khuda Bakhash at the mausoleum of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhuto on the first anniversary of her assassination. Bhuto had been killed in a gun and suicide bomb attack on December 27, 2007 during a public rally within a few weeks of her return to Pakistan after a long ‘forced exile’ by the military rulers. It was a second attack on her after her return to the Pakistan. General turned President Parvez Musharraf had blamed militant leader Baitullah Mehsood for her assassination but public of Pakistan believes that Musharraf too was indirectly involved in her assassination by not providing adequate protection to her. After her death PPP, led by her husband Asif Ali Zardari had returned to power and had vowed to fight against the terrorists and root out the menace from the Pakistani soil. But these were only ‘emotional words’ that were never turned into reality. Today Pakistan based militant outfits have become more powerful and have started to attack the neighboring countries which has poised a great danger to Pakistan’s existence. A nation that was being considered US’ biggest ally in its war on terror has got the tag of ‘international migraine’. 75 per cent terror activities carried out around the world are directly linked to Pakistan. These facts have brought Pakistan almost very near to attain the tag of a ‘terrorist nation’.

National Policy But Pakistan has not changed its ‘national policy’ of supporting terrorists. Despite of peace process with India terrorists were pushed into the Indian territory which was just a part of Pakistani military and ISI’s anti-India policy. Serial bomb blasts and the terror attack on Mumbai were the results of this policy. But with the killing of almost 200 innocent people in Mumbai by the Pakistani terrorists, India has lost its patience. Pakistani leadership which has earlier promised to take concrete steps against the militant elements responsible for attack on India had later on backtracked from its words. It did not end here but they started to speak the language of same elements that were responsible for Bhuto’s assassination.

Military Movement According to the recent reports, Pakistan has increased the deployment of troops on its eastern border adjoining Indian states of Punjab, Rajasthan, and J&K. Military has started to renovate old bunkers and build new bunkers near the along with the Indian border. All military leaves have been canceled and movement of heavy military equipment was reported near Lahore border. According to some more reports Pakistani air force had increased its activities along with the Indian border. It all indicates that Pakistani leadership is more interested to create ‘war hysteria’ instead of taking concrete steps against military and ISI supported militant outfits. Pakistani security forces claimed to have arrested some Indian who were involved in a bomb blast in Lahore but it was being seen as a ‘cover up and tit for tat action’ after the arrest of three Pakistani militants including a serving Pakistani soldier in J&K a two days ago. After it Indian government had warned its citizens from traveling to Pakistan.

Options On the other hand Indian military has moved towards the border. Though no movement of heavy military equipment has been seen on Indian side but no one can rule out the possibility if the tension escalates. BSF ground commanders had sent a report to the Union Government of India about the recent troop deployment from the opposite side. On Friday Indian Prime Minister has called for a meeting in which all the three defense chiefs took part. Later on it was told that this meeting was called in wake of the ‘recent Pakistani troop deployment on the Indian border’. But this meeting had rung danger bells across the world. Two days ago External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had warned that India has all its options open if the world leadership fails to pressure Pakistan.

Pressure Pakistan’s democratically elected government wants to dismantle terrorist infrastructure present inside the country but it is unable to do so because of military’s strong resistance. It looks that government has been forced to follow the military agenda to remain loggerheads with India. But on the other hand Indian people have forced its government to ‘do or die’. If the Pakistani government does not change its stand and take positive steps then no body can rule out the repetition of history.

Preparation As the tension between India and Pakistan is rising both the nations are heading towards a military confrontation. Mumbai terror attack has exposed the nexus between Pakistani secret agency ISI, military and the militant outfits Lashkar-e-Taeba and Taliban. Though Pakistan government talks to cooperate with India in investigating the Mumbai terror attack and bring the perpetrators to the justice but at ground level nothing has been done to dismantle the terror infrastructure present inside Pakistan. Though terrorist camps still exit inside Pakistan and training is being imparted but Pakistan government has done nothing to uproot the infrastructure. Pakistani leadership’s flip-flop show has also escalated the tensions between both the nations. According to the latest reports Pakistani military and air force has increased its activities on its eastern border amid the rising tensions between both the nations. On the other hand India has also kept its security forces prepared to retaliate in minimum possible time. Pakistan has enough evidence that proves that the Mumbai attackers were Pakistani national trained by the Pakistani establishment but it in hesitant to take any actions against the ‘non-state actors’.

Hypocrisy Instead of taking any concrete actions against the militants, Pakistani government is creating war hysteria. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who had earlier taken some positive steps to dismantle the terror infrastructure have backtracked from his stand and has started to speak the words similar to the former military dictators. Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif has also backtracked from his earlier positions. It indicates that someone else is behind the scene who is governing Pakistan. Mumbai attack has unveiled that what is the real power inside Pakistan. But at the same time it has also exposed Pakistan’s hypocrisy in the war on terror.

Leadership Failure On the other hand Indian government has also become an example of a ‘total failure’. Recent developments indicate that only two leaders, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are governing the nation. Rests of the Indian leaders are taking the necessary rest before the general elections that are scheduled to be held in the months of May and June next year. But it is not the leadership that wants to end the cross-border terrorism in ‘one-go’ but the Indian public. Massive public rallies in many parts of the country indicate that, Indian public has fed-up with the militancy and wants a ‘concrete action’ against the ‘rogue neighboring country’. People are angry against the government also for its repeated failures to tackle the terrorism. Amid such circumstances, PM Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee’s voices have lost credibility. Public as well as the Indian security forces are feeling dejected because of its leadership’s lack of courage to taking appropriate decisions.

Provocation Indian leadership is fighting only the ‘war of words’ just to pass the remaining four months of the present government. A few days ago Pranab Mukherjee had said that ‘all options’ are open to India if Pakistani government fails to take the appropriate actions against the terrorists. But his words were neutralized by PM Singh who said,’ nobody wants war. The issue is not war, the issue is terror and territory in Pakistan being used to promote, aid and abet this terror.’ US, UK and UN have repeatedly claimed that Mumbai attackers were Pakistani nationals but Pakistani establishment has not initiated any investigation against the suspected terrorists except taking then into ‘protective’ custody. Pakistan had offered to jointly investigate the Mumbai attack but Indian leadership had denied such possibilities. It indicates the trust deficit between both the nations. India’s concerns are based on reality. In the past it has happened many times when Indian secret agencies had provided evidence and whereabouts of some wanted persons to the Pakistani government but instead of arresting them Pakistani secret agencies had moved them to some safer places. A few day ago after the crackdown on the terrorists, a Pakistani minister has claimed that Jaish-e-Mohhumed chief Azhar Mahmood had been house arrested but later on the same person declared that Pakistani government and the secret agencies don’t know the whereabouts of the wanted terrorist. Pakistani premier Yusuf Raza Gilani has ruled out any possibility of war but has accused the Indian government of trying to find out a ‘scapegoat’ to evade taking responsibility for the intelligence failure. He also asked India ‘not to underestimate their military might’. Pakistani President has also provoked India by saying that their armed forces were fully capable of “thwarting any aggression from the east.’

Pak Government There are various power centers inside Pakistan even more powerful than its elected government. That is why Pakistan government has always failed to deliver according to its promises. For Pakistan, there is a very thin gap to get the status of a failed state from a ‘weak state’. Pakistan government wants to get the work done by some one else which is its responsibility. Despite repeated claims by the international community and the Indian government that the Mumbai attackers were Pakistani citizens, Zardari government is unwilling to accept the truth. Instead of investigating the involvement of Pakistani ‘non-state actors’ into the Mumbai terror attack, Pakistan government is waiting evidence to be provided by the Indian government. At one point Pakistan government says that it is suffering from international terrorism and Pakistani terrorists killed in Mumbai were ‘non- state actors’. But at the other end Pak government is saying that they were not the Pakistani citizens.

Cover-up Pakistan government is evading accepting that truth that the Mumbai attackers were Pakistani citizens. Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari has allied with the military and army supported Lahkar-e-Taeba militants by saying that there is no evidence that the arrested Mumbai attacker hails from Pakistan’s Punjab Province. India had made it public that arrested militant Qasab hails from a village of Punjab Province. A leading Pakistani newspaper reporter had met even his father and had interviewed him. Qasab’s father had acknowledged that the gunman captured in India was his son. Some other newspaper reporters had also visited the village and claimed that the Qasab belongs to this village and had visited five months ago. There were also some reports that Pakistani intelligence have condoned off the village and nobody is allowed to meet his parents. All this indicates that Pak government is trying to cover-up the ‘real-evidence’.

Sharif But Pakistan’s opposition leader and former prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif has challenged Zardari’s assertion. In an interview to the Geo news channel he said “I have checked myself. His (Ajmal Amir Iman alias Ajmal Qasab) house and village has been cordoned off by the security agencies. His parents are not allowed to meet anybody. I don’t understand why it has been done.” He also attacked PPP led government by saying that the way it is functioning has made Pakistan look like a ‘failed state’.

Stand What India expects, Pakistan’s government is unable to do because there are so many power centres inside that country that it is unable to control all of them. It had tried to bring ISI under its control twice but it failed both the times. Military is also not happy with the war going in NWFP. India is fine tuning its priorities to deal with the terrorism but Pakistan must also fine-tune its own priorities if it wants to save itself from getting the status of a failed state. Pakistan government has made many encouraging statements but had retracted from that after some time because of the internal pressure. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had told a news channel that Masood Azhar was under house arrest but later on had retracted from his statement and had said that he is wanted by the law enforcement agencies. This is just the one example there are many examples of Pakistan government ‘sincerity’ and ‘unwavering’ stand. All it has forced India to ‘consider the entire range of options that exist.’

Peace Process India has put peace process with Pak on hold in wake of the Mumbai terror attack. All the evidence collected and the confession of the arrested militant indicates that some Pak based groups are involved in the attack. But Pak President had termed them as ‘non-state actors’ which showed Pak establishment’s reluctance to accept the responsibility for its failure to act upon the assurances given to their neighbor of not letting its land to be used by militants against India. Pak leaders had earlier promised every kind of assistance in investigating the Mumbai terror attack links but later on they had changed their stand. Then International pressure was exerted on Pak which showed some results and Pak government arrested some elements responsible for the Mumbai attack. But Pak establishment has done all it reluctantly which has resulted for war cries in India. Situation is very sensitive and can switch to any side that is why world community is playing an important role to ease tensions between both the nations.

Nexus Mumbai terror attack has changed the mentality of the Indian people and the leaders towards terrorism which has resulted in demands of the overhauling of security and political systems. India is suffering from the Pak supported militancy for almost three decades but west had never paid any heed to India’s claims and it was only after 9/11 that a change came into the approach of the west towards the militancy. During the ‘war on terror’ the truth came to light that Pak is the epicenter of the militancy that has emerged as the global threat in recent years. Indian states of Punjab and Jammu&Kashmir has suffered from Pak sponsored militancy and slowly but steadily has been spread in the other parts of the country by Pak spy agency in a planned way. But after 9/11 every thing had changed and Pakistan was directly affected by it. Though Pakistan allied with US in the war against terror but at the same time its spy agency ISI and military was supporting the Taliban militants. As the international pressure increased on Pakistan, its government had to abandon its ‘national policy of India centric support of terrorism’ but by then militant outfits had established themselves deeply and had become very powerful in Pakistan. It won’t be wrong to say that Pak government, ISI, Pak military and Lashkar-e-Taeba used to be the points on the single line. Now its looks that Pak government has deviated to some extent from its earlier position but the rest of the elements are at the same places.

Stand Islamic fundamentalism has rooted so deeply itself in Pakistan that it has changed the mentality of the entire nation. Pakistan is suffering from its India-centric hate policies and it will take years to change the mentality of those Pak people who have been influenced by the Islamic fundamentalist beyond the limits. If it has attained the tag of an ‘international migraine’ then it is because of years of dictatorship. Dictatorship only created tensions in the region and turned Pakistan a ‘breeding ground of terrorism’. There are very strong links between Pak military and terrorist outfits and the civilian government of Asif Ali Zardari is too weak to severe these ties. Present Zardari wants to bring the establishment under its control but is unable to do so. That is why Pak government has changed its stand many times after the Mumbai terror attack. But it has resulted in mistrust between both the countries and severely affected the peace process.

Damage Mumbai attack was not a terrorist attack but it was an attack on India launched from the Pakistani soil. But Pak government was reluctant to take the responsibility for the attack and tried to project the perpetrators of the attack as ‘non-state actors’. But as the evidence kept on emerging, it revealed the ties between Pak spy agency ISI, military and militants. Later on Pak government accepted that it is their responsibility to contain the ‘non-state actors’. But by then this term had done a lot of damage to the relations between both the countries. Recent developments, inside Pakistan, have showed that there is a great difference between the approach of the civilian government and the military towards militants. Pak government has spoken a lot but very little has been done on the ground.

Crackdown There is a positive news for the peace lovers. According to some reports published in some major International newspapers, Pakistani security forces along with army cracked down on LeT activists on Sunday in PoK and some other parts of the country. In the crackdown on Let and its front organization Jamaat-ud-Dawah, around 20 LeT activists were nabbed including its commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi. According to a report published in Dawn, a major operation was under its way near Muzaffrabad, the capital of PoK on a camp that was being used by the banned terrorist outfit. After the Mumbai terror attack, international pressure was mounting on Pakistan to take action against the banned outfit to defuse tensions with India. LeT militants had killed around 200 people during the three day seize of Mumbai which included many foreigners. Indian security forces had captured one militant alive and killed nine. During the investigation he had accepted that he was a Pakistani citizen and was trained in ISI backed LeT training camp by some retired Pak army and navy officers.

International Migraine After the attack the tensions between both the countries were rising instead of tremendous international efforts for peace between both the nuclear armed neighbors. Pakistani leadership had repeatedly declined about its involvement in the terror attack terming it as the work of ‘non-state factors’. At the same time Indian leadership, too was not in favor of a military action as it was not being considered the ultimate solution of the problem. There is no doubt that people form sides want peace and good relations between both the nations but India’s frustration with Pakistan after such a big carnage is legitimate in itself. In recent months Pakistan has become the epicenter of terrorism. Even some people have started to call it as an ‘international migraine’.

Pak-Inside There is no doubt that previous Pakistani leadership and military generals were obsessed with their anti-India stand. In their obsession they even ignored the future of their country and created such an infrastructure that has today become the breeding ground for international terrorism. Though Pak civilian government has tried to bring military and ISI under its control and severe its ties with Islamic militants but there are many factors that are resisting such moves. Though today Pak is being ruled by an elected civilized government but there are many other factions that are trying to arrest the power. Amid such circumstances, ruling power can shift to any faction that could be disastrous for the world peace. Thus military conflict between both the nuclear neighbors was not the appropriate solution. International diplomacy is playing its role in a best suitable manner to defuse tensions. But international diplomatic efforts in itself can do nothing if Pakistani government fails to take adequate steps.

Internal Pressure Tensions between India and Pakistan are very high in wake of the Mumbai terror attack and any small provocations can result into one of the biggest world disaster. Civilian government of Pakistan is doing a lot to defuse tensions and control the situation before it slips out of hands but the other powerful institutions inside Pakistan are creating obstacles in its efforts. Recent political developments that happened inside Pakistan indicate that its civilian government is not in full control of the country. Its one step ahead two steps backward policy indicates that it takes decisions but later on backtracks from its earlier position under some internal pressure.

Zardari Prior to and after the Mumbai attacks we have seen many instances that indicate Pak President Asif Ali Zardari does not has enough powers to implement his own decisions. Though he has taken some bold decisions to go ahead with the peace process with India but Pakistani establishment has not liked his ‘out-of-line’ decisions. After the Mumbai attack Pak government had agreed to send ISI chief to Indian. But after his meeting with the Army general, Zardari’s tone had changed. He had said that the decision of sending the ISI chief to India was a ‘miss communique’ between the Prime Ministers of both the countries and Pakistan had agreed to send a director level officer to India to investigate into the Mumbai terror attack. But neither any ISI director nor any ISI official came to India. One day Zardari was saying that his country will help India at all level to investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators of terror to the justice but on the next day he was saying ‘give us the proof’ we will take action. These changes in the character of Zardari indicate that either he is ‘playing’ or there is some one else who is pulling the shots from behind the scenes.

Hoax Call Changes in Pak government’s stand in wake of the Mumbai terror attack has only added more to the suspicion and mistrust between both of the nations. But it has not ended here. Situation had reached the ‘boiling point’ when Pakistan started to build up its military along side the Indian border. And the reason was a ‘hoax call’. Some unknown person had called to Pak President as Indian External affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and had warned of military action. But Indian minister declined of making any such call when he was asked by visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. This is the problem of Pak government to ascertain who ‘made the call’ but it also reveals that how much Pak government is serious to defuse tension with India and there are some powers that want war between both the nations.

Crackdown There was enough evidence that indicated that the Mumbai conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan and terrorists were funded, trained, provided firearms on the Pakistani soil by some Pakistani ‘jehadis’ and retired army and navy officers. Indian and international news papers had published some reports based on the confession made by sole arrested surviving militant but Pakistan government did not take any step against the Jud and LeT leaders. Pak government started ‘crackdown on JuD’ only when international community put tremendous pressure on it