aftermath of #Pulwamatragedy ~ Nation shows it cares !!

Iran warned neighbouring Pakistan today stating  it would "pay a heavy price" for allegedly harbouring terrorists who killed 27 of its elite Revolutionary Guards in a suicide bombing near the border earlier this week, state television reported. Revolutionary Guards chief Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari also accused Tehran's regional rival Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of supporting terrorist groups that attack Iranian forces, saying they could face "reprisal operations."  "Why do Pakistan's army and security body ... give refuge to these anti-revolutionary groups? Pakistan will no doubt pay a high price," Jafari said in remarks live on state television.

Pakistan is a terror state and abets terrorists brazenly ~ the scars of Pulwama tragedy would never heal .. following the Pulwama terror attack in which more than 45 CRPF soldiers were martyred, the entire nation has stood up in support of the Armed Forces and the martyr’s families.

In a heartening gesture, the Reliance Foundation has offered to look after the families of the martyred CRPF soldiers. This shows how the nation is showing a sense of gratefulness for those who make the supreme sacrifice in order to protect their fellow citizens. Reliance Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Reliance Industries Limited. Recently, it had toppedthe Hurun Indian Philanthropy list. The Foundation stated, “As a mark of our gratitude to the martyrs, Reliance Foundation expresses its readiness to assume full responsibility for the education and employment of their children, and the livelihood of their families,” said the company in a statement.”If necessary, our hospital is ready to provide the best possible treatment to the injured jawans. We shall also deem it to be our duty to shoulder any other responsibility the government may place upon us in service to our beloved Armed Forces.” It added, “The entire Reliance Parivar fully shares the outrage of 1.3 billion Indians at the barbaric terrorist attack on a CRPF convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway on Thursday, in which 40 brave jawans were martyred. No evil power in this world can break India’s unity or our resolve to defeat terrorism, which is an enemy of humanity.”

                The 'Bharat Ke Veer' contribution platform, that collects public funds for CAPF personnel killed in action, has got "unprecedented" donations of over Rs 7 crore following the Pulwama terror attack, officials said. Officials manning the online portal of the Union Home Ministry have also asked citizens to "desist" from donating money for the slain men in uniform at any other platform except the 'Bharat Ke Veer'.

The Shri Siddhivinayak Temple trust in Mumbai  announced an ex gratia of Rs 51 lakh for the families of the CRPF personnel who lost their lives in the Pulwama Attack. The contribution was confirmed by the chairman of the temple trust Aadesh Bande. Of the deceased jawans, two of them identified as Nitin Rathod and Sanjay Rajput hail from Buldhana district in Maharashtra. Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis took to his official Twitter handle and said, “We have announced ₹50 lakh for the kins of martyred jawans from Maharashtra and Government will take responsibility of their rehabilitation. 125 crore Indians are their family members.” He also said that India would strike back with full force and will avenge the brutal incident.

Mobile internet services were on Saturday suspended in most parts of Kashmir while the network speed was throttled in other parts as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order, officials said. Mobile internet has been suspended in south Kashmir's four districts of Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama and central Kashmir's Srinagar and Budgam districts, they said.  The officials said the network speed has been throttled in north Kashmir's Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora districts. They said the high speed internet has been suspended as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order in the wake of alleged harassment of Kashmiri people in Jammu and outside the state.  

Former India cricketer, Virender Sehwag  extended support towards the bereaved families of the jawans martyred in Pulwama. He tweeted, “Nothing we can do will be enough, but the least I can do is offer to take complete care of the education of the children of our brave CRPF jawans martyred in #Pulwama in my Sehwag International School @SehwagSchool , Jhajjar. Saubhagya hoga.” Therefore, the former cricketer is going to look after the education of the children of martyred soldiers. This is a respectful gesture and shows that the nation is going to do everything that can be done in order to support the security forces of the country.

Boxer Vijender singh tweeted : I’m donating my one month’s salary for the martyrs of #PulwamaTerrorAttack and want everyone to come forward and support the families. It is our moral duty to always standby them and make them feel proud of their sacrifices.  Jai Hind    #PulawamaAttack #PulwamaRevenge

Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal said that the team will donate the prize money they are getting from their Irani Trophy win. “We as a team have decided to dedicate that money to the families of those who lost their lives. (It is) a small gesture from the team and the VCA,” said Fazal.

We can’t actually change the void that is created in the life of martyrs’ families. Loss of life can never be fully compensated. And we cannot match what the members of the Armed Forces contribute towards the nation either. However, the nation is striving to do what it can. The nation has understood that merely expressing gratitude and gratefulness towards the martyrs and a sense of sympathy towards the bereaved families is not going to be enough. In fact, it is our duty to ensure that we look after the families of the martyred soldiers. It is not only up to the government to work towards the welfare of such families, but the society should also contribute in whatever way it can. Hopefully, society will continue to play its part. If the CRPF soldiers could go to the extent of giving up their lives for the nation, we can at least ensure that we look after the martyrs’ families.

In a bold move, the makers of the popular sitcom the Kapil Sharma Show, and the broadcasting channel Sony Entertainment Television have sacked controversial politician and ex-cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu from the show.  This decision to sack Sidhu from the Kapil Sharma Show has been taken in the light of the massive outrage over the atrocious comments Sidhu made in favor of Pakistan after the Pulwama attack.  To quote the officials, who spoke about the decision to Times Now, “The channel has told the production house to sack Sidhu. It’s not a temporary thing. They are going to get him out.  For those unaware, Navjot Singh Sidhu, well notorious for his penchant for Pakistan, tried to exonerate Pakistan in the light of the recent Pulwama attack. He repeated the rhetoric of terror has no religion, as he said, “For a handful of people, can you blame the entire nation and can you blame an individual? It (the attack) is a cowardly act and I condemn it firmly.” If that wasn’t enough, he even went on to say that ‘terror has no nation’. This was enough to trigger a massive outrage against him on social media. A massive campaign titled #BoycottKapilSharmaShow was launched, where people threatened to boycott the show until and unless Navjot Singh Sidhu was thrown out from the show.

A day after withdrawing the 'Most Favoured Nation' (MFN) status granted to Pakistan in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, India today hiked the basic customs duty on all goods imported from the neighbouring country to 200%.  At the same time, the government also announced its plans to initiate diplomatic steps to ensure the complete isolation of Pakistan in the international community. The MFN status is given to a trade partner to ensure non-discriminatory trade between two countries. Although India had granted the status to Pakistan in 1996, Islamabad did not reciprocate despite it being required to do so as a member of the World Trade Organisation. Although the Union government says that withdrawing the status will hurt Pakistan at a time when it is struggling financially, the move is mostly symbolic because bilateral trade between the two countries comes up to barely $2 billion a year. India mainly exports cotton, dyes, chemicals, vegetables and iron and steel to Pakistan while importing fruits, cement, leather, chemicals and spices.

Meanwhile, global pressure is building on Pakistan to act against perpetrators of the attack. Despite Chinese reservations, New Delhi has urged the international community to back the naming of JeM leader Masood Azhar as a "UN designated terrorist". The United States has also asked Pakistan to "immediately end support and safe haven to all terrorist groups". Pakistan is already in the 'grey list' of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body that works to stop terror financing, among other things. However, India wants it to be competely blacklisted.The FATF blacklist is meant for countries that are deemed "non-cooperative" in the global fight against money laundering and terror financing. If the FATF blacklists Pakistan, it may lead to downgrading of the country by lenders like International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the European Union.

Let us remember our bravehearts and thank all those who care for our soldiers and for the Nation. Jai Jawan

Regards – S. Sampathkumar

16^th Feb 2019.

PS : I may not have captured all those good souls who have tried to respond showing their care and concern – this is a small dose that Nation is concerned – and hopefully, the Sidhus of the Nation are negligible and are taken care of .. !!

Nation mourns Pulwama ~ some reactions ! - moksha dweepam at Thiruvallikkeni

14th Feb (2019) would remain ever a dark day for the Nation ~ we mourn those heroes who were martyred in a dastardly attack  .. .. it is an attack on the Nation, shocking to see the blood and skin of our brethren killed in action. In the wake of the Pulwama attack in Jammu and Kashmir, social media has been flooded with messages paying tribute to the CRPF personnel who lost their lives in the blast.

First Kashmir, it not what it is portrayed it to be ~  it has a glorious history .. ..  Utpala dynasty, a Kashmiri Hindu kingdom, ruled over the Kashmir region from 8th to 10th century CE. The kingdom was established by Avanti Varman, ending the rule of Karkota dynasty in 855 CE.  The cities of Avantipur and Suyapur were founded during the reign and many Hindu temples dedicated to both Vishnu and Shiva.  Pulwama (known as Panwangam in antiquity] is around 40 km (25 mi) from the summer capital of Srinagar. Pulwama is often called the "Anand of Kashmir" or "Dudha-Kul of Kashmir" on account of its high milk production.   The district is famous for Archeological monuments especially those left by Raja Avantivarman.  Kashmir towards the end of last century became barren and devoid as Kashmiri pundits were driven out in pogrom

Things have worsened and on 14^th Feb 2019, in a  first major terror attack in three years, more than 45 CRPF personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district when a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist rammed an explosive-laden car into the bus they were travelling in on Thursday afternoon. JeM claimed responsibility for the attack and identified the bomber as a local terrorist.   How many papers had this on this first page and how was it worded – were the terrorists ? – was the killing denounced ? – and did they Pak was behind !! – now you know your media and those Secularists who had ‘save Syria’ in their profile ! – how many of them have ‘our Army or save Kashmir’ in their profile now.  We have been following some false heroes for their tinseldom actions and believing them to be good – how many of them tweeted condemning the killings – where are they hiding ? – why so many are silent – has not the killing shaken them !!  - sad.

India today withdrew the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status it had accorded Pakistan in trade in a move to “isolate’’ the country following Thursday’s terrorist attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir that killed about  CRPF officers. “The government will now identify items imported from Pakistan on which duties can be raised since it is no longer bound by the MFN rules. Other measures such as import ban and port restrictions will also be considered. This exercise will be carried out at the highest level,” a government official  communicated. 

Massive anti-Pakistan protests rocked different parts of the country in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack in which at least 37 Central Reserve Police Force personnel lost their lives. It was organized at Thiruvallikkeni too ~ surprisingly Police denied permission for a procession till neighbouring Thiruvatteeswaranpet and denied usage of mikes too.

             In Jammu, demonstrations and candle light marches were held at dozens of places. Another protest took place in Bhopal by the workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who also expressed their grief over the loss of lives.  There were many in every other part of the Nation. At Thiruvallikkeni divyadesam at 7.15 pm, Hindu Munnani organized a walk mourning the death of Indian soldiers, condemning Pak and terrorism, and all those who support terrorist organizations.  The procession wound through the mada streets and ended with ‘moksha dweepam’ lit in front of the Temple.

The Jaish-e-Mohammad, the consistent author terrorist  attacks in Kashmir, has shaken off the shackles placed on it by prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s government in Pakistan. This sunrise will have consequences in Kashmir, and beyond. Pulwama attack ominous sign for Valley as US withdrawal from Afghanistan may mean advantage Pakistan.  Pakistan is being rewarded by the Donald Trump administration for sponsoring cross-border terrorism. The deal with the Afghan Taliban is not possible without Rawalpindi’s support. Behind the words lie a lethal reality: for months now, the Jaish has been blossoming in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s not-so-naya Pakistan, systematically expanding its infrastructure and capabilities. A day after 40 CRPF jawans were martyred when explosive-laden SUV rammed into one of the buses out of a 70-vehicle CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu said: "Terrorism has no religion, no nation". Sidhu also said only talks can resolve India's differences with Pakistan. Sidhu's comment is in sharp contrast to what his party earlier put up on media, though Congress is known to speak in too many voices.

Attacking Sidhu for he what he deemed an "inappropriate comment", retired Major General GD Bakshi said Sidhu has not faced what the CRPF has, what men in uniform routinely do in conflict areas. Bakshi called Sidhu's comment "shameful". He is not only receiving a backlash from his opponents, but also from Twitterati who are asking fans to boycott The Kapil Sharma Show and Sony TV to kick Sidhu out of the show.  .. concluding about the media, a  Deputy News Editor of NDTV tweeted against the Nation supporting Jaish and NDTV promptly suspended Nidhi Sethi  for 2 weeks – that speaks volumes of what they are !!

Irrespective of what the famed cine stars of Bollywood and Tamil tinseldom tweet or be silent,  paying no heed to those campaigners of ‘save Syria’ – we mourn the death of the great sons of the motherland who have once again given their present to save our future.  This day, if you had eaten well and going to sleep well, it is because of such great souls and it is our bounden duty to mourn them.

Jai Jawan .. .. long live our soldiers – Mera Bharat mahan hai.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

15^th Feb 2019.

Pulwama of Utpala dynasty ~ sad killing of 40 CRPF in Kashmir

14^th Feb (2019) would remain ever a dark day for the Nation ~ we mourn those heroes who were martyred in a dastardly attack today !

Pic credit : https://www.news18.com/

Utpala dynasty, a Kashmiri Hindu kingdom, ruled over the Kashmir region from 8th to 10th century CE. The kingdom was established by Avanti Varman, ending the rule of Karkota dynasty in 855 CE.  The cities of Avantipur and Suyapur were founded during the reign and many Hindu temples dedicated to both Vishnu and Shiva and Buddhist monasteries were built, notable of which is the Avantiswara and Avantiswami temples.  King Avantivarman  who founded the dynasty ruled between  855 to 883 CE.

Pulwama (known as Panwangam in antiquity] is a town and a notified area committee in Pulwama districtin Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is around 40 km (25 mi) from the summer capital of Srinagar. Pulwama is often called the "Anand of Kashmir" or "Dudha-Kul of Kashmir"  on account of its high milk production.  Pulwama being a part of the beautiful valley is bounded by Srinagar in the North by Budgam and Poonch Districts the west and by Anantnag Districts in the South and East. The District was formed in 1979 by separation of Tehsils Pulwama, Shopian and Tral of District Anantnag. The total area of the district is 1090 Sq Kms as per Census 2011, the district consists of 331 villages including 08 un-inhabitated.

The district is famous for Archeological monuments especially those left by Raja Avantivarman.   The climate in the district is temperate with mercury going 30o C in summer and below freezing point in winter.  The district is reported to be one of the pretty spots on the earth, because of its congenial climate, innumerable springs streams, water falls, fragrant flowers, delicious fruits and other natural sceneries. Besides District Pulwama is famous all over the world for saffron cultivation which is mainly grown in Karewa lands of Pampore, Kakapora and Pulwama Blocks. Agriculture is the main occupation of people.

Today, it is in news for all wrong reasons ~ more than 40 army men killed. .. ..   In a first major terror attack in three years, at least 39 CRPF personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district when a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist rammed an explosive-laden car into the bus they were travelling in on Thursday afternoon. JeM has claimed responsibility for the attack and identified the bomber as a local militant. In a telephonic call to a local news agency, Jaish has identified the suicide bomber at Adil Ahmad, a resident of Gundi bagh in Pulwama. The bus was part of an army convoy coming from Jammu to Srinagar. It is the deadliest attack in the state since the 2016 Uri attack.

Terming the attack as despicable, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the sacrifices of security personnel will not go in vain. He also spoke with Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other top officials in the wake of the attack. The Centre has dispatched teams of NIA and NSG with forensic experts to Srinagar to assist Jammu and Kashmir Police in forensic evaluation of the scene of the crime.

Expressing condolences to families of the deceased in the Pulwama terror attack, the Embassy of Russian Federation said they denounce terrorism in all its forms and reiterated the need to combat these inhuman acts with decisive and collective response without any double standards, ANI reported.

A very sad day for the Nation !

With profound grief- S. Sampathkumar

14^th Feb 2019.

Feb 14 ~ Capt Cook .. .. to Coimbatore blasts

Feb. 14^th ~ why attach any significance when none exists !!

When it commenced it voyage, sure none would have ever dreamt of the quagmire that the vessel was to encounter…. It was the tanker MV EnricaLexie  on voyage from Singapore to Egypt with a crew of 34 including 19 Indians ~ it had somebody special – the six Italian marines from the San Marco Regiment guarding the vessel.It entered to its way of notoriety when the Marines fired at a fishing trawler named St. Antony that  had left Neendakara in Keralawith a crew of 11 to fish for tuna.  On that fateful day of 15th Feb 2012,  the shooting and killing of Indian fishermen occurred closer to shores of Kerala and soon there were different versions on the incident and the place of occurrence. It was sad death for Ajesh Pink and Valentine aka Gelastine, natives of Tamil Nadu and Kerala respectively,  shot dead by Italian marines of the Reggimento San Marco, Marina Militare.

With mushrooming of Corporate MNCs, there is globalisation and lot to learn from what happens around the globe.  In the past few years lot has been done to promote 14th Feb – as many ensure pushing their sales. Globally, there are lot of apps on the market for young folks in search of love: Tinder, Bumble, and OkCupid, to name a few- all aiming at potential mates judge one another based on looks. Times reports that Willow, a new app hitting the App Store  is seeking a different approach.  It reportedly fills the void in match-making !

Miles away, NASA made a last ditch attempt trying to revive Mars rover Opportunity, before calling it quits. The rover has been silent for eight months, victim of one of the most intense dust storms in decades. Thick dust darkened the sky last summer and, for months, blocked sunlight from the spacecraft's solar panels. So now on 14^th Feb, Opportunity is officially dead.  During a press conference, NASA said that Opportunity hadn't responded to a last-ditch effort Tuesday to establish contact. A planet-encircling dust storm cut off communications with Opportunity on June 10, 2018, preventing its solar panels from storing power. Since then, over 830 rescue commands had been beamed to the rover. On Tuesday night, despite the transmission of commands and Billie Holiday's I'll Be Seeing You to Mars via the Deep Space Network, the rover couldn't be roused. NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said during a press conference that with a sense of deep appreciation and gratitude, they declare the Opportunity Mission as complete.  

Opportunity was, by far, the longest-lasting lander on Mars. Besides endurance, the six-wheeled rover set a roaming record of 28 miles (45 kilometers.) Its identical twin, Spirit, was pronounced dead in 2011, a year after it got stuck in sand and communication ceased. Both outlived and outperformed expectations, on opposite sides of Mars. The golf cart-size rovers were designed to operate as geologists for just three months, after bouncing onto our planetary neighbour inside cushioning air bags in Jan 2004.

Captain James Cook FRS (1728 - 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.  In three voyages, Cook sailed thousands of miles across largely uncharted areas of the globe. He mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean in greater detail and on a scale not previously achieved. Cook was attacked and killed in 1779 during his third exploratory voyage in the Pacific while attempting to kidnap Kalaniʻōpuʻu, a Hawaiian chief.  He left a legacy of scientific and geographical knowledge which influenced his successors well into the 20th century, and numerous memorials worldwide have been dedicated to him.  In 1779, his attempted kidnapping of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, the ruling chief of the island of Hawaii and the decision to hold him in exchange for a stolen long boat (lifeboat) was the fatal error of Cook's final voyage, and ultimately led to his death.Cook's arrival in Hawaii was followed by mass migrations of Europeans and Americans to the islands that ended with the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the aboriginal monarchy of the islands.

Over 240 years ago, on the morning of 14.2.1779,   Cook and his men launched from Resolution along with a company of armed marines. They went directly to the ruling chief's enclosure where Kalaniʻōpuʻu was still sleeping, and tried kidnapping him.  Cook's men and the British Marines were confronted on the beach and was killed in the melee.  That occurred on Feb 14, not known as Valentine’s Day at that time. 

It was on this day, Feb 14, 1998 that Coimbatore was subjected to the most devastating attack of terrorist bombings Tamil Nadu has ever witnessed. On Saturday, February 14, going by the official accounts,  58 people were killed and over 200 injured in the 12 bomb attacks in 11 places, all within a 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) radius. Several bombs that failed to detonate were defused by the bomb disposal squads of the Army, the National Security Guards and the Tamil Nadu Commando School. An abandoned car laden with a horrifying 70 kg of explosives, discovered on East Lokamanya Street in R.S. Puram, close to the BJP meeting venue, gave cause for much anxiety for days until the complicated device was dismantled.

Within hours of the blasts, the Tamil Nadu Government banned Al-Umma and the Jihad Committee. Al-Umma founder-president S.A. Basha and 12 other members of the organisation were arrested in Chennai; explosive materials and weapons were seized from his house in Triplicane, Chennai. A judicial committee formed  in Apr 2000 under Justice P.R. Gokulakrishnan to probe the case confirmed that Al Ummah was responsible for the attacks.  Hundreds of innocents lost their lives, thousands lost their livelihood – and this day continues to haunt them all.

With grief ..

14^th Feb 2019.