Best and Worst of India 2008!

Here is a wrap of the best and worst of 2008:

1. Best Indian achievement in sports: Abhinav Bindra became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic games.

2. Best entertainment of the year: IPL matches (Twenty 20) matches kicked off in India. Aired in Set Max, it was the most watched TV event 2008. Indian premiere league matches commenced on April 18 2008 and culminated on June 1, 2008. The most unexpected team or the under-dog Rajasthan Royal won the IPL series under the captaincy of Shane Warne.

3. Worst natural disaster in India: The 2008 Bihar flood is the worst flood in the history of Bihar. It happened due to a breach in the Kosi embankment near Indo-Nepal border (at a place called Kusha in Nepal) on 18th August 2008. The river changed its course and t he flood affected over 2.3 million people in the northern part of the state of Bihar.

4. Worst man made disaster in India: The terror attack on 26/11 in Mumbai is supposed to be the worst terror attack in India, second only to 9/11. Terrorists from Pakistan attacked Mumbai CST, took siege of Taj hotel and Trident-Oberoi hotel from 11 pm 26th November 2008. Brave NSG commandoes came to rescue and gunned down all terrorists by 30th November' 2008. About 250 lives were lost in the terror attacks with many injured, and property worth 700 crores were destroyed.

5. Best movie of 2008: Ghajini, the Aamir Khan starrer proved to be the biggest hit of 2008. Ghajini is the only movie with the best advanced booking, running to packed houses in the history of Bollywood.

6. Best actor and actress of 2008: Aamir Khan's brilliant performance in Ghajini and Priyanka Chopra in Fashion.

7. Most watched TV reality show : The mother of all reality shows, Bigg Boss kicked off on August 17 th 2008 and ended on November 22' 2008. The high point of the show when Rahul Mahajan, Zulfi Syed, Raja Choudhary and Ashutosh Kaushik-the finalists, ran away from the house to search for food outside. Rahul later quit from the show. Eventually, Ashutosh Kaushik won the show.

8. Most watched TV channel: Colors Channel, replaced Star plus as the most watched channel. It kicked off with the dare devil game show for women: Khatron Ke Khiladi. Close on the heels was the widely watched Bigg Boss. Colors channels also had a good line up of serials like Balika Vadhu, Utran, Jaane Kya Baath Hui, Jai Shri Krishna and Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina. The channel is still going strong with innovative shows like Dancing Queen and Chotey Miya. The year 2008 also show two of the flagship Starplus serials, Kyunki Saans Bhi Bahu Thi and Kahan Ghar Ghar Ki, making an unceremonious exit.

9. Worst crime 2008: Arushi murder case was probably the worst murder case in the sense that it intrigued the police for months. On May 16, 2008, Arushi a 14 year old girl was found murdered with her throat slit her parents' home at Jalvayu Vihar in Noida, a posh suburb of Delhi. Her servant Hemraj who was initially suspected by the police was also found murdered on the terrace of her building. A disorganized, confused investigation by the Noida Police led to the arrest of Arushi's dentist father Rajesh Talwar. Rajesh's wife Dr. Nupur Talwar protested that her husband was frame and requested the UP government to transfer the case to CBI. The team finally arrested accused Krishna, Rajkumar and Vijay Mandal in connection with the murdered and absolved Rajesh Talwar of the murder charge. On August 9 2008, CBI director Ashwani Kumar said that the case is still unsolved, as many important corroborative pieces of evidence yet to be found. This was one murder case which was played to the top by the media and police; both whom were later blamed to giving hasty conclusion and indulging in character assassination of the slain Arushi and her father.

10. Best author of the year 2008: Booker Prize Winner Aravind Adiga made India proud as he became the Booker Prize Winner for his interesting book-The White Tiger.

11. Best achievement in the field of modelling, 2008: Parvathi Omanakuttan won the Miss World Runner Up Prize, at Johannesburg, South Africa on December 13, 2008.

12. Best advertisement of the year 2008: Max New York Life Insurance Company advertisement that has a newly married couple asking their toddler to say "banana" and "Czechoslovakia" became house-hold name.

13. Best achievement in the world of technology:Chandrayaan 1, India's first mission to the moon launched by India's national space agency the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 22 October 2008 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh at 06:22 IST (00:52 UTC).The vehicle was successfully inserted into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008.

Is 26 as an unlucky number for India? How terrorists make use of dates 13 and 26

We aint superstitious but planned or unplanned the number or date 26 seems to be unlucky for India. A lot of natural disasters and man made disasters have stuck India on the 26th of various months.


Gujarat Earthquake: 26th January 2001
Tsunami :26th December '2004
Mumbai Rains: July 26' 2005
Guwahati Blasts: May 26, 2007,
Ahmedabad blasts: September 26' 2008

There also seems to be a pattern on which terrorists attacks...the 13, 26 pattern. The Jaipur blasts was on May 13' 2006, then there was a gap of one month and the next bomb blast strike was in Ahmedabad on July 26. There was a gap on the month of August and there again there were blasts on September 13, followed by a gap in the month of October. November 26 witnessed terror attacks in Mumbai. So one can see a 13_26_13 pattern, leaving a gap each month. So, the security should not take any chances on January 13' 2009

City advocate to defend Ajmal Kasab

Arrested Pakistani terorist Mohammad Ajmal Kasab will be getting a lawyer to represent him in the next three days. K B N Lam, a Mumbai advocate who has been a a barrister at London's famous Lincoln's Inn and currently teaches law at Government Law College, Mumbai has moved in an application, showing his willingness to take Kasab's case. Lam says, " every accused has the rightto legal representation. It is not for the people or the police to decide who is guilty as it is the court's job. " Lam says that he has no sympathy for the terrorists who attacked Mumbai but he still felt that Kasab had to be "treated humanely in accordance with the tenets of our society".
He further says "There is no point in beating a man half-dead, no matter what his crime is." He adds that he will also explore if there is any possibility of allowing Kasab's family in Pakistan to come down and meet him. Lam has an impressive record of teaching mathematics and econometrics at the London School of Economics for six years.

Quotes from the peace march on Dec 3' 2008: one week after the terror attack

About 2 lakh assembled at the gate way of india-office goers, collegians, students, the elderly, children and film stars to pay homage to the ones who died and sacrificed their lives for the good of the nation in the terror attacks which began on 26th November' 2008. People clearly vented out their frustration against the politicians, the system and Pakistan. They applauded and edified the martyrs like Sandeep Unnikrishan who laid down their lives for the country.
Here are some of the fiery quotes that highlighted the peace march:


• Downgrade VIP security, upgrade Citizen security.
• I am proudly wearing my lipstick. Where are your bangles Naqvi? I am also proud of my brains. Too bad you do not have any.
• Politicans are like stray dogs. Kick them
• Abhi Toh raat hain, lekin savera door nahin hain
• Wake up netas or be killed.
• Jisne Taaj kaala kiya, uska moo ho kala
• Hang Afzal Guru
• Sunil Beta Pakistan, baap hain tera Hindustan
• Vilasrao don’t be a joker, you are our naukar.
• We do not believe in vote banks, only in blood banks.
• Gali gali mein shor hain, Pakistan chor hain
• Nation of lies, lead by dogs
• Terror came with RDX, Vilasrao came with RGV
• We would prefer a dog to visit our house, not a politican
• Politicans lied, innocent died
• Real eyes realize real lies
• Presenting Deshmurkh, directed by RGV, starring you know who
• Ram Gopal Verma ne doh sarkar banayee, ek gir gayee

One week after the terror attacks...Will life ever be the same?

The terror attacks which paralyzed Mumbai on 26/11/2008 has laid bare many weakness in our security system and governance of the country. Our policemen were weaponless, against the sophisticated weapons of the terrorists. Except for a valiant attempt by our officers to contain two terrorists at an encounter, we would have been groping in the dark to find the root of terror. Investigations have revealed that the coastline of our city is virtually unguarded which makes Mumbai a soft target. We also came to know about the substandard quality of bullet proof vests given to the police officers and encounter specialists. The lives of three prized police officers, Ashok Kamte, Hemant Karkare and Vijay Salaskar frittered away in a snap thanks to substandard bullet proof vests. It is shocking to know that 60 percent of the budget allocated to the government for police, is used for setting up administrative buildings and buying flashy cars, rather than spending on ammunition and protective gear for the police?

Our tacky judicial system, 'cure rather than prevention' methodology and a harrowed political system is responsible for our fate. We need to pull up our socks and take guard of our lives, so that we do not face terror attacks again.

Could there have been more than 10 terrorists?

Can the claims by the Mumbai police that just 10 terrorists managed to hold Mumbai hostage for three days be believed? The sequence of events, observations by top security experts, the Intelligence Bureau and also the confessions of the arrested militant now in the custody of the Mumbai police, indicate that the operation was carried out by more than 10 men.

To begin with let us take into account the statements given by Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman who the media has been calling Kasab all these days.

During his interrogation, he clearly states that in all 24 men were trained for this operation by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba for this attack. Further he suggests that 10 men came into Mumbai on that fateful night to carry out the attack.

During another round of interrogation, he also goes on to say that some of team members had come in much earlier to Mumbai and taken stock of the situation apart from collecting logistics and setting up the base for the final assault.

The arrested militant also says that these men had came a month ago to Mumbai. The men had rented a place on Muhammad Ali Road under the guise of Malaysian students. Another group took up a house on rent near the Nariman House, he also says during his confession. There was also a team which had checked into the Taj and done a study of the hotel.

Intelligence Bureau sources now confirm that the men who came into Mumbai earlier to set up base were completely different from the men who carried out the final assault. As per the brief given by the LeT, they were specifically asked to target the Taj Mahal hotel [Images], Trident and the Nariman House.

Statements by Amir Iman would also suggest that the 10-member team which he was part of had hijacked a fishing boat. They then rowed the boat to the Budhwar park in a dinghy. These men then took a taxi and spread out into different parts of the city. Iman along with Ismail reached the CST while the rest of the men spread out and caused havoc in other parts of the city.

The IB says that the 10 men split into three different groups and created havoc in CST, Chowpatty and Vile Parle areas. They also say that while this mayhem on the streets continued, the siege at the Taj, Nariman House and the Trident was carried out by the men who were already hiding in Mumbai. This gives an indication that the remaining 14 men apart from the 10 who came into Mumbai through the sea were taking position inside the three locations while their other team members were creating mayhem on the streets of Mumbai.

When the siege first commenced at the three locations, there were fourteen men in all who held fort at the Taj, Trident and Nariman House. Three men each took over the Nariman House and the Trident while 8 were allocated for the Taj considering the fact that it was the most important location for the terrorists. If you look at the initial statements of the police, it was said that they suspected that at least eight militants inside the Taj, but as the operation was coming to a close, the same police said that there were just four men inside the Taj.

While four men had initially taken position at the Taj, four more men joined them inside there. The IB says that these men were so well versed with the logistics of the Taj that they managed to enter through the back door while the firing was still on. It is believed that the men who were already inside the Taj opened fire indiscriminately at the guests and while this was on the remaining four men entered the hotel through the back door and took the hostages into their fold.

The question now is where are the four men who took over the Taj initially. The body count of terrorists recovered from the Taj shows that only four terrorists were found. It is believed that these men could have escaped from the Taj. It would also be interesting to point out here an eye witness account of a person by the name Apurva Parekh who said that he heard voices of three to four terrorists at the Trident which were different compared to the voices he heard at the same place earlier. This is a clear indication that the there were more than three men initially at the Trident and they could have escaped during the operation since the Mumbai police do not account for these additional men.

A top security expert told rediff.com that it is impossible for just ten men to carry out an attack of this magnitude. He feels that the Mumbai police is deliberately keeping the number at 10 as it would be hard for them explain as to where the remaining 14 men have vanished. He also said that it is not possible logistically for just 10 men to run to ten different locations opening fire, hurling grenades and also taking siege of three important locations in the city. Just look at the sequence of events:

At 9.15 they open fire at Leopold, 9.21 at CST, 9.57 at Trident, 10.03 at Taj, 10.25, Kolavadi, 10.50 CST again, 10.51, BMC, 10.59- Azad Maidan and Cama hospital, 11.19, G T Hospital, 12.35, Nariman House and 1.43- Chowpatty.

It is definitely an operation which involved at least two dozen men, he says.

The Mumbai ATS, however, denies that there were more than ten men involved in the operation. They are relying upon the account given by the fishermen who say that they saw 10 men on the boat entering Mumbai.

The IB says that they do not rule out the possibility of some of these men escaping from Mumbai and hiding in other states. The IB says that they do not want to take any chances and have sent out advisories to all states to provide additional security at all vital installations and also beef up patrolling on the borders.

Source: Rediff

The Top 20 Dangerous Places in the World, India among the Top 20 Dangerous Places in the World

In the wake of the recent terror attacks in Mumbai, India, which shook the world, a British government report has placed India among the top 20 most dangerous places to visit. This year, India witnessed maximum number of bomb blasts too. Here are the top 20 dangerous places in the world:

1. Iraq: The security situation in Iraq is very much volatile. The British foreign office has advised against all travel to Baghdad as well as a number of provinces including Basra and Kirkuk.

2. Afghanistan: Afghanistan has the highest threat of terrorism. Crimes like kidnapping, crimes, suicide attacks are the norm here. The foreign office(www.fco.gov.uk) strongly advises against all but essential travel to the country.

3. Chechnya: The foreign office has advised against all travel to Chechnya. Dagestan and Ingushetia because of the security situation in the North Caucasus.

4. South Africa: South Africa suffers from a high level of violent crimes, including rape and murder.

5. Jamaica: The capital of Jamaica, Kingston, has a bad reputation of gun crime and violence. Visitors are advised to remain vigilant in isolated rural areas and deserted beaches, even in daylight hours.

6. Sudan: The threat from indiscriminate terrorism is quite high in Sudan and the humanitarian situation is grim. The foreign office advises against all travel to a number of areas.

7. Thailand: Major political demonstrations and a temporary state of emergency have affected both of Bangkok's airports.

The other dangerous countries in the world are as follows(chronologically):

8. Colombia
9. Haiti
10. Eritrea
11. Congo
12. Liberia
13. Pakistan
14. Burundi
15. Nigeria
16.Zimbabwe
17. India
18. Mexico
19. Israel and Palestine
20. Lebanon

Also read: Is India heading the Iraq way?