[Assam] Hotel Taj: Icon of whose India?

[Chan Mahanta]

Hi Mridul:

My two cents:

The Indian political rot has many deep rooted, enduring and systemic 
reasons. Simple switching  of one system to another, however, will be 
of little use, just like changing of ruling parties thru the ritual 
of desi-voting  produces no change either. Having said that I DO 
believe that an executive form of government and a truly federal 
system with real autonomies for the components of the union hold the 
only hope for survival and prosperity of the subcontinent.

The key phrases here are: Truly federal & truly autonomous. 
Make-believe autonomy as is currently practised in India is really a 
system of extreme bribery combined with a feudal and colonial notions 
which may be useful in the short run to suppress the discontent but 
is entirely unsustainable and destined to  doom.

What my layman's observations lead me think as essential are two 
issues, that can be and should be
attacked immediately, and there is no reason why they couldn't be are:

	A: Educating the people about self-governance, democratic 
values and citizens' roles
	and responsibilities. These things do not come imprinted on 
the genes of people. It is
                    learned. But Indians, by and large, even its most 
well informed and educated are clueless
	about these. No wonder then, they are absent from 
contributing constructively to their
	collective well-being thru reformed governance. I see this as 
the single most  urgent and
	important undertaking towards a better future.

	B: Reforming and strengthening the institutions of democracy 
can begin immediately.
	There is enough of an informed intelligentsia to be able to 
undertake them . But requires
	an UNDERSTANDING of WHY this is important.  This can be 
accomplished by a concerted
	national dialog. With the wide reach of media  it is 
eminently possible.

>Do not worry about those who have come thru boats...
>Our forces can easily defeat them.
>
>WORRY about those who have come thru votes....
>Many of those are our REAL ENEMIES


*** The play of words here not withstanding, it does have merit. But 
again-the politicians are representatives of the people. If they do 
not represent them, then there must be something AWFULLY WRONG  with 
how they are selected/elected to represent them. Isn't that basic? 
As they say, garbage in, garbage out. So the system must be 
overhauled will be the simple answer.  But WHO will do it?

More later.



c-da









At 12:47 AM -0800 12/6/08, Mridul Bhuyan wrote:
>While contemplating this great disease that India is suffering, I 
>sometimes think that the federal system (like in US), where the 
>Chief Executive is voted directly by the ppl seems to be suitable 
>for India. That system. in addition provides enough autonomy to the 
>states, which may, in some way soothe the demands for secession by 
>many states of India like (Kashmir, Assam, Nagaland etc.). What 
>is your & Assamnet's view on the above??? Somebody sent me a thought 
>of the day:
>
>
>Thought of the day
>
>
>
>Do not worry about those who have come thru boats...
>Our forces can easily defeat them.
>
>WORRY about those who have come thru votes....
>Many of those are our REAL ENEMIES
>
>
>
>"A group of donkeys lead by lion can defeat a group of lions lead by Donkey".
>
>Rgds
>
>Mridul
>
>--- On Fri, 12/5/08, Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net> wrote:
>
>From: Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net>
>Subject: Re: [Assam] Hotel Taj: Icon of whose India?
>To: mridul_mb at yahoo.com, "A Mailing list for people interested in 
>Assam from around the world" <assam at assamnet.org>, "Chan Mahanta" 
><cmahanta at charter.net>
>Date: Friday, December 5, 2008, 7:25 PM
>
>Well said Mridul. I am glad to see that you took the trouble to 
>think and analyze the issues, even though it would have been far 
>easier to go chest-thumping to display your 'patriotism'.
>
>  >At the end, I feel very frustrated not because of this incident 
>and handling of the same by the Indian >security agencies, but 
>because of the fact that I do not foresee any substantial 
>improvement in future in >similar scenario with the present 
>political set up we have in place, where the whole 
>bandwagon of >politicians irrespective of the caste & creed looks 
>similar to me and carry no hope.
>
>
>I agree. But let us NOT forget who the 'politicians' are. They are a 
>reflection of society and an integral part of it; not some alien 
>beings imposed on the people by malevolent foreign forces out to 
>destroy India from within, Trojan Horse like.
>
>The thinking Indian ought to be asking WHAT is wrong with their 
>system of governance and how to fix it, along with seeking and 
>finding what has been causing the escalating violence and how to 
>eliminate the causes.
>
>c-da
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>At 10:47 PM -0800 12/4/08, Mridul Bhuyan wrote:
>
>>As I have heard from some of those held hostage in Hotel Taj, the 
>>Automatic Sprinkler system was working as they confessed to be 
>>drenched by water because of that after the fire while lying on the 
>>floor.
>>
>
>
>After every terrorist attacks in India, irrespective of the 
>evidence, the media as well as the Govt. indulges in blaming 
>Pakistan for all that happens and thereby the credibility of the 
>media & Govt. are always in question.
>
>
>
>The hotel staffers, the common man and the security forces no doubt 
>bravely faced the terrorist attacks, but handling of the hostages in 
>Nriman House, Hotel Trident & Taj by NSG, in my opinion is not up to 
>the mark, compared to their counterparts in Israeil & USA. However, 
>I don't blame them as they were not equipped with all the modern 
>equipments that were necessary.
>
>
>
>During interview with one of the NSG commandos injured in the 
>attack, the commamdo said that while tackling the terrorists in 
>Hotel Taj, due to non-availability of a layout, they took help from 
>the hotel staff. While searching the rooms one after another, before 
>entering one room, one of the hotel staffers warned him to be 
>careful as he said that there is something wrong in this room, which 
>turned out to be one of the rooms, where two of the terrorists were 
>holed up and the NSG commando got injured in the ensuing 
>retalliation. That proves that even before the attack took place, 
>the hotel staffers were aware of the fact that in some of the rooms 
>something abnormal was going on. All the explosives were not carried 
>by the terrorists with them, while those were stored in some of the 
>rooms, rented long before the terrorist attacks. However, the 
>investigating agencies are not that keen to explore the 
>possibilities about the role being played by some of the local hands.
>
>
>
>At the end, I feel very frustrated not because of this incident and 
>handling of the same by the Indian security agencies, but because of 
>the fact that I do not foresee any substantial improvement in future 
>in similar scenario with the present political set up we have in 
>place, where the whole bandwagon of politicians irrespective of the 
>caste & creed looks similar to me and carry no hope.
>
>
>
>May God save us and India.
>
>
>
>Rgds
>
>Mridul Bhuyan
>
>--- On Thu, 12/4/08, Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net> wrote:
>
>From: Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net>
>Subject: Re: [Assam] Hotel Taj: Icon of whose India?
>To: mridul_mb at yahoo.com, "A Mailing list for people interested in 
>Assam from around the world" <assam at assamnet.org>
>Date: Thursday, December 4, 2008, 8:07 PM
>
>You raise some very pertinent points here Mridul. I am not one to
>jump into conspiracy theories, but I know, and we all ought to know,
>that NOT everything IS what it SEEMS to be.
>
>
>The Mumbai attackers could very well be LeT cadres, originating from
>Pakistani territory and they could very well have been trained by
>present or past Pak Military personnel or ISI.
>
>But the series of disclosures from Indian "investigators"  and govt.
>officials don't  either add up or are entirely credible to all but
>the tone-deaf or the simple-minded . I can accept that a critical
>piece of the puzzle--say the death of Karkare/Kamte/Salaskar  early
>in the episode is one of those improbable but real co-incidences. But
>there are number of  points here that defy ordinary credibility.
>
>Finally, I still can't believe that the Mumbai police or its
>Fire-Prevention people had NO knowledge of or access to the layout of
>its most famous and "IMPORTANT"  hotel; more so because the Owner,
>Ratan Tata studied architecture and is fairly well-known about his
>interest in architecture while the attackers were ' by the govt's.
>own admission, very conversant with it. There is such a thing as
>creating as-built drawings in the architectural profession. No hotel
>housekeeping manager can run a place without up-to-date plans. What
>it can  mean are:
>
>        A: There were local accomplices, or scouts  who scoped out
>the place ahead of time and
>    familiarized themselves without having the benefit of floor
>plans. Therefore these are far
>        more intelligent and resourceful people than Mumbai's own
>safety officials; who should have
>       been very familiar with the facility and should have had
>floor plans at their offices. The
>         explanation offered by someone, obviously an idiot of the ilk
>of Indian officialdom, that there
>   were no plans because it was such an old facility, is
>entirely unbelievable.
>
>      B: That the govt. is releasing only what suits its propaganda
>purposes. That there is more to
>     everything than meets the eye.
>
>   C: From all the reports that we see day-in and day-out,
>Indian police and military
>        "investigators"  must be the best and most effective in the
>world, since they can extract
>         information and confessions from the most notorious and
>nefarious of criminals they 'nab'.
>        So, why should anyone doubt  anything they tell the world. Right?
>
>        If you believe that, as they say here in the USA, I have
>prime piece of land to sell you in the
>   Nevada deserts ( that you are utterly gullible).
>
>
>The fires that incinerated so many, including the hotel GM's family
>brings up another question: Was there any automatic fire sprinkler
>system in the hotel?  Does not sound as though there was. No modern
>hotel facility  that charges room rates higher than fancy hotels in
>NY,Singapore, London etc. can be imagined to  be without it.
>
>Here is a pointer to our fellow men: If you go stay in some fancy
>hotel like this, never forget to inquire if there is an automatic
>fire-sprinkler system in the facility. Hotels and high-rise dwellings
>around the world have an unenvious history of suffering from the
>worst infernos.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>At 9:27 PM -0800 12/3/08, Mridul Bhuyan wrote:
>>This is quite an interesting piece with some really valid points.
>>The role of the media while covering the attacks are definitely we
>>should look into. The credibility of the socalled outstanding
>>journalists are in question.
>>
>>Some of the points woth mentioning about the terror attacks are:
>>
>>1. Except the admission by the captured terrorist, the items used by
>>the terrorists bearing 'Made in Pakistan' marks and satelite phone
>>intercepts, what other proofs are available to show Pakistan's
>>involvement? Are they enough to indulge in mudslinging accusing
>>Pakistan of its involvement, as done by many popular channels long
>>before the evidences collected by Police? This has resulted in
>>immediate reaction from the Pak media and the whole seriousness of
>>the matter got diluted.
>>
>>2. When the Indian media will be matured enough to realise that
>>while an operation is in progress there are limits to which the
>>media coverage should be limited to?
>>
>>3. During the joint press conference with US Secretary of state,
>>Pranab Mukherjee mentioned about all the terror attacks recently
>>including Jaipur. However, he never ever mentioned even the name of
>
>  >the Guwahati incident? Not a single Indian mentioned about the bomb
>>blasts in Guwahati showing that they don't care about the Bomb
>>blasts in Assam.
>>
>>4. In a panel discussion, by ND TV, the famous celebrities in the
>>likes of Simi Garewal, Ness Wadia (Bombay Dyeing) etc. and in the
>>mass rally, likes of Preity Jinta , Prahlad Kakkar (Ad film maker)
>>have expressed faith in their famous Mumbaikar Spirit (What is that?
>>Is it something that while partying, it is Mumbaikar spirit and
>>while attacked by terrorist, it is Indian spirit waiting for 9 hours
>>for NSG to reach).
>>
>>5. The timing of the blast suits whom, while elections to about 5/6
>>states are being held.
>>
>>6. Who will benefit the most out of these terrorist attacks?? Let
>>the election results come in.
>  >
>>7.  How the top brass of the India security like Heman Karkare,
>>Kamte & Salaskar got killed even before the counter attacks against
>>the terrorist began. Is there any link with the investigations of
>>Malegaon blasts???
>>
>>These are some of the vital points, which needs to be deliberated
>>upon seriously in the aftermath of the terrorists strike in Mumbai.
>>
>>Rgds
>>Mridul Bhuyan
>>
>>--- On Wed, 12/3/08, baruah at bard.edu <baruah at bard.edu> wrote:
>>
>>From: baruah at bard.edu <baruah at bard.edu>
>>Subject: [Assam] Hotel Taj: Icon of whose India?
>>To: assam at assamnet.org
>>Date: Wednesday, December 3, 2008, 4:51 PM
>>
>>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>From: girish karnawat <girishkarnawat at gmail.com>
>>Date: 2 Dec 2008 15:44
>>Subject: Hotel Taj: Icon of whose India?
>>
>>Hotel Taj: Icon of whose India?
>>
>>Gnani Sankaran- Tamil writer, Chennai.
>>
>>   Watching at least four English news channels, surfing from one another
>during
>>the last 60 hours of terror strike made me feel a terror of another kind,
>the
>>terror of assaulting one's mind and sensitivity with cameras, sound
>bites
>>and non-stop blabbers. All these channels have been trying to manufacture
>my
>>consent for a big lie called - Hotel Taj the icon of India
>>
>>   Whose India, Whose Icon?
>>
>>   It is a matter of great shame that these channels simply did not bother
>about
>>the other icon that faced the first attack from terrorists - the
>Chatrapathi
>>Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station. CST is the true icon of Mumbai. It
>is
>>through this railway station hundreds of Indians from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
>>Rajasthan, West Bengal and Tamilnadu have poured into Mumbai over the
>years,
>>transforming themselves  into Mumbaikars and built the Mumbai of today
>along
>>with the Marathis and Kolis
>>
>>   But the channels would not recognise this. Nor would they recognise
>>the thirty
>>odd dead bodies strewn all over the platform of CST. No Barkha Dutt went
>there
>>to tell us who they were. But she was at Taj to show us the damaged
>furniture
>>and reception lobby braving the guards. And the TV cameras did not go to
>the
>>government run JJ hospital to find out who those 26 unidentified bodies
>were.
>>Instead they were again invading the battered Taj to try in vain for a
>scoop
>>shot of the dead bodies of the page 3 celebrities.
>>
>>    In all probability, the unidentified bodies could be those of workers
>from
>>Bihar and Uttar Pradesh migrating to Mumbai, arriving by train at CST
>without
>>cell phones and pan cards to identify them. Even after 60 hours after the
>CST
>>massacre, no channel has bothered to cover in detail what transpired there.
>>
>>The channels conveniently failed to acknowledge that the  Aam Aadmis of
>India
>>surviving in Mumbai were not affected by  Taj, Oberoi and Trident closing
>down
>>for a couple of weeks  or months. What mattered to them was the
>>stoppage of BEST
>>buses and suburban trains even for one hour. But the channels were
>>not covering
>>that aspect of the terror attack.  Such information at best merited a
>scroll
>>line, while the cameras have to be dedicated for real time thriller
>>unfolding at
>>Taj or Nariman Bhavan.
>>
>>   The so called justification for the hype the channels built around
>heritage
>>site Taj falling down (CST is also a heritage site), is that Hotel
>>Taj is where
>>the rich and the powerful of India and the globe congregate. It is a symbol
>
>or
>>icon of power of money and politics, not India. It is the icon of
>>the financiers
>>and swindlers of India. The Mumbai and India were built by the Aam Aadmis
>who
>>passed through CST and Taj was the oasis of peace and privacy for those who
>>wielded power over these mass of labouring classes. Leopold  club and Taj
>were
>>the haunts of rich spoilt kids who would   drive their vehicles over
>sleeping
>>Aam Aadmis on the  pavement, the Mafiosi of Mumbai forever financing the
>>glitterati of Bollywood (and also the terrorists) ,  Political brokers and
>>industrialists
>>
>>   It is precisely because Taj is the icon of power and not people that the
>>terrorists chose to strike.
>>   The terrorists have understood after several efforts that the Aam Aadmi
>will
>>never break down even if you bomb her markets and trains. He/she was
>resilient
>>because that is the only way he/she can even survive.
>>
>>    Resilience was another word that annoyed the pundits of news channels
>and
>>their patrons this time.  What resilience, enough is enough, said Pranoy
>>Roy's channel on the left side of the channel spectrum. Same sentiments
>were
>>echoed by Arnab Goswami representing the right wing of the broadcast
>>media whose
>>time is now. Can Rajdeep be far behind in this game of one-upmanship
>>over TRPs ?
>>They all attacked resilience this time. They wanted firm action from the
>>government in tackling terror
>>
>>   The same channels celebrated resilience when bombs went off in trains and
>>markets killing and maiming the Aam Aadmis. The resilience of the ordinary
>>worker suited the rich business class of Mumbai since work or manufacture
>or
>>film shooting did not stop. When it came to them, the rich
>>shamelessly exhibited
>>their lack of nerves and refused to be resilient themselves. They cry for
>>government intervention now to protect their private spas and
>>swimming pools and
>>bars and restarants, similar to the way in which Citibank, General Motors
>and
>>the ilk cry for government money when their coffers are emptied by their
>own
>>ideologies
>>
>>The terrorists have learnt that the ordinary Indian is unperturbed by
>terror.
>>For one whose daily existence itself is a terror of government sponsored
>>inflation and market sponsored exclusion, pain is something he has learnt
>to
>>live with. The rich of Mumbai and India Inc are facing the pain for the
>first
>>time and learning about it just as the middle classes of India learnt about
>>violation of human rights only during emergency, a cool 28 years after
>>independence.
>>
>>   And human rights were another favourite issue for the channels to whip at
>>times of terrorism.
>>Arnab Goswami in an animated voice wondered where were those
>>champions of human
>>rights now, not to be seen applauding the brave and selfless police
>>officers who
>>gave up their life in fighting terrorism. Well, the counter question would
>be
>>where were you when such officers were violating the human rights of
>>Aam Aadmis.
>>Has there ever been any 24 hour non stop coverage of violence
>>against dalits and
>>adivasis of this country?
>>
>>   This definitely was not the time to manufacture consent for the extra
>legal
>>and third degree methods of interrogation of police and army but Arnabs
>>don't miss a single opportunity to serve their class masters, this time
>the
>>jingoistic patriotism came in handy to whitewash the entire
>>uniformed services.
>>
>>   The sacrifice of the commandos or the police officers who went down dying
>at
>>the hands of ruthless terrorists is no doubt heart rending but in vain in a
>>situation which needed not just bran but also brain. Israel has a
>>point when it
>>says the operations were misplanned resulting in the death of its nationals
>>here.
>>
>>Kakares and Salaskars would not be dead if they did not commit the mistake
>of
>>travelling by the same vehicle. It is a basic lesson in management
>>that the top
>>brass should never travel together in crisis. The terrorists, if only they
>had
>>watched the channels, would have laughed their hearts out when the
>>Chief of the
>>Marine commandos, an elite force, masking his face so unprofessionally in a
>>see-through cloth, told the media that the commandos had no idea about the
>
>  >structure of the Hotel Taj which they were trying to liberate. But the
>>terrorists knew the place thoroughly, he acknowledged.
>>
>>   Is it so difficult to obtain a ground plan of Hotel Taj and discuss
>operation
>>strategy thoroughly for at least one hour before entering? This is
>something
>>even an event manager would first ask for, if he had to fix 25 audio
>>systems and
>>50 CCtvs for a cultural event in a hotel. Would not Ratan Tata have
>provided a
>>plan of his ancestral hotel to the commandos within one hour considering
>the
>>mighty apparatus at his and government's disposal?  Are satellite
>pictures
>>only available for terrorists and not the government agencies?  In
>>an operation
>  >known to consume time, one more hour for preparation would have only
>improved
>>the efficiency of execution.
>>
>>   Sacrifices become doubly tragic in unprofessional circumstances. But the
>Aam
>>Aadmis always believe that terror-shooters do better planning than
>terrorists.
>>And the gullible media in a jingoistic mood would not raise any question
>about
>>any of these issues.  They after all have their favourite whipping boy ?
>the
>>politician the eternal entertainer for the non-voting rich classes of
>India.
>>
>>   Arnabs and Rajdeeps would wax eloquent on Manmohan Singh and Advani
>visiting
>>Mumbai separately and not together showing solidarity even at this hour of
>>national crisis.  What a farce? Why can't these channels pool together
>all
>>their camera crew and reporters at this time of national calamity
>>and share the
>>sound and visual bites which could mean a wider and deeper coverage of
>events
>>with such a huge
>>   human resource to command?   Why should Arnab and Rajdeep and Barkha keep
>>harping every five minutes that this piece of information was
>>exclusive to their
>>channel, at the time of such a national crisis? Is this the time to
>>promote the
>>channel? If that is valid, the politician promoting his own political
>>constituency is equally valid. And the duty of the politician is to
>>do politics,
>>his politics. It is for the people to evaluate that politics
>>
>>   And terrorism is not above politics. It is politics by other means.
>>To come to
>>grips with it and to eventually eliminate it, the practice of
>>politics by proper
>>means needs constant fine tuning and improvement. Decrying all politics and
>>politicians, only helps terrorists and dictators who are the two sides of
>the
>>same coin. And the rich and powerful always prefer terrorists and dictators
>to
>>do business with.
>>
>>Those caught in this crossfire are always the Aam Aadmis whose deaths are
>not
>>even mourned - the taxi driver who lost the entire family at CST firing,
>the
>>numerous waiters and stewards who lost their lives working in Taj
>>for a monthly
>>salary that would be one time bill for their masters.
>>
>>Postscript: In a fit of anger and depression, I sent a message to all the
>>channels, 30 hours through the coverage.  After all they have been
>constantly
>>asking the viewers to message them for anything and everything. My
>>message read:
>>I send this with lots of pain. All channels, including yours, must
>>apologise for
>>not covering the victims of CST massacre, the real mumbaikars and
>>aam aadmis of
>>India. Your obsession with five star elite is disgusting. Learn from the
>print
>>media please.  No channel bothered. Only srinivasan Jain replied:
>>you are right.
>>We are trying to redress balance today. Well, nothing happened till
>>the time of
>>writing this 66 hours after the terror attack.
>>
>>
>>
>>--Girish Dariyav Karnawat
>>
>>--Groupe SCE India Pvt ltd
>>Bangalore
>>Karnataka
>>INDIA
>>
>>
>>--Arpita Das
>>Co-founder and Publisher
>>YODA PRESS
>>Editorial address: 9519, c9, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110 070
>>Permanent mailing address: 268 Sector A, Pocket C, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi
>110
>>070
>>Tel.: 91-11-41787201
>>e-mail: arpita at yodapress.com, arpitadasribeiro at gmail.com
>>
>>
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