With the continuing Ukraine war Putin is weakening Russia. He is exposing the vulnerabilities of the Russian military apparatus. This will be costly for him and his country in the long run. With the anniversary of the war behind him and no tangible signs of victory being seen, Putin is indirectly building another power centre within the countries that can be seen to be under the influence of Russia. With the West led by the US arming Ukraine, the country will emerge as a rallying point for those countries that are inimical to Russia in their region. With glasnost having dismantled the old USSR the Ukraine war may be the next turning point for the demise of Russia as a world power. Biden's sudden visit to Ukraine last week is also a slap in the face for Russian intelligence and to its leadership. Cosmetic gestures like pulling out of the nuclear treaties by Russia are only seen as petulant and have no real meaning. In the eyes of the world Putin should realise that Russia has lost the Ukraine war, the faster he understands that it is good for him and the world.
Rajnath Singh, our Defence Minister, has been talking of scaling up defence production. This has been echoed by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who has gone a little beyond and set an ambitious target for the exports of defence equipment. The emphasis on defence production for our national needs and strategic self-sufficiency is acceptable but we should not export any arms and armaments. As it is we are one among the Top 5 buyers of armaments in the world which is not a good thing and we should not compound this further by exporting arms to encourage and sustain wars abroad. We are the land of Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of non-violence, and we should protect and nurture his philosophy of Vasudeiva Kutumbakam and propagate it around the world. As for the threats that we face from our neighbours it is only China and Pakistan in that order. The other countries - Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan - have all their own problems to contend with except for Bhutan, a peaceful country with which India has had excellent relations. Between China and Pakistan the latter is a spent-force beset with economic travails and an unstable political scenario. One wonders if Pakistan will dare a conventional war since it may not be able to sustain it for more than a few days. The only option it has are its nuclear weapons which given its ramifications of use, it may not invoke. Thus the principal threat in the short-term is China where we have been seeing incidents across our north and north-eastern borders. With China if there is a war India cannot win and therefore we have to prop up our defensive positions. It is only to that extent that we need to reinforce our arms infrastructure and additionally to keep a vigil on our extensive maritime boundary and the outlying islands of our territory like the Andamans and Lakshadweep.
VOX POPULI
by
AAM ADMI
Issue No. : N 021
Issue Date: 27th Feb 2023
Contents:
by
AAM ADMI
Issue No. : N 021
Issue Date: 27th Feb 2023
Contents:
1. Putin's Misadventure In Ukraine Turning Costly
2. Gujarat Government Seeks Death Penalty For Godhra Convicts While Releasing Bilkis Bano's Rapists
3. India's Defence Strategy
Putin's Misadventure In Ukraine Turning Costly
With the continuing Ukraine war Putin is weakening Russia. He is exposing the vulnerabilities of the Russian military apparatus. This will be costly for him and his country in the long run. With the anniversary of the war behind him and no tangible signs of victory being seen, Putin is indirectly building another power centre within the countries that can be seen to be under the influence of Russia. With the West led by the US arming Ukraine, the country will emerge as a rallying point for those countries that are inimical to Russia in their region. With glasnost having dismantled the old USSR the Ukraine war may be the next turning point for the demise of Russia as a world power. Biden's sudden visit to Ukraine last week is also a slap in the face for Russian intelligence and to its leadership. Cosmetic gestures like pulling out of the nuclear treaties by Russia are only seen as petulant and have no real meaning. In the eyes of the world Putin should realise that Russia has lost the Ukraine war, the faster he understands that it is good for him and the world.
Gujarat Government Seeks Death Penalty For Godhra Convicts While Releasing Bilkis Bano's Rapists
The Gujarat government has asked for the death penalty to be restored on 11 Godhra convicts who were sentenced to life imprisonment for setting the coach of the Sabarmati Express on fire killing the passengers in 2002 which set off the Gujarat riots. This is completely irresponsible considering that the case was closed after sentencing and there is no need of the Gujarat government, technically the prosecuting authority, to ask for a change in the sentence. In contrast the same Gujarat government sometime back released the rapists, coincidentally again 11 in number, in the rape case of Bilkis Bano of the same time in 2002 on counts of good behaviour before completing their life sentence. In fact these rapists were garlanded upon release from prison and were feted by the local BJP leadership. This kind of biased communal action by the government will lead to serious doubts about the intentions of the present dispensation to support certain communities by design and condone their heinous criminal actions leading to anarchy in the country.
Postscript: In Oct 2022 the police in a village in Gujarat's Kheda district publicly flogged some persons who were disturbing a Garba function while the public cheered. The police has now in court claimed that this was done to maintain peace and communal harmony in the area and some of the policemen involved have said that they were only doing their duty. This is shameful where police go beyond the law and then defend their actions. Not only that the higher police officials have also supported this action. This kind of atrocity is nothing short like they have in Shariat law which is condemned around the world and which we ourselves call barbaric. We should not descend to this kind of action and remember human rights and protect it in our society.
India's Defence Strategy
Rajnath Singh, our Defence Minister, has been talking of scaling up defence production. This has been echoed by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who has gone a little beyond and set an ambitious target for the exports of defence equipment. The emphasis on defence production for our national needs and strategic self-sufficiency is acceptable but we should not export any arms and armaments. As it is we are one among the Top 5 buyers of armaments in the world which is not a good thing and we should not compound this further by exporting arms to encourage and sustain wars abroad. We are the land of Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of non-violence, and we should protect and nurture his philosophy of Vasudeiva Kutumbakam and propagate it around the world. As for the threats that we face from our neighbours it is only China and Pakistan in that order. The other countries - Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan - have all their own problems to contend with except for Bhutan, a peaceful country with which India has had excellent relations. Between China and Pakistan the latter is a spent-force beset with economic travails and an unstable political scenario. One wonders if Pakistan will dare a conventional war since it may not be able to sustain it for more than a few days. The only option it has are its nuclear weapons which given its ramifications of use, it may not invoke. Thus the principal threat in the short-term is China where we have been seeing incidents across our north and north-eastern borders. With China if there is a war India cannot win and therefore we have to prop up our defensive positions. It is only to that extent that we need to reinforce our arms infrastructure and additionally to keep a vigil on our extensive maritime boundary and the outlying islands of our territory like the Andamans and Lakshadweep.
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