It's a joke, not what happened with me. Please!

Several days ago, as I left a meeting, I desperately gave myself a personal search. I was looking for my keys.

They were not in my pockets. A quick search in the meeting room revealed nothing.

Suddenly I realized I must have left them in the car. Frantically, I headed for the car park.
 
My husband has scolded me many times for leaving the keys in the ignition.
 
My theory is the ignition is the best place not to lose them. His theory is that the car will be stolen.

As I scanned the car park I came to a terrifying conclusion! His theory was right. The car park was empty.

I immediately called the police. I gave them my location, confessed that I had left my keys in the car, and that it had been stolen.

Then I made the most difficult call of all.
 
"Hello My Love", I stammered; I always call him "My Love" in times like these. "I left my keys in the car, and it has been stolen."

There was a period of silence. I thought the call had disconnected, but then I heard his voice. He barked, "I dropped you off!"

Now it was my time to be silent. Embarrassed, I said, "Well, come and get me."

He retorted, "I will, as soon as I convince this policeman I have not stolen your damn car."

Why Indian Muslims must support Prime Minister Modi 


Syed Ata Hasnain

A roller coaster of an election has led to a result exceeding people's expectations. For India's Muslim population, the largest minority in the world, it is more of a shock. Their worst fears have come true, especially those who view Indian politics from a narrow prism of ideology and faith. The BJP, the supposed ultra nationalist, right wing, anti-Muslim party, will rule India with a majority of its own. This was unimaginable a couple of years ago when the common refrain was the assumption that the BJP could never go beyond the Hindi heartland and, therefore, could never secure its own majority.

The Indian Muslims, confused as they are, by the plethora of political parties that woo them and treat them as a vote bank, were so thunder struck by the electoral results that an ominous silence marked most of their gatherings. 

There are a few things that the Indian Muslims must keep in mind. First, that they are Indians by choice and, therefore, enjoy the fruits of India's democratic success and stability unlike so many others in the neighbourhood who share their faith. Secondly, the Indian political system has matured over 65 years, as has the electorate. The appeal of narrow issues such as faith and ideology does not matter as much as the attraction of social and economic progress. This inevitably happens in multi-faith and multi-cultural societies where the initial gains of nationhood are selfishly acquired. As systems mature the common goals and the common good are realised.

The initial sulk by the Indian Muslims after Independence was a result of their lack of confidence in their own decision and the initial euphoria in Pakistan about a land dedicated to the subcontinent's Muslims. The euphoria diluted over a period of time and today the psyche of an average Pakistani is reflected in Mahwash Badar's bold article - 'Jinnah made a Mistake and I am 

Ashamed of being a Pakistani' recently published in a prominent Pakistani blog. She writes: "What analogy do I draw to represent the utter misery that is being a Pakistani in this super-power dominated world?" No one puts labels on Indian Muslims when they travel internationally and no one profiles them in the manner which Ms Badar describes her countrymen. A prominent US Air Force General once in a discussion with me online stated: "What, 175 million Muslims and not one with Al Qaida!" It was difficult for him to understand this. The Indian Muslims have rarely looked upon themselves in this light because not many leaders have ever cared to explain to them the distinct advantages of their Indian label.

There have been aberrations in the journey since Partition as would be in any aspiring and dynamic nation. There have also been many success stories which have helped cement their place in society. They have won adulation for winning the highest military gallantry awards, given Presidents, Vice Presidents and Service Chiefs to the nation, achieved the highest honours for scientific and cultural activities and worn their patriotism proudly. Why should they then be thunder struck by the simple change of government which has been elected with many a vote from within their ranks?

Mercifully, within a few days of the electoral results the hushed whispers have started emerging as voices of assent; heads have started nodding and Indian Muslims are re-emerging from their self-induced perception of doom. Much of it is driven by aspirations of youth who had the courage to vote with their minds but also much of it is being driven by people who were opposed to Narendra Modi but now see in him as their collective hope for the future. Some introspection is leading to the deduction that it is scientific temper, education, power of investigation and living by rationale which will militate against the status-quoist attitude with which the community has lived for long. They have to be led into believing that as a patriotic, non-radicalised, proud segment of the Indian society, they hold out a beacon to the rest of the Islamic world. This is what the leaders of the Muslim society need to dwell on.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory signifies one of the most historic changes in world history. This has been the largest electoral process ever to have taken place with a system to monitor fairness and strict electoral norms. Not many are absorbing the fact that after 30 years stability has returned to India. Indians had forgotten the meaning of stability and have now to get used to it. That India could achieve high growth despite coalitions in power should encourage all Indians about the positives which augur for the future. The electoral rhetoric is over. Wishful thinking among India's adversaries would involve the anticipation of large-scale subjugation and wilful acts against the minorities resulting in increased antipathy and turbulence in society. Triggers may be planned to force the minorities to perceive danger to their safe existence.

However, a government which has won a single-party majority and commands a huge majority as a coalition will inevitably leave behind rhetoric of the electoral process. Governance is too serious a matter to allow it to be mired in political criticism and minority bashing. Narendra Modi's emergence should send that clear message to the Indian Muslims. This is the moment to seize, unshackled from vote banks. Even if they have voted for other parties that was their democratic right; it does not prevent them from now strengthening the hands of the most stable government in India's recent history.

On the part of the new government no one doubts its intent of taking united India to the next level. It has received not only a thunderous approval from the electorate but also an acceptance by an international consensus that this is the best thing which could happen to India. Leaders who are decisive, clear-headed and resolute rarely take decisions against the run of progress and Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to fit that bill quite appropriately. Perhaps the 21st century will still be the Indian century and the chance of giving it that label in letter and spirit has arrived. The Indian Muslims must not miss the bus, in fact they should get into it lock, stock and barrel.

The writer retired recently as a Lt.General, having commanded 15 Corps in Srinagar

How would I describe Gopinath Munde, who passed away today in a road accident? There are many adjectives that would describe him well but not fully.
There are so many memories of the man, the mind is cluttered. Let me capture some random thoughts here. I have seen him in countless assembly sessions, sitting on the front row, head held back and high, always but always leaning behind in his seat, chest out.
Every few minutes, he would wipe his mouth briskly and comb his hair, yes, comb his hair. This habit stayed with him for years. In the house, he spoke very well and to the point.
As deputy chief minister, he handled home as well. He was surprisingly clued in about internal security matters in a way few have been before or after him. He supported many good cops and bureaucrats much against the wishes of many in the Sena and within the BJP as well. He tried hard to get rid of illegal Bangaldeshi immigrants in the city as it was a major menace to the peace and economy of the state as well as that of the country. However, Mamta Banerjee and Ajit Panja, then in NDA government, intervened and refused to let him move.
There were times I could sense his frustration at the way his hands were ever so often tied behind his back but he would rarely confide in journalists, howmuchever some Marathi journalists like to boast that he did. He was known not to drop too many hints our way and was in fact not as media friendly as many other politicians who were always waiting to vent their grievances and share some meaty gossip about their rivals.
I cannot forget how he reacted to the news of Pramod Mahajan's death. He was shattered. Munde rode on Mahajan's stature all his political life and suddenly he found himself alone.
Though fully capable of shouldering not just his political role but also carving the Maharashtra BJP's political future, he continued to feel Mahajan's loss for a very long time. It was a rare sight to see a seasoned politician like him sobbing like a child at Mahajan's funeral. After Mahajan;s death, Munde supported his family as much as he could. He tried very hard to get Poonam Mahajan a ticket in 2009 even so much as to put his political career at stake for her. But Poonam was a political rookie with an absolutely blank slate. And there was no Modi wave at that time to bail her out.
At a recent Modi rally in Mumbai, the one person on the dais to clap when Poonam Mahajan's name was announced was Munde.
His rivalry with Nitin Gadkari made a lot of sense as the two are temperamentally different and come from different backgrounds. Munde was a grassroots, man about village, politician. He knew where his bread and butter came from, and understood politics but couldnt play it as well for some time after Mahajan's death. Mahajan had always shielded him from the harsh arclights of party politics. So, it took a struggle for Munde to come into his own, but that he did. And how. Faced with Gadkari's rising stature with Modi and the BJP's national brass, he carved out his own niche to the point that Modi made him a union minister as well.
A big loss to the BJP for sure. RIP, Gopinathji.