‘We Shall Triumph Against Terrorism’
Following are the excerpts from an article penned by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, conveying joyous new year greetings, and wishing to his countrymen happiness and prosperity, including to all Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), “who, despite the distance in space and time that separates them from us, have maintained unbreakable social, cultural, spiritual, and emotional ties with India”:
“We leave an eventful year behind us, a year of many trials and tribulations - amongst them the earthquake in Gujarat at the beginning of the year and the terrorist attack on our Parliament at the end of the year. We faced all of them with courage and self-confidence.

“India is marching towards a bright future. We have our share of problems. But these cannot hide the brightness on the horizon. It will be a future free of poverty and all other vestiges of underdevelopment. The future I see is not only one of a prosperous India, free of fear and free of want. In recent years, the world has come to look at India with renewed respect, recognizing a strong and prosperous global power in the making. I have no doubt that India in the foreseeable future will begin to play a decisive role in global affairs, not to advance any partisan agenda at the expense of others but to protect and promote mankind's most cherished universal ideals. It is also a future when the fabled richness of India's culture, arts, intellectual exploration, and spiritual pursuit will begin to show its full radiance, bringing much succour to the troubled spirit of the modern man.

“It often happens that the road to the future is rendered difficult by roadblocks placed by the past. One such roadblock for us, indeed the biggest, is Pakistan's consistent and continuing anti-India policy, beginning with its refusal to accept the constitutionally validated and democratically endorsed accession of Jammu & Kashmir to India. For a long time, the rulers in Islamabad relied on military confrontation, as exemplified by the wars they waged in 1948, 1965, and 1971, to settle this issue in their favour. After failing abjectly in their endeavour, the anti-India forces in Pakistan decided to foment terrorism and religious extremism as the principal means to instigate separatism in our country.

“I must say that they are nursing a dangerous delusion. What they could not achieve through open military aggression, they never will achieve through cross-border terrorism. They failed miserably in their evil designs in Punjab. Terrorism bled Punjab; but, in the end, it fled Punjab. It could not dent Hindu-Sikh unity. Similarly, the terrorists and their mentors are doomed to fail in Jammu & Kashmir, too. However, the very certainty of failure is driving them, in desperation, to embrace a more dangerous agenda. The terrorist attack on our Parliament on December 13 has shown beyond a shadow of doubt that the anti-India forces in Pakistan are prepared to wreak any havoc on our soil.

“It was an attack on our sovereignty, on our national self-respect, and it was a challenge to our democratic system. Although India has been a victim of cross-border terrorism for the past nearly two decades and has lost tens of thousands of innocent men and women and security forces, the outrage of December 13 has breached the limit of the nation's endurance. That the terrorists failed in their core objective, cannot diminish the diabolical nature of the conspiracy hatched by their mentors across the border. It is useful to presume that more such terrorist strikes can take place. The only way to defend ourselves against such attacks is by forcing Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism. And this precisely is the objective we have set ourselves in our current multi-pronged strategy.

“The many political and diplomatic steps we have taken after December 13 are a part of this strategy. As I have said earlier, India does not want war. India has never been an aggressor in her long history. But we have a sovereign right to defend ourselves against cross-border terrorism, which is a proxy war that is already thrust on us. Pakistan will be solely responsible for the consequences of encouraging terrorism against India and, when expedient, turning a blind eye to terrorist groups with trans-national linkages operating from its soil.

“Today, I also wish to share a thought with the people of Pakistan and, indeed, with all the right-thinking persons in its ruling establishment. It is unfortunate that anti-India forces in Pakistan have been allowed to play with fire, apparently with no thought given to what this fire can do to Pakistan itself. I have heard and read many perceptive Pakistanis express serious concern over their government's appeasement of terrorism fuelled by religious extremism. They have voiced alarm over how Pakistan's social fabric and its institutions have been grievously affected by its government's policy of creating and systematically promoting the Taliban, ostensibly to gain 'strategic depth' in Afghanistan and a 'force multiplier' for its anti-India campaign in Jammu & Kashmir. The fate of the first game plan has already been sealed. The fate of the second will be no different.

“Taliban and Al Qaeda are not merely the names of organizations. They stand for an aberrant mental outlook and a highly regressive socio-political agenda, which rejects the ideals of pluralism, secularism, freedom, and democracy and has no respect even for national boundaries.

“The leadership of Pakistan took a commendable decision to join the international coalition against terrorism in Afghanistan, although it meant a drastic U-turn in their policy of support to the Taliban regime. But what was their real intention? If it was the same as that of the international community - namely, to root out terrorism and extremism - then I extend my hand of alliance to them. I wish to tell them: "Shed your anti-India mentality and take effective steps to stop cross-border terrorism, and you will find India willing to walk more than half the distance to work closely with Pakistan to resolve, through dialogue, any issue, including the contentious issue of Jammu & Kashmir."

“In my musings from Kumarakom last year, I had affirmed: "In our search for a lasting solution to the Kashmir problem, both in its external and internal dimensions, we shall not traverse solely on the beaten track of the past. Rather, we shall be bold and innovative designers of a future architecture of peace and prosperity for the entire South Asian region." I continue to remain wedded to this commitment. My summit talks, and our oft-extended 'ceasefire' in Jammu & Kashmir are a testimony to India's sincere, bold, and innovative search for peace. This search continued even after the betrayal in Kargil. Our efforts will be further intensified, if Pakistan demonstrates its matching sincerity to have peace with India.

”Together, let us leave the past of futile hostilities behind us and embrace a future free of tension and full of mutually beneficial possibilities. The common enemy that both our countries face is poverty, illiteracy, disease, and unemployment. Terrorism and extremism cannot solve any of these problems. They can only further delay their solution. Therefore, let us join hands to fight this enemy and, along with other countries in South Asia, make our region a land of peace, plenty, and all-round progress. This is the challenge of the new year and of the new century. Let us accept it in a spirit of cooperation.

“However, if the intention of Pakistan's leadership is to continue to promote, or condone, cross-border terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir as a matter of state policy, while maintaining that they are one with the world in rooting out terrorism in Afghanistan, then the international community will judge this position to be opportunistic. It will conclude that Pakistan, far from being a part of the solution, will remain a part of the problem itself. It is for Pakistan to make the right choice. After what happened on December 13, we have made certain legitimate demands of the government of Pakistan. Its sincerity to fight terrorism will be determined by its positive response to these demands. We also hope that our friends in the international community will bring requisite pressure on Pakistan to give up its double standards on terrorism. Dear fellow countrymen, the situation we are facing is unprecedented. I would like you to be prepared for any eventuality. I would also like you to realize that the battle against terrorism will necessarily be a long one. Our people have shown the fist of unity at the time of every crisis in the past. I am confident that you will do it again, and not allow any other issue to come between us and our goal. And that goal is India's victory - a decisive victory - in our supremely just struggle. We shall triumph against terrorism - to defend India, to defend humanity. Let this be every Indian's New Year resolve. May the Almighty give us strength to redeem this resolve.”

Terrorist Outrage Against Democracy

On December 13, in an audacious suicide attack, five terrorists, armed with automatic rifles, pistols, grenades and explosives, barged into the Parliament House premises and killed seven persons before alert security personnel gunned them. Seventeen others were injured in the strike, lasting over half an hour. One of the terrorists had explosives strapped to him and was blown up when shot at. No Member of Parliament or VIPs were, fortuitously, injured in the attack, though Vice President Krishan Kant had a narrow escape. His security men were killed by the terrorists. The shocking and ghastly attack was an assault on the very bastion of Indian democracy, and was clearly aimed at wiping out the country’s top political leadership. It is only the alertness and the supreme sacrifice of the security personnel on duty that averted what could have been a national catastrophe.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee told the nation, in a televised speech, on 13 December, that the “Parliament of 1 billion Indians” had accepted the challenge of the terrorists who dared to attack the heart of Indian democracy. The attack was "unprecedented not only in the history of India, but also in the annals of democracy in the world," he said and signalled an all out war against terrorism. He said, “We shall defeat all the designs of terrorists. There should be no doubt in anybody’s mind about this….India’s war against terrorism has entered the final phase and will include decisive measures to combat the menace. He issued a stern warning, saying India’s patience in tolerating state-sponsored terrorism was running thin. He also expressed his gratitude to the security personnel as well as sympathy for the families of those who were killed.

Investigations, Measures

Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of Syed Abdul Rehman Gilani, a lecturer in a local college whose interrogation led to the identification and subsequent arrest of two other accomplices, Afzal and Shaukat Hussain Guru. Afzal, an important associate and support element in the conspiracy confessed that all five militants were Pakistanis and he identified them. Significantly, on the eve of this suicidal action, some of these militants spoke on telephone to their relatives in Pakistan, particularly Karachi. Afzal disclosed that the suicide attack on Parliament was directed by Shahbaz Khan alias Ghazi Baba, who is a known Pakistani national and presently the Chief Commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) operating in Kashmir. He was also the mastermind behind the attack on the J&K Assembly on October 1. Afzal revealed that in the period before the attack, the terrorists maintained constant touch through e-mail with Ibrahim, located in Pakistan, who is a senior JeM functionary under Maulana Masood Azhar. There is also substantial proof in all this regard. Particularly significant is the fact that detonators seized from one of the hideouts of the terrorists were found of Pak origin, and the carton containing these detonators bore the name of Nobel Detonators (Pvt) Ltd., known to be an explosives manufacturing unit located in Wah, District Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Gilani revealed that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and JeM were responsible for the attack. Afzal disclosed that one slain militant, Mohammad, was identical with Sunny Ahmed Kazi alias Burger (a Pakistani) who was one of the hijackers of the IC-814 from Kathmandu in December 1999 which was hijacked and taken to Kandhar(Afghanistan). This incident has once again made it clear where the real epicentre of terrorism lies. Investigations have further indicated that the two groups, LeT and JeM, both Pakistan–based have also planned other attacks in Delhi and other parts of India. Even after the ghastly terrorist attacks of 11 September against the USA, the leaders of LeT and other Pak-based terrorist groups continued to publicly issue threats against India. For example, in a discussion organised by Pakistani Urdu newspaper, ‘Ausaf’, on November 20, 2001, the Amir of LeT and its chief ideologue, Hafeez Mohammad Sayeed vowed to revive the so-called struggle in Kashmir by ‘launching 6 to 7 Red Fort-type attacks in India’. Such threats were also put up recently on its website. In an interview with the ‘Gulf News’ on November 21, he stated that LeT would devise new strategies to overcome the pressure from the West. In mid-December, LeT launched a fund-raising campaign for their activities in J&K through appeals published in the Pakistani Urdu press, who later reported that groups, such as Jaish-e-Mohammad, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Jamat-e-Islami and Sunni Tehrik, openly raised funds before the Id prayers. As much as Rs. 100 million were reportedly collected in Karachi itself.

India’s Foreign Secretary, Chokila Aiyar, called in the Pak High Commissioner on December 14 and issued a verbal demarche calling upon Pakistan to take immediate action to arrest those associated with these organizations concerned, seal their offices, stop their activities, and block all their financing sources. She pointed out that action against the LeT and JeM had already been taken in several countries, including India, US and UK. India demanded that activities of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed be stopped. Secondly, their leadership - known to Pakistan - should be taken into custody, and thirdly, the financial assets and access to them by these groups should be stopped. New Delhi emphasised that the demands in the demarche were in accordance with necessary international obligations and commitment in countering terrorism.

This met with complete lack of response, and little show of concern, from Pakistan, and it continued promotion of cross-border terrorism. On December 21, Government announced its decision to recall the Indian High Commissioner from Islamabad, as also the decision to terminate the rail and bus services between the two countries. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, already made it clear that he was joining the international coalition against terrorism not out of choice but compulsion. During the ‘international coalition’ action, reports continued to come in of men and material from Pakistan going across clandestinely to the Taliban. Pakistan’s evacuation of its nationals, including army personnel from Kunduz, was made in full international view.

Subsequently, on December 27, regretting that India’s serious concerns about all the ramifications of the 13th December attack on our Parliament had not been fully grasped in Pakistan, underlining that terrorism can simply not be justified on any grounds and it must be eradicated fully, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh announced that the Government of India had no option but to take further steps of reducing the strength of the respective High Commissions in India and Pakistan by 50%, confining the movement of the officials of the Pakistan High Commission and their families to the municipal limits of Delhi, and suspending all facilities available to Pakistan to over-fly Indian airspace. On 31st December India handed over to Pakistan a list of 20 terrorists and criminals. Among those included in the list are the Jaish-e-Mohammed Chief Masood Azhar, the prime accused in the Bombay blast - Dawood Ibrahim, and terrorists involved in the hijack of the Indian Airlines Flight IC-814. The list also has the names of some Punjab and Kashmiri terrorists. It has been asserted that the 20 outlaws can be sent to India, even without an extradition treaty between India and Pakistan, as there are other ways approved by the international community in special circumstances.

Pakistan recently announced some cosmetic measures such as seizure of assets of LeT and Ummah Tameer-e-Nau, both of which had earlier been cited by the US President as having links with the Al-Qaida terrorist network. Simultaneously, however, LeT announced that the title of its parent organisation had been changed from Markaz Dawa-wal-Irshad to ‘Jamaat ud Dawah’. It also announced the formation of a new general council. Lashkar had already announced earlier that its office was being moved to the Pak-occupied Kashmir. As for accounts of LeT frozen by Pakistan, after sufficient time for the money to be diverted from these accounts, specific details have not been made public. Similarly, JeM had already renamed itself, Tehriq ul Furqan, and steps against JeM could thus not be more than a superficial. This assessment is shared by Pakistani commentators themselves. According to a well-known Pak columnist, in ‘The News’ dated 25th December 2001, "any determination of the military government to root out Jehadi outfits from Pakistan may only have superficial success as almost all groups which were likely to be targeted have already changed their names and have decentralised their operation into various secret underground cells". Nonetheless, responding to these media reports from across the border, Singh commented that the information received about some actions having been taken by Pakistan authorities against the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Jaish-e-Mohammad including the arrest of their leaders, some other officials of these organisations, as also raids on some of the premises of these two terrorist organizations, if confirmed, was a step forward in the correct direction. He hope that such actions against terrorist activities targetting India, including Jammu & Kashmir, would be pursued vigorously, until cross- border terrorism in our country was completely eliminated.

International Pressure Mounting Against Terrorism

Mounting pressure on Pakistan’s President, Pervez Musharraf, United States President George W Bush has firmly asked Pakistan to take action against Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and other terrorist organisations operating in that country, saying he wanted 'action' and not 'words' from partners in the coalition against terror. "The President calls on him (Musharraf) to take action against the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed and other terrorist organisations, their leaders and their finances," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said. He expressed the US confidence that Pakistan would do so. India has welcomed the US decision to designate Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed as terrorist outfits for their involvement in the attacks on the Parliament and the Jammu & Kashmir assembly building, saying it was a "positive development.”

On December 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin called up Prime Minister Vajpayee to discuss “the development of the situation in South Asia''. A Kremlin press service statement, announcing this, indicated Moscow's support for New Delhi, by stressing the need for further intensification of Russian-Indian interaction in combating international terrorism, any form of extremism and separatism. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Alexander Losyukov, met Pakistan’s Ambassador in Moscow and told him of Moscow's “serious concern over growing tensions in relations between India and Pakistan''. He urged Pakistan to “join efforts” with India in the struggle against terrorism. In his meeting with India's Ambassador, K. Raghunath, Dy Minister conveyed Russia's denunciation of the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament and expressed his country's solidarity with India.

Britain has supported India’s demand that Pakistan hand over terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, who were responsible for the December 13 strike at the Parliament. British High Commissioner Rob Young, after an hour-long meeting with Home Minister Advani, told journalists, "We have already banned these groups. We know that Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish- e-Mohammad are terrorist groups. He indicated that Britain was not asking for any evidence as it was convinced that Pakistan-based terrorists were responsible for the strike at Parliament. Terming the attack on Indian Parliament as an 'outrage' against the entire democratic world, Britain asked Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to stop Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Tayiba saying these terrorist groups have no place in a modern society. "There can be no justification for terrorism. Recalling that JeM had claimed responsibility for the October 1 attack on Jammu and Kashmir assembly, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Jaish has links with Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda network.

France has said it is satisfied with evidence provided by India about the involvement of two Pakistan-backed terror groups in the attack on Indian Parliament. "We have no doubts that the people involved (in the December 13 strike) were from the two movements (identified by the Indian government)," Bernard de Montferrand, the French envoy to India, told reporters. He was referring to the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed. "Over the years, the two movements have had strong ties with Pakistan," said de Montferrand, talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function addressed by Phillippe Douste-Blazy, the Mayor of Toulouse and a leading French politician. De Montferrand pointed out that Paris had listed the Lashkar and the Jaish as terrorist groups in October, "long before the attack on the Indian Parliament." Douste-Blazy, who was in India on a two-day visit, called on Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and handed over a letter from French President Jacques Chirac, strongly condemning the attack on Parliament.

Indian Foreign Secretary Chokila Iyer had earlier met envoys of the US, Britain, Germany and France to brief them about the evidence gathered by New Delhi on the complicity of Pakistan-backed groups in the attack on Parliament.

India and the 15-nation European Union will work together more closely in the fight against global terrorism in the coming year, according to P K Singh, India's Ambassador to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg. Describing the India-EU Summit's Joint Declaration against International Terrorism as a 'milestone', he said such declarations had been made in the past by 'individual EU states, but for the EU as a whole this was a new phenomenon'. No similar joint declaration had been issued at the conclusion of the recent summit meetings between the EU and China, Russia and Japan, he said. In their declaration, adopted in New Delhi on November 23, at the conclusion of the second India-EU Summit, India and the EU 'affirm that international terrorism is a threat to peace and security'.

Support Messages From President Mkapa, World Leaders

H.E. Mr. Benjamin William Mkapa, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, addressed a message to Prime Minister, Vajpayee on terrorist attack on the Parliament on 13 December. The substantive text of the message follows:

“I was shocked to learn of the terrorist attack at the Indian Parliament, while you and the democratically elected members of Parliament were conducting government business. It is sad to note that such an act was done on an institution, which is a symbol of democracy.

On behalf of the Government and the people of the United Republic of Tanzania and on my own behalf, I wish to take this opportunity to express our sympathy for the trauma caused by the terrorist attack, and also condemn all form of terrorism wherever it is done. I would like to assure you that Tanzania will continue to cooperate with India and the rest of the world in the fight against terrorism. Please also convey our condolences to the people of India and to the families of those who lost their lives, we also pray for a quick recovery for those who were injured during the attack.”

Similar messages poured in from a large number of leaders from all around the world, including from : the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, German Federal Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, US Department of State, the US House of Representatives (signed by 60 of its members), Russian Foreign Ministry , Prime Minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, Japanese Foreign Office, His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev of Nepal, Prime Minister of Nepal, Sher Bahadur Deuba, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, President of Tajikstan, Emomali Rakhmonov, President of the Republic of Korea, Kim Dae Jung, Prime Minister Lee Han-Dong of Republic of Korea, Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, Rome, Italy, Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Oman, Yusufbin Alawibin Abdullah, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, Foreign Minister of Turkey, Ismail Cem, President of Peru, Aljandro Toledo, Minister of External Relations of Peru, Diego Garcia Sayan, and messages from Syria and Bangladesh.

Voices of Sanity

At times such as these, ‘India News’ does not have to confine itself to sources in India. Two recent opinions follow, from reputed names in media in Pakistan. The first article, ‘National honour is not on the line’, is by Ayaz Amir a regular columnist in Dawn, Pakistan’s leading English daily:

“At times such as these cliches come in handy. Faced with threats from India we should sink our differences, close ranks and rally round the flag and the commander-in-chief. There will be time enough to indulge the luxury of skepticism when the crisis passes.

“Precisely such an attitude took us into the folly of the 1965 war and the great tragedy of 1971 when half the country (or was it more than half?) just stood up and (and with no little Indian help) walked away. Patriotism is fine but any false notion of it should be no excuse for pulling down the shutters and refusing to think.

“What is the nature of the present heightened state of tension with India? We are faced with no Indian diktat regarding any aspect of national sovereignty. India, considering the circumstances propitious, is putting pressure on us to close down the 'jihadi' outfits which have been waging war (or whatever) in occupied Kashmir.

“For close on seven or eight years - that is, since 1994-95 when the Kashmir insurgency started being dominated by outside fighters - we could sustain this policy and get away with it. After September 11, and after our turnaround on the Taliban, it was for us to realize that the era of outside 'jihad' in Kashmir was over. What we failed to do on our own, we are being forced to do by the pressure of circumstances.

“National honour is not on the line. Only an aspect of national adventurism is being called into question. What sensible nations cannot sustain, they discard. When Britain could no longer afford to keep its empire it made a graceful exit from its colonies. France held on to its colonies long after it had the strength or ability to do so. The result was defeat in Vietnam (Dien Bien Phu) and rivers of blood in Algeria. The analogy doe not quite fit but the conclusion is clear. Clinging to a prize that is slipping from one's grasp is no sign of cleverness.

“What does 'Pakistan first' - the slogan raised by the Musharraf government in the first flush of its turnaround on Afghanistan - mean? If anything, it means that we should look to our own house and eschew foreign adventures.

“If this piece of priceless wisdom was relevant to Afghanistan, why not to Kashmir? We have been involved in occupied Kashmir for long. The world has come to know this in part because we blew our own disguise. Organizations like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mushammad had a free run of the entire country, holding rallies and easily collecting funds and recruits. India has not invented the substance of the charges against the Lashkar or Jaish. It has merely used and exploited the evidence we ourselves had accumulated.

“After all, since when were covert wars allowed to have an overt face? But since the great policy-masters of Pakistan - stretching from GHQ to ISI - allowed this to happen, they are the authors of their own misfortune.

“Nor was this simply a question of our cover being blown. Our forward policy in Kashmir was already becoming unsustainable. After September 11 we should have done some fast thinking and clamped down on the 'jihadi' outfits ourselves without waiting for circumstances to catch up with us. But we let the moment pass and so, after Afghanistan, another turnaround is being forced on us.

“Thank God for US help here too. By outlawing the Lashkar and Jaish it has made it easier for us to take action against these two organisations. From the US we can take anything. But from India nothing. And why should we? The only problem is we keep putting ourselves in untenable positions - as in 1965, in 1971 and as indeed during the Kargil affair in 1999. We say India is the great enemy. But if enmity be measured by injuries inflicted, we have harmed ourselves more than anything India could have done.

“Maybe India is the incarnation of evil and harbours malevolent designs against us. But the answer to that is not to constantly decry its motives or intentions (Pakistan Television's favourite pastime) but to improve national performance to such an extent that we are beyond the effect of its evil eye.

“As for the present crisis, how strangely flat-footed in it we have been. We failed to appreciate the gravity of the attack on the Lok Sabha and the outrage it triggered in India. Some of the initial statements made by some of our officials could have been avoided. And what occasion for President Musharraf to say that India was being "arrogant" in recalling its high commissioner from Islamabad? Strong words ill-suited to the situation.

“Now the pressure is all from the Indian side while we are at the receiving end. Washington is trying to calm subcontinental nerves but it is being quite unambiguous in telling Pakistan to close down the machinery of Kashmiri 'jihad'. Once again it is we who are twisting in the wind.

“But this is one twisting that should be seen as necessary penance for past folly. The most difficult operation in war is a graceful retreat. This in peacetime is what we are being called upon to execute: a graceful exit from our unsustainable posture in Kashmir. First Afghanistan, now Kashmir. Such are the hard lessons we are having to learn.

“The talons we had spread in all directions we are being called upon to draw in. A good thing that this is taking place under the strategic umbrella of the US or else the pain would have been excruciating. But if this physical withdrawal is to mean anything it has to be accompanied by an ideological retraction in the army command and the intelligence agencies operating under its wings. The days of external adventurism are over. Time to look inwards at our domestic plate.

“On top of any domestic agenda must come the re-education of the ISI. It must look to its essential task of gathering intelligence and countering foreign espionage and abandon politics and foreign policy, the two fields it has completely messed up. This is a tall order but one which must be fulfilled if the moves in Kashmir and Afghanistan are to make any sense.

“India's advantage lies not so much in numbers or size as in its democracy, and the consultative process that goes with it. We must overcome this advantage, not by raising further monuments to unrepresentative rule but by recognizing the separateness of the military and political spheres. Unless we get this right, we'll keep losing our way. It is not with any pleasure that a Pakistani recounts his nation's follies. Driving him is an overpowering sense of anger at the repeated spectacle of tiny coteries hijacking the nation's fortune. For their blunders the nation as a whole has then to pay the price.

“There is nothing wrong with the soil or air of Pakistan. Or indeed with its people, who, apart from a tendency to suffer fools in high places, have their eyes in the right direction. It is simply a problem of leadership which has cast shadows over a land that could easily be happy and prosperous”.

The second item is an Editorial, from perhaps the most independent and respected newspaper from Pakistan, The Friday Times (TFT), by its well known Editor, Najam Sethi:

“Pakistan’s old strategic doctrine of supporting proxy wars in India’s periphery, especially through an Islamic jehad in Kashmir, so that the conventional military balance is restored to more manageable proportions, is out of sync with recent realities. In particular, the post 9/11 world sees Islamic jehad as pure terrorism that must be stamped out everywhere.

“We said as much over a year ago (TFT Editorial “Start talking”, April 7, 2000): “The greater the losses of India at the hands of Pakistan inspired jehadi forces in Indian-held Kashmir, the greater the chances that New Delhi will be provoked into launching a war against Pakistan…. In the event of such a conflict, the international community led by Washington may be expected to support India as a victim…the fact that India’s robust and independent economy will also be able to better withstand the rigours and ravages of war…than Pakistan’s dependent and crippled economy lends weight to this line of thinking”.

“The dye was cast last October when the jehadis of the Jaish i Mohammad (JM) led by Maulana Masood Azhar in Pakistan killed 40 people outside the state parliament building in Srinagar, prompting the American ambassador in New Delhi to finally say that the militants in Kashmir were terrorists and not “freedom fighters”. A more aggressive response from India and the international community should therefore have been anticipated following the December 13 jehadi attack on the parliament house in New Delhi. As India has mobilized for war, Washington has stepped in to outlaw the JM and the Lashkar e Taiba (LeT) and warned Pakistan to clamp down on them.

“Unfortunately, Pakistan’s argument that India should provide “evidence” against the JM and LeT before action can be taken against them doesn’t cut ice with the international community which scarcely bothered with such niceties itself when it came to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. But like their ill-fated counterparts in Afghanistan, the jehadis in Pakistan and Kashmir have proven to be their own worst propagandists, having proudly owned up to acts of militancy in Kashmir as well as publicly threatened to carry the jehad to the heart of India in Delhi. Therefore Pakistan’s condemnation of such acts as “terrorism” evokes the same contemptuous dismissal as its lack of adequate “leverage” over the Taliban before 9/11.

“But this, too, hasn’t come as a surprise to us. In the same TFT editorial in April last year we warned that “the strengthening of the diverse jehadi parties and groups based in Pakistan for the purposes of the proposed liberation of Kashmir is bound to undermine Pakistan’s internal cohesion and political stability. Indeed, granting center-stage to the Kashmir struggle by the mujahideen could signal a strengthening of the forces of Talibanisation in Pakistan just as similar succour to similar forces for similar purposes in Afghanistan has had a socially destabilizing impact on Pakistan. Equally, since such groups lack a calibrated world view with regard to diplomatic gains or losses, their military successes in Kashmir would be proportionate to a decrease in the political leverage of Pakistan over them, as in Afghanistan. Indeed, in time to come, Kashmir could come to resemble Afghanistan with all that that description entails.”

“If Pakistan’s past errors have caught up on it, is there any hope of a realistic adjustment in its Kashmir policy? Islamabad has certainly gone through the motions of complying with the international requirements of freezing the assets of some jehadi groups and detaining their leading lights. But this may not be sufficient to stave off further pressure if the jehadis continue to mount suicide attacks in Kashmir and India, thereby jeopardizing the political and economic “gains” of Islamabad’s revamped Afghan policy after 9/11.”

Al-Qaeda Man Held in J&K

The Jammu & Kashmir police arrested an Al-Qaeda terrorist who was entrusted with the task of establishing modules of the outfit in various parts of the country, including in Delhi, by involving foreign nationals. The Inspector-General of Police, Jammu range, P.L. Gupta, said that the arrested person, Qamar Ayub, son of Mohammad Ayub, resident of Mirpur district of Pakistan, was also the chief of the Harkat-ul-Mujhaideen for J&K. Gupta said the police had identified the pointmen for different regions and arrested a Palestinian in Delhi who was an important link in the network. Qamar Ayub had entered India through the Line of Control in Kupwara sector. His plan was to target vital installations in Srinagar, including the MLAs' hostel in Jammu and to eliminate the political leadership of the State. American and Israeli establishments were also believed to have been on the hit-list.

A joint network of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed(JeM) and al-Umar Mujahideen militant outfits was smashed by security forces who arrested seven top militants of the two outfits, apparently responsible for grenade throwing and firing incidents in Srinagar for the last one year, a BSF (Border Security Force) said. The arrests were made from downtown Srinagar, and security forces recovered huge quantity of arms and ammunition, BSF Deputy Inspector General R S Bhullar said. There have been 65 cases of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosions, seven mines and 70 cases of grenade blasts in Kashmir valley in the last three months. Srinagar city alone accounted for 32 grenade blast cases in different areas resulting in injuries to 88 security personnel while three civilians were kieed and 97 others injured, he said. Troops had arrested seven members of the same outfits in the second week of November. These groups were operating on the behest of Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar alias ‘Latrum’ who was one the three militants exchanged in lieu of passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane, and Shahid bin Abdullah alias ‘Chacha’, a resident of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Bhullar said.

India Reopens Kabul Embassy

After a “painful gap of more than five years”, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh reopened India’s Embassy in Afghanistan. Soon after unfurling the National Flag, with the National Anthem renting the air at the embassy premises, Singh told reporters, “India by conviction is a great power. But it is not flexing its muscle. We are simply telling the rest of the world that India is on the march and it will not be stopped.” Terming the Kabul embassy reopening as an historic occasion External Affairs Minister, who was representing India at the Hamid Karzai interim government’s taking over, said, “I do it with a sense of fulfillment as a soldier of India. The embassy now restarts where it rightfully belonged”. The Indian Embassy here was closed barely 12 hours before the Taliban’s entry into the capital of the war-ravaged nation on 26 September 1996. The Minister said, “The visa and consular sections of the Embassy would start functioning soon and India would strive to provide assistance to Afghanistan in the fields of education, vocational training, re-establishment of the medical facilities, software and above all extend substantial credit line.” India is despatching 15,000 tonne food for war-ravaged Afghanistan by February next.

Responding to an SOS from the new Government in Afghanistan, India was airlifting over 1,000 artificial limbs and dispatching technicians for fitting them on war victims whose limbs have been maimed. "A special flight from India was bringing over 1,000 artificial limbs and doctors and technicians who would fit them into many who had lost their limbs during the two decade long civil war that left behind thousands of men and boys without legs and hands," the acting charge-de-Affaires of Indian Embassy, Azad Singh Toor, said. The doctors and the technicians would also be bringing machinery for making adjustments in the limbs procured from India and they will be based in the Kabul military hospital, he said. Asked whether the limbs would be available only for the military, Toor said, "It will be available more for the civilians than for the military. The doctors would decide who needs them the most." Toor said the Afghan Government has also requested the Indian Government to send equipment necessary for air traffic control and radars to facilitate early commencement of flights out of Afghanistan by Ariana Airlines. Ariana Airlines was grounded during the Taliban regime following sanctions against it, but the new Government is hoping to start flights soon out of the country. Ariana, which had around 20 planes, big and small, has now only a single Boeing aircraft. Other areas where the Karzai government has sought cooperation from India are health, education, preservation of national heritage and monuments.

Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, was the third Afghan Minister of visit India, on December 12, since the December 5 Bonn agreement, followed soon by Afghan Defence Minister Mohammed Qasim Fahim. In New Delhi Abdullah held talks with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and External Affairs Jaswant Singh on the evolving political and security development in his country and to seek India’s help in the reconstruction programme. Dr. Abdullah arrived in New Delhi in the special aircraft that had earlier taken the Indian goodwill delegation, headed by Special Envoy on Afghanistan Satish K. Lambah, to Kabul. Interim Minister Younis Qanooni was the first to visit India, on December 7, followed by Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, Mirwaiz Sadeq, son of the Governor of Herat.

India is considering opening a hospital in Mazar-e-Sharif. The hospital will specifically serve the Hazara and Uzbek ethnic groups that reside in the city and its surroundings. Hazaras comprise nearly 20 per cent of Afghanistan's ethnic population. India is to also play a key role in war-ravaged Afghanistan by helping it set up an effective law enforcing machinery, Home Minister L.K. Advani said.India might depute some of its senior police officials to Afghanistan for this purpose. ‘‘An assurance to this effect was given to Afghanistan’s Interim Home Minister Yunus Qanooni during his visit to New Delhi recently,’’ Advani told media persons. Underscoring the importance of cooperation between India and Afghanistan in the days to come, he said: ‘‘It is significant that India is the first country visited by the Afghan Home Minister and growing cooperation between the two countries was good for the peace and stability of the region. India was willing to help in all possible ways in the reconstruction of the war-devastated country. India will be sending a team of four doctors and five tonne of medicine to Herat, since western Afghanistan has been badly hit by both drought and the war. This mission will be distinct from similar missions being undertaken to Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. This was promised by the Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh to the visiting Afghan Minister, Mirwaiz Sadeq, who flew into Delhi straight from Bonn, to meet his family and the Indian leadership, because like many other Afghan leaders, his family too had been moved to Delhi during the years of turmoil in that country. He asked for Indian assistance in several specific areas - medicines, medical services, refugee relief as well as assistance for revitalisation of schools and colleges including for girls. Emphasising the economic and humanitarian difficulties especially in western Afghanistan, Sadeq said he looked forward to more Indian assistance in these areas, to which Singh said that part of India’s contribution of 1 million tonne of wheat would be made available to Herat through the World Food Program.

PM’s Visit to Japan
India and Japan, with tradition of profound interchanges from time immemorial, have cultivated friendly relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations in April 1952. During the 5-day historic visit to Japan by Prime Minister Vajpayee, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan and he expressed satisfaction with the steady progress of this partnership, comprising multifaceted cooperation, and declared their determination to strengthen the India-Japan Global Partnership, centering on two pillars, namely, broadening and deepening the development of bilateral relations, and meeting global challenges. The two countries share the ideas of democracy and market economy, the spirit of tolerance, receptivity to diversity and the wisdom to benefit from the distinctive characteristics of their civilizations and cultures. In this perspective, the two leaders announced the common resolve that India and Japan should strengthen cooperation in order to contribute towards the stability and prosperity of Asia and the world in the 21st century. The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of settling issues through peaceful dialogues. They were pleased with the successful outcomes of the India-Japan Comprehensive Security Dialogue and India-Japan Military-to-Military Consultations, both of which were held in July this year, and confirmed to continue such dialogues annually, including a dialogue on counter terrorism. They expressed their satisfaction with the steady progress in defence exchanges and confirmed their further promotion. The two leaders acknowledged broad as well as deepened economic relations as an essential underpinning to strengthen the bilateral relationship. They shared the view that India’s continuing economic reforms, Japan’s recovery through structural reform and the existing complementarities between the two economies, will provide a solid foundation for further enhancing their economic relations. Both sides confirmed that it is necessary to reduce impediments to bilateral trade and investment and to encourage economic growth with due consideration to environmental preservation. Japan will soon send a mission to India to identify new areas of economic cooperation between the two countries. The two leaders recognized that unbounded opportunities exist especially in the area of Information and Communication Technology in which there are extraordinary strong complementarities between Japan and India. They strongly encouraged the interactive efforts in the private sector, such visits of business delegations, human exchanges and closer dialogues on IT. In this regard, they highly appreciated the first meeting of their IT Ministers and the IT Eminent Persons’ Meeting which were held in Japan in September this year. At the onset of the 21st Century, the two leaders confirmed their intention to strengthen the historical and amicable links between the two countries through the promotion of exchanges in culture, education and science and technology. To that end, India will set up an Indian Cultural Centre in Tokyo. They confirmed their intention to cooperate so that various cultural events commemorating the 50th Anniversary of their diplomatic relations will be held successfully. Both countries will issue special commemorative stamps to mark the occasion.

The two leaders firmly maintained their position that terrorism cannot be justified wherever, whenever and for whatever reasons. They also resolutely condemned terrorism in any form. They believe that the fight against global terrorism has to be comprehensive and sustained, with the objective of total elimination of terrorism in all regions. They shared the view that the fight is not only against the perpetrators of terrorist acts, but should encompass those who provide support, sustenance and safe haven. They condemned the barbaric terrorist attacks on 11 September in the USA. Japan confirmed that it would cooperate with India for early adoption of India’s proposed “Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism”, presently under discussion in the UN. Both sides emphasized the need for constructive efforts on non proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. The two leaders reaffirmed to cooperate in the UN and other fora towards the shared goal of eliminating nuclear weapons.

Support Reaffirmed for Palestine Quest

Speaking on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on December 5, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh reaffirmed India’s support for the people of Palestine in their quest for peace and justice and the realisation of their legitimate goals and aspiration, including the right to a homeland. He said “India’s commitment to the cause of the Palestinian people needs no reiteration. India fully supports the efforts of President Arafat to achieve the inalienable and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to their homeland and to establish their independent state through the path of dialogue and peace based on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. India has always believed that all the States in the region have a right to exist within secure & internationally recognised boundaries and that resolution of the Palestinian issue can only be brought through a "two-state" solution and this very principle had determined our decision to recognise the State of Palestine in November 1988”. Singh recalled the Madrid Conference and the Oslo Peace Process, and pointed out that the atmosphere has been vitiated by the establishment and expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. “The plight of Palestinian refugees living in the camps scattered in the West Asian region is distressing and this needs to be addressed in an urgent and fair manner. We are deeply concerned at the recent escalation of violence in the region.” Singh expressed immense respect in India for President Arafat - a very well known leader in India, and the appreciation of his wise leadership. He voiced the confidence that President Arafat’s strategic choice of the "Peace of the Brave" would finally prevail over violence and extremism.

Earlier, in a telephonic conversation with Shimon Peres, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Israel, Jaswant Singh conveyed India’s condemnation of the terrorist bombings in Israel and Gaza on December 2 which had resulted in heavy casualties and injuries to the innocent, adding that acts of violence could not be justified on any ground. Singh said this terrible loss of human lives was yet another reminder of need for concerted international action to combat the menace of terrorism. India urges all parties to show restraint and to take urgent steps towards normalization in the region. In this context India had noted the response of the Palestinian Authority and the steps that it had taken.

India Offers All Help to Sri Lanka

The newly elected Sri Lanka Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe visited India from December 22-24 at the invitation of the Government of India. He was accompanied by Tyronne Fernando, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Milinda Moragoda, Minister of Economic Reform, Science & Technology, and other high officials. The visit was marked by wide-ranging discussions, held in a most cordial atmosphere reflecting the close relations. Sri Lankan PM met Indian leaders across the political spectrum. Substantive discussions were held with Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister. India reiterated its commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. India welcomed LTTE’s announcement of the cessation of hostilities, and Sri Lanka Government’s positive response, hoping this would begin a process to restore lasting peace. India is fully supportive of the measures outlined by Wickremesinghe to take the peace process forward.

External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh said, “Our Sri Lanka policy has always been one of extending all types of help. ….Peace should be brokered keeping in mind the interests of all the ethnic groups involved”. Given the close relations between the two countries and following a request from the Government of Sri Lanka, India will provide 25,000 tonne of wheat per month for the next twelve months to Sri Lanka at low rates. The two sides also agreed to cooperate in a number of other areas, with immediate priority on agriculture, power and the IT industry. Both sides also agreed to work on commissioning a feasibility study on a land bridge between the two countries, keeping in mind the spirit of the closest of historical, cultural and social ties that have bound the two nations over millennia.

India-US Defence Policy Group

The third meeting of the India-US Defence Policy Group (DPG) was held in New Delhi on December 3-4. The meeting was co-Chaired by Dr. Yogendra Narain, India’s Defence Secretary, and Mr. Douglas Feith, Under Secretary for Policy in the U.S. Department of Defence. They agreed that collaboration within the community of democratic states constitutes the best strategy for preserving the security, the liberty, and the prosperity of open, pluralistic and multi-ethnic societies. India and the US agree that they share strategic interests in Asia and beyond and that their defence and security cooperation can promote freedom, global peace, economic progress, and security. A strengthened bilateral relationship will assist both countries to counter threats such as the spread of weapons of mass destruction, international terrorism, narcotic trafficking and piracy. They discussed the contribution that missile defences could make to enhance strategic stability and to discourage the proliferation of ballistic missiles with weapons of mass destruction. The two sides exchanged views on the global campaign against international terrorism. They emphasized that the military operation against the Taliban and the Al-Qaida network in Afghanistan is an important step in the global war against terrorism and its sponsors everywhere in the world. They expressed satisfaction at the cooperation between the two countries in the ongoing campaign in Afghanistan. Noting that both India and the US have been targets of terrorism, the two sides agreed to add a new emphasis in their defence cooperation on counter- terrorism initiatives, including expanding mutual support in this area. Both delegations reviewed the on-going defence cooperation between India and the United States. They committed themselves to increasing substantially the pace of the high - level policy dialogue, military-to-military exchanges and other joint activities. As part of this effort, the DPG’s next meeting will convene on an accelerated schedule in May 2002, preceded by a meeting of the Military Cooperation Group. India and the United States have agreed that the Executive Steering Group of the three Services of the two countries would meet before the end of February 2002, to plan and review military-to-military cooperation and oversee implementation of the visits, exercises, and training programmes: The two sides underscored the importance of a stable, long- term defence supply relationship as part of the overall strategic cooperation between India and the US. To assist licensing and sales process in the future, the two sides have resolved to establish a separate Security Cooperation Group to manage their defence supply relationship. Both countries expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved at the third meeting of the DPG.

Flawless Missile Test

On December 12 India test-fired for the first time a longer-range version of its Prithvi surface-to-surface missile from a launching site off the eastern coast. The Prithvi, with a 250-Kilometer (155-mile) range, blasted off from the interim test range at Chandipur-on-Sea in the Bay of Bengal. “The flight was flawless, and the missile impacted at the intended target point accurately”. A navy ship tracked the flight of Prithvi, which means Earth in Hindi. A government official said that two more tests of the longer-range version of Prithvi were planned before it would be introduced into the air force. A shorter-range naval version is also under development.

BIMST-EC Ministerial Meeting

The Fourth BIMST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand - Economic Cooperation ) Ministerial Meeting was held in Yangon on December 21. The Indian delegation was led by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Rajiv Pratap Rudy. A Joint Statement was issued upon the conclusion of the meeting. Following a joint India-Sri Lanka initiative, the Ministers expressed deep concern over international terrorism and urged the international community to combat terrorism comprehensively, in all its dimensions and forms. The meeting undertook a comprehensive assessment of BIMST-EC, including the status of functional cooperation in the six sectors on Energy, Fisheries, Technology, Tourism, Trade & Investment and Transport and Communications. Allocation of Lead Country and Coordinating Country functions was reorganized. Ministers also stressed the importance of the proposal for a BIMST-EC Free Trade Area, which will be considered further in a meeting scheduled in New Delhi on January17-18. India is the new Lead Country for the Tourism sector. An important BIMC-EC project in tourism is the Visit BIMST-EC Year in 2003. The need for BIMST-EC to strengthen its linkages with business and industry, and academia, was emphasized. BIMST-EC has also proposed strengthening linkages among think tanks in BIMST-EC with the Research and Information System for Non-aligned and other Developing Countries, New Delhi, taking the lead in this direction. The next Ministerial meeting will be held, at full Ministerial level in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in December 2002. The issue of funding for BIMST-EC projects was in focus, and a Working Group has been asked to develop recommendations on the need for a permanent BIMST-EC secretariat.

India Among New Engines of Growth

With the recession well and truly underway in all of the Group of Seven (G7) countries, three others – India, Russia, and China - have accounted for the little growth in the world economy in the current year. Data compiled by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its World Economic Outlook Report has forecast that developing Asian economies will continue to power world's economic growth with an estimated 5.6 per cent growth this year. A similar projection has been made for next year as well. China still accounts for most of this growth at 6.8 per cent against 7.3 per cent posted this year. The IMF expects the Indian economy to grow by 5.2 per cent in 2002, which is lower than some optimistic economists expect. The report attributes the robust growth in the Chinese and Indian economies to their limited exposure to the world economy. Though both countries are not isolated from the global economy, their dependence on exports is limited, and internal demand has fuelled both economies. The report also mentions that the prospective winding down of the conflict in Afghanistan, and the large-scale international assistance that is expected to follow might 'boost activity in the surrounding region'.

Indian economy is estimated to grow by 5.7% during 2001-02 as against the earlier projection of 6%. The revision follows the slower than expected growth in industry during the first half, sharp fall in exports, and concerns following the fall in the capital goods index. The index for capital goods fell by 6% in the first quarter, and then by 11% in the second. The agricultural sector forecast as a whole remains unchanged at 6.5%. Similarly, the services sector growth forecast remains unchanged at 6.6%. Trade, transport and communication are projected to grow by seven per cent; and finance, real estate and insurance by 6.5%.

Contrary to the widely held belief that the September 11 attacks would have a serious impact on Indian business, some of the homegrown CEOs feel that the issue had been too much hyped about. Speaking at a symposium on 'The vision of corporate India in the post-September 11 scenario', noted corporate leaders said the impact of the attacks on the Indian economy would be temporary in nature. J J Irani, Chairman of Tata Teleservices, and former Managing Director of Tata Steel, said that as a result of the September 11 attacks, only two Indian industries had been primarily affected, which were tourism and aviation. He said the attacks would not have any lasting impact on the Indian industry.

Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha has said that the country's economy would start picking up by the beginning of next year due to good agricultural growth. The Indian economy, one of the fastest growing in the world, has been affected by a slowdown in recent months. GDP growth declined to 5.2 per cent in 2000/01 (April-March) from 6.4 per cent a year earlier. India's agricultural growth, a major contributor to the country's economic growth, is expected to pick up this year helped by good monsoon rains. The government expects the good agricultural growth to boost rural demand and reverse the economic slowdown. Seventy per cent of the country's billion-plus population lives in rural areas. The global economic turmoil following the September 11 attacks on the US had also contributed to the persistent economy slowdown. Sinha hoped the Reserve Bank of India's decision to cut the benchmark bank rate would also help reverse the sluggishness.

US $ 73 Billion FDI Approved

Since the process of economic reforms was launched over 10 years ago, Government of India has approved total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of around US$ 72.98 billion from August 1991-August 2001. The total FDI inflows during the same period added upto US$ 26.89 billion. For the latest month of August 2001, for which figures are available, a total of 246 foreign collaboration proposals, including 20 technical collaborations, were approved, involving FDI amounting to US$ 0.30 billion. FDI inflows amounting to US$ 0.93 billion were received during the month. For the period January-August, 2001, FDI approvals amounted to US$ 4.6 billion and FDI inflows to US$ 3.91 billion – just 38.81% more compared to corresponding period of last year – in Rupee terms. The total number of foreign collaboration approvals since 1991 is 20,245, which includes 7,086 technical collaborations. The actual amount of investment approvals has grown progressively and steadily during the 10-year period, starting with Rs.5.3 billion in 1991 to Rs.38.9 billion the next year, touching the peak of Rs.548.9 billion in 1997, and Rs.370.4 billion in 2000. USA has remained number one investing country with a total investment of Rs.537.7 billion, followed by Mauritius (Rs.317.1 billion), UK, Japan, ROK competing the top 5. The investments have emanated from 96 countries, including one proposal approved from Tanzania, during the current year. The major sectors to attract FDI have been fuels, power, telecommunications, electrical equipment, transportation industry, services, and metallurgical industries. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have been the leading States to attract FDI.

India can replicate China's success story in attracting FDI as many of its ingredients including a large domestic market and abundant labour are available, according to International Monetary Fund. In a presentation made to the government recently, the IMF said China's success with FDI was not unique. “Large domestic market and low wage costs, improved infrastructure, complemented with preferential policies, especially the Free Economic Zones, seem to have been major factors”, it said. Since India has a large diaspora, as also a huge domestic market, it can repeat the Chinese success.

The ongoing efforts of the government to further liberalise foreign direct investment (FDI) policies and simplify the procedures are paying off further. India, in the eyes of Japanese investors, has moved up two notches as an attractive investment destination. According to a survey conducted by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to assess the trends of FDI by Japanese manufacturers during the fiscal year 2001, India has been ranked fifth, with 52 corporate citing the country as one of the world’s top five promising countries for overseas business operations over the medium term of three years, and three suggesting India as the most promising country for overseas business operations

‘India Takes the Slow But Steady Route’

The following are excerpts from an article, as titled above, contributed by Philip Bowring in International Herald Tribune, in its last issue of 2001.

“This is an appropriate time to assess the depth and durability of India’s attempts at economic reform. Those began in 1991, and no event has characterized the fitful progress of India’s liberalization more than its relationship with Enron Corp., source of its largest single foreign investment, the Dabhol power plant.

“The statistical record of the decade is mixed. Even if one knocks a couple of percentage points off China’s claims for its gross domestic product growth, its per-capita gains over the past decade are well ahead of India’s. New Delhi also largely failed to take advantage of a decade of rapid growth in world trade or to capture any significant portion of world capital flows. Still, its per-capita annual growth of 4.6 % is a significant improvement on the previous decade.

“It is easy to become skeptical of India’s commitment to economic reform. A World Economic Forum meeting here was recently told by a former Finance Minister, Manmohan Singh, that large-scale privatization was impossible because the Indian private sector lacked the resources and foreign ownership was politically unacceptable. He also said change in the labour market would have to wait until a social security system was in place, which would not happen in the foreseeable future – and this from a man viewed as the architect of liberalization.

“But there is another way of looking at this. Mr. Singh is no longer a top civil servant but a top politician – leader of the opposition Congress Party in the Upper House of Parliament. In India, change is made painfully slow by the opposition’s need to oppose, regardless of what its parties do in states that they control. Any such efforts also meet opposition from entrenched bureaucrats and public-sector vested interests and at times runs afoul of a judiciary that has expanded its powers of interpretation to thwart administrative decisions.

“But the fact that Mr.Singh became a political figure its testimony to the change in basic assumptions here. Measures advanced in the name of reform are opposed for reasons of tactics or self-interest – not because it is considered wrong to privatize, to reduce subsidies, to close unprofitable state enterprises, to change a system that overprotects organized labour but does nothing for the unorganized majority. The ideological battle has been won by the liberalizers. Even the courts have begun to be less obstructive of change.

“Dabhol’s lessons, too, have been mixed. The cowboy instincts of a would-be multinational ran up against the venal and volatile forces of Indian state politics. It stained India’s reputation and cost local lenders, as well as Enron, dearly. But Dabhol was possible only because of the decentralization that has been both a cornerstone of reform and the cause of the frustration of those who must deal with India’s messy democratic politics. It failure is also partly attributable to the state of Maharashtra’s success in going from power shortage to overcapacity.

“The past decade has been marked by huge differences in state performance, whether GDP, electrification, birthrates or education. This is a consequence of weakened central control. But India also has total freedom of movement of labour, so while income inequality has risen, it is less extreme than in China.

“But, as China, state banks do not go bust. Monetary policy is cautious. This is a country that tolerates moderate inflation but has never known high levels of it. India’s avoidance of foreign loans also has served it well, as has its unstated contempt for the siren songs of freedom of capital movement and free rein for the Western bankers who wrought havoc in East Asia and profited by intermediating Argentina’s debt. Advocates of change here, such as Mr. Singh, are pragmatic, not ideological, arguing that market forces are generally more efficient but no panacea. India’s attempts at reform have been slow but secure.”

Software, IT Exports Up

The number of Indian software exporting companies increased by 44 per cent during 2000-01, to 2,473 as compared to 1,720 in 1999-2000, according to the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC). At the same time, the number of units in Export Processing Zones (EPZs), 100 per cent Export Oriented Units (EOUs), and Software Technology Parks (STPs) went up sharply from 1,483 to 2,299. In value terms software exports from STPs alone stood at an estimated Rs. 200.51 billion in year 2000-01.

India's infotech exports would touch $8 billion in 2001-02, said a senior Information Technology official in Delhi. While 70 percent of the exports are directed to the US, about 24 percent are focussed on Europe, especially the UK

Indian software exports to the Asia-Pacific region are expected to touch $770 million this year (2001-02), and go up to $6-7 billion by 2008. Asia- Pacific’s share in India’s IT export pie this year will increase from 7% to 10%, and 2008 to 15%. Presently, only three Asia-Pacific countries are on India’s IT exports radar - Japan, Australia and Singapore, with Japan the biggest importer of India’s IT services in the region at $250 million, followed by Australia and Singapore. Companies like TCS, Wipro, Infosys, Satyam and Polaris are active in these geographies.

Pharma Exports Too

Indian pharmaceutical industry has clocked export sales of Rs. 89.30 billion for 2000-2001, up 20.4% over Rs. 72.30 billion in the previous corresponding period. The Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA), in a statement, said that the pharma industry had registered a 17.8% growth in exports in the April-August 2001 period, over the same period in the previous year. Exports grew to Rs. 37.59 billion, from Rs. 31.90 billion in the April-August period last year.

Indian Drugs to Fight AIDS in Nigeria

Ranbaxy Nigeria Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of India’s Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, has signed an agreement recently for the supply of Anti Retro Viral (ARV) Drugs to the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria. Valued at US $ 1.75 million, the agreement covers the supply of ARVs – Lamivudine, Stavudine and Nevirapine. Ranbaxy Nigeria Limited is among the leading pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria and one of the fastest growing. Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, India’s largest pharmaceutical company, manufactures and markets branded generic pharmaceutical, bulk substances and intermediates. The company has ground operations in 25 countries and manufacturing operations in 6 countries.

Bajaj 3-Wheelers to Hit Brazil Roads

Bajaj Auto Ltd has commenced three-wheeler production at a new plant in Brazil for the local market and its neighbouring regions. Bajaj is exporting completely knocked and semi-knocked down kits to Manaus at Brazil for assembly and sale there. Bajaj’s dealer there has set up the plant. The plant has an installed capacity of making 15,000-20,000 three-wheelers annually. Indian Company’s CMD, Rahul Bajaj, said the company is expecting to sell 1.35 million vehicles, including two and three-wheelers, in 2001-02.

Major Cuts in STD rates

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) on December 28 radically reduced national long distance (STD) rates by upto more than 60%, and rationalized and simplified the off-peak-hour slabs. According to the new rates, which will be effective from January 14, the peak rates for the 50-200 km slab have been reduced from Rs.4.80 per minute at present to Rs.2.40 per minute, while the off-peak rates will remain the same at Rs.1.20 per minute. While the peak hours will continue to be between 9 am and 8 pm, the three off-peak time slabs have been merged to one single slab between 8 pm and 9 am. In the 200-500 km slab, the peak rates have been reduced from the present Rs.11.60 per minute to Rs.4.80 per minute, while in the off-peak hours, they will come down from Rs.3 to Rs.2.40. In the 500-plus km slab, the new peak rates will be Rs 9 per minute – down from Rs.17.56 and Rs.24 for beyond 1,000 km, while the off-peak-hour rates will be Rs. 4.50 per minute.

International Children Award for Indian Doctor

Four-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr Sharadkumar Dicksheet has been awarded the $ 100,000 Kellogg's Hannah Neil World of Children Award. Dicksheet, 71, who is partially disabled, has been awarded in recognition of his dedication to provide free corrective surgery to the poorest of poor children in India. Dicksheet has survived a partially paralysing car accident and two heart attacks that have left him with only 17 per cent residual heart capacity. Despite the challenges in his own life, Dicksheet boards a plane to India every year to fulfil the mission he began in 1968: 'The India Project - Plastic Surgery Camp'. Dicksheet said he would put the entire prize money into his India Project trust fund. Each surgery costs about $ 150 in supplies and transportation, and $ 100,000 would provide for 600 surgeries, he said. Dr Dicksheet's plastic surgery campsites are operational throughout India, in the poorest regions, from October to March each year. Presenting the award, boxing legend Muhammed Ali said, “Dr. Dicksheet is determined to give physically scarred children in India a new start in life. The difference he makes in the lives of these children and their families is immeasurable”.

Veteran Actor Ashok Kumar No More

Ashok Kumar, one of the most famous veteran Indian film actors, died of heart failure on December 10. Bed-ridden for over three years, he met his end at his Chembur residence in Mumbai. Ashok Kumar was born Kumudlal Kunjilal Ganguly, in Bhagalpur(Bihar), in 1911, and grew up in Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh). After studying law in Calcutta, he joined his future brother-in-law, Shashadhar Mukherjee, at Bombay Talkies as laboratory assistant before being made its leading man. Ashok Kumar made his debut opposite Devika Rani in Jeevan Naiya (1936) but became a well known face with Achhut Kanya (1936). The pair went on to act in a string of films - Izzat (1937), Savitri (1937), Nirmala (1938), among others. It was with his trio of hits opposite Leela Chitnis - Kangan (1939), Bandhan (1940) and Jhoola (1941) - that Ashok Kumar came into his own. As was the trend, he sang his own songs and some of them became extremely popular. His success continued with strong performances in Aarti (1962), Gumrah (1963) and Bandini (1963). In the late 1960s, after Mamta (1966) and Hatey Bazarey (1967), he effortlessly settled down to playing character roles. As a character artiste, Ashok Kumar took on all sorts of roles - the villain in Jewel Thief (1967), the sympathetic father in Mili (1975), the lovable old man in Aashirwad (1968) (in which his songs preceded the rap phenomenon by decades!) and Chhoti Si Baat (1975), the conman in Victoria No 203 (1972), the rapist in Jawaab (1970), and the henpecked head of the family in Khoobsurat (1980). Ashok Kumar was by now lovingly called Dadamoni by one and all. He won the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1988. Today, his daughter Priti Ganguly runs an acting school named after him.

India Back Among Hockey Elite

India lived up to its pre-tournament billing defeating South Africa 2-1 to clinch the inaugural Champions Challenge Hockey Trophy in Kuala Lumpur, and a place among the elite 6 for next year’s Champions Trophy - after a gap of six years. With this victory, India registered their first big win at the senior level after the 1998 Asian Games gold medal, and their first win here at this venue. The victory sends India to the 2002 Champions Trophy in Cologne, Germany. Skipper Baljit Singh Dhillon played his best match of the tournament and won the man-of-the-match award. India attacked from the word go. In the 9th minute came the opening goal for India off a superbly move by the combine of Dhillon, Dhanraj Pillay and Deepak Thakur who scored. “This is the beginning of a distinguished and exciting chapter in Indian sports history”, a delighted Sports Minister, Uma Bharti, said. The chapter opened last year with the stirring deeds of chess grandmaster Viswanath Anand who won the FIDE World Championship, and badminton ace P. Gopichand who won the All England Championship crown. “Indian hockey is looking up one again…”

India Win 1-0 England Cricket Series

India won 1-0 the 3-Test Match cricket series against England after the third and final test match in Bangalore was also drawn due to rain. The final day of the match was completely washed out. The second test was drawn in Ahmedabad. After India winning the first test in Mohali by 10 wickets, it was presumed that India would once again make a clean sweep and win the series by 3-0, but England fought back gallantly to actually have an upper hand in the following matches. India’s Anil Kumble, and England’s White and Flintoff were the Man of the Match for the First, Second and Third test respectively, while India’s Sachin Tendulkar was adjudged Man of Series. During the series Kumble became the 2nd Indian bowler to take 300 wickets.

Library : New Books - The High Commission Library acquired the following new books during the month:

1. Kargil and After – challenges for Indian Policy by K. Rajpai, A. Karim & A. Mattoo (a systematic exploration of the war and the challenges India has had to cope with after the war)

2. India’s Neighbours : Problems and Prospects by Ayanjit Sen (India’s contemporary relations with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan)

3. Engaged Democracies : India–US Relations in the 21st Century by K. Bajpai & A. Mattoo (explores the India-US multidimensional relationship)

4. The Ramakrishna Mission : the Making of Modern Hindu Movement by G.Beckerlegge (selected studies of aspects of the movement’s development)

5. Essays on Islam and Indian History by R.M. Eaton (explain how Islamic culture flourished.)

6. Ranjit Singh: Maharaja of the Punjab by Khushwant Singh (a classic biography of one of India’s greater rulers)

7. The Lucknow Omnibus by Sharar, Llewellyn-Jones Oldenburg (3 well-known works on the history and culture of one of India’s premier cities )

8. Sikh History from Persian Sources by J.S. Grewal & Irfan Habib (translation of all major Persian sources of Sikh history up to 1765)

9. Through the Green Door by Nigel Jenkins (explores the Welsh legacy in the Khasi hills in India’s North-East)

10. The Ulama of Farangi Mahall and Islamic Culture in South Asia by F. Robinson (full-length treatment of Islamic scholars and leaders)

11. Studies in Islamic Culture in the Indian Environment by Aziz Ahmad (examines the relations of the emergent Muslim polity in India)

12. Limca Book of Records 2001

13. Benares Seen from Within by R. Lannoy (a rare combination of creative

photography and cultural history)

Trade Exhibitions

MAIT - the apex body of the Information Technology Industry in India, in association with NASSCOM and CII, is organising ICT India 2002 from February 6-9, 2002 at World Trade Centre, Mumbai – the first-of-its-kind event in India and a befitting tribute to the growing significance and role of the ICT Industry in India’s development and integration with the global ICT-led markets. ICT India 2002 is envisaged as the largest most significant platform where both the ICT industry and the user community would meet, interact, network and conduct business, by bringing together some of the world’s leading players showcasing the latest technologies & trend in the world of convergence. Over 200,000 business visitors are expected. More details are available on the event’s website: www.ictindia2002.com.

India Trade Promotion Organisation, New Delhi, is organising the following three events: 17th India International Leather Fair, Jan 31- Feb 4 at Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai (www.indialeatherfair.com); 8th International Leather Goods Fair, March 9-11 at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata (www. indialeatherfair.com/ilgf); and 10th Delhi International Leather Fair, from April 25-28 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi (www.delhileatherfair.com). Interested participants can make online booking.

India Beyond 2002, the Exhibition and Conference with the main theme of Infrastructure and Investment will be held from February 16-18, 2002 at World Trade Center, Mumbai India. The aim of the event will not only on infrastructure industry but will prove as catalyst for all round growth of other industries as well.

Trade Enquiries from India

Company Name Wipro Limited

Doddakannelli, Sarjapur Road, Bangalore 560035

Telephone 91-80-8394982

Fax 91-80-8396450

Contact person Mr Narayan Ramnath

Business Interest Infotech, Healthcare, Consumer care,fluid power

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Company Name SRF Limited

A-16, Qutub Institutional Area, New Delhi 110067

Telephone 91-11-6857141

Fax 91-11-6857139

Email anita@srf-limited.com

Contact person Mr Shashank Johri

Business Interest Exporter of Refrigerant gases

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Company Name Technical Development Company

GPO Box 1053, Bharati Bhawan, 2nd Floor, PD’Mello

Road, Mumbai 400001

Telephone 91-22-2617254

Fax 91-22-2696799

Email anisaz9@vsnl.com

Contact person Mr M Anis

Business Interest Exporter of Display and Publicity material

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Company Name Parijat Agencies pvt Ltd

M-84( II nd Floor), MBlock MarketGreaterKailashPartII

New Delhi 110048

Telephone 91-11-6223714

Fax 91-11-6231092

Email parijat@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in

Contact person Mr Suresh Kumar

Business Interest Exporter of agrochemicals

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Company Name Pavik International

D-2, Ground Floor, Maharani Bagh, New Delhi- 110065

Telephone 91-11-6329505

Fax 91-11-6920815

Email pavik@vsnl.net

Contact person Mr Vikram Hada

Business Interest Exporter of Bicycle, Auto Spares and Kitchen Utensils

________________________________________________________

Company Name Natco Pharma Ltd

Natco hose,Rd No 2, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 33

Telephone 91-40-3547532/ 33

Fax 91-40-3545298

Email habeeb@natcopharma.co.in

Contact person Mr Habib Sheriff

Business Interest Exporter of Pharmaceuticals, Drug Intermediates

________________________________________________________

Company Name Osaka Exports

111/1MIDC Rd, No 13, Andheri East Mumbai 400093

Telephone 91-22-8349338

Fax 91-22-8372519

Email Osaka@bom4.vsnl.net.in

Contact person Mr Suresh G Kumar

Business Interest Exporter of textile and fabrics

________________________________________________________

Company Name Vikram Thermo India Limited

101, classic Avenue, Ashram Rd, Ahemedabad 380009

Telephone 91-79-7542659

Fax 91-79-7540562

Contact person Mr D K Patel

Business Interest Exporter of Aromatic and Industrial chemicals

________________________________________________________

Company Name Mediplus India Ltd

28, Central Market, 3rd Floor, Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi-27

Telephone 91-11-5115099

Fax 91-11-5194556

Email mediplus@nda.vsnl.net.in

Contact person Mr Deepak Malhotra

Business Interest Exporter of Surgical Disposable items

________________________________________________________

Company Name S S Mechanical Engineering Pvt Limited

WZ-106, Rajouri Garden, Extn, New Delhi 11027

Telephone 91-11-5121174

Fax 91-11-5121130

Email mail@ssmech.com

Contact person Mr M D Sharma

Business Interest Exporter of plastic processing and printing, conversion

Machinery

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Company Name Cybermotion Technologies Pvt Ltd

Plot No 25, Jyoti Colony, Trimulgherry, PO Secunderabad

500015

Telephone 91-40-774079

Fax 91-40-7740783

Email info@cybermotionind .com

Contact person Mr Anand Jambholkar

Business Interest Exporter of Computer Software

________________________________________________________

Company Name Bharat Electronics Limited

International Marketing Division, 25 MG Road ,

Bangalore 560001

Telephone 91-80-5583581

Fax 91-80-5584911

Email imd@bel-india.com

Contact person Mr Ancy James

Business Interest Electronics and Communcation requirements of both

Defence and Non –Defence sectors

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Company Name Nicholas Piramal India Ltd

100- Center Point, Dr Ambedkar Road, Mumbai 400012

Telephone 91-22-4134653

Fax 91-22-4163787

Email sraina@nicholaspiramal.co.in

Contact person Mr SM Raina

Business Interest Exporter of pharmaceuticals, Bulk drugs

________________________________________________________

Company Name Home and Foreign Trade

311, Metro House, Mangaldas Road, Pune 411001

Telephone 91-20-6127121,

Fax 91-20-6139234

Email hftrade@hotmail.com

Contact person Mr Hiten Shah

Business Interest Exporter and importer Engineering goods, Machinery,

Turnkey projects

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Company Name Icon Group of companies

103, Shreeram Tower, Aundh, Pune 411007

Telephone 91-20-5890870

Email info@iconquality.com

Contact person Mr Rahesh Dudani

Business Interest Exporter of Software, data entry and data processing

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Company Name Shubhagya International

215/1, Bharat Nagar, Ludhiana 141001

Telephone 91-161-444904, 400283

Fax 91-464-444904

Email shubhagyaldh@sify.com

Contact person Mr RK Maheshwary

Business Interest Exporter of Garden Tools, Handtools, Nuts & bolts

________________________________________________________

Company Name Cadila Pharmaceuticals Limited

IRM House, Navrangpura Ahemedabad 380009

Telephone 91-79,6422059

Fax 91-79-6425741

Emai nikhild@cadilapharma.co.in

Contact person Mr. Nikhil Deva

Business Interest Exporter of Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceutical Machinery

__________________________________________________________________________

Company Name Rajashree Syntex

Midnapore, West Bengal\

Telephone 91-3222-62595, 62273, 63964

Fax 91-3222-62528

E-mail rst@cal2.vsnl.net.in

Contact Person Mr Subodh Daga

Business Interest Eporter of synthetic yarn, sewing thread yarn

__________________________________________________________________________

Company Name Everready Industries India Ltd

2 Rainey Park, Kolkata-19, West Bengal

Telephone 91-33-4751961

Fax 91-33-4753673

E-mail greendale@everreadt.co.in

Contact Person Mr Debraj Bhattacharjee

Business Interest Export of packet Tea and Tea bags

__________________________________________________________________________

Company Name Om Exim House

D-132, Kamla Nagar, Delhi-110007

Telephone 91-11-3941003

Fax 91-11-3941248

E-mail oem@indiatimes.com

Contact Person -

Business Interest Exporter of Household goods

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53rd Republic Day

The 26th January 2002 will mark the 53rd Republic Day of India. On this happy occasion, the High Commissioner of India will unfurl the National Flag at a function to celebrate the Day that morning at India House lawns. The unfurling of the Tri-Colour will be followed by the singing of the National Anthem, and national songs, and the reading of the President’s Republic Day address to the nation. All Indians, as well as all friends and well-wishers of India, are most cordially invited to join the Flag Hoisting Ceremony at 8 AM on the 26th January 2002, at India House (13, Tumbabwe Road, Oysterbay).

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