This crime with a girl of such a tender age is so heinous that it is difficult to find a word to express one's annoyance and anger in the English dictionary.  Unfortunately, this type of crime happens almost everyday in the Indian cities without any right kind of punishment for the perpetrators.  In order to stop or at least reduce these crimes, it is an opportune time for the Indian judiciary to implement laws awarding a harsh punishment to the criminals as well as a quick disposal of these type of cases.  It is true that the machinery under a democratic system is slow, inefficient and consists of corruption and nepotism, but the responsibility lies on the shoulders of the judiciary to make sure these negative systems are not allowed to crawl into the implementation of anti-rape legislation.  When this writer talks about a harsh punishment, it means once the guilt is proven, the criminal ought to go behind bar for 10-15 years without any parole, and if the rapist becomes responsible for the life of a victim, a death penalty should be awarded automatically.  What happened in December 2012 in Delhi is a live example and this writer applauds the decision announced by the judiciary for the perpetrators.  This type of decisions should be the guiding light on a nationwide basis for any such heinous crime because harsh punishment is the only way to safeguard the honor, prestige and liberty of the female community in the country.  I wonder if the leaders of the nation have the courage and responsibility to help promulgate such legislation.  Speaking specifically of this instance, raping a 5-year old girl warrants a death penalty without wasting too much time in the legal courts.

It was very sad what happened a year ago to Ms. Nirbhaya.  However, it is interesting to note that a trust is being established for the rape victims and there is an assurance from the Delhi Chief Minister to erect a monument or some kind of structure in her memory.  One wonders if hugging the bereaved families by the politicians, creating trusts for the future victims or spending tons of money for erecting structures in the memory of those who lost their lives due to rape, is the real solution to avoid occurrence of similar incidents.  This writer is in no way trying to diminish the importance and significance of all these gestures, but wonders if there could be a better solution to eradicate or at lease reduce this menace of inhuman behavior nationwide.  It was also sad to note that one of the perpetrators who was juvenile was awarded only three-years sentence.  I am sure it was done in pursuance of the terms and conditions stipulated in the Indian Constitution, even though I do not profess to be an expert in that department.  But, as Nirbhaya's Mom sadly expressed her opinion about this judgment, it sounds like a mockery of the Indian judiciary system.  May be this is an opportune time for the experts to review the relevant terms and condition of the Indian Constitution. Ms. Nirbhaya's case is not the end of this menace, females in India encounters this malicious and inhuman behavior nationwide on a daily basis.  Therefore, if the politicians are serious enough to eradicate this menace, a nationwide tough law is needed for the future rapists which means, once proven guilty irrespective of age, party affiliation, status in the society, a minimum long-term hard labor sentence of may be ten years should be automatic without any parole.  For serious crime where the victim loses her life, a death penalty need not to be considered out of line.  ARE THE INDIAN POLITICIANS INTERESTED IN HUGGING THIS NATIONWIDE ANTI-RAPE LEGISLATION TO SAFEGUARD AND PRESERVE THE DUE RESPECT THE FEMALE COMMUNITY DESERVES?

Mr. Nawaz Sharif's government is coming out with all sorts of proposals/invitations to the Indian Prime Minister to resolve outstanding issues between the two countries.  There is nothing new in these proposals.  India has been trying sincerely since the birth of Pakistan on these issues.  Failure of these discussions eventually led both countries to four wars with devastating aftermath.   However, the Pakistani government is not saying anything about the eradication of terrorism from its territory which is the stumbling block of improving relations.  In the eyes of Pakistani government, Kashmir is a big issue when the Indian government does not even recognize it as an issue.  As far as withdrawal of Indian forces from the Siachen area is concerned, Indian government  should know that it is ploy so that the Chinese can easily walk into the Indian territory at their own free will without facing the Indian defense forces.  Indian government has taken a right decision of not to exchange any dialogue until there are signs of eradication of terrorism from Pakistan and a peaceful status on LOC.  Sudden rush on the part of Pakistani government to sign some kind of agreement towards resolving some of the issues with the present Indian government shows that may be they are not sure if the new government will be that malleable.  Right now Pakistan has no friends, except China, and the government being in a state of fragility and despair is looking around some kind of solace. 

Recent Assembly election in a few States has shown the awareness of fundamental rights among Aam Aadmi Janta.  AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) has been supported by the voters in Delhi openly against all odds - being a new and unknown party.  Now is the time to see what AAP can do to bring some relief in the basic food prices which Aam Aadmi can afford.  However, this writer is very confused of sensing an unwillingness to join hands between BJP and AAP when the motto of both parties has been all along to remove corruption, bring back black money from overseas banks, punish the culprits, and eradicate crime from the face of India.  At least these were the pre-election slogans emanating from the leaders of both these parties.  Then what could be the reason of not sitting together and chalking out a policy to accomplish the objective of pre-election slogans?  Is it a politics again or a personality conflict?  AAP is a new party, but one will hope that BJP has learnt some lessons from its previous mistakes of not taking care of farmers and poor people, showing a blind eye towards corrupt BJP officials and almost a failed foreign policy especially towards Pakistan.  One may not be off the line in predicting that there is a good chance that BJP might come in the center also next year.  Therefore, it is an opportune time to chalk out national and international policies to avoid past mistakes.  Also, AAP being a new party, so far only in Delhi, can't escape itself from the responsibility and obligations it has towards Aam AAdmi Janta.  Rather, AAP has to work harder to show its constituencies that it can deliver what it vouched for in the pre-election slogans.  TIME OF COURSE WILL BE THE BEST JUDGE, BUT BOTH BJP AND AAP LEADERS SHOULD ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND THAT THE INDIAN VOTERS ARE INTELLIGENT AND AWAKEN AND THEY CAN ALWAYS CHANGE REGIME WHEN THE TIME COMES.

Ms. Rice is correct in saying that the benefits which could have been harnessed from the civil nuclear agreement signed by both India and the USA have not been realized due to civil legal liability issue for which both nations are struggling to find a solution to this enigma.  It is not a big deal.  If both nations are serious enough, there is a solution to tackle this issue.  This legal liability issue can be handled the same way Terrorism coverage is being handled in the United States.  Private insurance industries in both countries along with the US government can share the risk of civil liability under this agreement.  The risk can be shared on an excess or quota share basis between all these entities by accepting a proportionate share of the premium associated with this risk.  It is true that like any other project, this agreement also has the potential of larger benefits linked with the potential of civil legal liability of nuke risk.  But the risk associated with any project ought not to take a precedence on the over all benefits to be derived from any given project, so long as a proper protection, safety features and the financial ramifications are contemplated.  Ms. Rice is also correct in saying that if the relationship between India, Pakistan and Afghanistan improves, it can be very conducive to the three economies.  But that is a major "IF".  Relationship among these three countries - especially between India and Pakistan as well as between Pakistan and Afghanistan can't be improved until the civilian government in Islamabad is in a position to eradicate the sentiment of terrorism from its territory, dismantle the training centers of militants, maintain law and order situation in Pakistan, get itself released from the clutches of Pakistani military/ISI nexus and start thinking out of the box that India is not an enemy of Pakistan.  Prosperous Pakistan is a healthy news for India which will help all the neighboring countries to live in peace and enjoy prosperity. Resources being spent on the military in both counties can be earmarked for other civilian projects to make the region more prosperous.  UNFORTUNATELY, THE BALL IS IN THE COURT OF PAKISTAN AND THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING CURIOUSLY TO SEE THE OUTCOME ESPECIALLY WHEN THE NATO FORCES WALK OUT OF AFGHANISTAN.

It is astonishing that all of a sudden various wings of the Islamabad government have started talking about Kashmir issue claiming that this is the flashpoint which could trigger another war between India and Pakistan.  These statements are so ironical that one can't help but to feel sorry about the leaders of Pakistan because they fully know that all the previous wars were started by Pakistan via. Kashmir.  Hence, it is imperative for them to mend their own fences first before blaming India for all the troubles both countries are facing.  Pakistan is instrumental in propping up its proxies in J & K area via separatist leaders of JKLF, Hurriyat Group and Moderate Hurriyat.  Recently Mr. Nawaj Sharif's National Security Advisor had a meeting on his visit to Delhi with all the three entities which one leads to conclude that there is a deep understanding and collusion among all the parties.  Needless to say, Pakistan has been providing these separatists leaders with all financial, diplomatic and arsenal support from day one.  Therefore, these diplomatic statements do not mean anything as far as resolving the problems between the two countries.  This writer holds a firm opinion that there can't be any peace between India and Pakistan till the organizational chart of Islamabad government is amended to the effect that the ISI/Military nexus is made subservient to the civil government in Islamabad.  Since the birth of Pakistan, this nexus of Military/ISI has been calling all the shots, hence the problems being faced by both India and Pakistan.  THIS NEEDS TO BE CHANGED URGENTLY IF PEACE HAS TO PREVAIL.

What Prime Minister Sharif is saying about Kashmir is nothing new.  Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan since 1947 and these slogans have been floating around since the time Pakistan was born.  Four wars have already been fought on the issue of Kashmir.  These slogans are meant to pacify the local people in general and the militant groups in particular.  Right now, Pakistan is in a fix and is going through lot of domestic economic, financial, political, cultural and administrative issues to handle.  Pakistan is not in a position to find a solution to these problems, and hence these slogans are tactics Pakistani government is applying to deviate peoples' attention.  I agree with ex-Lt. General Hoon when he stated that Pakistan can't be trusted.  On one hand, Mr. Sharif is pretending to be extending an olive branch to ameliorate relations between India and Pakistan and on the other hand making an overt vociferous war mongering statement in front of people of POK sounds so ironical.  I admire Mr. Manmohan Singh's riposte on this issue.  India need not to pay too much attention to these hollow statements emanating from the Pakistani government, but to make sure that the Indian defense forces are equipped with the best arsenal available in the world to cope  with any untoward incident.  Recently, Mr. Sharif's National Security Advisor also made a statement stating that the Indian forces should vacate the Siachen area.  So, one can see this new common trend of empty political and diplomatic statements being released from Islamabad.  Since Mr. Sharif has been sitting on the Islamabad throne for the forth time, one would have hoped that he learnt a lesson from his previous failed policies while chalking out his new policy towards India.  But it appears that he is still walking and talking under the influence of bunch of militant groups and military/ISI nexus.  Under the circumstances, this writer is very pessimistic and don't see any light at the end of tunnel except may be a light of an express train coming out of this tunnel which is fast moving to bring destruction in the region.  INDIA NEEDS TO BE ON THE ALERT.

One can't blame Japan in cutting down its aid to China in view of their present territorial dispute.  China's authoritative pronouncement of ADIZ in the East China Sea is another example of its never-ending  desire to expand its empire wherever it can.  China is not a super power yet.  But one needs to visualize what China will be capable of doing once it becomes a super power.  By declaring ADIZ in that part of the world, China is evincing its prowess to the small neighboring countries by ignoring all international zoning laws along with the sentiments of these nations.  Many countries are so scared of China that they have started reporting the routing schedule of their civil airlines to China before flying over that part of the East China Sea.  However, Japan, South Korea and the USA do not recognize the ADIZ and the live example is USA flying two of its B-52 recently from Guam to Japan without any incident.  Now the question arises, if China is not serious about the enforcement of declaration of ADIZ in the East China Sea, what is the purpose of creating this nuisance in that part of the world.  This writer believes that China before it becomes a super power, it is using all these tactics to test the will power of the neighboring countries as to how far these nations can be pushed against the wall.  China is not using this type of tactics in the coastal areas only, even though Chinese authorities claim so.  But they are implementing the same tactics in the land areas too.  A live example is China's unilateral announcement of claiming Arunachal Pradesh ( an Indian territory) as part of China, China's illegal and forceful occupation of Leh/Ladakh area ( again an Indian territory) since 1962, China's occupation of Tibet since 1959 and so on.  It seems that China's recent fiscal and military strength are the driving forces of all these illegitimate claims, and the time has come that this insatiable territorial ambition is stopped.  Unfortunately, it is true that there are not too many nations which are capable of confronting China militarily except the United States and Russia.  Since Russia and China have good relations with each other, it is not expected of any such action from the Russian end.  Therefore, the worldly eyes are looking towards the United States to initiate some concrete action to check the seemed-to-be unstoppable foot steps of China into others' territories before it becomes too late. Definitely, building military ties among Japan, India and other countries in the South and East China Sea area will pose a substantial psychological threat to stop China to initiate any aggressive military move.