While Mr. Abdullah appreciates what AAP has started doing in Delhi to uproot corruption and bribery, he sounds helpless in doing the same in J & K.  His statement is very ironical.  On the one hand, he says he has all such legislation in books to make J & K free of corruption and bribery while on the other hand, he is blaming the people for not being helpful in getting these laws implemented.  This is exactly what is confusing.  If anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws exist, what is stopping his government to implement them.  Why can't he designate a telephone number the way AAP has been doing it in Delhi for the public to lodge all bribery and corruption complaints.  Once the complaints are received, follow them and bring the culprits to books.  He has quoted many areas where the local government is aware of existence of bribery and corruption.  May be these departments are a good start.  Removal of corruption and bribery needs deeds not political statements.

It is very interesting to note as to how BJP has started following the foot steps of AAP for handling corruption/bribery cases in MP by designating a special telephone number for the victims to contact the authorities.  Also, a similar instance happened in Mumbai. A local Congress official requested his higher authorities to curtail the electric and water charges for the residents right after AAP made such an announcement in Delhi.  Though these steps are in the right direction to eliminate corruption from the society irrespective of which party initiated this action, but one wonders the intent and timing of such announcements.  If BJP and Congress are so interested in the removal of this societal evil, they could have done it decades ago when they were in power many a times.  Therefore, this writer has some apprehensions about their serious intent.  One can easily conclude that this is just an eye wash to throw some fodder for their voting constituency for the impending national elections.  As far as corruption, bribery and hoarding of black money are concerned, the leaders in both parties, rather I would say in most of the political parties in India, have skeletons in their closets.  However, this is an opportune time to either join hands with the party which is bent on eliminating corruption from the society or change your existing party manifesto reflecting anti-corruption and anti-black money to have a solo power at the center.  Mind you, this intent and manifesto have to be very clear, sincere and without any nepotism failing which there is no chance to survive now.  The Indian people have awaken and now know that there is someone to show them the guiding light to move forward with a clean societal slate.  The test now is to check who has the will power and good intention to make India a great nation free of this societal evil.  IT WILL BE A SHOT IN THE ARM IF ALL POLITICAL PARTIES - AT LEAST THE MAJOR ONES - TO JOIN HANDS WITH A PLEDGE TO THINK ABOUT THE COUNTRY FIRST.

Mr. Shinde indeed has made a very tall claim to capture Mr. Dawood with or, I guess, without the help of any outside force.  If India initiates any surreptitious action in this regard,  India, of course, has to be prepared militarily to face any repercussion in the event  of any retaliatory action taken by Pakistan.  One can't undermine the significance of Mr. Shinde's statement, but one wonders the timings of his statement.  Mr. Dawood has been living in Pakistan since 1993 and moving freely in the Middle East region with the knowledge of the whole world.  India has not been able to capture him for the last 20 years and all of a sudden Mr. Shinde's statement is mind boggling. Is it because India has been able to improve upon his intelligence, or has it gotten any assurance from the FBI or other outside source to capture him, or Mr. Nawaj Sharif's government is willing to cooperate to hand over Mr. Dawood to India, or is it just the opportune time to make this type of eye-opening statement right before the national election to create a fodder for the Congress voting bank? Out of these scenarios, this writer feels compelled to waive the options of improvement in the intelligence as well as any outside assurance from FBI especially in view of deteriorating relationship between India and the USA over the diplomatic imbroglio.  Since Mr. Nawaj Sharif wants to improve relationship with India, it will be a test for him to show his sincerity towards this mission and hand over Mr. Dawood to India.  Of course, this writer does not have the privilege to know if there is any implied understanding between India and Pakistan on this topic, but time will tell.   The only option left is the last one which refers to the timing of this statement.  Since the national election is not too far, the voting bank of India needs to really understand the reality of issues and the sincerity of the leaders before casting their votes.  BALL IS IN THE COURT OF INDIAN VOTERS.

The announcement by the AAP in Delhi regarding setting up special courts and appointing additional judges to dispose off all crime cases against the female community of India within 6 months is a music to the ears.  Not only it is a good news for the female community but rather for the whole country and this writer just hopes that this action becomes a guiding light for the other states in India towards this heinous crime.  Of course, time will be the best judge to observe the efficacy of this new legislation, but it is certainly a step in the right direction to eradicate or reduce the phobia of this crime.  As enacting legislation is important to handle such cases, it is equally paramount to incorporate tough punishment for the criminals to avoid occurrence of this inhuman behavior.  This writer holds a firm belief that, once a crime is proven, a minimum imprisonment of 5-10 years without parole should be automatic irrespective of age, creed, status or a party affiliation of a criminal, and God forbid if a life of a victim is involved, then a death penalty should not be considered out of line.  Protection of a female community is very essential for the well-being of a society and it is the duty of the leaders to ensure that this security is provided to the female community unfettered.  MY KUDOS TO THE AAP FOR TAKING THIS BOLD INITTIATIVE.

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.