Strategic Vanguard has moved to our new home

Devadas, what can I say about him? He was a constant friend all through my school days. I first met him when I joined Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kanjikode. He was a person who would stand alone in the crowd. A person with a bubbling character full of energy, he would go on to become one of the closest friends of my school days. When I think of him, the first picture that comes to my mind is that of his dance. His performances in school including as Krishna for the school annual day was a big hit and made him popular among the teachers and students alike. As our years rolled by, Devadas became a constant friend. At that time our school was functioning from the Sathram, an old and a palacial building at Kanjikode. I still vividly remember sharing our lunch between our selves. Devadas was highly active in all the cultural activities of the school. As time went by, I moved on in life. After completing my Pre-Degree, I moved to Calicut to complete my studies in law and after that 3 years of pra...

(Picture Courtesy: Priya Tulasi, USA) Vishu, the celebration of lights and celebration for the Keraliets. It is the beginning of the Malayalam New Year. A time when the schools close for the long summer vacation after the end of an academic year. The children unshackled from the burden of education celebrate to their hearts fill. For me, Vishu has special place in my heart from my child hood. It was the time when after the annual exams and closing of the school, we used to travel to my father's native place of Trichur. There all the cousins would come for the vacation. There used to be my brother Anu. with I always had a special bonding. We used to play many games including cricket. Then there was also the festivities in Trichur associated with Vishu, the cultural capital of Kerala. There used to be the Trichur Exhibition at the Th...

The largest democratic excise in the world is again upon us. As we prepare for the General elections,2009 more than ever before the entire political setup is in flux. The largest parties have failed to get their act together and are sown by infighting and unreliable allies. We have a third front who have come together without any common agenda but just ti flex their muscles and make themselves relevant nationally. India entered the coalition era when the congress lost it's foot hold and the appeal to the grand old party got waned in the popular mind. The first test of the third front was the Janatha Party led Government in the 70's which for the first time ousted the Indira Gandhi led Congress which at the time was resented by the people for the infamous emergency. But that experiment did not last long and the people again returned the Congress to power led by Indira Gandhi. After the death of Indira Gandhi, the mantle of power was taken over by her son, Rajiv Gandhi. Later th...

Well, I am back with another blog, my second this year. Lately my professional commitments had kept me well away from the net. Many things have happened in world during this time, The Satyam Fiasco, The Malegaon probes, the advent of the Hindu Social Moral enforcers and many more. I hope to deal with the subjects in detail in the future. As my first subject, I am dealing with the rise of Taliban in Pakistan.The Pakistan Government has given control of a large part of the country to the Taliban. The Taliban, literally meaning "Students" are a band of rag tag militia that found it's origin in the Afghanistan and was one of the predominant force there until ousted by the American lead operations post 9/11. These militants are dominated by Pusthoon tribals . Notorious for the following of the strictest following of Islamic laws which is even severe by normal standards, they never got recognition in Afghanistan and soon became very unpopular due to their brutal ways. they als...

My first blog for the new year, what a day to start off the year than this day when my mother land celebrates her 60'Th year as one of the best, most prolific and one of the most successful democracies in the face of this earth. India has come a long way since 1950 when we became a full fledged republic. We have problems but with such a diverse country like ours, the gains that we have made is remarkable. India today stands at the cross road, treading the path few have taken before in the process joining the galaxy of nations that have made a mark for themselves in the history of humanity. Even though we claim a history of over 3000 years, India as a nation is quite young. We are still in the infancy of nation building. 60 years in the history of humanity is a Milli second and in the history of earth a nano second. We have many challenges. Poverty, hunger, malnutrition, infant mortality, providing basic necessitates  to her population are some of the challenges faced by us today. F...

As India bounces back from the horrors created by the terror attacks in Mumbai , one is left wondering what is next. I know it is a little late to write about the attack but I held myself back so that I can write with an independent mind free from the pain, anguish and anger that every Indian felt deep in their hearts. India had been reeling under the repeated terrorists attacks for many years. Over the years, the audacity of these merchants of death have increased many fold. But to this day, our government have failed to device ways and strategies to successfully quell the menace of terror. What is required is a total over haul of the entire system and conceiving new strategies to deal with terror. Indian politicians have failed to deliver. You had a home minister who despite repeated terror attacks could not take any steps to counter the same. Anyway even though Sivaraj Patil was unfortunate to be in the wrong seat in the wrong time, it is undeniable that we have to take ...

January-20'th,2008 will be a red letter day in the history of The United States of America as Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44'th President of The United States of America. He becomes the first person from the Afro-American community to adorn the Oval office. There has been expectations on the new President as the entire world has tuned into watch each and every step of the great race for the White House. Every body knew that this election would in any way create history. It would either give America it's first Black President or would give America her first women President. And in the end it turned out be one of the greatest movements in American history. The blacks also have come a long way. From the days when they were subjected to discrimination due to their colour, the Afro-American community has over the years excelled in almost all walks of life. Now they are a dominant force in almost all fields of life that includes sports, movies, music, poli...