Recent fatal assault on Salman Rushdie, 75 year old Booker Prize winning author during a literary event close to New York by one Hadi Matar, a youth hailing from Lebanon, brings into focus once again the perpetual and deplorable malaise of terrorism. One has to believe that the negative human tendency that was “introduced” by the Black September group of Palestinians in the wake of Egypt-Israel war in the late sixties, simply refuses to go.
2) Though the controversial but talented Rushdie is no longer critical, the India born British citizen, presently staying in USA, after injury inflicted on his liver may lose one of his eyes. It may impair his depth perception and could adversely affect his ability to think and deliver also.
Reacting sarcastically, hard line supporters of Iran’s religious leaders have, unfortunately “praised” the assault. Needless to say, Salman Rushdie, during his days in hiding had turned into a sort of ‘fictional character’.
Was it called for after issuing a ‘Fatwa'( Edict) by Iran Government, thirty three years ago, way back on 14th February,1989 ?
3)Another disturbing yet notable development is the arrest of a Kazakhastan national in Russia. A self radicalized terrorist ,he was reportedly recruited by an I.S. leader as a suicide bomber in Turkey. A national daily reports that his indoctrination was done through a Telegram Messenger account and personal briefings by an I.S. representative in Istanbul. He was to get the name and whereabouts of ‘one of representatives of ruling circles of India’ apart from required weapons to strike.
4) In this context, we can not possibly ignore the recovery of AK -47 rifles and ammunitions from an abandoned Australian boat at Raigarh coast in Maharastra a few days ago.
The first incident clearly manifests the remnants of State terrorism while the next two show the impact of continued indoctrination by a few leading terrorism outfits active in Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and a score of Western nations. The blind followers of such a tendency do not seem satisfied even after ‘restoration’ of Talibans in Afghanistan .Rather, they are found targeting innocent citizens in several religious and public places all over Afghanistan and Pakistan, every now and then. Such gory and inhuman attacks in Iraq appear to have subsided for the time being. But rise of woman ‘Fidayeen’ in Pakistan ,at the same time is another disturbing happening. Also gruesome murder of the Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala too has reopened a fresh terrorism chapter in Punjab, apart from their nexus in sprawling music industry.
5) When it comes to return of Talibans in Afghanistan, one hardly notices much change in their attitude and modus operandi vis a vis their predecessors more than a decade ago when they had grabbed power with the Russian or U.S. support.
When I wrote the following in one of my articles in October 2001,it may NOT appear different from the depressing scenario in Afghanistan in post 15th August 2021 period. I may quote” History has shown that Afghans have seldom allowed the outsiders to have any hegemony over them. It’s really sad that on account of such an attitude, Afghanistan, instead of catching up with fast developing world, has been relegated to medieval times. There is no institution worth its name nor is there any desire on the part of populace to look forward. All that matters is to strike in the name of Jehad.”
6) However, speaking of leadership of groups of Jehadis, including from India, two notable setbacks have been elimination of Osana Bin Laden on 2nd May, 2011 in Abottabad, Pakistan and that of Ayman al Zawhri, so called Osana’s successor in a busy area in Kabul on 3rd August,2022. While former was given a ‘sea burial’ by the USA, latters body is yet to be recovered by the Talibans. Both incidents have been as a result of meticulous planning by USA, a country which became super active only after having a taste of terrorism due to 9/11 episode in New York. The sacriliges perpetrated by the terrorists in India or elsewhere, whenever brought to their attention earlier, would not move them.
7) As regards method of ‘elimination’ of two notorious leaders of Al Qaida, the first one was a case of face to face killing in cold blood while the second one was ‘accomplished’ through highly developed air strike by Drone technology, which is side lining, if not leaving behind usage of fighter pilots and long range supersonic missiles.
Role of UNO
8) UNO is not performing its expected duty in such deteriorating circumstances, presumably due to Veto power enjoyed by a select five.It is supposed to be more decisive and proactive. It did not do anything when one after another 59 innocent human beings were brutally killed in October- November, 2015 in Kuwait, Morocco and France.
Inclination of Educated Persons
9) Earlier one used to hear about involvement of uneducated but highly motivated “Frankensteins” but with rapid advancement in means of communication, well educated youth also get emotionally charged and are ready to die for a cause. There is an immediate need to check both their contact mechanism and tentacles.
The forthcoming annual U.N. General Assembly can once again deliberate on this issue as terrorism continues to be a serious threat to the humanity.
UNPREDICTABLE CLIMATE CRISIS
10) May be, with gradual rise in global temperature between .5 to 1 degree celcius ( likely to rise by 2 degrees by 2045) heavy rains are triggering flood fury at present in the states of H.P., Uttarakhand, J & K, Odisha, M.P. and Rajasthan after playing havoc with the life of people in Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Rajasthan and Gujarat sometime ago. One can imagine the scenario after annual flood report from Bihar and West Bengal may surface.
Most of these states are recording heavy rainfall. Torrential rainfall, is also causing flash floods, cloud bursts and landslides in the hilly regions.
Inundation in Pakistan
11)Among the neighbour , Pakistan, again grappling with floods affecting millions of people, has declared an Emergency. Nearly 220,000 homes have been destroyed and 937 persons have lost lives, thus far. Two million acres of cultivated crops have been wiped out in Sindh province alone. Baluchistan as usual presents a picture of official neglect in these trying circumstances. It has been learnt that during the last such flood in 2010, two thousand persons had lost their lives.
Flood in Afghanistan too killing over 200 people so far, has prompted the Talibans to call for International assistance and help from Islamic nations.
GRIM CHINA SCENARIO
12) On the other hand, China is battling heat wave, drought and bushfires in mountainous regions, apart from resurgence of Covid in several cities at this juncture. Record heatwave for over a fortnight at a stretch, has dried up rivers, withered crops and is also leading to rationing of electricity( two third of energy in China comes from hydel plants).This is supposed to be most intense heatwave in China since 1961.Not only farming has been impacted but industries too are bearing the brunt of an average 40 to 45 degree centigrade temperature since the beginning of August in Zhejiang, Shaanxi, Chongqing, Hebei, Hunan, Anhui and Sichhuan provinces. Strangely, when South China region(including Tibetan Plateau) is most severely affected by drought conditions, in North China, experience is other way round.
13) If China, one of the largest producers of wheat ,rice and maize, in addition to India(Exported 22 million tons of rice in 2021-22), is facing such a climate crisis in 821,000 hectares of farmland, one can imagine about further impact on the global food supplies, already hit by war between Russia and Ukraine.
14) To tide over the crisis, the Chinese Government has announced $1.45 billion subsidy to support rice farmers. Further, 91 Cloud Seeding flights have launched thousands of ‘rain bombs’ and ‘rain enhancement rockets’ to contain the unprecedented heat wave and induce artificial rain in ten provinces of China.
Record low water levels in Chinese rivers may also lead to more dependence on thermal power plants, something against which both China and India were told to act against during the COP summit in Glasgow, some time ago.
15) U.K., France, Spain and USA too are experiencing unusual heat and drought conditions which has begun affecting the output of Soyabean, Corn and other food grains. As such, major parts of Europe may face acute gas crisis with the onset of Winter. This is what happens when we not only fiddle with nature by being guided by our immediate desires but also raise our level of expectations too much without thinking about the interest of the future generation.
About the Author : Dr. Aaloc Srivastav, Ex CS , Sikkim is a Senior Retd Bureaucrat and passionate about writing on his favourite subjects . The views shared by the author are his personal.
