Jihadi Terror Strikes - Handle them holistically, they are more than just a security problem

I reiterate my stand that Jihadi terror strikes are more than a security issue. The challenge of policing our country of a billion and making it terror-proof will take forever. A more effective way of tackling terror is to deal with the root of the problem - fanatical, religious indoctrination. Now, that we have a new breed of Hindu terrorists, the case for enlisting the services of religious leaders for active reverse indoctrination is stronger than ever. The PM's address to the nation should have been followed by addresses from top religious leaders from all major faiths - Muslim, Hindu and Christian - emphatically condemning the dastardly acts and disowning perpetrators of terror from all sects and faiths, and humanity itself.

The Mumbai Terrorist Attack - spineless response from the Central Govt.

The Indian government's response to the situation so far has been shameful. It reinforces the charge that we are a "soft state". Anything less than joint operations to flush out terrorists from PoK would be an insult to the martyrs who laid down their lives during the anti-terrorist operation. From the signs so far, Manmohan Singh and his cabinet, seem to be heading down the usual path of wishy-washy diplomatic posturing. The US had the courage and conviction to go to war against two countries in response to 9/11. We might not be a super-power like the US, but the world's sympathy is with us today, and no one would fault us for carrying operations to flush out terrorists in areas adjoining the Indo-Pak border. I hope the government re-instates some self-respect and faith in to a wounded and humiliated nation by launching strikes into PoK to eliminate terrorists. At this moment, though many chose to denounce the act as arrogant, I cannot but help admiring the guts and conviction that George Bush Jr. showed while making the much quoted - "You are with or against us" - remark. It's time our leaders showed some pride and announced that we are done with talks and summits. Let's hear the world's third largest army rumble...

Life, its twists and turns

Here's something I wrote a year ago....

I am 25 years old and like many other people of my age, I’m struggling to emerge from a quarter-life crisis. This crisis that I refer to has been precipitated by the multitude of decisions that have been thrust upon me at this juncture. Which job to take? What to do with my money? Should I stay with my parents or move out? When to get married? Whom to get married to? Should I marry at all?

Why do so many people of my age group end up like this? A large portion of those 25 years of mine was spent in schooling, yet I feel illiterate in the face of life’s challenges. I realize that the only things that my academic career has produced are two degree- certificates that can fetch me a job and little else.

Career-wise, I’m at a crucial juncture. It’s no longer like under-grad where I was looking at my job with a one-to-two year time frame; as a stopgap before signing up for a Masters. Now, I’ve completed my second degree and have to focus on building career skills, and this takes time, four to five years at the least. I’ll have to choose wisely. If things go right, it can be a rewarding life-changing experience. If things go wrong, it will lead to a lot of angst and pain. But how do I make this choice? How do I choose one career option over the other? Don’t chase money; chase the right job you might say? But which is the right one for me? How do I know?

In my personal-life things are'nt as grave. The only niggling worry is that I’ve built a cocoon around myself that I’m very comfortable with. I like the selfish and carefree life that I lead within it and shudder at the thought of letting someone in. More so, someone I don’t know well enough. Things haven’t spun out of control yet, but when the day comes when I’ll have to make a decision to let someone in, I’m not sure I’ll have the right answers.

Why do I find myself groping in the dark in this quarter-life crisis? Does the fault lie in my bringing up or my formal education? I guess it’s neither. I suppose this is what they call growing up. There’s only so much you can learn from a book, eventually, you’ll have to start listening to your heart, start trusting your gut. Some do it early, some do it late. Some do it with good consequences, some aren’t as lucky. Nevertheless, the day of reckoning shall come, when I'll have to stop kidding myself and look within to ask questions and seek answers. I think, the quarter life crisis is an indication that that day is around the corner.

My nicknames

I have had quite a few nicknames so far. At school I was always "AJ", which are my initials and stand for Alangar Jayagovind. That was understandable, because I was the third Karthik in the attendance register and hence, the letters "AJ" not only symbolized my parentage but were also my identifiers. Through college and my first job, the same moniker held me in good stead. When I went back to college for a second time, as expected, I found that there was another Karthik in the class and so, the necessity for a nickname cropped up again. Having grown tired of my childhood nickname, I chose a new sobriquet - "YAK". This is an acronym whose original antecedents are a bit hazy. I don't quite remember if I heard it for the first time from a colleague or read it on a blog. But either way it suited me fine in the given situation and so, during the introduction session on the freshers ragging night, I stepped up to the stage, right after my namesake had finished, and announced to the world that for the sake of differentiation I would henceforth respond to the acronym YAK, which stood for "Yet Another Karthik".

YAK was a roaring success as a nickname. To this day people from my MBA days know me as YAK and I bet many don't know why; I'm sure quite a few even don't know what my actual name is! Once I started working after my second degree, I chose to call myself Karthik Jayagovind. This was partly to establish my sense of lineage and partly in gratitude and respect to my father who, as always, stood by me and helped me through a very trying phase before I settled down in my current job.

This whole business of nicknames had faded into obscurity until recently, when a spirited colleague left a whole bunch of us gaping when he introduced me to a seminar audience with gusto as, "the ever-dependable Mr. Karthik Jayagovind, whom we also call KJo!". It's been many months since then, but my work-mates still double up with laughter everytime that incident is recalled. Well, after my official rechristening, there was a heated debate on what KJo stood for. My cubicle mate Mr. Mangalore insisted that it stood for Karan Johar, but thankfully the colleague who started it all clarified over a round of drinks that KJo came from FloJo who was a runner of repute from the United States until she was charged with doping offences - and so, there ended that debate.

As I sat to write another entry in this blog, I noticed the title "YAK YAK" and felt that I owed you folks an explanation and that's why the sermon on nicknames. Before I finish, try taking a guess about the antecedents of my latest nickname at work - "Yayagovind!" This one cropped up after my good friend's Dutch boss chose to read aloud, rather shout aloud my email id that goes karthik.jayagovind* for the entire office floor to hear. I'm sure he would laugh it off and nod ja, ja....Prost!

*The Dutch pronounce ja as ya