Rajesh Sundaram

2011-12-01T08:05:00.001+05:30

Holy cows

Revered, placed in a carefully consecrated sanctum sanctorum
Till the ordained time, when they are slaughtered

Slaughtered after an elaborate ritual of rage
their hide left intact, to make a punching bag

A punching bag that can be hit and hit again

Hungry Dog Looking at the Moon

2011-09-17T07:44:00.000+05:30

2011-08-13T00:27:00.001+05:30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZpahrPFq6Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwx3GqXu2qU&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txN4Fabp77Y&feature=related

A happy day in Chennai

2011-05-01T19:44:00.001+05:30

NDTV ASSIGNMENT TO TAMIL EELAM ( Circa 2004)

2011-01-18T09:12:00.010+05:30

My dear friend Dhanpal sent me a bunch of old photographs of our trip to Tamil Eelam in 2004. These have photographs taken with the late S P Thamilchelvan political head of the LTTE after an interview at the LTTE's former stronghold of Killinochi.

He spoke at length about how India has nothing to fear from a militarily strong LTTE. " All our weapons are to protect the legitimate rights of the Tamil people here. India has nothing to fear."

He said.

The interview was coordinated by Daya Master and among the people present at the Tamil Tigers' peace secretariat was Thamilchelvan's translator George and three of his body guards.

Dhanpal asked Thamilchelvan to sit behind a photograph of LTTE chief, V Prbhakaran with a Tamil Eelam flag in the frame before he rolled the interview.

One of his body guards was asked to take a picture after the interview. Dhanpal held the Tamil Eelam flag in his hand respectfully as the photo was taken.

Thamilchelvan played the part of a statesman when we met him.. A measured, calibrated diplomat's speech, and a voice that was firm and serene at the same time. He always had a smile on his face...the smile of a saint.

He was a feared combatant, one of the most trusted by Prabhakaran. Served as the commander of Jaffna during the time of the IPKF.

During that trip we also visited the HQ of the Tamil Eelam police. The police cars where straight from LAPD and the policemen seemed well armed and trained. Unlike the rest of the sub continent the police force of this "non-state" did not wear a khaki uniforms.

They worked under a DGP and where divided into three divisions, traffic, law enforcement and detective.

We also visited the Tamil Eelam courts.

Passing Through Chennai

2010-06-13T23:04:00.005+05:30

Passing through Kolkata

2010-06-05T11:10:00.017+05:30

Angel to Monkey

2010-04-09T10:49:00.006+05:30

Rajesh Sundaram

Perched precariously on his master's right shoulder

Long white robe, smile and the halo

"The angel, conscience keeper of the giant " he thought

Whispering into the master's right ear, unsolicited advice on every move

..."pointing the right way" he thought, in a "horribly wrong" world

Till the occupant of the "wrong" shoulder had his way

...and the master tossed the monkey off his back.

Tank Road, Karol Bagh

2010-04-03T01:52:00.015+05:30

The UFO

2010-02-16T19:52:00.002+05:30

Rajesh Sundaram

One hundred magnificent dark horses,

pulling a brilliant golden chariot.

Can't see the charioteer, the rein holder... as I strain into the sky

The wheels don't move as the carriage flies

No headwinds, no tailwinds

Just an aura that almost blinds me

I shield my eyes and look again

The horses, the carriage and the aura are all gone

I smile and move on, the UFO is gone

Mumbai for Rahul's Baby's Naming

2010-02-13T20:36:00.007+05:30

Theme for the Class of 94 Reunion

2010-02-06T11:02:00.014+05:30

Scaffolding

Masons, when they start upon a building,

Are careful to test out the scaffolding;

Make sure that planks won't slip at busy points,

Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints.

And yet all this comes down when the job's done,

Showing off walls of sure and solid stone.

So if, my dear, there sometimes seems to be

Old bridges breaking between you and me,

Never fear. We may let the scaffolds fall,

Confident that we have built our wall.

Seamus Heaney

What kind of God are you Mr Manager ?

2010-01-23T19:14:00.006+05:30

Most middle or senior managers in any average Indian company assume roles, responsibilities and powers that equate them with God for the people they manage.

As per vedic traditions, there are three types of God. Those that Create, those that sustain and those that destroy...Bharhma, Vishnu and Shiva.

In the execution of their day to day functions most such managers alternate between the three roles.

They need to create. Create ideas, roles for their staff, targets, jobs, solutions.

They need to sustain. Motivating and keeping the wheels turning smoothly day in and day out is the bulk of their work.

They need to destroy. Right sizing to optimise efficiencies is also something they need to do.

But the role they have to play most of the time is that of the sustainer.

So the middle and senior manager is for most parts Vishnu...the sustainer.

But being Vishnu is not easy.

The Vishnu Sahasranamam, the ancient Stotra contains a thousand names of Vishnu.

Each with a different meaning, each distinct and unique.

But the two contradictory names that have fascinated me are Bhayanashana and Bhayakrita.

Bhayanashana, the one who destroys fears and insecurities.

Bhayakrita, the one who creates fear.

In my observation these are two management styles.

There are managers who create fear and insecurity as they lord over their patch.

Fear ensures optimum productivity and efficiency. They may not win popularity contests but they are seen as effective. Insecurity among the people they manage ensures their leadership is never challenged or disputed.

This form of God does not command respect...but he is feared and revered.

And then there are managers who destroy the fears and insecurities of the people they manage and unleash their latent potential.

They may not be seen as effective in the short team...but they are very effective in building systems that ensure success in the long term.

They command respect and are team leaders who often lead by example.

So what type of God are you Mr. Manager ?

Mumbai Through My Hotel Window

2009-12-21T22:33:00.000+05:30

Old India Strikes Back

2009-10-11T19:43:00.005+05:30

Stuck

2009-10-05T19:29:00.000+05:30

Slip deeper into the abyss

Rudderless…adrift in a violent storm

The calm within triggers occasional alarm

The alarm fails to provoke

Time and Wealth

2009-10-01T10:04:00.002+05:30

An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth

Bonnie Friedman

LTTE'S Rudrakumaran reacts to JDS footage on Headlines Today

2009-08-29T15:21:00.007+05:30

1. How do you respond to the Video released by the JDS ?

I am horrified that such a terrible crime against humanity was committed with such casualness by the Sri Lankan armed forces that it seems to be a routine event. However, I am not surprised because this is not the first time the barbarism and the brutality of the Government of Sri Lanka has been on public display. We have seen pictures of small children who were literally hung to death in Vaharai and the explosion of bombs in a woman’s private parts to hide evidence of rape by members of the armed forces. We fear there have been many more atrocities committed. There have been tens of thousands of disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Tamils over the past 25 years, for instance, while this is the first to be captured on film.
We are very concerned about the basic human security of the IDPs in the camps and the former combatants in places unknown. General Sarath Fonseka says that 4-5 suspected combatants are being taken from the camps every day, while Human Rights Watch says that there are “concerns of possible ill-treatment or enforced disappearance” for these individuals removed from the camps without accountability.

2. Does this vindicate the stand by various Human rights groups of massive human rights violations and war crimes in the last phase of what is now being called "Eelam War 4." ?
There is no doubt that war crimes have been committed by the Government of Sri Lanka. How else can one explain the killing of more than 20,000 civilians within the last ten days of the war? In addition to killing tens of thousands outright, the Government deliberately starved 300,000 civilians for months, withheld medical care and deliberately bombed and shelled hospitals, homes, fields, and temples and is holding the survivors in concentration camps indefinitely.
In fact, the carnage committed by the Government of Sri Lanka clearly satisfies the definition of genocide in the Genocide Convention. The intent to eliminate large numbers of Tamils can easily be inferred from the acts themselves.

3. How do you see the Sri Lankan government's reaction calling the footage doctored and saying that its security forces have not committed any war crimes or human rights abuses ?
What else do you expect from this government? The fact they haven’t even offered to have a domestic investigation reveals where the guilt lies.

4. Will this video be now part of your legal campaign?

Definitely this video will be part of the legal campaign to bring justice to the victims. We believe this kind of revelations prick the conscience of the international community. It is appalling to see even after the killing of more than 30,000 people and the detaining of more than 300,000 people in a clear effort to be rid of an entire community, Sri Lanka is still treated as a normal state. The international community’s failure to bring these criminals to justice not only reinforces the betrayal of the international community of the Tamils, but also undermines the rule of law and the integrity of international institutions such as the UN. We hope that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will do an investigation on its own, will refer the matter to the Security Council and get the Council’s approval to initiate prosecution in the ICC. India’s support for such action toward justice will be very important.

A Lizard on my Car Window

2009-08-02T00:40:00.000+05:30

Touch Down at Sharm el Sheikh

2009-08-02T00:36:00.001+05:30

Latest media release from the LTTE

2009-07-21T22:36:00.003+05:30

Headquarters,
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
21 July 2009
LTTE officially announces restructure process: Selvarasa
Pathmanathan heads the Organisation
"The Executive Committee of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,
wishes to officially let our beloved Tamil people and the international
community know that Mr Selvarasa Pathmanathan, who had been
appointed as Head of International Relations by our National Leader, will
lead us into the next steps of our freedom struggle according to the vision
of our esteemed leader", said LTTE's Executive Committee in a press
statement released today.
Full text of the statement by the Executive Committee of the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam is as follows:

"The Eelam Tamil people are in the midst of a critical and
sorrowful period in the history of the struggle for freedom of our Nation,
Tamil Eelam. No one can deny the fact that we have experienced massive
and irreplaceable losses, losses we would not accept even in our worst
dreams.
Against the backdrop of Sri Lanka's boastful propaganda that the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been annihilated and destroyed, it
is our historic duty to rise up and fight for our legitimate rights a duty
that has been left in our hands by our peerless leader and those martyred
heroes and civilians who have given their lives in defending our soil.
At this historic juncture, cognizant of the new circumstances, we
have set out to take our freedom struggle along new pathways.
Accordingly, we humbly announce to our beloved Tamil people that we
have reformulated the administrative structures of our liberation
movement.

Like all liberation struggles, we will modify the form and strategies
of our struggle according to times and demands. Yet, our ultimate goal of
a free Tamil Eelam does not ever change. In view of this, we, the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, wish to join hands with our people in
order to take forward our freedom struggle to its next phase. Hon Mr
Veluppillai Pirabakaran was then, now, and shall remain forever, the
leader of Tamil Nationhood.

We are determined to overcome all the hurdles ahead of us in order
to strengthen our actions towards our liberation. We have undertaken a
long, elaborate and deep process of consultation among our members,
including our cadres who bravely fought their way out of the battlefield
and our representatives abroad and in the Diaspora, in order to make
some firm decisions. According to this collective decision, we, the
Executive Committee of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, wish to
officially let our beloved Tamil people and the international community
know that Mr Selvarasa Pathmanathan, who had been appointed as Head
of International Relations by our National Leader, will lead us into the
next steps of our freedom struggle according to the vision of our
esteemed leader.

We have set up a head office for our liberation movement, and
formulated various sector-based working groups and an executive
committee, in order to take our struggle vigorously forward. We shall
share the details of these in due course. We look forward to the support
and wise counsel of the Tamil people in realising our future plans.
If the Sinhala nation and those countries that support it consider
that the Tamil people's freedom struggle has been defeated through the
capture of historical homeland areas of the Tamil people and the
massacre of thousands of Tamil civilians, we shall shatter that illusion.
Let us demonstrate to the world through our actions that the fire of
freedom awakened by our great leader V.Pirabakaran continues to burn in
the hearts of all Tamils, and that only a free Tamil Nation has the power
to extinguish it."

Thank you
Yours Sincerely,
Mr.Suresh(Amuthan), Mr.Ram,
On behave of Executive committee,
Headquarters,
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

The Headlines Today Interview with LTTE's Selvarasa Padmanathan

2009-06-26T02:14:00.005+05:30

1. Q- What are the facts about Mr Prabhakaran's death ?

According to information I have, our leader Vellupillai Pirapakaran has attained martyrdom in the fight against the Sri Lankan armed forces on 17th of May 2009.

2. Were you in touch with Mr Prabhakaran during the final hours? What were the final moments like ?

a. Yes, I had contacts with our leader during the final hours until his communication link was active. My final contact was with Col Soosai who was leading the defensive resistance of LTTE against the Sri Lankan armed forces during the final hours. He described to me in detail what was happening on the ground then. The final moments were full of horrific and brutal attacks by Sri Lankan armed forces. Thousands of our people were killed and injured. There were no medical personnel or facilities to take care of the injured people. People were dying due to lack of medical attention. Col Soosai confirmed to me that our leader was engaging the Sri Lankan armed forces and sacrificed his life for our cause of the Eelam Tamil Nation.

b. What remains of Mr Prabhakaran's family?

We have highly reliable information that our leader’s elder son Charles Antony and daughter Duvaraka were part of LTTE fighting formations and that they also attained martyrdom in the fight against the Sri Lankan armed forces during the final moments. Until now, we do not have accurate information on the fate of our leader’s wife, Mathivathani and their younger son Balachandran.

3. In an interview to Headlines Today Eric Solhiem said that the LTTE was in touch with him in the final hours of the last battle. Were you in touch with other world leaders ?

Yes. I had contacts with some world leaders. For diplomatic reasons we are not in a position to reveal the information on such contacts at this particular point in time.

b. Why did these efforts fail to bear fruit ?

International Community (IC) continued to insist on the LTTE laying down the arms before they took any meaningful steps to stop the war. Our leadership held the view that any process of laying down arms should be linked to an acceptable political solution. Instead of laying down of arms, we were seeking a ceasefire and a political negotiation for a political solution. Unfortunately our position was not acceptable to the International Community on the grounds that our position was not acceptable to the Sri Lankan Government, so no effective measures were taken to stop the war. In the final moments, after seeing the intensity and brutality of the offensive by the Sri Lankan armed forces and the non existence of any kind of medical facilities, our leadership then decided to silence our guns for the purpose of saving the lives of the civilians and the remaining cadres. Our leadership was concerned that if our organisation did not silence the guns, the Sri Lankan government would use it as justification for completing the massacre of our people. The message about silencing the guns was conveyed to me in the evening of the 15th of May. This was a Friday. We were working with the IC around the clock for the next 48 hours to implement an immediate ceasefire, and we got positive responses for our position of silencing the guns from the IC. Though the days left for us were a Saturday and Sunday of the weekend, members of the IC were trying to convince the Sri Lankan government to implement a ceasefire. But the response of the Sri Lankan Government remained negative. Sri Lankan Government and the armed forces were adamant on carrying out the final assault and finishing the final phase of their brutal massacre.

4. Many pro-LTTE leaders in India have criticised you for announcing that Mr Prabhakaran is dead, this includes people like Mr Vaiko and Mr Nedumaran. It is reported that individuals within the LTTE's structure do not accept that Mr Prabhakaran is dead. How do you see this?

The message I brought to the Tamil people was very bad and a sad one. Of course, it also took me many hours to take the message in and accept the reality. Some carders and a large section of Tamil people were in disbelief of the news that I brought out. I understand their state of mind and I am very sympathetic towards them. Their reactions were the result of their emotions. As a responsible liberation movement, we cannot hide the truth from our people. It is also politically wrong to hide the truth from our people.

5. Does your assertion that the LTTE has shunned the path of violence have wide acceptability within the organisation? Is this permanent or does the LTTE retain its right to take up arms later?

The decision of silencing our guns was taken by our leader before his death. We are now moving forward towards a new path. This position has attracted wider acceptance within the organisation. LTTE’s political position is that any political solution for the Tamil national question should be based on the recognition of the fundamental principles of political aspiration of the Tamil people, i.e., recognition of Tamils as a nation, having the Northeast as their historical homeland and that they are entitled to right to self determination. We will continue our fight through political means until these aspirations of the Tamil people are realised. We will stick to this position. If you read the history of the evolution of armed struggles, you can clearly observe that fundamentally an armed struggle has its roots in oppression, occupation and denial of the political means of protest and denial of the democratic rights for fighting for the cause of an oppressed people. This also happened to us and the armed struggle of the LTTE was the historical product of injustice against the Tamil Nation. LTTE has now chosen to take the political path. I would leave the question of another armed struggle towards the rights of Tamil people for the pages of history.

6. What do you have to say to people within the organisation and sympathisers outside who still believe that only an armed struggle is the means to achieve Tamil Eelam?

Our leader had faced tremendous challenges during his more than three decades of armed struggle. He achieved the maximum that he could achieve within the prevailing conditions. He was very committed to the cause. Due to a world order that rotates on the axis of self interest, our armed struggle could not attract sympathy among the world countries. Instead, we have seen that the Sri Lankan Government has utilised the present world order and the geo-political structures to mobilise the entire world on its side. This was the fundamental reason for our military defeat in the recent war. The best option left for us is to be firm on the cause and the principles, and fight through the political means in our next phase of the struggle.

7. a. How do you respond to reports that talk of a split in the LTTE and a power struggle within the organisation?

I deny it. It is true that there were different views amongst us on the issue of announcing our leader’s death. We were not successful in reaching an agreement on the issue. We are now working to resolve the differences through dialogue.

b. What role will you play in the organisation going ahead?

As the head of the Department of International Relation of LTTE, I will lead the political programme and the required international relations for winning the international support for our course. We are planning a restructure of our organisation and will inform the Tamil people and the world when we make it.

c. What role will the new non-violent LTTE play in the future?

LTTE will continue to fight for the political aspirations of the Tamil people based on the principles of Tamil nationhood, homeland and right to self-determination. As we have decided to choose a new path, we are now transforming our organisation for the purpose of continuing our fight through political means. As one of our tasks, we need to work with the IC to remove the ban on our organisation with support of the Tamil Diaspora and fellow Tamils in Tamil Nadu and in other parts of the World. We hope that the IC, especially India and the West, would welcome our new path and reward it by removing the ban on our organisation to open the door for political engagement.

8. Can you tell us about the provisional Transnational government of Tamil Eelam? How will it be different from other governments in exile, which have not been very effective?

A committee has been formed to create a provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam under the leadership of our legal advisor, Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran. There are some conceptual differences between a transnational government and an exile government. I think that the coordinator of the Formation Committee, Mr Rudrakumaran, would be the right person to answer this question further.

9. Will the LTTE consider participating directly in elections in Sri Lanka? You have sought a link up with the TNA, how will this relationship work?

We do not see any rationale or space for participating in the elections in Sri Lanka. Fighting the cause through political means does not necessarily mean participating in the elections. LTTE would not participate in the elections until a political settlement is reached based on the principles of Tamil nationhood, homeland and right to self determination. We do not seek a linkup between LTTE and TNA, but realise the importance for a link up in the political programmes in the Tamil homeland and among the Diaspora. It is too early to comment on how this common understanding would emerge and function.

10. What is your message to President Rajapakse?

Sri Lankan Government may have defeated the LTTE militarily but not politically. The fundamental causes for the Tamils struggle for self- determination remain unaddressed. Over the years since its independence, Sri Lankan democracy has become a strong Sinhala majoritarian dictatorship. Sri Lankan parliament, government and judiciary have been functioning as instruments for establishing Sinhala hegemony over Tamils and Muslims. The recent claim by President Rajapakse that there was only one country and one people in Sri Lanka, without recognising the identity of Tamils and Muslims in that island would lead to dangerous consequences for ethnic harmony there in the future. It is also absurd to make a claim that the island has no majority and minority, but only patriots and non-patriots, and this while ruling the country under Sinhala hegemony. President Rajapakse must understand that Sri Lanka has miserably failed in nation building. Tamils in Sri Lanka and in the Diaspora do not identify themselves as Sri Lankans but as Eelam Tamils. Tamils consider Sri Lankan rule as an alien rule. In this scenario, the only option left for true reconciliation is recognising the Tamils’ political aspirations, Tamils as a nation; their historical homeland in the Northeast, and that they are entitled to the right to self- determination. Now president Rajapakse has very strong popular support among the Sinhala people. If he decides to recognise the political aspirations of Tamil people, chances for strong resistance from the Sinhala people are minimal. If he considers himself as a true leader who treats all communities as equals, then he must prove himself by accepting the political aspirations of Tamil people.

11. How do you view India's role during what is now being called "Eelam War IV"? Do you think India could have done more to save Tamil civilians?

In the recent war, India took side with Sri Lanka firmly and provided full support to Sri Lanka. It is not a secret. Sri Lankan leaders, military commanders and Indian officials openly admitted it. Our organisation and the Tamil people have become victims of this Indian position. Even though we are fully aware how India has contributed for the military victory of Sri Lanka, we do not hate India. We consider Tamil people would be the true and reliable friends of India in its own geo-political struggle with other countries, especially with China. We firmly believe India would realise this one day in the future and support Eelam Tamils struggle for self determination.

If India had decided to do something more to save the civilian lives, it would have stopped the war when Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Mr. M Karunanidhi, and other political leaders called for a ceasefire back in November 2008.

12. Will you initiate direct contact with India? Is there a role India can play in the formation of the proposed Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam?

Yes. I would initiate direct contacts with India and request to remove the ban on LTTE and seek support for Eelam Tamils political aspirations.

At conceptual level, support from other states is not a precondition for the formation of a transnational government. This is a people based exercise to be carried out at transnational level by the Tamil Diaspora. Of course, there is no doubt that the support from friendly States will strengthen the Transnational Government and the cause for which it would be working for. The committee for formation of the Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam would seek the support for the Transnational Government from many countries, importantly India.

13. There are some LTTE fighters who are still active in Sri Lanka. They are said to be operating from the forests in the East. Col. Ram is said to be a prominent leader. What information do you have about this group? What will your relation with these groups going ahead?

We have contact with them. They are following our new path by silencing their guns and functioning under my guidance. I am very much concerned about their safety and security since we could not reach any kind of acceptable mechanism for ensuring their safety. I strongly feel that the IC must take more responsibility on this matter.

14. The Sri Lankan government has launched an international campaign against you, seeking your capture. How do you see these efforts? How do you react to the Sri Lankan Government's charges against you?

I have read this news in the newspapers. I have been part of our liberation movement which took arms to fight for the legitimate rights of the Tamil Nation. This struggle has its justification under international law. A military defeat cannot erase the justification of the struggle. I have not done any crime or harm against humanity. Furthermore, I am now leading the process of transforming and developing our organisation as a political organisation. The decision of this transformation is taken for the interest of Tamil Nation, but it would also be beneficial for the Sinhalese and Muslims in the island. It is also important for the peace and stability in the island and indeed the region. I hope that actors concerned on the issue would approach it in a pragmatic way. However, I am ready to take any kind of risk or even to sacrifice my life for the sake of the Tamil cause.

15. What is the truth about Pottu Amman, the Sri Lanka government says he is dead but they have not been able to give any evidence?

According to our information, Pottu Amman has also attained martyrdom on 17th of May 2009 in the fight against the Sri Lankan armed forces.

Many around the world say Prabhakaran is Alive

2009-05-24T17:30:00.002+05:30

Shiv in Colombo sent me this picture of him watching me on Headlines Today.

Death

2009-05-16T12:47:00.001+05:30

I know you've come to kill me. Shoot, coward, you're only going to kill a man. - Ernesto Che Guevara (just before he was shot and murdered)

J Jayalalitha Offers Hope

2009-05-15T22:37:00.006+05:30

AIADMK chief J Jayalaitha has emerged as the champion of the Sri Lankan Tamil cause in Tamil Nadu this election season.

Her criticism of the UPA government at the Center for its failure to prevent the deepening humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka and the continued killing of Tamil civilians there, turned the issue into the central campaign theme in the state.

There is considerable anger in Tamil Nadu at the Indian government's inability to stop the killing of Tamil Civilians in the conflict zone in Sri Lanka. The UN estimates that over 6500 Tamil civilians have been killed in Sri Lanka in just the last few months.

Many in the state feel,thousands of lives could have been saved and many injuries prevented if the Indian government had done more to pressure Sri Lanka to announce a humanitarian ceasefire.

They feel by providing arms, training and logistical support to the Sri Lankan security forces, India encouraged the Sri Lankan government to continue with what is now being described by the UN as a "bloodbath."of civilians. Dozens of civilians continue to die every day even now.

Jayalalitha's promise to send the Indian army to Sri Lanka to "create Tamil Eelam" too was seen by many as a ploy to cash in on the popular sentiment against the continued military action in Sri Lanka.

Her opponents call her an opportunist. They say she has embraced the cause only for quick electoral gains and that she will forget about it the minute the polls are over.

But Jayalaitha is seen as a politician who keeps her word, and that is the reason why her campaign has been so successful.

Talking to journalists after casting her vote on the 13th of May she reiterated her stand on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue.

It is expected that her alliance will win a majority of the seats in the parliamentary polls in the state. Experts say she will play a big role in the formation of the next government at the center.

For the suffering people of Vanni and for crores of Indians concerned about their plight Jayalalitha offers hope.

Comrade Prachanda's resignation Letter

2009-05-05T18:01:00.000+05:30

Sri Lankan Army Continues its Air and Heavy Gun Attacks in the NFZ

2009-04-28T22:00:00.007+05:30

The sin of silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.: Abraham Lincoln

No IPR RESTRICTIONS. RAJESH SUNDARAM IS NOT THE COPYRIGHTS HOLDER FOR THESE VIDEOS

It Does Not Take A Majority to Prevail

2009-04-26T18:37:00.000+05:30

It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.
Samuel Adams

The Great Indian Diplomatic Farce

2009-04-24T20:15:00.005+05:30

On a day when the UN confirmed that over 6,500 Tamil civilians have died in just the last three months, in the conflict zone of North Sri Lanka, the Indian foreign Office had this gem to offer about the Indian foreign Secretary and NSA's visit to Colombo.

=======================================================

Statement by NSA upon return from Sri Lanka

24/04/2009

Foreign Secretary and I visited Colombo today on the instructions of the Prime Minister. We were received by H.E. the President of Sri Lanka. We conveyed the concerns of the Government of India on the evolving situation in Northern Sri Lanka, especially at the casualties caused among Tamil civilians as a result of ongoing operations. We also expressed the Government of India’s concerns about the humanitarian situation as a result of nearly hundred thousand Tamil civilians coming out of the conflict zone since early this week. The President of Sri Lanka was receptive to our concerns. We are hopeful of a positive outcome.

New DelhiApril 24, 2009

Another self-immolation in Tamil Nadu

2009-04-24T00:22:00.004+05:30

I begin todays post with some tragic news. A 35 year old Tamil man who set himself ablaze in Tirupur earlyThursday evening, to protest against the killing of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka and calling for an immediate ceasefire on the Island nation.

Subramani was rushed to a hospital in Tirupur with over 70 percent burns. He succumbed to his injuries in a matter of hours.

In a very political suicide note Subramani, a self confessed AIADMK supporter reportedly said that he was not happy with the DMK's handling of the Sri Lankan Tamil issue.

He is the 15th person to commit self-immolation in the state over the last few months.

INDIA'S SHAMELESS SILENCE

2009-04-22T11:25:00.003+05:30

It has been months of the military offensive in Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers have lost almost all the territory they held...down we are told to the last handful of fighters.

The Military operation has seen thousands of soldiers die, thousands of rebel fighters are reported dead too.

However, the most distressing aspect of the ongoing military action is the killing and wounding of thousands of Tamil civilians who are stranded in the rebel held areas.

The UN estimates that 4500 civilians have dies in just the last three months, over 12,000 have been injured...the numbers are growing at an alarming rate every day. Yet the international community and more so India are silent.

The Indian foreign minister called for an extended ceasefire and said civilian casualties in the "so called no-fire zone" are "unacceptable."

But even as the Sri Lankan army ignores this appeal and goes in for a final assault into a 7 sq kilometer area filled with at least 50,000 civilians...the Indian government is shamelessly silent. A silence that has emboldened the Sri Lankan government and given legitimacy to its actions.

Governments of the UK, USA, Australia and Canada seem to be doing more...a shame again considering that India is home to over 6.6 crore Tamils.

A shame considering that Tamils hold key positions in the current Congress led government in the center.

Even the prospect of a crushing defeat in the upcoming polls does not seem to sway them into action.

Human Rights groups have called the reckless military action a war crime. When the facts of these dark days come to light India will regret its inaction.

This is the time for India to rise above petty considerations of diplomacy and strategic interest. This is the time for India to stand up and be heard.
Time for it to force a stop to the mindless killing of thousands of Tamil men, women and children

Time for India to tell President Rajapakse that the first priority for any responsible government should be towards its citizens.

A delay in its military offensive against the LTTE by a few weeks will cost much less than the killing of hundreds of its own Tamil civilians.

Any military offensive should start only after all Tamil civilians in the area are evacuated to safety.

The Sri Lankan government says it wants to push ahead with its final assault on the Tamil tigers despite the apparent human cost. It says it will ensure that there are no civilian casualty.

But can the world trust the Sri Lankan army ? 4500 civilians have died already in just the last three months, despite assurances that civilian casualties will be kept at a minimum.

The army blames the LTTE for civilian death, they say the rebels are firing at and killing fleeing civilians. They allege the rebels are using suicide bombers to scare civilians into staying on in territory held by them...for use as human shields.

The rebels deny any hand in the death of civilians...but can a state absolve itself of the responsibility it has towards the safety of its civilians in a conflict zone.

India's silence is a direct signal to the Sri Lankan government to push ahead with the carnage. History will never forgive India for its silence at this crucial hour, too many precious lives have been lost already.

The UN and India must act NOW, to save Tamil Civilians in the Vanni

2009-04-19T09:39:00.009+05:30

WAKE UP UNITED NATIONS, INDIA AND TAMIL NADU

These are some distressing videos from the so called " No Fire Zone" in the rebel held areas of the Mullaithivu district of north east Sri Lanka.

Women, children and men battling for their lives in an open air, make shift, fly infested medical facility.

Medicines...even bandages, food and water are in desperate short supply.

The UN says over 4,500 Tamil civilians have dies so far this year ( Over 900 of these are children), and over 9000 have been injured. The numbers of dead and injured are creeping up by the dozen every day.

Weeping mothers, traumatised children and men with an expression of helplessness on their faces.

Should the UN and India just keep quite when it is told that the Sri Lankan government can't consider an extended ceasefire at this time ?

Is the fear of the decimated LTTE regrouping so overwhelming that the lives of Tamil civilians should be put to risk ?

Is it really fair to allow the Sri Lankan army and the rebels to gamble away the lives of over 1,00,000 Tamil civilians ?

Is this not genocide, regardless of who is to blame ?

Should the International media not be doing more to pressure the Sri Lankan government to ease curbs on international journalists visiting the so called "No Fire Zone" ?

Should the UN not take immediate charge of the so called " No Fire Zone" ?

Should the politicians in Tamil Nadu not stand united for this cause and pressure the Union government to snap diplomatic ties with Sri Lanka if it does not end hostilities ?

Should the Indian mainstream media not do more to bring this issue to focus ?

Eelam Politics in Tamil Nadu

2009-04-18T03:01:00.015+05:30

The Sad story of Sivanandan

Even as I write this post 48 year old Sivanandan from Karur is battling for his life at the burns ward of the Kilpauk Hospital in Chennai. He has suffered 70 percent burns and doctors say chances of his survival are not very bright.

He was reportedly upset at the the worsening condition of the thousands of Tamil civilians in the conflict ridden North eastern coastal district of Mullaithivu in Sri Lanka.

He reportedly shouted slogans protesting the worsening humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka and the killing of thousands of innocent civilians there before setting himself ablaze.

He is the 14th person in the state to attempt self immolation in the last few months.

The helpless angst in Tamil Nadu

It is reported that over 3500 Tamil civilians have dies and nearly three times the number injured in just the last four months in conflict hit areas of North Sri Lanka. Dozens continue to die and suffer injuries every day.

Food, drinking water and medicines are reportedly in short supply and so are trained doctors and support staff.

It is reported that Children are dying of undernourishment , dead bodies pile up on the road side after each air raid and round of mortar/ artillery shelling.

Independent journalists are not allowed free access to the conflict zone by either side.

The Sri Lankan government blames the Tamil Tiger Rebels for the plight of the civilians, accusing them of holding the civilians as "human shields" and firing at civilians fleeing areas under their control. They promising to "liberate" the civilians and wipe out the last remaining rebel fighters.

The rebels blame the army fire for the civilian deaths. They say the civilians are staying put in areas held by them out of choice...because of fear that they will be beaten and tortured if they fall in Sri Lankan army hands.

And as the two sides dig in for the "final battle" more and more civilians are dying each day.

The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, made an official trip to the fallen rebel capital of Killinochi this week. He seemed in no mood to stop his war against the rebels...regardless of the high costs.

Election season in India

All this comes bang in the middle of election season in India.

Tamil Nadu's 6.6 crore Tamils have a deep cultural and historic relationship with the much smaller Tamil community in Sri Lanka. The number of Tamil civilians trapped in the conflict zone is variously estimated between 80,000 and 3,50000.

It is no wonder then that this has become an emotive pre-poll issue. Hundreds have turned up for rallies across the state calling for an end to the war in Sri Lanka and relief for the trapped civilians.

Every political party wants to milk the sentiment.

The ruling DMK led Democratic Progressive Alliance has been accused by the opposition AIADMK led alliance of not doing much to force the central government to end the war in Sri Lanka.

The DMK is a key ally of the Federal government. It's support is crucial for survival of the UPA government at the center.

The opposition says the DMK could have done more to influence and change India's Sri Lankan policy and end the war and suffering of Tamil civilians on the island nation.

The Dynamics of Change

In a surprise move the AIADMK, at one time a bitter critic of the LTTE, has in its manifesto said that Eelam, or a separate state for Tamils in Sri Lanka was inevitable if their genuine aspirations of the Tamil people were not met and if they were not treated with dignity and honour.

This is seen as a radical shift in its stand. Some experts say the party has calibrated its policy in keeping with popular sentiment in the state ahead of the elections. They say allies like MDMK's Vaiko and PMK's Dr Ramadoss have played a big role in bringing about this change.

Vaiko is perhaps the only Tamil politician to have been consistently committed to the Eelam cause over the last two decades. He has even been jailed on many occasions for his support to the Tamil Tiger rebels, a banned organisation in India.

The AIADMK hopes to play a big role in the formation of the next government in New Delhi. The change in its stance at this point is very significant.

The writing on the wall for the DMK is clear.

It has failed to get any significant tangible benefits or relief for the suffering Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka and has failed to convince the central government to cajole the Sri Lankan government to halt the war.

The only option with the DMK government now is to shift the blame on to the Union government.

The wily DMK chief M Karunanidhi has sent the Indian prime minister a late night telegram, asking him to snap diplomatic ties with Sri Lankan if it does not immediately agree to a permanent ceasefire.

Ahead of the elections, the Congress finds itself between a rock and a hard place.

Too Little, Too Late

Karunanidhi's desperate telegram comes just hours after Indian foreign minister Pranab Mukharjee took time out of his hectic election campaign to issue India's toughest statement yet on the issue.

Observers say the timing of the statement is significant. The language used in the statement unlike the ones issued in the past is not guarded and nuanced.

It has clear political undertones and is largely seen as a statement issued to minimise damage for the congress and its allies in the upcoming general elections.

'The Government of Sri Lanka must extend this pause in hostilities to prevent further casualties and enable trapped civilians to leave the area to secure locations. Continuation of precipitate military actions leading to further civilian casualties at this time would be totally unacceptable. While it is incumbent on the LTTE to release all civilians and IDPs under their control, the Government of Sri Lanka cannot be oblivious to the evolving human tragedy and the fate of the Tamil civilian population caught up in the so-called No Fire Zone. There is no reason not to continue with the pause in military actions in the NFZ."

The Sri Lankan government has not responded to the statement so far and is unlikely to end hostilities. Ahead of the polls this leaves the DMK led government in Tamil Nadu particularly vulnerable.

The Indian government can do little to walk its talk on the issue. It is unlikely to heed Karunanidhi's advise to snap diplomatic ties with Sri Lanka.

And as for the civilians in the Vanni, India's latest statement may have come a little too late in the day...and it is also perhaps too little to bring any tangible relief.

Purple Cats in my Whiskey

2009-03-22T20:37:00.006+05:30

Rajesh Sundaram

Purple cats race up to the stratosphere...

and come back like spherical raindrops with green beaks.

I discard the beaks and pour them into my whiskey...heaven

Then Proceed to experiment with my sobriety

lay my brain out on a cold steel tray in my dark laboratory

Grey matter, pickled in a deep green squish of sugar, thought and grime

The Sri Lankan Conflict

2009-02-03T08:41:00.009+05:30

Restrictions on Media

"Why don't you write about the Sri Lankan conflict again in your blog ?"

I have been asked this question many times since my return from Sri Lanka about a week ago. The answer is pretty clear...the restrictions imposed by the Sri Lankan army and the government have made impartial reporting impossible.

Reports that have been filed featuring interviews with members of the reportedly pro-Tamil Tigers' parliamentary grouping the Tamil National Alliance or using footage from rebel held territories are seen as "anti-military." This despite the fact that they also featured interviews with government ministers and army officials.

I have been told I will not be issued a fresh visa unless I explain my previous reports to the Sri Lankan ministry of defense by submitting details of my reports to them through the foreign ministry.

In my 15 year career as a journalist, I have reported from over a dozen countries world wide. I have never faced such a situation.

I have been reporting the conflict in Sri Lanka since 1999... government controls and restrictions on the media applicable now are the toughest I have even seen.

The Sri Lankan establishment is happiest when foreign journalists limit their reports to briefings given by divisional commanders or the military spokesman during guided tours. They are expected to tow the government line..I am amazed by how many do so without asking any questions.

Sri Lankan journalists have to contend with more than just the displeasure or snub of foreign, defense ministry, and military officials. Killings and beating of local journalists have now become routine. The wide coverage given to these incidents in the Sri Lankan and international media seems to have done little to check the faceless attackers who continue to attack with impunity.

The various police commissions set up by the president's office have not been able to gather much leads into these attacks...probably they are looking at the wrong place. Some say they are not looking at all.

I will, over the next few weeks, seek to write a series of articles here on the current situation in Sri Lanka. I start with the two pictures that describe best the current situation on the island.

( Photo 1: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse with troops in Vakarai;
A civilians being carried to a medical facility after being injured in Shell fire in a rebel held enclave in Mullaithivu district)

Gangaram Temple, Colombo

2009-01-31T16:18:00.000+05:30

Passing Through Aminabad, Lucknow

2009-01-12T00:16:00.010+05:30

On the way to Sealdah, Kolkatta

2009-01-08T18:23:00.013+05:30

Haji Ali Shrine, Mumbai

2009-01-08T10:36:00.000+05:30

The fall of Kilinochchi

2009-01-03T01:08:00.018+05:30

Is there a military solution in Sri Lanka

As a journalist, visiting Kilinochchi was always a very interesting experience. Kilinochchi, the headquarters of the Tamil Tigers' defacto state "Tamil Eelam".

It had all the trapping of a state...shown with much pride to visiting foreign scribes.

1.The author gets help strapping on a visor before filming at a minefield in rebel held north Sri Lanka 2006

2. A Sri Lankan Soldier near the CFL 2006

3.The author at the LTTE's media center in Kilinochchi in 2006

A police force with NYPD style patrol cars, crime investigation, traffic and law and order wings. The "Tamil Eelam" police Headquarters had an impressive building housed in a walled compound overlooking the main road. A "Tamil Eelam" flag was ceremoniously hoisted in the morning and lowered in the evening at the parade ground within the compound.

" Our policemen and women do not wear the Khaki uniform you see in the rest of the Indian subcontinent. It is something our leader ( Velupillai Prabhakaran) ordered. The Khaki uniform is seen as part of the repressive regime that the Tamil people here have grown to hate. So when we set up our police force for our people, we decided to go with blue and white the colour of peace.
The policemen here would think twice before asking for bribes or tormenting the people they are hired to serve. The punishment for that is just too severe." the then Tamil Eelam police chief B Nadesan had told me during one of my visits.

There was also a well oiled system to collect taxes from traders and visitors. I saw every shop and eatery maintain meticulous records of every sale. Accounts where maintained by hand with a column for the amount that was to be shares with the Tigers. No one dared think about ducking taxes.

The "Tamil Eelam Bank" did everything short of printing its own currency. It gave loans, fixed interest rates and was the place people thronged to pawn gold. The branches had computers, although they where there mostly for show. Most of the work was done on hand written ledgers.
Many people did maintain small savings accounts with the bank...this was required to avail loans and other services.

I was told that there was an executive council led by V Prabhakaran that made laws. Laws that where published as bare acts... text books for the Kilinochchi's law school run by the Tigers.

This was never a democratically elected council and most of the members came from the military side of the organisation. Most where appointed by Prabhakaran.

Most of the laws in "Tamil Eelam" where based on British and Indian laws, especially the civil and criminal procedure codes.

Law graduates practiced in the lower courts and the "Supreme Court of Tamil Eelam". Many from their ranks gave exams and became judges.

All courts where housed next to each other in Kilinochchi.

Sri Lankan officials and other experts often dismissed these courts as "Kangaroo courts" but each of these would hear dozens of civil and criminal cases every day.

And then there where the rebel run television and FM radio station. These mostly played patriotic songs and videos. The television station " National Television of Tamil Eelam ( NTT) was at one point broadcast from an earth station inside rebel held territory to most of Asia and Europe through a network of "Ecostar" satellites.

The channel had regular news bulletins that had the look and feel of a state run station.

The radio station too was used mostly for propaganda. It's content too was very "state radio" type.

But the pride and joy of the Tigers was their fighting machinery. One of the very few non-state entities in the world to have land, sea and air wings. This was something most within the organisation thought gave them the legitimacy of "state".

The Peace secretariat served as the "foreign office". Hosting foreign diplomats and ministers who came calling during the ceasefire years. The perfect setting for meetings and photo opportunities. A place where even V Prabhakaran showed up often in the early days of the last ceasefire with the poise of a "Head of state"

But with the fall of Kilinochchi, the edifice of state that the tigers had created in their territory is in shambles.

Weeks of air strikes and shelling had left the buildings that housed each of these "institutions" in ruin.

But does the fall of Kilinochchi mean an end to the 25 year old civil war in Sri Lanka that has left over 80,000 people dead ?

Is there a military solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka ?

The fall of Kilinochchi is a big psychological blow to the Tigers and it is clear that the rebels who controlled vast tracts of territory in the east and north of Sri Lanka are now left with just a fraction.

However, the core issues in the conflict still remain unresolved. Many experts in India say a military solution, of the kind sought by the current government in Sri Lanka is not a permanent solution.

Any bid now to prop an alternate civilian administration in the North without the participation of the tigers could be counter productive in the long term.

Many experts say what is needed is a negotiated settlement... a political solution that will bring about a more permanent resolution of the 25 year old conflict.

Many experts argue there are merits in involving the Tigers in future negotiations.

But for now both sides are far from finding common ground on unconditionally restarting stalled talks.

The suicide attack outside the Sri Lanka Air Force HQ at Colombo amidst celebrations to mark the fall of Kilinochchi is an ominous sign.

( Photo credit : 1 and 3 Nilanjan Chowdhury, 3 Rajesh Sundaram)

Among Crabs in a Shallow vessel

2009-01-01T23:17:00.002+05:30

Rajesh Sundaram

In unfamiliar terrain
flanked by a different species

Senses impaired, disoriented
Sending out signals that everyone interprets different

Provoking reverence, fear and insecurity in cycles
indifferent to each cycle

Unchanged by the response to the varied signals
Among Crabs in a shallow vessel

Chilly Day at the Cycle Market, Jhandewalan, Delhi

2009-01-01T14:00:00.001+05:30

Grant Park, Chicago, IL on the 4th of November,2008

2008-12-30T01:37:00.009+05:30

Monkeys, Beggars and the Man on the Mobile Phone

2008-12-26T01:09:00.005+05:30

Faizal Awan : The Making of a Grand Groom

2008-12-25T00:14:00.012+05:30

Had the most happy time at Faizal Awan's wedding and reception. Met his loving, happy and close knit family, finger lickin' yummy food and some beautiful settings.

Here are some pictures of Faizal getting into his groom gear. Looked like a prince in the end.

Brother Zain was the first to congratulate him after the ceremony got over.

God bless the young couple.

Killing Time at Schiphol, Amsterdam

2008-12-22T23:41:00.014+05:30

Sobriety

2008-12-14T01:38:00.008+05:30

Rajesh Sundaram

An ambush in the Cranial cavity
Masked Freudian mutants take charge

A commandeered cerebrum, altered sobriety

Under siege...reassuring lunar cycles broken

Fear departs unleashing twisted ghosts

All checks and gone... balances distorted

Thoughts defy convention, actions blind to consequences

Then the mutants conspire to retreat
Leaving the changes and the twisted ghosts
leaving the altered sobriety

Are you being served?

2008-11-29T18:59:00.007+05:30

Rajesh Sundaram

Plastic smile,
Dull inner wear hidden by fine livery
Deep Blue jacket and brass buttons…gleaming
Shoes polished to a dazzling shine

“Are you being served?”

An indifferent nod. Acknowledgement

Polite gesture, trying not to fidget
Uncomfortable in the role

Unhappy to ask “Are you being served?”

Halloween, Santa Monica, CA

2008-11-10T07:22:00.008+05:30

Stock Market Crash :Only Greed can overcome Fear

2008-10-11T23:09:00.007+05:30

The Gloom

Our newsroom was abuzz with news of the meltdown in the global stock markets last week. The ticker team had its hands full updating stock market movement across continents and time zones.

The massive slide on the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the NYSE sending Asian and European markets into record intra-day lows.

No one is immune...except for stocks in insulated Iran ( that is another story).

The domino is triggered by fear...fear of the US economy slipping into a recession, taking the world economy with it.

This fear sees no reason. Even a synchronized substantial cut in key interest rates by major central banks fails to sooth frayed nerves.

No amount of assuring noises from central bankers, finance ministers and even the US president seems to be working.

No bailout plan is big enough to counter the flight of capital out of the global stock markets.

Enter The Contrarian

So what will help the markets overcome fear ? Like always greed will.

Only greed can make investors see reason.

The instinct in a trader to look for "value" will turn the tide... and soon.

It is alright to say " We still have not hit the bottom"

At some level every stock looks attractive and many of the bellwethers world wide will soon reach that level.

The turn around will start with a few contrarians beginning the cherry pick.

The opportunity would be too big for others in the sidelines to miss. Valuations will make sitting on cash...feel stupid.

Cyclical Markets

And then others will follow ...the domino will be triggered in the opposite direction.

Perhaps from the most attractive markets in emerging Asia to Europe and eventually into the largest economy in the world.

So here is waiting for the market forces to come to play...and the lifting of gloom in the weeks and months ahead.

Avirooksen.com

2008-10-10T17:52:00.001+05:30

WITH just a month to go for the presidential elections, Avirook Sen will travel coast-to-coast in the USA for ET. He will talk to unlikely people and report from improbable datelines, describing life in America at a time when it seeks both stability and change, when it has to choose between black and white, and worry about fuel, food and Wall Street to boot. Sen’s travels will take him from the centres of the civil rights movement to where Sarah Palin was born, with many stops in between. We invite you to join ET on this journey.

The Economic Times

Monetary Policy and the Indian Dream

2008-09-14T12:05:00.008+05:30

This is a generation that dreams bigger and grander than Indians have done in a long time.

Bigger homes, bigger cars, bigger plasma TV sets...fat salaries and easy availability of credit have brought all of these and much more within grasping reach.

At least that was the situation till a few weeks ago.

GONE SOUR IN JUST A FEW MONTHS

The steep rise in international fuel and commodity prices over the past few months has pushed India's headline inflation rate to a 16 year high...and brought the dream down like a pack of cards.

Home loan rates have rocketed to 13 percent...from just over 6 percent two years ago. Most middle class Indians have to contend with a bigger chunk of their salary going towards repaying home loans.

20 year repayment terms have widened to over 40 years. Many now will have to pay monthly instalments on housing loans well past their retirement age.

Lesser and lesser people are queuing up to get new loans. Housing projects and the real estate sector have been hit severely...the dream house for many will have to wait.

Car sales too have been hit as auto loan rates rise.

Maruti Suzuki India, the company which makes half the cars sold in India, has already reporting weaker sales, as India's output growth in 2008 has averaged half last year's pace.

Passenger car sales in India fell 4.4 percent in August from a year earlier after declining 1.7 per cent in July, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers recently reported.

More Indians are delaying buying their dream car.

Interest rates on consumer loans too have been on a steady rise...triggering a dip in the sales of TV sets, air conditioners, refrigerators and other white goods.

Weaker industrial production may deepen India's economic slowdown. The Reserve Bank of India projects the economy to expand at 8 percent in the fiscal year to March 2009, the slowest pace of expansion in four years.

SO IS THIS THE END OF THE DREAM

Some analysts say there is light the end of the tunnel...and that things would be back to normal in a few months.

They say international fuel and commodity prices are moderating, the inflation rate has peaked and is on a decline and that it is just a matter to time before other macro-economic indicators look up.

But others are more cautious. The new central bank governor Duvvuri Subbarao, who took over last week, is grappling with inflation running at 12.1 percent.

With inflation in double digits...stimulating growth by lowering interest rates may not be his first priority.

Some economists believe the central bank would tighten monetary policy at least one more time to get inflation under control before gradually starting to lower rates, most likely in 2009.

So at least till then the bigger new house, car and plasma TV would have to remain a dream for many in new India.

Long, Listless, Pacific Stretch

2008-09-02T23:34:00.006+05:30

Rajesh Sundaram

Stuck on auto pilot

...through a long,listless, pacific stretch

Increasingly uncomfortable about the effortless cruse

Unable to break the mindless trajectory.

Unwilling to wrestle the mechanics...the mutant switches, the hijacked controls

Mahatma Gandhi and Violence

2008-07-05T21:36:00.003+05:30

Violence the Choice

I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence... I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should, in a cowardly manner, become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonor.

But I believe that non violence is infinitely superior to violence, forgiveness is more manly than punishment.

Forgiveness adorns a soldier...But abstinence is forgiveness only when there is the power to punish; it is meaningless when it pretends to proceed from a helpless creature....

But I do not believe India to be helpless....I do not believe myself to be a helpless creature....Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

We do want to drive out the best in the man, but we do not want on that account to emasculate him.

And in the process of finding his own status, the beast in him is bound now and again to put up his ugly appearance.

The world is not entirely governed by logic. Life itself involves some kind of violence and we have to choose the path of least violence.

Desperado

2008-06-18T19:12:00.007+05:30

"Desperado"

-The Eagles

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You been out ridin' fences for so long now
Oh, you're a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin' you
Can hurt you somehow

Don't you draw the queen of diamonds, boy
She'll beat you if she's able
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet

Now it seems to me, some fine things
Have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can't get

Desperado, oh, you ain't gettin' no younger
Your pain and your hunger, they're drivin' you home
And freedom, oh freedom well, that's just some people talkin'
Your prison is walking through this world all alone

Don't your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine
It's hard to tell the night time from the day
You're losin' all your highs and lows
Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you, before it's too late

Nepal : Prachanda's Challenges

2008-04-16T23:06:00.010+05:30

I spoke with these People's Liberation Army, PLA fighters a few weeks after the Maoists and the seven party alliance signed their historic ceasefire and power sharing agreement.

Each of these 18 year old combatants claimed to have killed over a dozen "class enemies."

They had just moved to a UN designated camp near Janakpur in South Nepal.

Both were sure the Maoists would sweep the constituent assembly polls and that the 250 year old monarchy and Nepal's feudal system would be rooted out.

" If the current ceasefire holds and Nepal becomes a republic I would like to join the army or become a political workers," one of them told me.
"What if it fails?" I asked.

" We are fighters and will go back to the jungles and take up arms and fight the class enemy till the oppressed people are not rid of their misery."

A few days later in January 2007, I met their supreme commander Pushpa Kamal Dahal known better by his nom de guerre Prachanda (The fierce one).

The man who spearheaded the maoist guerrilla movement in Nepal for most part of the last decade. An armed conflict that has left over 13,000 dead and many more wounded.

We where asked to wait at a small hotel in Kathmandu for our interview with Prachanda.

He appeared minutes after his men had checked and positioned themselves all around the hotel and its surrounding buildings.

" The king has many supporters and he would do whatever is in his powers to disrupt this process towards a republic. These supporters are powerful players both within Nepal and outside. " Prachanda told me.

" There can be no solution till Nepal becomes a republic. If the current process and the polls are free and fair, the people of Nepal will boot the king out," he added.

More than a year on Prachanda's party is on the verge of being declared the single largest in the constituent assembly...and he could very well be the very first president of the "Republic of Nepal"

But the road ahead is filled with many challenges. For one high inflation, unemployment and slow growth need to be fixed fast. The festering "Madheshi" armed rebellion in the Tarai region of south Nepal also needs urgent attention. Claims of underrepresentation and unfair sharing of resources there, could very well plunge Nepal into another phase of strife and conflict.

Agra 2007

2008-04-15T21:31:00.000+05:30

Missing the Vanni

2008-04-15T20:51:00.003+05:30

As I look back, the phase of my professional life I enjoyed the most was working as a conflict reporter across Indian and international television channels.

I have reported from Kashmir, Nepal Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and from India's Maoist red corridor.

Here are some pictures from the ceasefire line in North Sri Lanka shot in 2006.

rajeshksundaram.blogspot.com

2008-03-25T23:45:00.003+05:30

Over the past weeks and months, many people from all over the world have logged in to see my blog. Although I do not get to update the blog as often as I want to, there are already over 500 pages for visitors to view.

Thank you very much to those who have visited the blog, every new visitor is an inspiration.

I would feel a whole lot more inspired if you leave comments.

Rajesh Sundaram
New Delhi, India

Poem

2008-03-09T01:21:00.002+05:30

State

Rajesh Sundaram

In outer space

Untouched by sound waves, life...and possibly death

Playing God...amazing pace

Insulated.

But is anyone safe?

Half imagined, half real...what a horrible daze.

2008-02-04T13:10:00.001+05:30

I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves. - Ernesto Che Guevara

Speech

2008-02-02T21:46:00.000+05:30

If the FREEDOM of speech is taken away then dumb and silent, we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.

-George Washington
1732-1799, First President of the USA

I am back

2007-11-24T08:32:00.000+05:30

Could not update the blog regularly for over three months...but I am back now and will try and be as regular as possible.

2007-09-11T10:44:00.000+05:30

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

-Voltaire1694-1778, French Historian, Writer

Taxi Ride Through Doha by Night

2007-07-28T21:39:00.000+05:30

City Center Mall, Doha, Qatar

2007-07-28T20:49:00.000+05:30

Adrift

2007-07-14T02:36:00.000+05:30

aDRIFT

Rajesh Sundaram

Middle of the stupid season,

the inert transient phase

No urge to snap out of it,

just waiting for the season to change

Adrift, lead by a current

in a stagnant impotent drain

hAPPY ?

2007-07-02T22:56:00.003+05:30

" Is this world a happy place ?"
aZONOM asked.

"No it is a crappy place" said zELTOMZA

"Thats nice then. Is it not?" aZONOM said.

2007-07-02T22:56:00.001+05:30

Choco Pie, Awake and Sleeping

2007-07-02T22:37:00.000+05:30

A Rainy Day at the New Delhi Railway Station

2007-07-02T22:18:00.000+05:30

A Goat Tied to a Lamp Post Near an Egg Sellers Stall

2007-07-02T21:28:00.000+05:30

There is a lot of drama in this picture I took at old Delhi. A mother and her infant wait, as the stall owner takes eggs out of a kettle. Another woman stands in queue.

Some men sit on the pavement eating boiled egg and salt...as the goat looks on.

Bus Rams Into Pavement, One Tree Hurt

2007-07-02T21:24:00.000+05:30

Will India be Able to Bridge the Gap ?

2007-07-02T21:22:00.000+05:30

Sweety, Awake and Sleeping

2007-07-02T21:05:00.000+05:30

Silent Revolution

2007-06-28T00:48:00.000+05:30

Child marriages are common across more than a half a dozen states in India. Girls below the age of 18 married off for various reasons. Some parents says they do it because they are poor, others say tradition.

There is no major government study on the number of child brides in India. The 2001 census figures indicate that there are over 300,000 girls below the age of 15 who are already mothers.

It is illegal to marry girls below the age of 18.

For most of these girls marriage often means the end of their childhood, and the beginning of a life where they are expected to do tough house hold work for over 12 hours a day.

Most don't attend school after they get married and some have to contend with physical and sexual abuse and risky pregnancies.

But a bunch of girls in the Ranga Reddy district are leading a silent revolution. With the help of NGOs, these girls ( some as young as 13) are getting their marriages annulled by the village panchayats and reclaiming their lives.

Most of the 13 girls I met at this School do not get any support from their parents.

" I was told one day that my uncle was getting married and that we were going to his house. But my parents took me to another uncle's house. His son was dressed like a groom and I was told that I was the bride. I ran away. But my parents and other relatives soon caught me. They tied me up and held me down and the rituals were performed." 13 year old Jagamma told me.

"After the rituals were over late at night they untied me and allowed me to go to the toilet. I took my chance and ran away again. This time I ran straight to the police station. I knew my marriage was against the law. At first the policemen did not register a case, but I came back the next day with a lawyer from the NGO's office."

Her parents were arrested and have now disowned her.

" My father said, you go and start living with your husband and don't press charges. He said he would kill himself if I did not do so. I told him to die. I wanted to study and become someone. I did not want to be what my parents were forcing me to be." she adds.

Jagamma wants to be a lawyer.

Her friend at the residential school run by the NGO is 13 year old Venkatamma. Her impoverished mother married her off, because the grooms side offered to pay for the wedding.

" When I went to my husband's house they started beating me up and made me do all the house hold work. When I ran away and went to my mothers house, they threatened my mother. I then came to this school and now do not want to go back. I know that only education can help me. I want to study and become a teacher."

Akshat

2007-06-18T17:20:00.000+05:30

Laxmi

2007-06-17T12:47:00.000+05:30

Sweety and Choco Pie Take a Nap

2007-06-17T12:43:00.000+05:30

Sajal and Sweety

2007-06-17T12:03:00.000+05:30

Injustice

2007-06-15T21:56:00.000+05:30

"I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law. "

-Martin Luther King Jr.Civil Rights Leader, USA 1929 - 1968

Mass Conversion to Buddhism in Mumbai

2007-06-15T17:38:00.000+05:30

Fatima and Sheikh: A True Love Story

2007-06-13T18:01:00.000+05:30

The story of Fatima and Sheikh Salary is a story of love, dedication, perseverance, courage, a never say die attitude and finally spectacular success.

It you want to read and view more click here.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/951D9596-498E-4735-9DBC-58AA497596EA.htm

mE at Work

2007-06-13T17:42:00.000+05:30

Here are some pictures. Friends who see my work on television sent these to me from far away. Thank you guys...as promised I have posted them here.

A Matang Family Makes Brooms

2007-06-13T15:37:00.000+05:30

Shakeel stores Fish with the Cold Drinks

2007-06-13T15:33:00.000+05:30

A Vaydu Tribal and Her Children

2007-06-13T15:05:00.000+05:30

Surekha Kale and her children from the nomadic Vaydu Tribe in Maharashtra. She told me her children are forced to eat stray cats and other small animals when there is no food.

The Pardi People of Marathwada

2007-06-13T14:07:00.000+05:30

The Pardi tribe was classified a "Criminal" tribe by the British Colonial government. They were known as a criminal tribe for decades...after India's independence the tribe was "de-notified."

However even now old biases remain.

The pardi community is looked at with suspicion by the police and the public at large.

" When ever there is a robbery, a murder or any crime we are the first suspects. The police come to our village and harass us. They round up our boys and beat them up. Every week some boy or the other from the village is picked up" says Sunita Pawar a Pardi woman at a Pardi Village near Osmanabad.

There is no primary health center in the village. The closest hospital is 10 kilometers away.

"When ever someone is seriously ill, we have to carry them on foot to the hospital." says another villager.

The hospital has no ambulance and the road to the village is just a dirt track with pot holes and stones.

Government apathy is clear. Most of the villagers have not even been issued voter
I cards.

Most people are poor enough to be classified as "living under the poverty line" but only a few have government issued cards that make them eligible for subsidised rations.

The village has a primary school that operates from two rooms. Children who want to study further have to trek 5 kilometers away to another village.

Many don't even get past primary school. Government teachers appointed to teach here refuse to come to the village. The village is considered "risky".

Young boys in the village say they are forced to take up crime.

" I have studied till class 9. No one wants to give a Pardi a job. We are looked at as criminals. Who would want to hire us?" says Sunil a young resident.

The village is technically electrified, but only handful of households have electricity. A majority can't afford to pay the minimum bill.

As for drinking water, women have to walk to a well some distance from the village. The balance themselves precariously as they pull out bucketfuls of water.

There are reservations in educational institutions and government jobs for the tribe. But very few from the community are able to get the benefit of the affirmative action.

" If I don't have the money to buy books for my child, buy his uniform or even let him to to school what is the use of reservation. If the child is not educated what is the use of quotas in the government job." the village headman asks.

Farm Workers at a Sugarcane Farm Near Osmanabad

2007-06-13T14:03:00.000+05:30

Old Woman Repairs Footwear in Azamgarh

2007-06-13T14:00:00.000+05:30

Pan shop in Banaras

2007-06-13T13:56:00.000+05:30

Ready For Deployment

2007-06-13T13:47:00.000+05:30

Travel

2007-06-12T18:11:00.000+05:30

Zain in the "Gandhi Cap" mode

2007-06-12T17:18:00.000+05:30

The Three Musketeers of Mumbai

2007-05-27T00:44:00.000+05:30

From left to right Dr. Vinay, Asmat and Calvin Joshua the mast guys of Mumbai in a fun mood in Mumbai.

In the Marathwada Region in Western India

2007-05-26T20:26:00.000+05:30

Choco Pie Sleeps after Feasting on Peanuts

2007-05-23T12:04:00.000+05:30

Sweety in a Pensive Mood

2007-05-23T11:55:00.000+05:30

Street Food,New Friends Colony, Delhi

2007-05-23T11:39:00.000+05:30

Dawn Prayers at the Mecca Mosque, Hyderabad

2007-05-23T11:26:00.000+05:30

Rajesh Sundaram

Holy cowsRevered, placed in a carefully consecrated sanctum sanctorumTill the ordained time, when they are slaughteredSlaughtered after an elaborate ritual of ragetheir hide left intact, to make a punching bagA punching bag that can be hit and hit again

Hungry Dog Looking at the Moon

A happy day in Chennai

NDTV ASSIGNMENT TO TAMIL EELAM ( Circa 2004)

Passing Through Chennai

Passing through Kolkata

Angel to Monkey

Tank Road, Karol Bagh

The UFO

Mumbai for Rahul's Baby's Naming

Theme for the Class of 94 Reunion

What kind of God are you Mr Manager ?

Mumbai Through My Hotel Window

Old India Strikes Back

Stuck

Time and Wealth

An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth

LTTE'S Rudrakumaran reacts to JDS footage on Headlines Today

A Lizard on my Car Window

Touch Down at Sharm el Sheikh

Latest media release from the LTTE

The Headlines Today Interview with LTTE's Selvarasa Padmanathan

Many around the world say Prabhakaran is Alive

Death

J Jayalalitha Offers Hope

Comrade Prachanda's resignation Letter

Sri Lankan Army Continues its Air and Heavy Gun Attacks in the NFZ

It Does Not Take A Majority to Prevail

The Great Indian Diplomatic Farce

Another self-immolation in Tamil Nadu

INDIA'S SHAMELESS SILENCE

The UN and India must act NOW, to save Tamil Civilians in the Vanni

Eelam Politics in Tamil Nadu

Purple Cats in my Whiskey

Rajesh Sundaram

Purple cats race up to the stratosphere...

and come back like spherical raindrops with green beaks.

I discard the beaks and pour them into my whiskey...heaven

Then Proceed to experiment with my sobriety

lay my brain out on a cold steel tray in my dark laboratory

Grey matter, pickled in a deep green squish of sugar, thought and grime

The Sri Lankan Conflict

Gangaram Temple, Colombo

Passing Through Aminabad, Lucknow

On the way to Sealdah, Kolkatta

Haji Ali Shrine, Mumbai

The fall of Kilinochchi

Among Crabs in a Shallow vessel

Chilly Day at the Cycle Market, Jhandewalan, Delhi

Grant Park, Chicago, IL on the 4th of November,2008

Monkeys, Beggars and the Man on the Mobile Phone

Faizal Awan : The Making of a Grand Groom

Killing Time at Schiphol, Amsterdam

Sobriety

Are you being served?

Halloween, Santa Monica, CA

Stock Market Crash :Only Greed can overcome Fear

Avirooksen.com

Monetary Policy and the Indian Dream

Long, Listless, Pacific Stretch

Mahatma Gandhi and Violence

Desperado

Nepal : Prachanda's Challenges

Agra 2007

Missing the Vanni

rajeshksundaram.blogspot.com

Poem

Speech

I am back

Taxi Ride Through Doha by Night

City Center Mall, Doha, Qatar

Adrift

hAPPY ?

Choco Pie, Awake and Sleeping

A Rainy Day at the New Delhi Railway Station

A Goat Tied to a Lamp Post Near an Egg Sellers Stall

Bus Rams Into Pavement, One Tree Hurt

Will India be Able to Bridge the Gap ?

Sweety, Awake and Sleeping

Holy cows

Revered, placed in a carefully consecrated sanctum sanctorum
Till the ordained time, when they are slaughtered

Slaughtered after an elaborate ritual of rage
their hide left intact, to make a punching bag

A punching bag that can be hit and hit again