Defence of Gujrat…

In a very interesting turn of events The Mid-day reported that

However, shockingly, that mysterious vessel slipped past a major naval exercise codenamed ‘Defence of Gujarat’. A large number of naval and Coast Guard ships had taken part in the exercise. Even all the port trusts and gram panchayats were included in the exercise, which lasted between November 17-22. Their task was to track all vessels and check their identities.

In fact, it was a mock exercise to track down al Qaeda and Pakistani vessels. The threat to offshore installations was also part of the drill.

Various security agencies were aware of intelligence reports indicating that around 90 fishing boats were impounded by Pakistani officials. These vessels could infiltrate Indian waters after the monsoon spell was over and the sea was near normal.

Not only is it ironic that the exercises failed to prevent infiltration, they also raise further questions regarding the mysterious appearance of inflatable raft amongst many ship.

This report is supplemented by Peoples Daily and The Hindu

Indian Navy conducted a 11-day exercise to demonstrate its preparedness under multiple threat scenario along the Coast of Gujarat that concluded on Friday, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

“Defense of Gujarat Exercise”, which began on November 7, was held by Western Command of the Indian Navy with the participation of Indian Air Force and Coast Guard in two phases — work-up and tactical phases, PTI reported from Mumbai, 1400 kilometers southwest of here.

Over 40 ships and submarines participated with sea harriers and islanders from the navy and coast guard along with aircraft of the air force and special forces comprising marine commandos.

Of Fishing Boats Vs Indian Navy History

I have searched for a history of confrontations between Indians and Pakistani fishing boats (AndhraNews, ICSF, Indopia, maplandia, Indian Express 1 2

It is interesting to note that of the 4 encounters major reports suggest any incursions within 10-20 km of the Indian border were detected (exact co-ordinates unavailable, approximations used).

Please do also note that the Nov 11 2008 incident was around the same time indian press reports the terrorists hijacked the fishing boat.

Apparently, the Indian Navy seemed to have missed the hijacking of Indian boat, while simultaneously capturing Pakistani boat during its naval exercises.

Certainly, this leads us into an interesting phase.

Defence of Gujrat…

In a very interesting turn of events The Mid-day reported that

However, shockingly, that mysterious vessel slipped past a major naval exercise codenamed ‘Defence of Gujarat’. A large number of naval and Coast Guard ships had taken part in the exercise. Even all the port trusts and gram panchayats were included in the exercise, which lasted between November 17-22. Their task was to track all vessels and check their identities.

In fact, it was a mock exercise to track down al Qaeda and Pakistani vessels. The threat to offshore installations was also part of the drill.

Various security agencies were aware of intelligence reports indicating that around 90 fishing boats were impounded by Pakistani officials. These vessels could infiltrate Indian waters after the monsoon spell was over and the sea was near normal.

Not only is it ironic that the exercises failed to prevent infiltration, they also raise further questions regarding the mysterious appearance of inflatable raft amongst many ship.

This report is supplemented by Peoples Daily and The Hindu

Indian Navy conducted a 11-day exercise to demonstrate its preparedness under multiple threat scenario along the Coast of Gujarat that concluded on Friday, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

“Defense of Gujarat Exercise”, which began on November 7, was held by Western Command of the Indian Navy with the participation of Indian Air Force and Coast Guard in two phases — work-up and tactical phases, PTI reported from Mumbai, 1400 kilometers southwest of here.

Over 40 ships and submarines participated with sea harriers and islanders from the navy and coast guard along with aircraft of the air force and special forces comprising marine commandos.

Of Fishing Boats Vs Indian Navy History

I have searched for a history of confrontations between Indians and Pakistani fishing boats (AndhraNews, ICSF, Indopia, maplandia, Indian Express 1 2

It is interesting to note that of the 4 encounters major reports suggest any incursions within 10-20 km of the Indian border were detected (exact co-ordinates unavailable, approximations used).

Please do also note that the Nov 11 2008 incident was around the same time indian press reports the terrorists hijacked the fishing boat.

Apparently, the Indian Navy seemed to have missed the hijacking of Indian boat, while simultaneously capturing Pakistani boat during its naval exercises.

Certainly, this leads us into an interesting phase.

Mumbai Attacks… II (the post, no offence)

I must say I am surprised by the response I got. Like you I too am patriotic, like you I too tend to get emotional when others unjustly accuse my country. I am not an expert just a skeptic.

I must also say I had no intention of creating a stir in an already emotional situation. No matter who did this, regardless of the reason, did an act is unjustifiable and inhuman.

I will not remind you that we are paying the price as well.

I will only ask questions:
-Was it a big failure on the part of Indian Navy to let visually different “fishing boats” (inflatable rafts) to enter a restricted area by sea, even if they managed to get to the fishing trawler.

Everything said there were interesting comments that I would like to respond to:

I know i would be called racist, but, if you look at the entire world right now, wherever you see unrest or terrorism, it has been created by Muslims.

Not once am i saying that the whole lot is screwed up, but isnt this food for thought.

-aditya

Food for thought Well please do not let the media distort your perception. I would like to say that Palestinians are called terrorists just because they are fighting to get their land back. LTTE (in Sri Lanka), IRA (in UK), Lord’s Salvation Army, which trains the young children to conduct terrorist attacks, and many other non-Muslim terrorist outfits, the lives claimed by these outfits are more than the ones by the Muslim terrorists. Naxalites/Maoists across India and the LTTE in Sri Lanka were non- Muslim terror organisations. Japanese Red Army, Lord’s Salvation Army and the ETA in Spain were also non-Islamic in character and composition. (adapted from here). I would not like to bring in some controversial events of Gujrat and Samjhota Express, but lets focus on the general perception.

Lokesh Awasthy Terrorists haveno religion, they are neither hindu nor muslims. If I accuse Pakistani government to be incapable of controlling extremists inside, I also codemn the Government of India for such an intelligence failure, nobody is pointing fingers, these are facts.

I do too. However, the main problem I wanted to address when the post was published was the knee-jerk reaction of the Indian government and media to blame Pakistan without evidence. Regarding the ISI the army was of the view that no country in the world would comply with “orders” for a department head to explain the situation. Would India let its RAW chief come to Pakistan based on suspicion?

Last Questions
Why do you think the intensity of these acts have increased lately? What is driving these acts?

Update
-Indian home minister has presented its resignation

My Response
–To Omkar Was it a big failure on part of Indian Intelligence?
-It appears that certain high value targets are not adequately secured… Should we be concerned about “other targets” such as installations that may threaten regional peace?
–Isn’t your bolg with your fancy screen shots and indicator of a “Knee Jerk” was your response a measured one? My blog entry was a simply based on the analysis of news reports and facts hovering in Indian Media.

Note to ALL
-Browsing through the comments, I seem to have learnt a lot regarding the differences in Human Anatomy across the subcontinent. Certainly this is not the topic of discussion. Please refrain from posting such items since it reflects poorly regarding the contrbutor.
-Due to unusual interest in the blog, the servers are constantly going into defensive mode. If you find your comments disappear you can still access them through post comment link. Some updates may not be displayed, blogger.com is working on the issue

Mumbai Attacks… II (the post, no offence)

I must say I am surprised by the response I got. Like you I too am patriotic, like you I too tend to get emotional when others unjustly accuse my country. I am not an expert just a skeptic.

I must also say I had no intention of creating a stir in an already emotional situation. No matter who did this, regardless of the reason, did an act is unjustifiable and inhuman.

I will not remind you that we are paying the price as well.

I will only ask questions:
-Was it a big failure on the part of Indian Navy to let visually different “fishing boats” (inflatable rafts) to enter a restricted area by sea, even if they managed to get to the fishing trawler.

Everything said there were interesting comments that I would like to respond to:

I know i would be called racist, but, if you look at the entire world right now, wherever you see unrest or terrorism, it has been created by Muslims.

Not once am i saying that the whole lot is screwed up, but isnt this food for thought.

-aditya

Food for thought Well please do not let the media distort your perception. I would like to say that Palestinians are called terrorists just because they are fighting to get their land back. LTTE (in Sri Lanka), IRA (in UK), Lord’s Salvation Army, which trains the young children to conduct terrorist attacks, and many other non-Muslim terrorist outfits, the lives claimed by these outfits are more than the ones by the Muslim terrorists. Naxalites/Maoists across India and the LTTE in Sri Lanka were non- Muslim terror organisations. Japanese Red Army, Lord’s Salvation Army and the ETA in Spain were also non-Islamic in character and composition. (adapted from here). I would not like to bring in some controversial events of Gujrat and Samjhota Express, but lets focus on the general perception.

Lokesh Awasthy Terrorists haveno religion, they are neither hindu nor muslims. If I accuse Pakistani government to be incapable of controlling extremists inside, I also codemn the Government of India for such an intelligence failure, nobody is pointing fingers, these are facts.

I do too. However, the main problem I wanted to address when the post was published was the knee-jerk reaction of the Indian government and media to blame Pakistan without evidence. Regarding the ISI the army was of the view that no country in the world would comply with “orders” for a department head to explain the situation. Would India let its RAW chief come to Pakistan based on suspicion?

Last Questions
Why do you think the intensity of these acts have increased lately? What is driving these acts?

Update
-Indian home minister has presented its resignation

My Response
–To Omkar Was it a big failure on part of Indian Intelligence?
-It appears that certain high value targets are not adequately secured… Should we be concerned about “other targets” such as installations that may threaten regional peace?
–Isn’t your bolg with your fancy screen shots and indicator of a “Knee Jerk” was your response a measured one? My blog entry was a simply based on the analysis of news reports and facts hovering in Indian Media.

Note to ALL
-Browsing through the comments, I seem to have learnt a lot regarding the differences in Human Anatomy across the subcontinent. Certainly this is not the topic of discussion. Please refrain from posting such items since it reflects poorly regarding the contrbutor.
-Due to unusual interest in the blog, the servers are constantly going into defensive mode. If you find your comments disappear you can still access them through post comment link. Some updates may not be displayed, blogger.com is working on the issue

Mumbai Attacks… Pakistan? I dont think so

I have managed to gather some interesting facts regarding the “proposed” landing point of the terrorists. The media is surprisingly quiet about them.

Mumbai is approximately 900 km from Karachi, and it would be no surprise if I am told how closely guarded the waters will be, due to the element of distrust between the two nations.

On the other hand the media and government seems to speculate that the entry point was the “Gateway of India” (please ignore the misplaced Placeholder, Google Earth doesn’t let me move it. ) which happens to be on the East side of Mumbai in a territory that is littered with Indian Navy ships and has a navy base in proximity.

The question whether young individuals in T-shirt with AK-47 and backpacks could endure a rough journey across the waters and still manage go undetected is not even being considered. The boats in question seem to be inflatable boats capable of generating 80 hp (design capacity) and depending on load conditions they can top 50-60 Kph . Assuming my data is correct, it would take at least 15 hours at top speed to reach Mumbai. Assuming there was no external support than the boats would have been in Indian waters for at least 10 hours or so. Obviously they would not have embarked on a killing spree at once they would need time to get some rest after they landed in India and to re-organize. This makes it more probable for the boats as well as the gang to be spotted, which in fact were not.

To me the proposition seems unlikely, however a major international crisis could be averted if the world uses its head for a change. We do remember War on terror, don’t we?

Please refer to newer post for my response

Update
-Indians believe that a fishing boat was hijacked and terrorists used that boat to launch the attacks (for reference indian fishing boat looks like this) also Indian Fishing trawler
-However, assuming this is correct, this does not in any rule out how the inflatable rafts got through the naval base. This area is critical as there is a dry dock, naval dock yard, missile boat HQ, submarine facility, marine training facility in vicinity, and is the Western HQ Command of the Indian Navy SOURCE . Hence a highly valuable area
-Any landings would be a serious breach of security
-How terrorists could get through is a mystery that the mainstream is reluctant to investigate

I am not moderating comments so that people may see what they believe

Mumbai under Attack?! Blame Pakistan…

Atleast some Indians are thinking… below is a rather rare piece by an Indian who thinks rather than blames.

SOURCE

# Some unanswered questions about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai need to be answered. If you wish to add questions to this list, please do e-mail questionsterror@rediffmail.com and we will post the most relevant questions here. How many terrorists were there? Did they number 20 as Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh told a press conference on Thursday? Or did they number many more? If two or three terrorists attacked the CST, how many terrorists were present at the Taj and Trident? Did the CST terrorists drop a grenade/explosive device at Dockyard Road on the way to the station? Or was someone else responsible for that act of terror which claimed three lives?
# The terrorists are said to have set up control rooms at the Taj and Trident hotels, a Cabinet minister told PTI on Thursday. When were these bookings made? A detailed investigation into the bookings made at both hotels in the months, weeks and days before the attacks may reveal the names of suspicious guests who registered there.
# Military sources tell rediff.com that there was no way the terrorists could have carried so much ammunition with them when they assaulted the two hotels with their guns blazing. They believe the ammunition may have been stored earlier in rooms at both the hotels, perhaps on the higher floors.
# If some of the terrorists had registered at the hotels earlier, could these men/women have left along with the guests who were released? Did the police record the identities and addresses of the guests who were released from both hotels?
# Indian Hotels Chairman Ratan Tata indicated on Thursday that the terrorists had intimate knowledge of the Taj, its service corridors, its layout. Does this mean that they had a mole inside the Taj? Or more worrying, did a couple of them work there at some point of time? Did they have drawings of the layout of the two hotels?
# If the terrorists were Pakistani, how did they have such an intimate knowledge of the terrain? The two or three cowards who attacked the CST on Wednesday night made their way from the CST through a road on the left side of The Times of India building towards the Cama and Albess hospital/Azad Maidan police station, a route that is known only to true-blood Mumbaikars. Were they locals? Or did they conduct extensive reconnisance of the likely routes of escape?
# These same two or three men, who are said to have commandeered ATS Chief Hemant Karkare’s [Images] police Qualis after shooting him, Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and Inspector Vijay Salaskar, revealed similar familarity with the road outside the Esplanade Court, making an easy U-turn towards the Metro cinema junction rather than head on the road towards the CST. How did they know this if they were Pakistanis?
# How did those men, whose images have appeared all over the world, get to the CST from Colaba where they are said to have landed by boat? Did they take a taxi? Or did they have local transportation? Did they come by a suburban train, which could explain the firing on one of the suburban train platforms? Who left the grenade on the Gitanjali Express, which killed a Bengali mother?
# The terrorists are said to have done extensive reconnisance of the city. If they are Pakistanis, how did they get earlier entry to the city unnoticed? Did they come in by boat? Or did they use other routes to escape notice?
# Such an operation could not have been conducted without extensive training and preparation, possibly on models of the Taj and Trident or Chabad House/Nariman House. Could this have been achieved at the rudimentary training camps hosted by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba in Pakistan occupied Kashmir? Or was it a more systematised operation conducted by a State agency in a hostile country?
# How did they know Chabad House/Nariman House, which even long-time residents of Colaba — the area in South Mumbai where the Taj, the Leopold Cafe [Images] and Chabad/Nariman House are located — are unfamiliar with? The choice of this target indicates precision thinking — it is doubtful if the Lashkar strategists are capable of such deep strategy — and again points the needle of suspicion at a government intelligence agency in a nation inimical to India or renegades within such a bureau.

Mumbai Attacks… Pakistan? I dont think so

I have managed to gather some interesting facts regarding the “proposed” landing point of the terrorists. The media is surprisingly quiet about them.

Mumbai is approximately 900 km from Karachi, and it would be no surprise if I am told how closely guarded the waters will be, due to the element of distrust between the two nations.

On the other hand the media and government seems to speculate that the entry point was the “Gateway of India” (please ignore the misplaced Placeholder, Google Earth doesn’t let me move it. ) which happens to be on the East side of Mumbai in a territory that is littered with Indian Navy ships and has a navy base in proximity.

The question whether young individuals in T-shirt with AK-47 and backpacks could endure a rough journey across the waters and still manage go undetected is not even being considered. The boats in question seem to be inflatable boats capable of generating 80 hp (design capacity) and depending on load conditions they can top 50-60 Kph . Assuming my data is correct, it would take at least 15 hours at top speed to reach Mumbai. Assuming there was no external support than the boats would have been in Indian waters for at least 10 hours or so. Obviously they would not have embarked on a killing spree at once they would need time to get some rest after they landed in India and to re-organize. This makes it more probable for the boats as well as the gang to be spotted, which in fact were not.

To me the proposition seems unlikely, however a major international crisis could be averted if the world uses its head for a change. We do remember War on terror, don’t we?

Please refer to newer post for my response

Update
-Indians believe that a fishing boat was hijacked and terrorists used that boat to launch the attacks (for reference indian fishing boat looks like this) also Indian Fishing trawler
-However, assuming this is correct, this does not in any rule out how the inflatable rafts got through the naval base. This area is critical as there is a dry dock, naval dock yard, missile boat HQ, submarine facility, marine training facility in vicinity, and is the Western HQ Command of the Indian Navy SOURCE . Hence a highly valuable area
-Any landings would be a serious breach of security
-How terrorists could get through is a mystery that the mainstream is reluctant to investigate

I am not moderating comments so that people may see what they believe

Mumbai under Attack?! Blame Pakistan…

Atleast some Indians are thinking… below is a rather rare piece by an Indian who thinks rather than blames.

SOURCE

# Some unanswered questions about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai need to be answered. If you wish to add questions to this list, please do e-mail questionsterror@rediffmail.com and we will post the most relevant questions here. How many terrorists were there? Did they number 20 as Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh told a press conference on Thursday? Or did they number many more? If two or three terrorists attacked the CST, how many terrorists were present at the Taj and Trident? Did the CST terrorists drop a grenade/explosive device at Dockyard Road on the way to the station? Or was someone else responsible for that act of terror which claimed three lives?
# The terrorists are said to have set up control rooms at the Taj and Trident hotels, a Cabinet minister told PTI on Thursday. When were these bookings made? A detailed investigation into the bookings made at both hotels in the months, weeks and days before the attacks may reveal the names of suspicious guests who registered there.
# Military sources tell rediff.com that there was no way the terrorists could have carried so much ammunition with them when they assaulted the two hotels with their guns blazing. They believe the ammunition may have been stored earlier in rooms at both the hotels, perhaps on the higher floors.
# If some of the terrorists had registered at the hotels earlier, could these men/women have left along with the guests who were released? Did the police record the identities and addresses of the guests who were released from both hotels?
# Indian Hotels Chairman Ratan Tata indicated on Thursday that the terrorists had intimate knowledge of the Taj, its service corridors, its layout. Does this mean that they had a mole inside the Taj? Or more worrying, did a couple of them work there at some point of time? Did they have drawings of the layout of the two hotels?
# If the terrorists were Pakistani, how did they have such an intimate knowledge of the terrain? The two or three cowards who attacked the CST on Wednesday night made their way from the CST through a road on the left side of The Times of India building towards the Cama and Albess hospital/Azad Maidan police station, a route that is known only to true-blood Mumbaikars. Were they locals? Or did they conduct extensive reconnisance of the likely routes of escape?
# These same two or three men, who are said to have commandeered ATS Chief Hemant Karkare’s [Images] police Qualis after shooting him, Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and Inspector Vijay Salaskar, revealed similar familarity with the road outside the Esplanade Court, making an easy U-turn towards the Metro cinema junction rather than head on the road towards the CST. How did they know this if they were Pakistanis?
# How did those men, whose images have appeared all over the world, get to the CST from Colaba where they are said to have landed by boat? Did they take a taxi? Or did they have local transportation? Did they come by a suburban train, which could explain the firing on one of the suburban train platforms? Who left the grenade on the Gitanjali Express, which killed a Bengali mother?
# The terrorists are said to have done extensive reconnisance of the city. If they are Pakistanis, how did they get earlier entry to the city unnoticed? Did they come in by boat? Or did they use other routes to escape notice?
# Such an operation could not have been conducted without extensive training and preparation, possibly on models of the Taj and Trident or Chabad House/Nariman House. Could this have been achieved at the rudimentary training camps hosted by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba in Pakistan occupied Kashmir? Or was it a more systematised operation conducted by a State agency in a hostile country?
# How did they know Chabad House/Nariman House, which even long-time residents of Colaba — the area in South Mumbai where the Taj, the Leopold Cafe [Images] and Chabad/Nariman House are located — are unfamiliar with? The choice of this target indicates precision thinking — it is doubtful if the Lashkar strategists are capable of such deep strategy — and again points the needle of suspicion at a government intelligence agency in a nation inimical to India or renegades within such a bureau.