Second Lt Arun Khetarpal, PVC (P) - For his
extraordinary courage he was awarded Param Vir Chakra (India’s highest military
gallantry award awarded during wartime). Major (later Col.) Late Hoshiar Singh,
PVC who was a witness to his courage and guts, mentioned about his bravery in
his interview too. He was impressed with his dedication and raw courage.....
Many people of the present generation ask - What
did Arun Khetrapal do in the Bangladesh War to deserve a Param Vir Chakra? Second
Lt Arun Khetarpal was a young Indian military officer of 17Poona Horse, which
had a big reputation in Indian military history. His father was himself a Brigadier
in the Engineer Corps and took part in 1965 India-Pakistan war. Second Lieutenant
Arun Khetarpal PVC was born in Pune, Maharashtra, was an officer of the Indian
Army and a posthumous recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest
military decoration for valour in face of the enemy. The youngest
recipient of Param Vir Chakra then, Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, is
remembered for his bravery and sacrifice during the 1971 Indo-Pak War.
Born in Pune, Khetarpal had army blood running in his veins as he was the
fourth generation officer from his family.
Arun Khetarpal was born in Pune, Maharashtra on 14
October 1950 into a Punjabi family. His family originally belonged
to Sargodha, Pakistan, and had migrated to India after partition as
refugees. His father Lt Col (later Brigadier) M. L. Khetarpal was
a Corps of Engineers officer serving in the Indian Army and his
family traced a long history of military service. Attending The
Lawrence School, Sanawar, he distinguished himself both as an able student and
sportsman and was the school prefect. Khetarpal joined the National
Defence Academy in June 1967. He belonged to Foxtrot Squadron where
he was the Squadron Cadet Captain of the 38th Course. His NDA No was 7498/F/38.
He subsequently went on to join the Indian Military Academy. In June 1971,
Khetarpal was commissioned into the 17 Poona Horse.
The Battle of Basantar is considered to be one of
the bloodiest tank battles fought in the Indian war history. It happened during
the Bangladesh Liberation war in 1971 war. The war was nearing the end. But the
intension of Pakistan to take revenge was always looming. And the Pakistanis
planned to enter Kashmir through Shakargarh bulge to take the Indian forces by
surprise and avenge their humiliating defeat in Bangladesh.
During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971,
the 17 Poona Horse was assigned to the command of the 47th Infantry
Brigade of the Indian Army. Through the duration of the conflict, the 47th
Brigade saw action in the Shakargarh sector in the Battle of
Basantar. Among the tasks set for the 47th Brigade was to establish a
bridgehead across the river Basantar. By 21:00 hours of 15 December, the
brigade had captured its objectives. However, the place was extensively mined,
which prevented the deployment of the tanks of the Poona Horse, and the
engineers clearing the mines were halfway through their tasks when Indian
troops at the bridge-head reported alarming enemy armour activity, asking for
immediate armour support. It was at this critical juncture that the 17 Poona
Horse decided to push through the mine-field. The regiment was able to link-up
with the infantry at the bridge-head by first light the next day.
And then began the horrific battle. In retaliation
Indian forces crossed the border and captured some strategic points and posts
in Pakistan. The Pakistan forces tried to recapture it but failed, and later
they launched an assault with tanks. Poona Horse was called to meet this
challenge. Col (later Lt Gen) Late Hanut Singh was the commanding officer. He
ordered his forces and the tanks to repulse the attack.
There was this young officer who was undergoing his
YO course for tankmenship and only few weeks were remaining for the completion
of his training. He was Second Lt Arun Khetarpal. He volunteered to join the ongoing war but he
was not permitted as he was still undergoing training. He requested Col Huntie (Hanutji)
to allow him to join the battle. But he refused as his training was on. But the
young officer was adamant to see action.
On his insistence and seeing his zest to
participate in the war Hanut Singh agreed to his request but on one condition;
he had to clear a test before being allowed to go for war. Arun Kethrapal completed
the test successfully and he was given permission to go. He was thrilled as he
was going to see real action for the first time. And he wanted to be a part of
it along with others.
On reaching the battle ground, he saw the actual
fighting which was fierce with deadly firing from both sides. Young Arun
Ketharpal took charge and immediately started targeting the enemy tanks and
destroyed around seven enemy tanks. In this firing, his tank was hit by an
enemy tank and it was on fire. Khetarpal was ordered to come back. He responded
– No Sir, I will not abandon my tank. My main gun is still working and I will
get this bastards. These were the last words of young Arun Khetarpal.
He launched an attack and destroyed the enemy
positions and hit more tanks. In the ensuing tank battle, Lt. Arun Khetarpal
with his two remaining tanks fought off and destroyed ten
tanks before he was killed in action. In this confusion and cross-firing,
an enemy tank only a few meters from his tank hit his tank. Famagusta (Arun
Khetarpal’s tank) was destroyed and up in flames, his tank crew, too were all
badly injured, and Arun Ketharpal was severely wounded his body was badly burnt.
He asked his buddy for water, but an officer asked him to give tea. As he
returned, the brave young Arun Ketharpal succumbed to his injuries, a supreme
sacrifice for his motherland.
The citation for the Param Vir Chakra awarded to
him reads: On 16 December 1971, the squadron Commander of 'B' Squadron,
the Poona Horse asked for reinforcements as the Pakistani armour that was
superior in strength, counter attacked at Jarpal, in the Shakargarh Sector.
Brigadier Naser from the Pakistan army had met
Brigadier Madanlal Khetarpal thirty years after the 1971 war and had confessed
to killing his son Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal on the battlefield. This is
what happened at their meeting in Pakistan.
In 2001, Brigadier M.L. Khetarpal – then 81 years
old – felt a strong desire to visit his birthplace at Sargodha, now in
Pakistan. At Lahore airport, Brigadier M.L. Khetarpal was met by Brigadier
Khawja Mohammad Naser, who took it upon himself to be Brigadier M.L. Khetarpal
host and guide. Brigadier Naser really went out of his way to ensure that
Brigadier M.L. Khetarpal had a satisfying and nostalgic visit to his old house
in Sargodha. Upon his return to Lahore he was once again the guest of Brigadier
Naser for three days.
Brigadier M.L. Khetarpal was overwhelmed by the
extreme kindness, deference, courtesy and respect bestowed upon him by
Brigadier Naser and by all the members of his family and his many servants.
However Brigadier Khetarpal felt that something was amiss but could not make
out what it was. Was it the long silences that punctuated their animated
conversation or was it the look of compassion in the eyes of the women in the
family? He could not make out but was sure he was being treated as someone very
special.
Finally, on the last night before Brigadier M.L.
Khetarpal's departure, Brigadier Naser said - Sir, there is something that I wanted to tell you
for many years but I did not know how to get through to you. Finally, fate has
intervened and sent you to me as an honoured guest. The last few days we have
become close to one another and that has made my task even more difficult. It
is regarding your son who is, of course, a national hero in India. However, on
that fateful day, your son and I were soldiers, unknown to one another,
fighting for the respect and safety of our respective countries. I regret to
tell you that your son died at my hands. Arun's courage was exemplary and he
moved his tank with fearless courage and daring, totally unconcerned about his
safety. Tank casualties were very high till finally there were just two of us
left facing one another. We both fired simultaneously. It was destined that I
was to live and he was to die. It was only later that I got to know how young
he was and who he was. I had all along thought that I would ask your
forgiveness, but in telling the story I realize that there is nothing to
forgive. Instead I salute your son for what he did at such a young age and I
salute you too, because I know how he grew into such a young man. In the end it
is character and values that matter."
Brigadier M.L. Khetarpal was silent as he did not
know how to react. To be enjoying the hospitality of the person who had killed
his son was a confused feeling. However being a soldier himself he genuinely
admired the chivalry of an officer whose complete squadron was decimated by his
son. Both the Brigadiers retired for the night deep in thought.
The next day photographs were taken and Brigadier M.L.
Khetarpal returned to Delhi. Later the photos reached Delhi along with a note
from Brigadier Naser that said:
"With Warmest regards and utmost sincerity,
To: Brigadier M.L. Khetarpal, father of Shaheed Second Lieutenant Arun
Khetarpal, PVC, who stood like an insurmountable rock, between the victory and
failure, of the counterattack by the 'SPEARHEADS' 13 LANCERS on 16 December
1971 in the battle of "Bara Pind' as we call it and battle of
"Basantar" as 17 Poona Horse remembers.
— --Khawja Mohammad Naser, 13 Lancers, 2 March
2001, Lahore, Pakistan.
Russia defaults on foreign-currency debt for first time in a century
Russia defaulted on its foreign-currency sovereign
debt for the first time since 1918, the culmination of ever-tougher Western
sanctions that shut down payment routes to overseas creditors. For months, the
country found paths around the penalties imposed after the Kremlin’s invasion
of Ukraine. But at the end of the day on Sunday, the grace period on about $100
million of snared interest payments due May 27 expired......
Russia defaulted on its foreign-currency
sovereign debt for the first time in a century, the culmination of
ever-tougher Western sanctions that shut down all payment routes to overseas
creditors. For months, the country found paths around the penalties imposed
after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. But at the end of the day on
Sunday, the grace period on about $100 million of snared interest payments due
May 27 expired, a deadline considered an event of default if missed.
It’s a grim marker in the country’s rapid
transformation into an economic, financial and political outcast. The nation’s
euro bonds have traded at distressed levels since the start of March, the
central bank’s foreign reserves remain frozen, and all the biggest banks are
severed from the global financial system.
Russia has pushed back against the default
designation, saying it has the funds to cover any bills and has been forced
into non-payment. As it tried to twist its way out, it announced last week that
it would switch to servicing its $40 billion of outstanding sovereign debt in
rubles, criticizing a “force-majeure” situation it said was artificially
manufactured by the West.
“It’s a very, very rare thing, where a government
that otherwise has the means is forced by an external government into default,”
said Hassan Malik, senior sovereign analyst at Loomis Sayles & Company LP.
“It’s going to be one of the big watershed defaults in history.”
A formal declaration would usually come from
ratings firms, but European sanctions led to them withdrawing ratings on
Russian entities. According to the documents for the notes whose grace period
expired on Sunday, holders can call one themselves if owners of 25% of the
outstanding bonds agree that an “Event of Default” has occurred.
But given the damage already done to the economy and markets, the
default is also mostly symbolic for now, and matters little to Russians dealing
with double-digit inflation and the worst economic contraction in years.
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The most noteworthy list of richest men in India is
the Forbes rich list. It tells you who stands where. Interestingly, four Indians featured in the top 100
Forbes World’s Billionaire list. They are Mukesh Ambani, Azim Premji, Shiv
Nadar and Lakshmi Mittal. Overall, 106 Indians featured in the Forbes list. In
the top 10 list of richest persons in India, women’s name was missing……..
In 2020, there were four Indians in the list of 100
richest people in the world. This included Ambani, Adani, Nadar, Uday Kotak of
Kotak Mahindra bank. A lot has changed since. Forbes released its new list of
India’s Billionaires. Despite the recent Covid-19 Pandemic wreaking havoc on the
everyday Indians, there were a few who managed to grow their wealth
significantly during this time. The country has seen an 18.5% growth in the
number of billionaires, according to Forbes, in the year 2021 to 22. Gautam
Adani has moved up to number 2 and Azim Premji has moved down from Number 2 to
Number 17. The drop in Azim Premji’s rank is due to his various philanthropy
activities.
Gautam Adani pipped Warren Buffet as the 5th
richest person in the world. Forbes rich list pegs Adani Group chief’s total
net worth at $123.7bn, about $2bn more than Berkshire Hathway CEO’s $121.7bn. Now
Adani is the richest Indian, ahead of Mukesh Ambani with a net worth of $105bn.
Elon Musk with a net worth $270bn stands first on
the list. Jeff Bezos with a net worth at $170bn is second. Bernand Arnault with
a net worth of $168bn is third. Bill Gates with a net worth at $130bn is
fourth. Gautam Adani with a net worth at $124bn is fifth. And Warren Buffet
with a net worth at 4122bn is sixth on the list.
India has generated a good number of
billionaires, many of them even ranking substantially among the richest persons
in the world. Hailing from a variety of industry backgrounds, Indian
billionaires have helped build the country’s economy in a significant way.
Wealth is bound to fluctuate under the volatile market conditions, especially
since most billionaires have their fortune invested in publicly traded stocks.
Here is the latest ranking of 10 richest persons in India in 2022 as per ‘The
World’s Real Time Billionaires 2022’ published by Forbes.
Gautam Adani
and family :The second in the list of India’s richest persons,
Gautam Adani Group has a staggering net worth of $112.6 billion.
Gautam Adani controls the Mundra Port, which is the largest in Gujarat. Adani
Group has its interests spread across sectors like power generation and
transmission, real estate, commodities and infrastructure. In September 2020,
Adani acquired a 74% stake in the second busiest airport of India, the Mumbai
International Airport. Adani also owns a coal mining project in Australia known
as Abbot Point.
Mukesh
Ambani: Scoring tenth place among the richest persons in
the world in 2022, Mukesh Ambani has $100.0 billion in net worth. The
founder and chairman of Reliance Industries has his interests across
petrochemicals, oil and gas, retail and telecom. The launch of 4G phone
services in the Indian telecom market by Reliance in 2016 spiked a price war
creating strong whirls and sending several networks out of business. During the
Covid-19 lockdown period, Mukesh Ambani sold one third of Jio to some investors
like Google and Facebook raising over $20 billion.
Shiv Nadar: Shiv Nadar, the cofounder of HCL ranks in the third
place among India’s richest billionaires with his wealth estimated at $28.7
billion in 2022. HCL started in 1976 manufacturing calculators and
microprocessors and today it is among the largest providers of software
services in the country with a $102 billion revenue. HCL technologies employed
169,000 people across 50 countries. After Shiv Nadar stepped down as
the CEO of HCL in 2020, his daughter occupied his seat. Shiv Nadar is currently
chairman emeritus. A leading philanthropist in the country, he has given away
over $662 million to Shiv Nadar Foundation to support causes related to
education.
Cyrus
Poonawalla: Cyrus Poonawalla’s net worth stands at $25.8
billion making him the fifth richest person in India in 2022. He is a big name in horse racing too. He founded Serum
Institute of India in 1966, which is today the largest vaccine maker in the
world in terms of doses. The firm produces more than 1.5 billion doses of a
variety of vaccines for flu, polio and measles. His son Adar is the CEO of
Serum which has also invested around $800 million to build a new factory
producing Covid-19 vaccines.
Radhakishan
Damani: Radhakishan Damani’s $20.2 billion net worth places
him in the fourth place among India’s richest persons. He is considered by many as the silent billionaire, as he is rarely seen or heard. The champion of Avenue
Supermarket, he became the retail king of the country after the supermarket
chain completed the IPO in March 2017. He started retailing in India with just
one supermarket in the suburb of Mumbai. Now the retail chain has over 221 D Mart
stores across the country. Damani has his stakes in other businesses like the
tobacco firm VST and India Cements. He owns the 156-room Radisson Blu
Resort in Alibag, which is a famous beachfront getaway near Mumbai.
Lakshmi
Mittal: The sixth rank in the list of India’s richest
persons in 2022 is scored by Lakshmi Mittal who has a net worth of
$182 billion. He is the chairman of ArcelorMittal, the largest steel and mining
company of the world in terms of output, generating $53.3 billion in revenue.
In 2019, Arcelor and Nippon Steel acquired Essar Steel, earlier controlled by
billionaires Ravi Ruia and Shashi. After ceding the firm’s CEO position to his
son Aditya Mittal, Lakshmi Mittal continues to be Arcelor Mittal’s executive
chairman.
Savitri
Jindal and family: With their $19.9 billion net worth in 2022, Savitri
Jindal and family occupy the seventh position among the richest persons in
India. The interests of Jindal Group range across power, cement, infrastructure
and steel. The group is now chaired by Savitri Jindal, widow of Om Prakash
Jindal who founded the Jindal Group. In 2005, Om Prakash Jindal died in a
helicopter crash after which the group’s firms were divided among his four
sons.
Kumar Birla: Kumar Birla is the eighth richest person in India
with his $17.5 billion net worth. Known as the commodities king, he is the head
of the Aditya Birla Group making $46 billion in revenue. The group has its
interests in aluminum and cement besides offering telecom and financial
services too. In August 2021, Kumar Birla stepped down as the chairman of
Vodafone India, a debt strapped firm after which Idea Cellular and Vodafone
India merged in 2018.
Dilip
Shanghvi: Dilip Shanghvi’s $16.3 billion net worth
places him in the ninth position among the country’s richest persons in 2022.
In 1983, his father gave him $200 to start Sun Pharma manufacturing psychiatric
drugs. Today, the firm is among the nation’s leaders in pharmaceutical supplies
with annual revenue of $4.5 billion. Sun Pharma grew through several
acquisitions and the notable one was the purchase of Ranbaxy Laboratories in
2014 in a deal worth $4 billion. Over the recent past, Shanghvi has also
invested in oil and gas and renewable energy.
Sunil Mittal
and family: The tenth place in the list of India’s top 10
richest persons is occupied by Sunil Mittal with his $15.3 billion
net worth. Founder and chairperson of Bharti Enterprises, Sunil Bharti
Mittal, a first-generation entrepreneur is the owner of India's second largest
telecom company – Bharti Airtel. Mittal is also known to work towards educating
India through the Bharti Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Bharti
Enterprises.
Though we look back at the days of telephone, later
telex, fax machine, answering machine and other communication gadgets with
nostalgia, we get more and more dependent on the virtual world. Today technology
is also aiming to connect people worldwide and strengthen communities. It has
made life a lot easy. Literally at your finger tips!
The web and internet has changed our lives and
habits. And it has also made people lazy and inactive. More and more things
that we used to do traditionally like - shopping, eating, ticketing, reading,
planning vacations or handling our finances and bank accounts, regardless of
the location have developed the ability to connect and communicate through the
mobile or laptop. Specifically mobile technology now allows us to interact with
people and online communities from anywhere at any time without boundaries.
Just with a smart phone or an IPhone you can do
wonders, communicate, transfer funds, order stuff, do booking, sending
information in text, pictures or video in no time. Some years ago one could
only dream of it or see it in sci-fi movies. Today it’s a reality.
With Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype, IMO, Twitter, etc
makes the previous generation ancient. But they were more organized than us
though we have all these means of instant communication. No doubt digital has
ushered in a revolution in communication. But it also has a flip side!
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On seeing the many Pakistan reaction videos on India - about the cities, places, technology, education, IT, automobile, medicine, sports, exports etc, the reaction gives an impression of the mindset, common sense, exposure, level of education and thinking of the common Pakistani public. In a way you can’t blame them as they have been bombarded with lies, misinformation and anti-India campaign since independence in 1947........
Pakistanis must learn the truth about Pakistan and
India. They have been fed with lies and misinformation over the years and the
Pakistan people have believed it blindly. The Pakistan leaders and media try to
score points by India bashing and telling lies about India thereby painting a
negative picture about India in the mind of common Pakistanis. They are exposed
mostly to the local vernacular media and many are not aware of the world media,
hence their knowledge and information is limited to what they see, read or hear
in Pakistan.
Now with many YouTube channels by a young bunch of
knowledgeable youngsters – Shoaib Choudary, Ribaha Imran, Daily Swag, Sana
Amjad, Catalyst Entertainment and others; with social media and YouTube videos
being easily accessible, many Pakistanis are shocked to learn the truth about
Pakistan and India. They are stunned and in doubt as they were made to believe
that Pakistan is ahead of India in every field and the whole world is jealous
of Pakistan, the self-proclaimed leader of the Muslim world. Most Pakistanis
now realize they have been fooled by their leaders and the media. All this big talk has
put Pakistan in a financial mess, internal rift, with scarcity of foodstuff and
rising prices of all essential items. The nation is desperately trying to avoid
a Sri Lanka type situation.
On seeing the many Pakistan reaction videos on
India - about the cities, technology, education, IT, automobile, medicine,
sports, exports etc, the reaction gives an impression of the mindset, common
sense, exposure, level of education and thinking of the common Pakistani
public. In a way you can’t blame them as they have been bombarded with lies, misinformation
and anti-India campaign since independence in 1947. They have been told since
1947, Pakistan is a powerful country better in all fields than India. And India
is scared and jealous of Pakistan’s development.
In one of the reaction videos of Shoaib Choudhary, a man wearing the traditional dress, in his fifties boasts that Pakistan is the best and in 1965, when India attacked, they had almost reached Delhi. When asked why they didn't capture Delhi, the man responded saying, super-power America and other countries asked Pakistan to cease fire and withdraw. And the Pak army returned after teaching India a lesson. When countered by the anchor that in 1965 Indians had almost reached Lahore, and in 1971 when Bangladesh (East Pakistan) separated from Pakistan, 93,000 Pak soldiers surrendered to Indian forces. He ignored this by saying, its propaganda. When asked where he got all this information, he said he read it in their newspapers and heard from their leaders.
In another video, a young woman says, India has progressed by copying Pakistan and Islamic rules. When asked, why Pakistan didn't progress by these rules. She said Pakistan is more developed and slowed down due to some internal issues. She then goes to say, India, USA, Russia and other countries have all developed by copying Pakistan and Islamic rules without knowing it was from Pakistan. And another educated man says, if Muslims in India win medals, they should hail Pakistan, as they are Muslims without realizing they are Indian citizens . This is the education and mindset of the people who blindly believe in what is taught in schools and put forth by the Pak media since 1947.
They regularly harp that the Muslims in India are
ill-treated and the Kashmiris are tortured, women are raped and about lockdown
in Kashmir. They avoid telling the facts about the killings of innocent people
and Kashmiri Pandits by the Pakistani terrorists, instigating the local youth
against India, hiding the facts about the progress and development in Kashmir,
locals enjoying the same benefits as rest of India like education, employment, sports
and infrastructure like roads, railways, bridges, etc, foreign investment
including a big investment from UAE and other Middle East countries for further
development in the region and boosting tourism and employment and attracting record
Indian and foreign tourists visiting the state. They spread blatant lies about terror meted by the Indian army, lockdown all over Kashmir with no internet facility, no
food and water. In fact after the pandemic, Kashmiris are benefiting from
record tourists visiting the state with most of the hotels seeing full
occupancy and the rooms attracting high rates thereby benefiting the local
Kashmiris. They also speak of India enforcing demographic changes, which again is a lie.
On Pakistan television, most of their media persons
and anchors like Fiza Khan, Kiron Naz and others regularly speak out hatred for India
and use abusive language for the Indian PM; this will give you an idea of their
education, professionalism and etiquette. And this behavior seems to have percolated
down to the common man. One can understand this poor attitude of the masses
being illiterate but some educated Pakistanis – gents and ladies speak the same
language. This tells about their mindset. They don’t want to hear the truth that India is far ahead in all fields. And go on to talk about poverty, large population and suffering of the people in India and end it
by saying, Pak army is the number one in the world. Some moderate Pakistanis
and the educated younger generation speak some sense or logic or have a
balanced viewpoint as they are exposed to reality. Pakistan is sixth in population.
The general mood is hatred for India and their
children’s minds have been corrupted that India is an enemy and Hindus and
others are Khafirs who dislike the existence of Pakistan. From this it’s fully
noticeable that the generations and common man blindly believe in what they
study, read and see on the media as the gospel truth. Pakistan media talks
about hate India everyday and compares itself with India. While India treats
Pakistan, just as one of their neighbours like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and
Bangladesh. India normally ignores Pakistan and the Indian media covers Pakistan unless there
is a terrorist attack in Kashmir or a bomb blast in Pakistan.
They are regularly fed with lies and fake news
about India. They are made to believe, Pakistan is superior and India is an underdeveloped,
poor, inferior and dirty nation with a large population. They are made to
believe that ISI and their army is number one in the world. And their armed
forces are very brave to scare the India army. They are never told that
Pakistan lost all the wars with India, be it 1948, 1965, 1971 and the Kargil
war, all initiated by Pakistan. In 1948, their army was driven out from the major part of Kashmir, In 1965, Indian army reached the outskirts of Lahore taking Burki, and the media proudly showed how the brave Pakistan army saved Lahore, not telling the people how did the Indian forces cross and reach the outskirts of Lahore, 1971 Bangladesh liberation war, Pakistan
army massacred its own citizens, raped the women and killed over lakh of
people. 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered to the Indian forces in Dacca. They
were taken as prisoners of war and later released after the Shimla agreement
between Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. They need not believe in what
India says; they can check the YouTube and see the Pakistan videos of their own
Pakistani retired generals, reputed journalists and analysts talking about the
defeats in detail. They can also refer to their own government war report. In Kargil, over 1000 Pakistani soldiers were killed and refused to take the bodies of their own men. Indian soldiers buried the fallen Pakistani soldiers with due respect. Hassan
Nissar and Najam Sethi senior Pakistani journalists have stated in the media that Pakistan lost
all the wars with India.
Pakistan proclaims to be the leader of the Muslim
world, but nobody bothers. They claim to be ardent supporters of Palestine
cause and their rights. Most Pakistanis may not be aware that Gen Zia-ul-Haq as
a young brigadier led the Pak army on a request from the then King of Jordon
and massacred thousands of Palestinians for money. And now Pakistan is keen to
mend fences with Israel.
Pakistanis should know that Pakistani and Indian
Muslims are different. Indian Muslims are more aware and well informed about
the happening in the world. They are better educated, have opportunities and are doing well in
all fields from politics, business, industry, sports and other professions. Indian Muslim men and women are better off. And
don’t wish to be compared with Pakistani Muslims. Even if they have any local issues,
India is a vibrant democracy and they are capable of solving those issues. They
don’t need Pakistan help. They made a choice in 1947 and wish to live India, which they call their motherland.
India has had three Muslim Presidents – Dr Zakir Hussain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed,
Dr Abdul Kalam and numerous of top officials in different positions, even army generals, air marshals
over the years. Can Pakistan name anyone from the minority community who have
occupied senior positions in Pakistan.
The most familiar lines we get to hear in the
reaction videos is– Pakistani has plenty of talent, Pakistan is an Islamic
country, Pakistan is an atmi taqaat (atomic power), Pakistan army is number 1. The
reason behind repeating these lines is to mask their inferiority complex. Most
Pakistanis are not aware that abroad, Pakistanis are looked down upon. To save
face, claim to be Indians. This is mainly due to the identity crisis. Pakistan
hates to identify that their origin is from the Indian sub-continent with
common heritage and culture which they share with India. So they falsely claim ancestry from the Arabs,
Turks, Afghans, etc who care a damn for them.
They are made to believe China, Turkey and the
Muslim world are their friends, but with the Middle East countries ignoring and
refusing to help during their bad times, now claim China, Turkey and Russia are
their friends. Since India is buying oil from Russia, Imran Khan recently
claimed Russia was ready to sell oil to Pakistan too. This is far from the
truth and Putin clarified it. Actually
Pakistan is isolated and even IMF has refused to bail them out of the mess the
country is in. They are in FATF grey list and are worried they may be put on the black list. Their own leaders claim, no one is willing to lend money to Pakistan. Some Pakistanis now speak out in the media out of sheer frustration, that Pakistan managed all these years with loans and aid. The
Pakistan public is now exposed to harsh reality and upset with their politicians.
When the Pakistanis see the videos or hear about
accomplishments in India, they are shocked to learn the truth about the
progress and development made in practically every field by India. Some are
surprised and openly say they were taught and learnt the wrong things about
India in school and media. They are shocked to realize how they were
fooled all these years. India designs and manufactures helicopters, fighter planes, artillery guns, warships, frigates and even aircraft carrier. Indian automobile industry is in the
first four in the world. IIT Madras has developed 5G internet and successfully conducted trials; and is also working on Hyperloop, a super fast transport system, in
collaboration with the Indian Railways. India successfully extracted and manufactured
Ethanol from sugarcane and using it as fuel for the vehicles. This is a major
development which will bring down oil imports thereby saving valuable foreign
exchange. Recently India made a record 44 billion textile export. India is working in different fields with an aim to develop made in India.
They are also made to believe, anything wrong happening in Pakistan is the handiwork of India or RAAA (as they pronounce RAW,
the Indian intelligence agency) or is an Indian conspiracy to cut down
Pakistan’s progress and development. I have never seen any citizen of any other
Muslim country often declare, they are an Islamic country. But Pakistanis love to say this often, they are an Islamic country though there are as many
Muslims in India, if not more.
Most Pakistanis are not exposed to the outside
news, information and recent developments; they read, watch and believe the
local and vernacular media churning out negative, fake and anti-India news most
of the time. They are constantly made to believe Kashmir belongs to them and
India is wrongly occupying it, simply because it’s a Muslim majority state,
conveniently forgetting East Pakistan was Muslim majority and part of their
country which separated from Pakistan after a war. Today Bangladesh is ahead of Pakistan in
most areas. A similar rebellion is brewing in Baluchistan and recently in Sind
too.
Since 1947, the Kashmir bogey was created for the
self-interest of the Pak army and the politicians. This helped the army to
divert funds telling the masses Pakistan is in danger, need to defend itself from India. And the media goes berserk saying Kashmiris are ill-treated,
tortured and killed; Pakistan needs to help them in their struggle with India. Their lies are now being exposed. Pakistanis are learning the truth from the foreign and social media.
The recent trend in Turkey – Get out Pakistanis is
due to the misdeeds of the Pakistanis living in Turkey. Some Pakistanis admit it’s due to the wrong-doing
of the Pakistanis, but some even see this as propaganda by India and others as
it is jealous of Pakistan. This is sheer lies. With media and social media
available to the public, Pakistanis are learning the bitter truth which the
establishment was trying to hide these misdeeds from the masses. Pakistanis are no longer welcome in Turkey.
There is no comparison with India. India is almost
3.5 times bigger than Pakistan. The population is almost 6-7 times more than
Pakistan. India is an economic power, in the top 5-6 countries in the world,
and second in Asia after China, wielding political power, military power,
influence and respect around the world. Maharastra, a state in India, its GDP
is more than Pakistan’s GDP. The Indian army is in the top four and the Indian
air force is third as per the recent Defense report index. India is on the top
in education, agriculture, medicine, IT, automobile, space and manufacturing.
Some Pakistanis love to talk of poverty in India without realising the facts. Poverty
is a world -wide, it’s around 6% in India and in Pakistan its 39%. The literacy
rate in India is high as compared to Pakistan where most of the masses are
illiterate. Even the Madrasas teach that the Muslims are the chosen ones and the rest are Khafirs; this mindset is blamed by many educated Pakistanis for all the ills in the country. India has the
second largest English-speaking population in the world. Pakistanis abroad openly
say, they are not aware how long the government will last and have a fear of
the army taking over in the back of their minds.
Be it manufactured goods, agriculture, IT,
Pharmaceuticals, space, exports, India is way ahead of Pakistan. India is a fastest
growing economy, presently at the top in the world. Food items, textiles,
consumer goods, appliances, machines, automobile are much cheaper in India as
compared to Pakistan. A record foreign investment in India in different sectors, and more has been announced by many countries, some of whom are shifting manufacturing
from China to India. Pakistanis are wondering why no one is investing there?
Even in sports, foreign countries are hesitant to visit Pakistan to participate
in the events as the environment is not so conducive.
Education in India is much better and advanced.
Many Indian universities are ranked high and listed with the best in the world.
IIT is planning to go overseas with IIT Jamaica; recently an agreement has been
signed. Indians occupy responsible and senior positions in the corporate world.
CEO’s of many top international and multinational companies are Indians. This
speaks volume of India’s success abroad. Pakistan started Suparco much before
India’s Isro. Pakistan has not even made a rocket, but Isro is among the top 3
space agencies in the world with commercial launching of its own and satellites
from other countries, sending unmanned vehicles Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan to
the moon and Mars at a lower cost than others. India is also planning a manned
mission. There are other major projects in the pipeline.
Indians are respected world over and Pakistanis are
looked at with suspicion. Their green passport ranks at the lowest. In America
and Europe, many Pakistanis prefer to call themselves as Indians to avoid suspicion. At
the emigration, they are nearly strip searched. This tells a lot about Pakistan
image world-wide with Osama bin Laden located in hiding there! Pakistan should
stop promoting Ghazwa-e-hind and Hind banega Pakistan for their own good. They
are corrupting and sowing the seeds of hatred in the innocent minds of children.
If Hindus, Jews, Christians are all Khafirs, then why use all the things and
gadgets made by them!
India and Pakistan became independent nations in August
1947. India has leaped forward, progressed and developed rapidly while Pakistan
is in deep trouble with a debt-ridden economy and in the grey list of FATF. No
country including China and the Muslim countries and IMF are willing to lend
money to Pakistan. It’s in doldrums with low foreign reserves sufficient for
about 30-40 days. They are hoping they don’t end up like Sri Lanka, to whom
India has lent a helping hand to tide over its present troubles. And the
Pakistan media debates if India could help them too after all the hate India
campaign and terrorist activities.
Many educated Pakistanis and those living abroad
are aware of all these facts and hope their country changes for the better. The
real issue being they have no knowledgeable statesman like leader who can
provide stability and last his full term, to provide some semblance of
stability and hope. Pakistan has been marred by martial law, while India is a
vibrant democracy since its independence. Many Pakistanis backed Imran Khan but
he turned up to be a political novice, isolating Pakistan and putting the
country into a financial and political mess. And his supporters accuse the
present Shabaz government for all the turmoil. Their troubles are not of recent times but an accumulation of misrule and corruption since independence.
Social media and Pakistan reaction videos are
opening the eyes and minds of the Pakistani public to reality and are now
realizing they were taken for a ride all these years, by being fed with lies
and fake news about India. The mood of hatred is slowly changing among the new
generation in Pakistan. Hope this may encourage and inspire the public to
question their leaders and media about the misinformation they have been
spreading all these years about India. I have a suggestion to the Pakistan
anchors – do a bit of homework on the chosen subject and secondly when the
people respond with wrong or foolish statements, counter them with facts or they
remain ignorant and become a laughing stock among the viewers.
Whatever the Pakistanis might boast and claim, there
is no comparison between India and Pakistan. India is way ahead of Pakistan in
every field. Recently Kamal Cheema a familiar face in the Pak media admitted
that Pakistan is at least 15 years behind India. Another senior political analyst is a bit more harsh,
US-based Sajid Tarar says, Pakistan is at least 50 years behind India. He further added,
Pakistan government leaders and foreign ministry is no match as compared to Prime
Minister Modi and Foreign Minister Jaishankar, who are seasoned, educated and
have knowledge and experience of administration, governance and world politics.
And Pakistan leaders should learn from them.
The only hope for Pakistan is electing a good,
knowledgeable and balanced leader. Telling the masses the truth, stop the
Kashmir rhetoric, India bashing, stop mixing religion in everything,
concentrate on developing their country, improving the education, agriculture,
manufacturing and avoid misinformation. Basically they will have to change the
image of their nation which has is at the lowest. Pakistan has to change within and distance itself from radicalism.
You are great if you can find your own faults, and
greater if can remove or reduce them. But you are the greatest if you accept
and love others with their fault. It’s difficult but possible. This applies to
Pakistan too.
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