Diplomacy in the Age of Social Media

Public diplomacy is a buzz word that has been around for decades, but today it is well ensconced with a significant other – social media.

Diplomacy is a fine art, heir to centuries of epochal deal making, system building, peacemaking and conflict avoidance and resolution – it is, in many ways, a profession for the ages. In the minds of men and women at large, however, it is also seen as a profession conducted in rarefied environs, in dizzying ivory-towered heights, away from the hurly-burly of earthling life. In India, I have often faced the perennial question,

Animal Trafficking Is Helping Terrorism Grow Despite Demonetisation

Illegal camel trade and terrorism are seldom mentioned in the same breath. A car rally was held in the national capital on February 2 by NGOs Dhyan Foundation and People For Animals (PFA) to protest atrocities on animals and the illegal trade of animals smuggled into Bangladesh via Bihar and West Bengal.

“United Humans Against Atrocities on Animals” was the theme of the rally, which started at Kasturba Gandhi Marg and made its first stop at the office of the resident commissioner for West Bengal at Baba Kharak Singh Marg - moving on to Bihar Bhawan in Chanakyapuri.

The Journey of the Hijab – From the Afghan Burqa to Fashion Magazines

How did this versatile piece of fabric get so controversial?

July 12 is National Hijab Day in Iran, a celebration that has been met by defiant protests by women driving headscarfless in their cars.

At the same time, the American glossy Allure has featured, for the first time, a hijab-wearing model on its cover. The Somali stunner Hamali Aden demonstrates just how beautiful and fashion-forward Islamic style can be.

An Open Letter To 'Gau Maa' — And Two Other Mothers

Dear Mother Cow, Even as I write this open letter to you—I am feeling a bit like my mythological namesake, the protagonist of our epic, Ramayana, the Ideal Man and King, Lord Rama. While I am addressing this open letter to you—Gau Maa, original mother—like Kaushalya mata, I am terribly conscious of the other two matas—Kaikeyi and Sumitra—in my case—Mother Earth and Mother India.

I am writing about a spate of things, a posse of issues bothering me; some directly concerning you, like the Hon'ble Supreme Court striking down a government proposal to restrict trade of cattle for slaughter, attempts to demonise and ban eating beef and a nation-wide law to end cow slaughter, or even censor Noble Laureates from mentioning your name in documentaries; and some others, indirectly, like TV debates on the terrorist attack on Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir, a protest named #NotInMyName against lynchings et al.

‘Maybe It Is Time To Change My Son’s Name’: The New Reality Of Being Muslim In India

Rumours, lies, violence and political support for bigotry embolden many Hindus to reveal hidden prejudices.

Saira does not call her son by his name when they are out of the house. “I prefer using J, it doesn’t have a Muslim ring to it,” said Saira, 40, a former colleague whose first name I have changed on her request and whose Muslim identity was never previously a point of discussion. “I cringe as I say this, but it is true.”

Whenever J asked his mother the difference between him and his friends, she always told him there was none. They were all Indian with different names, she said. That explanation, an evidently troubled Saira told me, is weakening at a time of uncommon anti-Muslim prejudice and violence.

At The Root Of All Lynchings: Vigilantes Don’t Expect To Be Punished, Victims Don’t Expect To Get Justice

Pehlu Khan, a Muslim, was lynched by Hindu criminals, professing to be cow vigilantes. The incident fills one with grief and anger. Around the same time, Farook, a Muslim atheist in Coimbatore, was lynched by Muslim criminals, claiming to be true believers.

Search deeper and you will find the case of a Hindu doctor lynched by a mainly Muslim mob, over a cricket dispute. Hindu rail passengers lynched a Muslim youth, in what began as a dispute over seats.

INNLIVE Explains: The Qatar Crisis And How It Affects India

With four Arab nations cutting their diplomatic ties from Qatar for fostering terrorism, West Asia is headed into a major turmoil in the coming days.

Travel within the region from Doha, the capital of Qatar, is likely to be impossible in the immediate future. Qatari citizens resident in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been given two weeks to return to their home country. Bahrain has also asked Qatari diplomats to leave its territories in 48 hours, though Saudi will continue its services to Qatari pilgrims.

Making Pakistan Bleed By A Thousand Cuts

By M H AHSSAN ! INNLIVE

India must now step up, not ease up, its multi-pronged strategy against terrorism.

The hit-and-run terrorist attack in Baramulla on October 2 left one BSF jawan dead and another critically injured. Following India’s precision surgical strike in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on September 29, ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) have risen sharply.

India must now step up, not ease up, its multi-pronged strategy against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

Strategic restraint as an anti-terrorism doctrine has been given a quiet burial. Two issues stand out. First, further Pakistani retaliation: what form it will take and how to neutralise it. Second, India’s unfolding counter-terrorism strategy.

Renewed Pakistani retaliation could take two forms. One, attacking soft targets like malls, theatres, markets and other populated urban areas by activating sleeper cells and terrorists who had crossed over into India before the Uri terror attack.

Two, more hit-and-run attacks by Pakistani terrorists on Indian border posts and increased LoC shelling.

India must be prepared for both forms of retaliation by a Pakistani army humiliated by India’s precision surgical strike.

Meanwhile, the multi-pronged strategy to counter Pakistan-sponsored terrorism can be broken up into four broad areas:

Military
India’s covert strike on September 20/21 (not officially acknowledged) reportedly killed around 20 terrorists. The surgical strike on September 29 killed an estimated 40 to 55 terrorists, though the actual figure could be higher.

More than the damage inflicted on Pakistan’s terror machine, India’s political will to strike and its military capability to do so have been clinically established.

Doubting Thomases in India abound. Some said the surgical strike was a routine affair. Others bemoaned the dangerous path India had embarked on. A few said economic growth would suffer.

The government should ignore these perennial naysayers. Vested interests in India are sometimes more beholden to Pakistan’s national interest than India’s. That is the nature of a subverted ecosystem. It will unravel in the fullness of time.

Economic
Implement the full ambit of the Indus Waters Treaty. India must optimise the water it is legally entitled to under the treaty. Pakistan can object only to abrogation of the treaty, not its full legal implementation.

As a result, Jammu and Kashmir will receive more water and generate an extra 15,000MW of hydroelectric power. All India needs to do to achieve this without violating the treaty is to build barrages and water storage facilities in J&K.

The Tulbul project (dubbed the Wullar barrage by Pakistan) is a good start. China’s move to block part of the Brahmaputra’s flow into Assam and Arunachal Pradesh should not deter India.

Pakistan will pay in two ways.

On one hand, it will receive progressively less water under the legally incontestable provisions of the Indus treaty. On the other, the principal beneficiary will be the people of J&K. The political capital this can deliver to the J&K government is incalculable.

Simultaneously, Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status granted to Pakistan in 1996 on the principle of reciprocity (a principle brazenly flouted by Islamabad and meekly accepted by Delhi for 20 years) must go. 

Official trade between the two countries is low ($2 billion). Unofficial border trade is higher ($15 billion). All this misses the point. You cannot isolate a terror state by retaining its most favoured nation status. The messaging gets blurred, the outcome compromised.

Diplomatic
Isolate Pakistan both internationally and regionally. Admonitory statements from the United States, Russia and other major powers directed at Pakistan after India’s surgical strike have made it clear that the world’s patience with Islamabad has run out. The winter session of Parliament will present an opportunity to pass a resolution to declare Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism.

Meanwhile, the cancellation of the SAARC summit has isolated Pakistan regionally. Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Bhutan have made common cause with India by pointing to Pakistan as the repository of terrorism.

The BIMSTEC forum is the obvious replacement for SAARC. It brings together a group of countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Dubbed the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, BIMSTEC comprises Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

Five BIMSTEC members are also members of SAARC which comprises eight countries. If Afghanistan and the Maldives (both part of SAARC) are invited as observers in BIMSTEC, the grouping will give India an even wider geopolitical footprint across Asia. Pakistan, the eighth SAARC country, will be isolated.

Concomitantly, China’s move to block Maulana Masood Azhar as a UN-designated terrorist can be used to shame China internationally as a protector of global terror. It will not be easy for an aspiring global power like China to live that down.

Strategic
Grant Baloch dissidents asylum in India and allow them to establish a government-in-exile. The "Free Balochistan" movement will keep Pakistan off balance.

Meanwhile, India must shift its strategic goalposts on J&K. The LoC is no longer sacrosanct. PoK is Indian territory, as a parliamentary resolution in 1994 underlined. The only issue now to be resolved in the "dispute" over Kashmir should be Pakistan’s vacation of PoK.

The Manmohan-Vajpayee doctrine recognised that a dialogue with Pakistan was necessary to demilitarise J&K, thus indirectly legitimising Pakistan’s claim on a part of Kashmir that is in India’s possession.

That argument has now shifted decisively. The only area in dispute and open to dialogue is the part of Kashmir illegally occupied by Pakistan.

This represents a paradigm shift in India’s stand on J&K. More that last week’s surgical strike, it is this shift and its long-term implications that has rattled Pakistan the most.

Myths
Meanwhile, banish three myths that invariably surface when Pakistan is under pressure as it is today. One, that "we are the same people". We are not.

Two, that "the people of Pakistan do not support terrorism against India". Most do. The antipathy towards Indians amongst ordinary Pakistanis is far stronger than most Indians recognise.

Three, "Both India and Pakistan are victims of terrorism". This false equivalence has infected the vocabulary of peace professionals in India. The difference of course is India does not send gangs of terrorists to Lahore and Islamabad to kill ordinary Pakistanis.

This fraudulent equivalence on terror victimhood is a narrative that, like strategic restraint, must be buried forever.

Zakir Naik Speeches Pro-Terror, IRF Paid Money To Lure Youth For Conversion: Mumbai Police

By NEWS KING | INNLIVE

No member of the IRF or any other NGO run by Naik was questioned.

In a 71-page report on controversial televangelist Dr Zakir Naik, the Mumbai Police have said his Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) paid anything between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 to lure a youth to convert to Islam.

Opinion: Kashmir Youth On Fire: Common Man Call The Shots

By SEEMA MUSTAFA | INNLIVE

They come out in large mobs at any time of the day. Even at night, when they march through the localities in Kashmir carrying candles and shouting slogans. And defying curfew without fear. 

They are within the age group of 7-25 years. And listen to no one.They have no leader except the dead Burhan Wani. The parents cannot control them or keep them at home, even though several worried mothers have tried in vain to do so.

What Is 'Stockholm Syndrome'?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Stockholm syndrome, or capture-bonding, is a psychological phenomenon described in 1973 in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with the captors.

Forty years ago, the term Stockholm Syndrome was coined at the end of a six-day bank siege. What is it and why is it cited time and again in hostage situations?

Action On Zakir Naik: Did Vote Bank Politics Deter Congress, BJP From Taking Action Against The Preacher?

By NEWS KING | INNLIVE

The endgame seems to be nearing for controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.

According to reports, the investigators have identified several cases where Naik's speeches have allegedly inspired terrorist groups including the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Indian Mujahideen. In all, security agencies have come up with a list of 55 terror-accused who got "inspired" by Naik. The televangelist is not a terrorist but is an "inspiration" for many in that genre to take up arms and kill innocent lives.

Zakir Naik's IRF's Alleged ISIS Connection Makes A Strong Case For Action Against Preacher

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Radical religious preachers who do sermons never begin their discourse saying thus. "Here I'm going to start my indoctrination session to prove that my religion is better than yours. In the next few hours, I'll do my best to convince you of my idea and ultimately convert you to my religion."

Instead, they typically play mind games with the enchanted listeners, often selectively quoting (rather twisting) the lines from sacred scriptures, to impose the ultimate idea of religious supremacy in the audience's psyche and ultimately establish why one should embrace that particular religion. This is arguably the trade technique of televangelists such as Zakir Naik.

Exclusive Interview-'Ready To Return Whenever Govt Wants Me': Dr.Zakir Naik

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Controversial preacher Zakir Naik has said he is wil ling to return to India “whenever the government or the agencies want me“. Last week, Naik had cited “travel plans“ and said he would come to India only next year. In an interview to INNLIVE from Jeddah, Naik said he was ready to face action if he had broken any law and challenged anyone to show he had attempted to disrupt harmony in India. 

Opinion: Enough Condolences! Terrorism Requires Global Solutions

By RUMAISA KHAN | INNLIVE

This is not the world I have known throughout my life. Warriors and soldiers have always put their lives on the line during armed conflicts, and innocents have always been caught in the crossfire.

However, nowadays we are all potential targets of perverted death cults - some covertly supported by states - that think nothing of bombing or mowing down children. You would be forgiven for thinking a new, vicious species has evolved, one that resembles human beings but without human emotion.

Straight Talk: The Actual Problem With Zakir Naik Is....

By ZEENAT ALI } INNLIVE

His puritanical and intolerant approach to religion is the opposite of what Muslims need today.

Last Friday ­ while interacting with media via video conference ­ preacher Zakir Naik was defensive and elusive, complaining about a “media trial“, “hate campaigns“ and “doctored videos“. Even though he condemned terrorism and killing of innocents in terrorist attacks ­ including the recent one in Nice, France ­ and labelled Islamic State as the Anti-Islamic State of Islam and Syria, he refused to acknowledge Osama bin Laden as a terrorist and maintained that 911attacks were an inside job.

Special Story: As More 'Radicalised' Muslim Youth Are Arrested, An Old Case From Maharashtra Remains In Limbo

By AREFA JOHARI | INNLIVE

Ten months after three Muslim men were arrested on terror charges in Yavatmal district, even their bail hearings have been repeatedly delayed.

Throughout July, reports on the arrests of Muslims with suspected links to terror organisations, particularly the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, have been hitting the headlines with alarming regularity.

In the first week of the month, the National Investigation Agency arrested 25-year-old Mohammed Masiuddin from West Bengal’s Burdwan railway station, on the suspicion that he had links with militant organisations Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh and ISIS.

Failure To Prove Zakir Naik's 'Terror Links' Has Left Police Looking Foolish

By SAHIL JOSHI | INNLIVE

The Islamic televangelist wanted to play a victim of media campaign against him as he knew that this would earn him more followers.

Islamic televangelist Zakir Naik has become a headache for the investigating agencies. Because the police simply don't know how to pin him down.

It has been a week and the Mumbai Police is yet to submit its report on the investigation ordered by Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis after the media went all-out against Naik for his allegedly inspiring the terrorists who attacked a Dhaka cafe earlier this month.

Burning Issue: How Exactly Does The Indian Media Define A Terrorist?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

The English-language media's use of the term seems to be dictated by muscular nationalism and an anti-Kashmir bias rather than any objective parameters.

On July 10, India woke up to startling pictures of massive crowds at the funeral of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in Tral, Kashmir.

Zakir Naik Skype Conference: Islamic Preacher Again Proven As He Isn't An Easy Catch!

By NEWS KING | INNLIVE

Zakir Naik skillfully converted what was supposed to be a hard-hitting press conference to one of his routine debates with people of various age groups belonging to multiple religions, on Friday.

Except that it wasn't at a maidanto accommodate thousands of curious enchanted listeners, but a small hall that can hardly accommodate 45 people; rest of the script was more or less the same. Naik seemed to address a group of 'non-believers' and not journalists, who questioned his ideology. Naik often addressed the reporters as 'sisters' and 'brothers' and replied with his typical responses that explained everything but answered nothing.