Shashi Tharoor – Indian Pluralism’s Greatest Advocate

When I was a very young man, for me, Shashi Tharoor was just another Under Secretary-General of the United Nations. But my father, who was a voracious reader, introduced me to a Shashi Tharoor who was a writer, a journalist and above all the greatest advocate of Indian Pluralism. My own conviction that pluralism is India's unique identity and its greatest asset as a nation makes me think in line with Mr.Tharoor. His intellectual opinion on pluralism are rather robust, informed and born out of his experience of growing up in the pluralist backyards of Kolkata, whereas my humble opinion on the same is naive, callow and rooted in my experience of working with a linguistically heterogeneous group of colleagues in Chennai.

Shashi Tharoor's awe-inspiring style of painting words together in a magical way to create an awesome picture leaves readers in a world of enlightened optimism. His staunch belief on the pluralist society of India is very well reflected in his statement that ‘the only singular thing about India is that you can only speak about it in the plural.’ Unlike many of the contemporary writers of modern India, Shashi Tharoor is quite sanguine in his outlook vis-à-vis future of India and this very same optimism is all the more evident in all his writings and profuse in all his speeches. He believes that this great nation doesn't impose any prohibition on its citizens where, ‘you can be many things and one thing - you can be a good Muslim, a good Keralite and a good Indian all at once.’ He goes on further saying that India offered the world a sight of its pluralism when a ‘Roman Catholic political leader (Sonia Gandhi) making way for a Sikh (Manmohan Singh) to be sworn in as Prime Minister of India by a Muslim (President Abdul Kalam) — in a country 82 per cent Hindu.’ This excellent analogy made by Mr.Tharoor has prompted me to have introspection on finding out the source of my conviction on Indian pluralism.

As I have explained in the former part of this article, my humble opinion on pluralism is a not a result of my upbringing, but is rather based on my professional and personal life experiences in the cosmopolitan locales of Chennai city. My colleagues Jagadeeswaran, Dilip and Abilash used to speak with each other, joke with each other and quarrel with each other in Tamil, which fascinatingly enough, was not their mother tongue. Their mother tongues are Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam respectively but are born and brought up in Chennai and hence know Tamil more than their mother tongues and love to engage themselves in the intricacies of that language. They scarcely reminisce the difference in their linguistic backgrounds and hardly believe those to be conspicuous. Hence pluralism in India has its roots in general human life and gains its nourishment from laymen's (or to be less sexist, laypeople's) ordinary demeanor.

Shashi Tharoor portrays Indian pluralism through simple but elegant examples and argues about its ubiquitousness in Indian society through citing the emergence of Irfan Pathan as a prominent player in the Indian cricket team. For Tharoor, the existence of Irfan Pathan itself is 'a testament to the indestructible pluralism of our country' for, he is a Muslim and that too a Pathan 'whose forebears belong to a slice of land that is no longer territorially part of India'. To quote Mr.Tharoor, Irfan Pathan exemplifies the fact that 'India is a country where it is possible for a 19-year-old from a beleaguered minority to ascend to the peak of the nation's sporting pantheon; and even more that he represents an idea, an immortal Indian idea, that our country is large enough and diverse enough to embrace everyone who chooses to belong to it, whatever be their caste, creed, color, costume or custom.'

Mr.Tharoor, though an international diplomat and has spent a good part of his life outside Kerala, is a very proud Keralite and boasts of it's multi religious-yet-plural society, it's social development, it's high literacy, it's women empowerment and it's secular credentials. Shashi Tharoor, in his articles and speeches emphasizes the 'openness and diversity of the Malayali heritage.' He has enormous faith in what he call as the 'Malayali Miracle', and that miracle is certainly the ability of the Kerala society to be open and tolerant towards many religions and castes, to be accommodative of various religious and ethnic set of people, and to be able to overcome caste discrimination and oppression through education, land reforms and political democracy. Kerala has always been the embodiment of social equality, educational development, peaceful co-existence and above all a safe haven for pluralism to flourish.

Shashi Tharoor’s inimitable style of writing with deft words and his peerless manner of speeches with RP (Received Pronunciation) accent will indeed make one wonder about the immense level of skill and tact this excellent international diplomat par excellence possess. But his inherent belief in Indian pluralism combined with his innate wisdom makes him one of the greatest intellectuals of our time and above all a great Indian and a true international citizen.

Ambivalence

Thousand miles to rove,
Or may be some more,
Benign designs, so benevolent,
Sprouting in my mind,
Thy soul, that misleading hope,
Brings no peace, but despondency.

Desires' very old demeanor,
Of sinking hearts to depths,
Have left no glee, but scorn,
For men's honest memories,
My zeal too, no exception,
Brings no peace, but despondency.

My solemn rhymes, quite young,
Those, I wrote in the gentleness,
Of my youth's pleasant innocence,
Now I, being decrepit and weak,
Weeps and reckons that my memoir,
Brings no peace, but despondency.

Setting Priorities on the 60th Birthday

Winston Churchill once opined - "India is merely a geographical expression. It is no more a single country than the Equator." After 60 years, since she has got independence from the clutches of her imperial rulers, India now stands at the threshold of a new era. Wrong Churchill was, and in these 60 years India has proved it beyond any doubt. But in this new world order, where Cold War is history and bipolar world, a thing of the past, opportunities are bountiful and so are challenges. The emergence of China and India as two economic powerhouses has changed the permutations and combinations of international affairs. Now we Indians are fighting with the Chinese for having the lion's share of this new Asian economic resurgence. At this point of time it will be worthwhile to consider some of the areas in which India could focus which would help it to become the super power it aspires to become in the future.

Poverty Eradication

In his Independence Day speech the Prime Minister proclaimed that the independence for India would not be complete until poverty is eradicated in the country. Statistics of the Planning Commission in India shows that 27.5% of the people in India are living below the poverty line in 2004-05, which was 36% during 1993-94. This remains a major challenge for the Indian Government. Some of the reasons for this relatively high level of poverty are over reliance on agriculture, absence of property rights, unemployment and under-employment, the caste systems etc. There should be increased public spending on poverty eradication methods, assistance should be given to self-help groups and NGOs working in the rural areas, industrialization should be given top priority, land reforms are to be undertaken and the employability of the people should be increased with adequate training and education. There is renewed optimism that poverty eradication will get an impetus with the trickle down effect of the growing middle class of India.

Infrastructure Development

Infrastructure is the basic building block of any development. Development of infrastructure in India leaves much to be desired. One of the most important factors that pull back India's giant leap forward is the lack of infrastructure development and in this aspect we are no comparison to the Chinese. There should be a concerted effort towards the improvement of infrastructure facilities in India, may it be the railways, roadways, aviation, telecommunication, oil and natural gas pipelines, shipping or power generation. There should be a conducive environment for an increased public-private partnership in this sector.

Education

India is the home of ancient organized education and its Gurukul form of education was well known all over the world. In the first few millennia, India had some of the greatest universities of all times - Nalanda, Thakshila, Ujjain etc. But the arrival of the British imperialism had destroyed the very base of Indian education. At this time when India is celebrating her 60th Independence Day, there is a dire need for improvement of this state of affairs. Education is surely the prime responsibility of the Government and as in the case of poverty eradication there should be increased public spending in the same as well, there should be a mechanism to ensure that education is available to the weaker sections of the society including women and the backward classes meanwhile caste based reservation should be abolished, education should not be the privilege of the few but its should be made available to all who needs it, media publicity and advocacy should be given for the publicity of education, job-oriented education and training should be established by the state, merit should be the only criteria for a student to get admission in the professional colleges, destructive and disruptive politics in the educational institutions should be abolished and art and literature learning should be made mandatory in all forms of education, as these studies forms the basis of creation of compassion and love in the hearts of a human being.

Investment and Employment Generation

Investment and hence employment generation should be a priority sector for the central and the state governments. Employment generation is the best way for eradicating poverty and investment by the state as well as from private parties should be established. A combination of investment in the agrarian sector as well as in industrial sector will be the best bet for India. At the same time there should be investment and employment generation in the tertiary sector as well. Indian companies are investing globally and are acquiring global firms and that is certainly a good sign and it shows the strength and competency of the India Inc. The economics of investment in infrastructure by the government and its subsequent effect in employment generation will augur well for the economic development of the country.

Energy Security

India's energy needs are increasing in a very fast pace owing to its increasing population and staggering economic development. India is having strong reserves of coal but depends on import of oil and natural gas from other countries. Ever increasing crude oil prices in the global market is therefore a huge challenge for India's energy security. India's oil reserves are mainly based on offshore Bombay and onshore Assam fields and those reserves are not all adequate for meeting India's needs. Therefore there should be efforts towards managing this situation by looking for renewable sources of energy. The Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline will be a great achievement if the respective Governments are able to break the deadlock. India's new endeavor towards nuclear co-operation with the United States is certainly a good move towards realizing energy security.

Health care Sector

One sector that needs much greater attention is the healthcare sector in India that is at a declining stage right now. There should be improved care and development in areas like child and mother care, rural health services, medical education, medical tourism, AIDS awareness and family welfare programs. An improvement in these areas is a very important factor in determining the actual development of a country. Medical education is a very important sector in the domestic as well as in the international arena, the job opportunities that this sector provides is enormous and there should be efficient education and training programs to exploit this opportunity. Medical tourism is another important area where we have the competency and resources and the government should take effective steps to utilize this opportunity as well.

Monetary Policies

Recently released official figures shows that India's foreign exchange reserves has reached $213.35 billion as on 30th June and the country's reserve position in the IMF is $460 million. This is a very favorable position and hence it calls for a very positive utilization of these reserves for public spending in infrastructure development that in turn will result in higher economic development. But high inflation, which stands at 4.41% in July, is a worrying factor for the government. This high rate of inflation is primarily because of the high prices of the food items, but with the good monsoon that India got recently this high inflation will get reduced in the months to come. The high volatility of the monetary ratios makes the indulgence of the RBI a very important factor in maintaining economic growth and development.

Corruption

Corruption is a universal malady and India is no exception. One of the sad facts about corruption in India is that it’s not a unique phenomenon seen only among politicians but it can be seen in all walks of life. We, in India have corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, judges, professors, doctors and NGO activists. Corruption is an indelible stigma of our nation that has to be jettisoned as soon as possible.

Terrorism and Chauvinism

Terrorism and chauvinism are two vices that India would want to remove with utmost urgency. Terrorism poses a threat to the whole world and India is one among the nations that are hot targets of terrorists of different hues. May it be the al-Qaeda, LTTE, or any other terrorist organization, all have their malicious eyes on India and wants to sabotage the peace and tranquility of this great nation. We have to prevent them with iron hands and our armed forces are ready to tackle any challenge from the terrorists.. Chauvinism is yet another problem that modern India is facing. In a democratic country like India there is no place for any sort of chauvinism. We, the people of India will prevent chauvinism that poses any threat to the democratic fabric of the nation. Our strength lies in our Unity in Diversity and we have always maintained our unique identity in this world because of the same and hence we have to together thwart any sinister designs of people with chauvinist attitude.

Sports

Another important area that the Indian Government has to focus on is sports and games arena. As of now cricket is the only game in which we are standing in good stead. There was a time when there was no equal to the Indian hockey team. But the situation has worsened over the years. Now sports sector in India is in utter disarray and calls for an immediate action from the Government. Being the host of Olympics is a distant dream and doesn't seems to be happening in the near future. In comparison, China is hosting the 2008 Olympics and the arrangements for it is going on in full swing and Beijing is getting ready for welcoming the World. The Government will have to establish world class facilities for grooming young sporting talents in the country, separate programs for finding out these talents should be done in state level and district level, sports organization should find ways to promote different sports among the youth, scholarship should be given to budding talents for sharpening their skills and Government spending on sports facilities development should be enhanced.

In this occasion of India's 60th Independence day, all of us can set our priorities for the future. The setting of priorities is important not only for the Government but for every single one of us, for we are a diverse group of people with one unique identity and the combined effort of this diverse group results in the national development in the macro level. As Shashi Tharoor has put it, the singular thing about India is that you can only speak of it in the plural. This pluralism is our unique identity, we have different caste, creed, color, cuisine, culture and language, but one soul - of an Indian.

How much privileged is I !!!!

Blue skies of yore,
In my remembrances,
Still, thick and alive,
Like my nursery rhymes.
Friends, acquaintances,
And scores of affable kin,
Came in opulence -
Left in hasty hurry,
My life, it traversed,
Through tepid experiences,
And along knavish paths,
Thwarting sinister walls;
Misery,penury,desolation,
Dismay,distress and catastrophe,
May befall on me,
In the mysterious morrow,
Name and life of exaltation,
I may get or I mayn't,
Of fate and fortune,
Ceased I, to worry,
Glimpse of insane people,
And men in pairs of crutches,
Makes me think in bewilderment -
How much privileged is I !!!!!

Cricketing Thoughts of Life

At a time when I should be actually looking to go down the track and attack the pace bowlers and spinners with same disdain – looking for a real take-off in my career - I am now forced into looking only for survival against this swinging red cherry in these overcast conditions – as my time is not favorable. But the state of affairs is very different for my other batting partners and my team mates. They are taking advantage of their good form and are making tons and double tons. I am on the defensive owing to my poor form and my opposition knows that a bit too well and hence their captain is using all his available strategies against me; for him this is an opportunity to test the efficiency of all his resources. Even part time bowlers are being used against me, they are swinging the ball both ways, changing the pace of the ball, bouncing me, yorking me, bowling half-volleys just outside my off-stump trying to induce a wrong shot from me and to top it all sledging me – problems in my life are just burgeoning.

My condition is such that I have to restrict my shots only to the on-side and have to leave alone balls coming outside my off stump, on that corridor of uncertainty – I can’t go outside my native place - since of late, I’ve been getting out by edging balls pitched outside my off stump to the wicket-keeper or to the slip cordon and that means any invitation by the bowlers outside the off stump has to be neglected. Balls outside the off stump are left alone, bouncers are negotiated by swaying away or ducking under, yorkers are dug out, and slow balls are defended smoothly. So this is my “restricted shot making strategy” – any balls on the pads are to be played away for runs and anything on the off side has to be left alone.

A very difficult scenario this is, but at this occasion I am made to recall the innings played by Sachin Tendulkar at the SCG on 2004, he played almost in the same way, because in that series he was not at all in good form and was edging balls to the wicket-keeper and to the slip cordon. And in that final test he was determined to play a long innings, he offered no shot to the balls that came outside his off stump, and played at only those that were on his pads. And of course, he made a double hundred there - a great innings of resolve, will power, grit and restricted shot play. This is exactly the sort of innings I should be playing at this time for, my form is poor, and the playing conditions are hostile.

But surely these conditions will change shortly; my good form will come back making me again a very proficient player all around the ground – there would be a steep rise in my professional life. Then there won’t be any restrictions on my shot making, balls coming outside my off stump will be played according to its merit, shot balls will be hooked and pulled away, slow balls will be picked up early and will be hit outside the park, will use the pace of the fast bowlers to send the ball screaming across the boundary line for fours and sixes, spin bowlers will be dispatched across the ropes by dancing down the track and the opposition will be made to do the leather chasing. But till that time comes, I would be strictly following my “on-side strategy”, as this life is a like a five day test match played on the bouncier tracks of the WACA, each day will test your character, your persistence, your concentration, your guts, your skill to learn from mistakes and also your problem solving technique.

United States' Imperialistic Ambitions

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Imperialism as “the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areas”. We, the inhabitants of the sub-continent are not at all oblivious of what imperialism means and its impact on the lives of the subjugate people. The British ruled India for about a century and established their imperial rule over the princely states in India. Since that time, much water has flown under the bridge and the world, as a whole, has changed. British imperialism is a thing of the past, but a new world order has emerged, where the United States and their allies are the Imperial masters and their neo-imperialist ideas and endeavors are engulfing this new world.

At some point of time in the history, the United States itself was a subject of imperialist subjugation. But there has been stupendous economic development in the United States since its independence on July 1776. The economic supremacy of the United States resulted in it being the greatest super power in the world. With the economic domination came imperialistic ambition also for the successive governments in the US. What we had seen in the Latin American countries, the Caribbean and now in West Asia and the Middle East are the same aspirations of the United States in different hues. One of the latest instances of American imperialist ambition in its full form can be very well seen in its ludicrous attempt of savaging Iraq using military force and overthrowing of the ruler of Iraq- Saddam Hussein. Political observers see this effort of the United States as a malevolent attempt to secure a dependent client state military base at the heart of energy producing region of the world.

No ambivalence should prevail on the fact that the military exercise of the United States in overthrowing the government in Iraq has to be ridiculed with greatest contempt. But I don’t intend to acquiesce to the authoritarian rule of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and his dictatorial methods of governance either, but I am simply questioning the moral and legal authority the United States proclaims to have in initializing a military assault. The pretexts on which the United States started this war have all been found baseless and unsubstantiated – there are neither Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in Iraq and nor are there any evidence of Saddam Hussein having malicious connections with Osama-bin-Laden and his al-Qaeda. One of the most important contradictions of the United States’ hostility towards Saddam Hussein lies on the historical fact that the US was covertly supporting Saddam in his war against Iran before the Kuwait war. Saddam Hussein himself is no pious soul; one would find it absolutely difficult to forget the gruesome act of genocide perpetrated by him against the Kurds using the poisonous gas during 1988, which being one of the many dastardly acts he had committed against humanity.

Possibility of the existence of WMD with Iraq, an excuse with which George W Bush got the congressional approval to resort to war against Iraq, turned out to be absurd and so preposterous was his claim that Saddam is having connections with al-Qaeda. When the former turned out to be a big farce, the latter resulted only in increasing recruitment done by al-Qaeda from Iraq and the subsequent threat coming out of it. But if one would think that the United States got defeated in realizing its imperialist ambitions by committing these mistakes, it would be bizarre. With the war in Iraq and with the military ambush in the Afghanistan, the United States became successful in establishing military bases in both these countries. With the US having control over Iraq, the world's second largest known oil reserves, it has significantly enhanced its strategic power and influence over its major rivals and hence has satisfied its imperialistic ambitions to some extend vis-à-vis the Middle East.

Now the United States has two more countries to conquer in their ‘axis of evil’ group – Iran and North Korea. But the US will only tread safely on these two countries as they are having nuclear capabilities in their armory and that, as Noam Chomsky would put it, is a very dangerous lesson that the world is learning. The new lesson will read like this – ‘if you as a country want to shield yourself from the clutches of American Imperialist outrages, you had better imitate North Korea or Iran and pose a plausible threat to the US.

The Touch of Perplexity

In a sleepless night of March,
I was looking into the dark,
Blunt hopes and aspirations of my past,
Had burnt my self into thin ashes.

An uncanny lake of desire and reverie,
And a land of mighty storm,
I saw a glimpse of benevolent souls,
In the quietude of that graveyard.

The dark cloud of greed and pride,
And prejudices of mourning minds,
Everything looks so dead and still,
The haze of hatred makes it vague.

Upon all these malignant thoughts,
A heart with truth strives to live,
In this huge, bellicose world,
Staunch men are often ignored.

India in England - Boss

The ESPN-Star network has started a channel exclusive for Cricket, for the cricket crazy nation-India. And now as India is in England for their much awaited cricket series, the exclusive cricket channel, Star Cricket proclaims – India in England - Boss.

Being a young man of 24 years, I am able to recollect only two instances before this time that India has toured England for a test series. At the same time I am very much aware of the series of 1989-90 that had given world cricket one of the greatest batsmen of all times – Sachin Tendulkar. After that there had been two more series that India played there in England and no Indian cricket fan can ever forget the 1996 series that saw the emergence of the games’ two greatest sons – Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.

Anyways past is past and so rather than basking in the glory of our past performances, it will be better off for us to discuss about the present series. Two tests are over and the third one is due for 9^th August at the Oval. Excitement was not at all missing in the first test at the Lords and in the second test at Trent Bridge. Infact there were plenty of it, so much so that it was quite hard to believe the old saying that test matches are a boring event that provides no excitement, no thrill and no exhilaration. For India, the Lords Test match was not at all easy by any stretch of imagination and to be frankly plain, it was a close shave for the team. The beleaguered Indian team was saved by the timely knock of wicket keeper batsman, MS Dhoni and of course by the rain Gods. It was really hard luck for the English and they have outplayed the Indians in all departments of the game. The match saw the so-called great Indian batting line up falling like ninepins and the inexperienced English bowling attack making their mark in the international scene.

But all changed in the second test at Trent Bridge which saw the Indian team coming out with great courage, spirit and sense of pride to demolish the England team with wonderful batting and bowling performances. 91 runs made by Tendulkar and 79 made by Ganguly showed that the old war horses still have the capacity and capability to stand tall and demolish any sort of bowling attack. But the most stirring aspect of the match was the performance of the Indian swing bowlers, particularly Zaheer Khan and RP Singh. They swung the ball both ways and created trouble for the English batsmen who are used to batting in the swinging conditions. Though Sreesanth was wavered at the beginning of England second innings he came back quite well in the latter part of that innings. And all appreciation should be given to the two left armers of the Indian team for making India victorious in the second test at Trent Bridge, which happens to be the third oldest test venue in the world after the Lords and the Eden Gardens.

Now that the first two tests are over all eyes will be looking towards the Oval where the third test will start on 9^th August. Both teams have played with the same eleven for the first two tests and there is possibly going to be some changes in both teams for the third test. England will be looking to accommodate their proficient swing bowler Mathew Hoggard who is coming back from an injury, but their problem will be on taking a decision on whether to change their well performing trio of pace bowlers – Anderson, Sidebottom and Tremlett for Hoggard. India will have to make a decision on whether to continue with the struggling Sreesanth or include Ranadeb Bose who has performed very well in the practice match by taking a five for. Whatever may be the team combination of both teams, all are expecting to see a very intriguing test match at the Oval.

Even after the Oval test match India will be in England for the 7 match one-day series between the two teams. That one-dayers are also expected to be a fascinating contest between the bat and the bowl and also will potentially provide an insight into the batting and bowling capabilities of each and every single individual in the two teams. So as of now we can all enjoy this enthralling battle between two of the world’s greatest cricketing nations because still India is in England - boss.

A Rendezvous

Once in my walk I met a man,
He was so lean,tired and haggard,
I asked him what name do he hold,
But he said he lives in lonely souls.

I walked with him,quite some distance,
Probing so deep to know his ancestry,
Our road was filled with murky air,
And I was thinking who he is.

He is the friend of tide less sea,
And of the moon in starless nights,
But always he keeps vying with,
The souls who are happy in a jamboree.

Who is he, my crony or foe ?
I still haven't got my answer,
This dubious thought permeates my mind-
Human life is a mysterious tale.

(This poem was selected by the International Poetic Library which invited me to the World Poetic Conference at Washington DC in 2002)

Countering Terrorism and Respecting Civil Liberties

Terrorism has provided quite a few challenges for the civil society to face and its different manifestations have given different nations and governments a lot of headaches to worry about. May it be the Al-Queda, LTTE, JKLF or any other name it may take, all means disruption to normal human life and endangerment of peaceful human co-existence. The reasons behind the formation of these terrorist organizations are manifold but at the same time they all stem from one basic reason – absence of respectful living conditions in their homeland.

There have been efforts from all over the world and from a good lot of intelligent people to identify the reasons behind the birth of a terrorist and so I am not going into the same lest there will be re-inventing of the wheel. Here the subject in discussion is the importance of the fine act of balancing between countering the threats that terrorism puts forward and respecting one of the most important aspects of a society viz. civil liberties. There is only a fine line between the two and hence it is very important to move forward pretty cautiously on this subject. This was made pretty evident in the way in which the Australian Government has handled (or mis-handled) the whole episode of the arrest of the Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef.

Dr.Haneef was arrested under the charge of “recklessly” providing support to terrorists in committing a heinous crime of a dreadful bomb blast at Glasgow, Scotland. The world, and to be more precise the US and its allies, is so frightened and alarmed by terrorism that they tend to forget about the great human values of freedom and liberty while handling cases of suspected terrorist plots. Dr.Haneef was arrested as his SIM card was found in the jeep of the terrorist that they used to drive into the Glasgow airport. He had given the SIM card to his cousin who is the prime accused of the Glasgow bomb blast, when he left Britain and that has ended up being the reason behind his arrest and subsequent torture at the Queensland police station. The court has found out that there are no evidences to support that Dr.Haneef is involved in the terror plot and hence gave him bail. But the Australian Immigration Minister, Kevin Andrews using his constitutional power has cancelled his Visa stating that there were enough evidences against Haneef. This deed of the Minister didn’t go well with the Australian media and human rights groups. They started protesting and the effective campaigns done by them against the in -humane handling of Haneef by the authorities resulted in his release. The efforts put in by Haneef’s Lawyer Mr. Russo cannot be forgotten either.

Dr.Haneef’s release is certainly the victory of the Australian media and their continuous support in uplifting the importance of respecting civil liberties. The Australian government should have kept in mind that Haneef was just a suspect in the terrorism plot and was not proven in the court as the perpetrator of that crime. Present day world needs a more careful handling of terrorism related issues and the bizarre execution of in-humane anti-terrorism laws cannot be the rule of the day. Civilized societies should behave more gently and compassionately and should always bear in mind that civil liberties is the most important aspect of a peaceful and harmonious life in this globe.