[Cobra]

(02-27-2019 07:01 AM)SamuelBRoberts Wrote:  

Is this the first time one nuclear power has launched a bombing raid on another nuclear power? And possibly the first time since the USSR shot down a blackbird that one nuclear power has shot down another's jets?

Of course, we invited lots of Pakistanis and Indians here, so if this conflict does spiral out of control expect lots of nasty fighting on America's streets. Hooray, multiculturalism!

I guess it's hard to know what's going on in American streets when you abandon America, move to a different country and pretend you're American in an Internet forum. On top of it, come onto a thread unrelated to America, and talk about it because, maybe someone cares about those thoughts.

[Arado]

(02-27-2019 11:16 PM)Genghis Khan Wrote:  

Not enough people on this forum that can discuss Indian politics intelligently. I'm out, this thread is just going to be a dumpster fire of useless opinions.

I would be curious to see if there is an anti-globalist angle on this issue but unfortunately you are right so far.

Most people think that the situation will de-escalate and both sides will try to save face. On social media there is a lot of anti-Pakistan sentiment, egged on by the media, and people are posting about how India should work to break up Pakistan. Lots of chest thumping but not much discussion of the long term implications of taking an extremely adversarial attitude towards Pakistan.

One absurd development is that India is claiming it killed hundreds of terrorists in the initial strike, while Pakistan says that there were no casualties.

From wikipedia

Quote:

The 2019 Balakot airstrike, (part of the 2019 India–Pakistan standoff), occurred on 26 February 2019, when twelve Mirage 2000H jets of the Indian Air Force crossed the Line of Control in Kashmir to perform an airstrike inside Pakistan in retaliation for the Pulwama attack, which took place two weeks prior.

According to India, the jets struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed-operated militant camp at Balakot killing a large number of militants—reported to be between 200 and 350—and returned back into Indian airspace unharmed without being engaged by Pakistani aircraft.

According to Pakistan, the aircraft violated their airspace near Muzaffarabad. Pakistan scrambled its jets in response, forcing the Indian jets to retreat to Indian airspace. In the process of returning to Indian airspace, the aircraft had to drop their payloads. Pakistan claimed that no casualties or damage had been inflicted.

Subsequent to the incident, Indian and Pakistani troops shelled each other across the Line of Control; Pakistan reported four civilians killed and eleven wounded by Indian shelling.

The airstrike was the first time since the war of 1971 that Indian Air Force aircraft crossed the Line of Control and the first time since both states have become nuclear powers.

[Syberpunk]

[Eklavya]

https://swarajyamag.com/politics/saynoto...adi-terror

#SayNoToCowardice: Why Gandhi Has Nothing To Offer While Dealing With Jihadi Terror

Snapshot
Gandhi was morally and ethically wrong to make his personal predilections the default choice of the nation.

We need to discard this in order to rise as a nation.

The hashtag #SayNoToWar was one of those trending yesterday (27 February), no doubt promoted by those who would like to divide and weaken the will of the nation. This trend began soon after Pakistani tried to up the ante by sending F-16s to target our military assets, an attempt foiled by the Indian Air Force. It was supposed to be an attempt to flex Pakistani muscle following pre-emptive strike against a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

You can also read this article in Hindi- #SayNoToCowardice- जिहादी आतंकवाद से लड़ने में गांधी का संदर्भ तर्कहीन

Crocodile tears were also shed for Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, whose MiG-21 landed in Pakistani territory after being crippled. The same group suddenly shifted to whining about Abhinandan’s capture, when the man himself is shown in a video as behaving with dignity and pride. His ancient MiG-21 downed a more modern Pakistan F-16 before it went down in Pakistani territory. Instead of saluting his valour, we are encouraging breast-beating of the most abhorrent type. The trend collapsed in a day as India’s resolute stand forced Pakistan to announce the release of the Wing Commander, but that’s another story. The bluff of a bankrupt nation, hemmed in by negative international responses to its threat to raise the nuclear spectre, was again forced to blink.

The purpose here is to discuss the hashtag #SayNoToWar. It was cleverly chosen, for few people in their right minds will say the opposite, that they want war. It was a blatant attempt to paint those rooting for India as warmongers. The obvious counters to the misleadingly labelled #SayNoToWar hashtag include the following: #SayNoToJihad, #SayNoToDhimmitude, or, simply, #SayNoToCowardice. When you are attacked repeatedly by terrorists, and you have been largely restrained and have refused to retaliate for three decades, not doing anything is cowardice, plain and simple. Turning the other cheek is an insult to the hundreds of Indian armed forces personnel who lost their lives defending our country. Whining in the name of Wing Commander Abhinandan amounts to the same. He will be brought back with honour once this crisis blows over.

The efforts to denigrate India’s pre-emptive strike on the Jaish terror training camp on 26 February saw yet others playing the Pakistani game. They railed against 'keyboard warriors’ and 'warmonger’ TV channels, as if there aren’t 'keyboard peaceniks’ to match those alleged keyboard warriors and warmongers. The same people who dislike the appellation 'Urban Naxal’, or otherwise keep criticising the Indian armed forces, are happy to dismiss those supporting our armed forces in their difficult fight against terrorists by sticking this pejorative label on them.

Another tweet by a journalist exhorted everyone, “Let’s think what Mahatma Gandhi would have said…#SayNoToWar.”

This is silly. Quite apart from the fact that Gandhi himself was never consistent in his pacifism – he won a medal for service to the British in South Africa’s second Boer war – the real point is whether India needs to use only Gandhi as a reference point in everything it does to protect itself from jihadis. Why not quote Shivaji, Netaji Bose, Khudiram Bose, Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad in this context? When the enemy is at the door, do you play martial music or sing bhajans?

But it is part of the 'secular’ effort to rubbish nationalists and genuine patriots by quoting Bhagat Singh for his interest in Leninism and Communism, and Netaji for his socialist credentials rather than his nationalist Azad Hind Fauj. No one will mention that Gandhi opposed both of them. These heroes will never be cited for their refusal to accept non-violence as a creed. There is no better way to destroy India’s will to resist jihadi violence than by using Gandhi when he is not relevant here; there is no better way to kill the Indian spirit than to refuse to quote those who took the violent route to achieve freedom.

As for Gandhi, he will never be quoted by the secularists on the three things he consistently believed in: cow protection, Ram Rajya, and non-conversion.

Coming back to non-violence, it isn’t as if even Gandhi advocated it in all situations. Here are two quotes from him that tell us the opposite.

Gandhi said: “I would risk violence a thousand times rather than risk the emasculation of a whole race.”

If India has so far given the jihadis a free run in the name of acting with restraint, we are essentially living out Gandhi’s fears about the “emasculation of a whole race”.

Gandhi also said: “I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence... I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should, in a cowardly manner, become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonour. But I believe that non-violence is infinitely superior to violence, forgiveness is more manly than punishment. Forgiveness adorns a soldier... But abstinence is forgiveness only when there is the power to punish; it is meaningless when it pretends to proceed from a helpless creature...”. (Italics mine)

Despite Gandhi’s loud preference for non-violence, if you read the whole text he clearly says that it is only those who can punish who can afford to forgive, not those quivering helplessly in the face of jihadi terror. In the last three decades, when Pakistan adopted the strategy of sending low-cost jihadis to bleed India with a thousand cuts, no phrase described India better than the one Gandhi gave it – “a helpless witness to her own dishonour”.

But despite these concessions Gandhi made for permitting some violence in order to avoid cowardice, we need to make a broader point that Gandhi was wrong. Passivity, non-violence and turning the other cheek are about personal morality. You can choose to face death and violence stoically by personally choosing non-violence as your creed. What you cannot do is inflict this choice on an entire nation, reducing it to a blabbering mass of dhimmitude.

Gandhigiri is, in any case, the wrong weapon to use against jihadi terror. It failed Gandhi himself. He backed the Khilafat movement to the hilt, but those who accepted his leadership when the fight was for a doomed Caliphate, dumped him when it failed. From the ashes of Khilafat rose the new jihad for a separation and Partition in 1947. We should not fall for it again.

Gandhi was morally and ethically wrong to make his personal predilections the default choice of the nation. We need to discard this in order to rise as a nation.

Jagannathan is Editorial Director, Swarajya. He tweets at @TheJaggi.

[Eklavya]

And The Other Guy Blinked

https://swarajyamag.com/world/and-the-other-guy-blinked

Snapshot
Pakistan has not changed. What has changed is the Indian doctrine which no longer rules out a disproportionate punitive action to its neighbour’s infractions.

During the height of the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, America and Soviet Union brought the world closer to the nuclear war than perhaps any other time in the modern history. At one point of time, USA had effectively given an ultimatum to Soviet ships not to come within 500 miles of American ships blockading Cuban waters. On 24 October, President Kennedy and his circle of advisors expected the Soviet ships to cross the line, which in turn would have forced America to engage with them. But as the President was receiving his morning briefing, the then CIA director John McCone received a note with a message that the Soviet ships had stopped their advance. Unbeknownst to them, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had ordered the ships outside the quarantine line to turn around. Upon hearing this news, the American Secretary of State Dean Rusk whispered to NSA McGeorge Bundy “We were eyeball to eyeball and I think the other guy just blinked”.

The phrase went on to become synonymous with President Kennedy making an entire nation hold its collective nerve, forcing the other nation to de-escalate.

I was reminded of this when I saw the news about Pakistani PM Imran Khan announcing that the captured Indian pilot will be released. The bully nation, run by its mercenary army, is infamous for brazenly flaunting the Geneva Conventions and torturing and murdering prisoners of war like true barbarians. But Uri and Balakot has changed that, perhaps forever.

Pakistan has not changed, if anything, it is only more radicalised than before. What has changed is the Indian doctrine which no longer rules out a disproportionate punitive action to its rogue neighbour’s infractions. For all their outward bravado, Imran Khan and his army masters know that for this Indian government ‘taking out a jaw for losing an eye’ isn’t empty sloganeering. On the plus side, they are also aware that a large section of India’s left and ruling elites will not think twice before aligning shamelessly with a foreign power to settle an internal political agenda.

And therein lies the difference between USA in 1962 and India in 2019. American media of that time hailed President Kennedy for his exemplary handling of the situation, and so far as I know, none of them either called him and his followers war-mongers, or hailed Khrushchev as a peace-making statesman. Imran is truly fortunate that the nation that made him and his army masters de-escalate, also has mainstream media journalists who will spin his climb-down as magnanimity and mark it as his win in the perception column.

It requires strength of character and show of enormous political resolve to make a barbarian nation to follow international protocols, and that is why we, the ordinary Indians, must ignore the noise made by the mainstream media, and applaud an Indian government that made the Pakistan army and its puppet Prime Minister blink.

Jai Hind!

The writer is a investment services professional and novelist. His latest novel The Dark Road was published by Juggernaut Publications.

[Eklavya]

https://www.opindia.com/2019/02/with-win...-pakistan/

With Wing Commander Abhinandan’s unconditional release, Imran Khan gave us a glimpse of ‘New India’, not ‘Naya Pakistan’

While many would buy into the 'peace gesture' propaganda, it ought to be remembered that Pakistan was bound by international conventions to return Wing Commander Abhinandan safely.

K BHATTACHARJEE
FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, courtesy: moneycontrol.com
Engagements900
As we had reported earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced that Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will be released tomorrow without any preconditions “as a peace gesture”. The decision comes after India had made it clear that there was no scope for any negotiations for his released and it fully expected him to be returned immediately safe and sound. In fact, India had also asserted that it won’t be demanding consular access because our demand is of unconditional release.

While many would buy into the ‘peace gesture’ propaganda, it ought to be remembered that Pakistan was bound by international conventions to return Wing Commander Abhinandan safely. Also, even yesterday, after violating Indian airspace and attempting to attack Indian military installations in an obvious escalation, Imran Khan had proposed talks between the two countries. Even earlier today, Pakistan attempted to intrude upon Indian airspace before being chased away by Indian jets.

Thus, Abhinandan’s release ought to be seen as a glimpse of a ‘New India’, as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, rather than ‘Naya Pakistan’ as proposed by his Pakistani counterpart. Unlike an infamous incident in the past, on this occasion, India did not bow, bend or break. India stood strong and reminded Pakistan that it was bound by international conventions to return him safely.

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Consider the events of the past couple of days. India attacked terrorist camps within Pakistani territory, not just in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in response to the Pulwama terror attack. Conducting airstrikes inside the territory of a nuclear armed country is itself unprecedented. Consequently, India received widespread international support for its actions while Pakistan was deserted even by their ‘all-weather friend’ China which directed them to exercise restraint.

On the backdrop for our airstrikes within Pakistani territory, it responded by attempting to attack Indian military installations. In the skirmish that ensued, Wing Commander Abhinandan shot down an F16, the best jet in Pakistan’s airforce, while riding a vintage Mig himself. Pakistan eventually manages to take him into custody but how do events unfold from there on? It has decided to release him unconditionally.

There has been a tectonic shift in the manner in which India is expected to deal with Pakistani terrorists henceforth. Of course, Pakistan could very well try more misadventures but the cost for them has skyrocketed as airstrikes in response to terrorism is no longer out of the equation.

Pakistan must also contend with the fact that Indian nuclear-capable aircraft Mirage 2000, which was used for the airstrikes in terrorist camps, were mere minutes away from Islamabad and there was very little they could do to thwart them. Thus, there has been an entire paradigm shift within the past couple of days itself.

The path ahead for Indo-Pak relations is very clear. ‘New India’ will not remain silent if Pakistan continues to nurture terrorists on their soil. Effectively, India has called out Pakistan’s nuclear bluff.

Regardless of what transpires henceforth, the big picture reflects a significant dent in Pakistan’s proxy war efforts. India entered their territory, helped their assets meet their god and suffered no consequences for its actions. ‘New India’ has started its journey on a strong foot.

[911]

(02-27-2019 11:16 PM)Genghis Khan Wrote:  

Quote:

Of course, we invited lots of Pakistanis and Indians here, so if this conflict does spiral out of control expect lots of nasty fighting on America's streets. Hooray, multiculturalism!

Quote:

The biggest casualty of a potential military escalation, after their peoples of course, would be Canada, which has the most exposure to immigration from south Asia and which would be flooded by migrants.

Quote:

Canada is on a completely different land mass. If anyone gets fucked its Europe >>If it goes nuclear<< but thats something you can't predict but IMO is unlikely.

This forum attracts a lot of people who love to discuss and opine, which can be great at times, but also ridiculous when members have no idea what they're talking about.

So to put things in perspective:

India and Pakistan have had skirmishes on and off.

Their last all-out war was in 1999.
There were plenty of Indian/Pakistani immigrants back in 1999 in the US and Canada, and none of them brawled in the streets.

Perhaps not unsurprising as you wouldn't expect your most financially successful migrant group to have that kind of low inhibition and risk their careers.

You also didn't have some weird mass exodus of South Asians to Canada in 1999. This is because military conflicts between the countries have been contained to the Kashmir region (predominantly) instead of troops actually invading each other proper.

So I seriously doubt if this escalates militarily, you're going to see Indians and Pakistanis fighting in the streets of the US or mass booking flights to Canada in 2019.

And if it goes nuclear, it's not Europe that gets fucked. It's everyone. You don't have nuclear war between two countries that approximately consist of ~20% of the world population without it having serious consequences across the world, not just Europe.

Not enough people on this forum that can discuss Indian politics intelligently. I'm out, this thread is just going to be a dumpster fire of useless opinions.

This was the result of ancient Indian ethnic strife imported to Canada. A bit more dramatic than "street brawls" I'd say, 329 killed:


Bodies of the victims of the Air India jumbo jet flight 182 which crashed 150 miles off the coast of Cork, Ireland are wrapped in shrouds on the floor of the Cork Regional Hospital June 24, 1985. REUTERS/Cork Examiner/Denis Minihane (IRELAND)

[Foolsgo1d]

(02-27-2019 11:16 PM)Genghis Khan Wrote:  

This forum attracts a lot of people who love to discuss and opine, which can be great at times, but also ridiculous when members have no idea what they're talking about.

No idea huh? You spouted more crap than most with what you put. My post was in the realm of "If they nuke each other" or go into a full conventional war.

I wonder, how often do you interact with Pakistanis in the UK? Do you know their temperment in the UK? Do you know where they live? I do. I interact with them almost daily and I guarantee you they would start attacking Indians and Indian-owned businesses if it kicked off big time and the Indians are not going to take that shit lying down either because they're not cucked like white people are.

Your opinion is just a far reaching coping mechanism because you cant imagine people going nuts.

[doc holliday]

Foolsgold, I think in the UK, yes this could become a big problem if India and Pakistan were to go to war. In the US, most Pakistanis are of the more educated and professional class but I know in the UK, you have the dregs of Pakistan populating the place so I have no doubt they would start a ton of problems with the Hindus there. I do think Genghis is right that it would be less of an issue in the US. Not sure about Canada though, are there a lot of Pakistanis there? I thought it was mostly Hindus and Sikhs from the Subcontinent in places like Toronto and Vancouver with more Arabs in Toronto and Montreal.

[Korrupt]

(02-28-2019 07:01 PM)Foolsgo1d Wrote:  

(02-27-2019 11:16 PM)Genghis Khan Wrote:  

This forum attracts a lot of people who love to discuss and opine, which can be great at times, but also ridiculous when members have no idea what they're talking about.

No idea huh? You spouted more crap than most with what you put. My post was in the realm of "If they nuke each other" or go into a full conventional war.

I wonder, how often do you interact with Pakistanis in the UK? Do you know their temperment in the UK? Do you know where they live? I do. I interact with them almost daily and I guarantee you they would start attacking Indians and Indian-owned businesses if it kicked off big time and the Indians are not going to take that shit lying down either because they're not cucked like white people are.

Your opinion is just a far reaching coping mechanism because you cant imagine people going nuts.

I interact with Pakistanis in the UK on a regular basis too. And I can say, your statement is pretty ridiculous. You will, of course, get pockets of trouble, which i believe will be be predominantly based around outside West London (Kingston to Slough areas) and possibly Birmingham. These will come from uneducated thugs/gangs from both Pakistanis and Indians who are looking to create trouble at the best of times.

By in large, there will not be an issue outside of the respective countries.

[Genghis Khan]

(02-28-2019 07:01 PM)Foolsgo1d Wrote:  

(02-27-2019 11:16 PM)Genghis Khan Wrote:  

This forum attracts a lot of people who love to discuss and opine, which can be great at times, but also ridiculous when members have no idea what they're talking about.

No idea huh? You spouted more crap than most with what you put. My post was in the realm of "If they nuke each other" or go into a full conventional war.

And as I pointed out, it would affect everyone, not just Europe. There's a lot of places that would get fucked and be more affected by them nuking each other than Europe. All of Asia would get hit much, much harder than Europe would.

Quote:

I wonder, how often do you interact with Pakistanis in the UK? Do you know their temperment in the UK? Do you know where they live? I do. I interact with them almost daily and I guarantee you they would start attacking Indians and Indian-owned businesses if it kicked off big time and the Indians are not going to take that shit lying down either because they're not cucked like white people are.

Your opinion is just a far reaching coping mechanism because you cant imagine people going nuts.

This is what I said:

Quote:

So I seriously doubt if this escalates militarily, you're going to see Indians and Pakistanis fighting in the streets of the US or mass booking flights to Canada in 2019.

Do you see me writing anything about the UK? I don't know much about the UK so I avoid opining about it.

I specifically talked about the US because the idea that Indians and Pakistani immigrants there fighting in the streets was brought up.

Quote:

This was the result of ancient Indian ethnic strife imported to Canada. A bit more dramatic than "street brawls" I'd say, 329 killed:

"ancient" - this was a bombing due to recent strife between some weird Sikh separatists and the Indian government. Hindus and Sikhs have historically gotten along reasonably. Nothing ancient about it.

You want to talk about Khalistani separatists and their sympathizers in Canada. By all means, let's do that. I don't like them either.

If you said something like:

"I really don't like the Sikhs in Canada, and I don't want more of them here",

I'd respond: "hey man, I can totally see why. You're not going to see me defend them."

But that conversation has nothing to do with what's going on right now, i.e. India-Pakistan relations. The topic at hand was a potential India-Pak war and your argument was it would cause mass exodus to Canada. As I pointed out, no such thing happened during 1999. Neither were they brawling in Canada in 1999 due to influence of the war.

[911]

(03-01-2019 01:06 PM)Genghis Khan Wrote:  

(02-28-2019 07:01 PM)Foolsgo1d Wrote:  

(02-27-2019 11:16 PM)Genghis Khan Wrote:  

This forum attracts a lot of people who love to discuss and opine, which can be great at times, but also ridiculous when members have no idea what they're talking about.

No idea huh? You spouted more crap than most with what you put. My post was in the realm of "If they nuke each other" or go into a full conventional war.

And as I pointed out, it would affect everyone, not just Europe. There's a lot of places that would get fucked and be more affected by them nuking each other than Europe. All of Asia would get hit much, much harder than Europe would.

Quote:

I wonder, how often do you interact with Pakistanis in the UK? Do you know their temperment in the UK? Do you know where they live? I do. I interact with them almost daily and I guarantee you they would start attacking Indians and Indian-owned businesses if it kicked off big time and the Indians are not going to take that shit lying down either because they're not cucked like white people are.

Your opinion is just a far reaching coping mechanism because you cant imagine people going nuts.

This is what I said:

Quote:

So I seriously doubt if this escalates militarily, you're going to see Indians and Pakistanis fighting in the streets of the US or mass booking flights to Canada in 2019.

Do you see me writing anything about the UK? I don't know much about the UK so I avoid opining about it.

I specifically talked about the US because the idea that Indians and Pakistani immigrants there fighting in the streets was brought up.

Quote:

This was the result of ancient Indian ethnic strife imported to Canada. A bit more dramatic than "street brawls" I'd say, 329 killed:

"ancient" - this was a bombing due to recent strife between some weird Sikh separatists and the Indian government. Hindus and Sikhs have historically gotten along reasonably. Nothing ancient about it.

You want to talk about Khalistani separatists and their sympathizers in Canada. By all means, let's do that. I don't like them either.

If you said something like:

"I really don't like the Sikhs in Canada, and I don't want more of them here",

I'd respond: "hey man, I can totally see why. You're not going to see me defend them."

But that conversation has nothing to do with what's going on right now, i.e. India-Pakistan relations. The topic at hand was a potential India-Pak war and your argument was it would cause mass exodus to Canada. As I pointed out, no such thing happened during 1999. Neither were they brawling in Canada in 1999 due to influence of the war.

The south Asian population in Canada is already over 5% of the total population, it's the largest immigrant group. There's already an ongoing mass exodus to Canada from south Asia, at least at the scale of Canadian population. It would be stupid to assume that if a real war broke out (a war along the lines of 1965, rather than a skirmish like the one in 1999) this flow wouldn't grow.

[CaptainChardonnay]

(02-28-2019 11:58 AM)Eklavya Wrote:  

The same group suddenly shifted to whining about Abhinandan’s capture, when the man himself is shown in a video as behaving with dignity and pride. His ancient MiG-21 downed a more modern Pakistan F-16 before it went down in Pakistani territory.

Impressive.

[Eklavya]

https://www.opindia.com/2019/03/pakistan...ergy-fuel/

Behind the red alert: There’s more to the airspace lockdown in Pakistan than meets the eye

Pakistan’s use of energy sources is led by the industrial sector at 35.4% (IRENA, 2018) and followed by transportation 32.4% (IRENA, 2018).

The frenzy of screenshots of flight tracking apps all over social media revealing empty airspace in Pakistan has been fuelling the mill of speculations of a war brewing. The country is on high alert, no doubt, owing to the Indian Air Force’s unexpected strikes against terror camps in Balakot, which Pakistan indignantly claims as an attack on their soil. But what purpose does an immediate lockdown of the airspace serve, other than to raise guard in anticipation of further attacks? Curiously, the Indian state gave no indication of escalation, their stance being the strikes were ‘non-military’ action against terror.

Considering the circumstances of the stand-off between the two states, which is merely an out-in-the-open acknowledgement of the strain that has been felt quite tangible for many months now, it does not make sense why Pakistan would want to shut down its entire airspace to commercial aircraft? Even if we assume that India is in the mood to hammer Pakistan, why did Pakistan not shut just its Eastern airspace?

Wars have been fought over territory and resources – to acquire and dominate, but rarely do we study the role of resources needed to start or sustain a war in the first place. Strangely so in the age of nuclear armaments, where any threat of war is assessed purely on the basis of a potential nuclear escalation. We may now safely guess that Pakistan isn’t quite willing or prepared to press the red button. Shutting the air space isn’t a prerequisite for it. So we have room to speculate about the resources they have for a conventional war if that’s what they are preparing for. Here’s an overview:

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For those interested in energy economics it’s a well-known fact that Pakistan has an underdeveloped energy sector and struggles to meet the fuel and power demands of its citizens.

A recent report in 2018 by the International Renewable Energy Agency stated that half the rural population in Pakistan doesn’t have access to electricity. The report starts by asserting that the increasing gap between energy supply and demand has reached as high as 7 GW and has severely affected the economic and social development in the country. The situation is further complicated by Pakistan’s overdependence on imported hydrocarbon energy supplies. Pakistan energy dependence is roughly 45% natural gas followed by 35% fuel oil. In contrast, the energy mix of Bangladesh is roughly 55% natural gas and 25% fuel oil.

Here’s a look into their fuel consumption: Pakistan’s use of energy sources is led by the industrial sector at 35.4% (IRENA, 2018) and followed by transportation 32.4% (IRENA, 2018).

If this is a dismal picture of their energy resources with regards to regular fuel, where do they stand with regards to jet fuel usage?

Based on EIA data from the Index Mundi site, Pakistan produces 4,000 barrels per day (bpd) of jet fuel. The world’s biggest producer in the US at 1,471,000 bpd and India is at no.6 producing 219,000 bpd. For a country the size of Pakistan, this is too small a number and the criticality of the situation is further accentuated by their troubled relationships with neighbouring countries and unique geographic challenges.

A 2017 Dawn article stated that Pakistan was struggling to meet the jet fuel supply requirements for commercial and defence aircraft. Apparently, defence officials had voiced their concerns on this as well. Sources indicate that Pakistan State Oil (PSO) had issued several warnings to the petroleum division of the Ministry of Energy about the possibility of dry-outs at several airports in the country.

The Dawn (2017) article predicted a likelihood of the airports of Lahore, Sialkot, Multan, Faisalabad and Islamabad running dry of jet fuel by December that year. The tendering and supply chain cycle within Pakistan at that time were ill-equipped to address this shortage by quick imports. For this reason, the PSO had asked the government to ensure the regulated production of jet fuel to them by the largest refineries in Pakistan. PSO went on to get assurances from the government to allow them to import jet fuel bypassing standard processes in the event local refineries are unable to meet the regulated jet fuel production demands.

The energy situation in Pakistan took at interesting turn in 2015 when Pakistan started its first LNG import terminal at Port Qasim in Karachi, followed by the second one at the same location in 2017. Based on an article in The News (2018), the Pakistan government’s shift from furnace oil to cleaner-burning natural gas for power generation has created the unique situation of refineries in Pakistan having to likely shut down due to an excess of furnace oil. The article went on to say that the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) had warned towards the end of 2018 that all major refineries in Pakistan are operating at suboptimal levels and are heading towards shutdowns if the offtake of furnace oil for consumption of power plants aren’t increased urgently.

The furnace fuel oil consumption slowdown has seriously affected all the major refineries in Pakistan including Pak Arab Refinery (PARCO), Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL), National Refinery Limited (NRL) and Attock Refinery Limited (ARL). PARCO which is a joint venture between the governments of Pakistan and Abu Dhabi has been facing one of the lowest production levels. Reports indicate the refinery is running at 65% and is facing the likelihood of shutdown if the offtake of furnace oil isn’t increased soon.

Due to the nature of the refining process, a shutdown will mean that the entire hydrocarbon supply chain will be broken resulting in the refinery not being able to produce jet fuel which is critical to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Now we arrive at a theory, based on ample clues, of how shutting down airspace is not simply a cautionary measure for Pakistan but an inevitable and a desperate move to conserve jet fuel for any state of readiness that the current situation demands. Going further, it might even shed light on the worryingly (for Pakistan) slow reflexes of the PAF during the IAF’s Balakot strikes. While they ‘scrambled’ (the PAF’s own words) to figure out what hit them, the furious citizens took to social media to question the efficacy of their fighter jets and the alertness of the Forces. Perhaps the clue is inside the fuel tanks.

References:

Half of rural population in Pakistan still lack access to electricity, reveals report https://tribune.com.pk/story/1683780/2-h...ls-report/
Renewables Readiness Assessment: Pakistan https://irena.org/publications/2018/Apr/...t-Pakistan
Speeding up rural electrification https://www.dawn.com/news/1427982
Transforming the power sector in Bangladesh https://www.pwc.in/assets/pdfs/industrie...ladesh.pdf
Fuel import bill surges 30pc https://www.dawn.com/news/1434196
Pakistan’s energy-related imports increase 34% to $1.27b https://tribune.com.pk/story/1786223/2-p...-34-1-27b/
Jet Fuel Production by Country https://www.indexmundi.com/energy/?produ...splay=rank
Jet fuel shortage on the horizon in Pakistan https://www.dawn.com/news/1375390
Analysis: Pakistan oil refineries fear shutdown on rising fuel oil stocks https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/marke...oil-stocks
Oil refineries fear shutdown on slow offtakes of furnace oil https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/399061-...urnace-oil
Pakistanhttps://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/pak/
Engro Corporation Limited https://www.engro.com/our-business/
Pakistan GasPort http://www.ag.com.pk/pakistan-gasport/
Pakistan’s second LNG import terminal to restart on Dec. 8 – company https://in.reuters.com/article/pakistan-...NKBN1E11X6
PARCO – Pak Arab Refinery Limited https://www.parco.com.pk/

[Eklavya]

https://www.opindia.com/2019/03/masood-a...-hospital/

Masood Azhar is under Pakistan army’s care, receiving regular dialysis in their hospital

In an interview shared by the BBC yesterday, Qureshi had candidly admitted that their government is in contact with Jaish-e-Mohammad leadership. He had even gone to great lengths to defend the terrorist organisation.

The chief of terror outfit Jaish-e-Muhammad, Masood Azhar is reportedly undergoing treatment in a Pakistan Army Hospital. According to security officials, Azhar is suspected of being diagnosed with renal failure and undergoes regular dialysis at the Pak army hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

The report comes days after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the JeM chief is “really unwell”.

A few days ago, Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi went on record to confirm that the chief of proscribed terror outfit Jaish-e-Muhammad, Masood Azhar is indeed in Pakistan, though in sick condition and unwell to the extent that he cannot move out of his house.

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In another instance, in an interview shared by the BBC yesterday, Qureshi candidly admitted that their government is in contact with Jaish-e-Mohammad leadership. Later, on realising the enormity of his claim and its repercussions, he appeared to scramble for words to salvage himself from the situation. When the interviewer points out that JeM is a terror outfit, Qureshi tries to clumsily defend it by equating it with the perceived Human Rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

In the aftermath of the Pulwama attack, that killed 40 CRPF personnel and whose responsibility was claimed by Pakistan based Jaish-e-Muhammad, the Intelligence agencies revealed that the Pakistan Army had issued an advisory to Hafeez Saeed and Masood Azhar to remain low profile until the international pressure on the Pulwama attack fizzles out. This protective advice from the Pakistan Army uncovers the charade of Pakistan’s PM and his delegates who have been in a continuous denial mode, ranting the similar rhetorics of Pakistan not being behind the terror attack.

The successive admissions of Masood Azhar’s presence in Pakistan by a senior leader such as Pak foreign minister and the corroborating report from the security officials confirm that the chief of Jaish-e-Muhammad is in Pakistan and is operating under the tutelage of the Pakistan Army. The recent report that Masood Azhar is being treated at Pakistan Army Hospital in Rawalpindi establishes beyond any reasonable doubt the connivance of Pakistan’s establishment with the terror outfit JeM. Pakistan’s claims of acting against the terrorists operating on its soil then ring hollow as terrorists like Masood Azhar and Hafeez Saeed continue to enjoy Pakistan Army patronage to carry out their nefarious designs against India.

[Eklavya]

Now for some serious laughs...

Pakistan to lodge complaint against India at UN for ‘serious environmental damage’ by airstrikes, dubs it ‘Eco-terrorism’
https://www.opindia.com/2019/03/pakistan...terrorism/

Terror state Pakistan labels 'eco-terrorism' charge on India for alleged destruction of few trees during India's bombing on terror camps

Pakistan intends to lodge a complaint at the United Nations against India for ‘eco-terrorism’, a government minister said on Friday according to Reuters.

“What happened over there is environmental terrorism,” Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Malik Amin Aslam told Reuters, referring to Indian airstrikes on terrorist camps within Pakistani territory. “There has been serious environmental damage.” He also claimed that Indian jets had bombed a “forest reserve”. Pakistan had claimed that bombing by Indian Air Force jets had missed the targets and didn’t hit any terrorist camp. Instead, the bombs had fallen on a forest area nearby, which had damaged some trees and created craters on the ground, they had said.

But Pakistan seems to be confused about the eco-terrorism, as it does not imply damaging environment as they are implying.

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According to Merriam-Webster, “Eco‑terrorism” has two definitions. It is an act of “sabotage intended to hinder activities that are considered damaging to the environment” or “political terrorism intended to damage an enemy’s natural environment”. Basically, ‘eco-terrorism’ means the use of violence or physical force to protect the environment. A lot of activities undertaken by Greenpeace can be termed as eco‑terrorism, for example. Environment activists often physically prevent economic activities for protecting the environment, and they have been charged with eco‑terrorism and affected organisations have filed lawsuits against such groups in various countries.

Therefore, the act of India can’t be termed as eco‑terrorism. India didn’t bomb the areas inside Pakistan to stop damage to the environment, it was done to destroy terror camps operating in Pakistan. In the process, few trees may have got affected as collateral damage, but that can’t be called eco‑terrorism as that will be the wrong use of the term.

The term “Environmental Terrorism”, on the other hand, does mean harming the environment. But India didn’t target the trees willingly, only terror camps were targeted, and few trees may have got damaged in the process. Whatever damage suffered by the environment was clearly accidental and not intentional. Moreover, whether the alleged destruction of 15 pine trees will be considered as a terrorist act by the UN will have to be seen.

Pakistan is known to harbour terrorism, various terror groups operating from the country regularly conduct terrorist activities in India and other countries. Terror leaders like Maulana Masood Azhar and Hafiz Muhammad Saeed openly roam in Pakistan. Such a terror-state is accusing India of eco-terrorism, that too for alleged destruction of few trees.

After threatening India with nuclear weapons for years, approaching the U.N. over ‘ecoterrorism’ appears to be another instance where the Pakistanis have failed greatly to live up to their incredible boasts.

Pakistan has been forced to swallow a lot of bitter pills lately. First, India entered its territory with nuclear-capable jets to strike at terrorist camps within their territory. Then, it was isolated at the international scene even as their ‘all-weather friend’ emphasized restraint. Next, the best aircraft in the Pakistani air force, the F16, was brought down by an ancient Indian MiG-21. Ultimately, it was forced to release Indian Wing Commander Abhinandan unconditionally due to international pressure even as they hoped to negotiate some sort of a deal with India using him as a hostage.

And if all of that wasn’t enough, Pakistan was forced to boycott the Council of Foreign Ministers meeting at the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference after its objection to the organization’s invite to India was ignored by the rest of the members even though they were one of its founding members.

Under such circumstances, it is only natural that the Pakistan government’s actions appear rather bewildering. It is also perplexing that the Pakistanis believe accusing India of ‘eco‑terrorism’ is more reasonable than acting against the terrorists it has been harbouring.

[Eklavya]

Balakot Eyewitnesses Say Dozens Killed In Indian Air Strike Including Former Pakistani Soldiers, ISI Agents, Fidayeens

https://swarajyamag.com/insta/balakot-ey...-fidayeens

Eyewitness accounts have now emerged from the Balakot area corroborating India’s assertion that it had caused a large number of casualties when it struck Jaish-e-Mohammed’s terror apparatus in Pakistan in its 26 February airstrike, reports Firstpost.

Some persons who were present near the site of the operation claim to have seen up to 35 bodies being moved out from the area by ambulances in the aftermath of the airstrike. They state that among the dead were twelve men who had been asleep in a makeshift shack and a number of former soldiers of the Pakistani Military.

"Local authorities reached the site soon after the bombing," one witness recounted, "but the area had already been cordoned off by then by the army, who did not even allow police to enter. The army also took away mobile phones from the medical staff on the ambulances."

Also Read: Balakot Terror Camp Operated Under A Cover Of Madrasa; Infiltration Routes Of JeM Cadres Into India Also Identified

Interestingly, the sources also identified one of the dead from the attack as a former officer of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), who went by as ‘Colonel Salim’ locally. Another individual who was named as ‘Colonel Zarar Zakri’ is believed to have been injured.

A Jaish-e-Mohammed instructor hailing from Peshawar, Mufti Moeen, was also killed in the operation, along with explosives expert Usman Ghani.

Moreover, the eyewitnesses have confirmed the Indian claim that fedayeen recruits were also eliminated in the attack, stating that such trainees formed the single largest cluster of those killed.

Previously, top government sources were reported by Indian Express as saying that intelligence agencies had evidence in the form of imagery from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), showing that the four buildings within the Madrasa, identified as targets, were hit by five S-2000 precision-guided munition (PGM) fired from IAF’s Mirage-2000 fighter jets.

As it was cloudy, satellite images taken on Tuesday weren’t as clear, and the agencies had to make do with the inferior quality SAR. Technical and ground-based intelligence weren’t available, the sources said, making it hard to ascertain number of terrorists killed.

The government official said that that the Israeli bombs used penetrate through the roof, enter the building and explode after a delay. They were programmed according to the material of the roof. These buildings in terror camp had roofs made of corrugated galvanised iron (CGI) sheets and the SAR imagery shows that on the first day, these roofs had gone missing.

Pakistan has admitted that the area was struck by India but denies any damage and the presence of terror camps.

[Eklavya]

Hours after the ‘peace’ initiative, Pakistan continues ceasefire violations, kills civilians including 9 month-old baby

https://www.opindia.com/2019/03/hours-af...-old-baby/

Defence Ministry spokesperson Lt Colonel Devender Anand reportedly said that many people have been injured at Salotri as Pakistan is targeting civilian population along the LoC in Poonch, Mankote, Balakote, and Nowshera areas.

A 9-month-old baby and a 5-year-old child, siblings, have died along with their mother as a consequence of ceasefire violations by Pakistan. The ceasefire violations come right after Imran Khan’s announcement to return Wing Commander Abhinandan was hailed by many as a ‘peace gesture’.

A civilian in the Poonch sector in Kashmir told Republic TV, “Firing began from evening 6 pm by Pakistan and went on till 9-10 pm. The firing from Pakistan’s side blasted inside a house while the family was having a meal.”

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ANI
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@ANI
Jammu & Kashmir: Three members of a family were killed in shelling by Pakistan, in Poonch district's Krishna Ghati sector, last night.

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“The mother and her two kids are dead. The father of the kids is injured. Two-three houses adjoined are destroyed. Our house is close to the border and Pakistan is destroying, abusing us. We are poor people, how do we save ourselves?” another villager was quoted as saying.

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Defence Ministry spokesperson Lt Colonel Devender Anand reportedly said that many people have been injured at Salotri as Pakistan is targeting civilian population along the LoC in Poonch, Mankote, Balakote, and Nowshera areas. The Indian Army is retaliating strongly and effectively, he said.

”Pakistani Army, at around 1930 hrs (Friday), heavily fired in Salotri village of Jallas in Poonch sector,” police sources reportedly stated.

The rampant ceasefire violations indicate that the ‘peace gesture’ of returning Wing Commander Abhinandan to India was extremely farcical. And that he was returned only due to international conventions and the pressure built on them by the Indian government. While Pakistani Ministers are floating Imran Khan as a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, his army is busy killing children and infants.

[Polniy_Sostav]

I would like to ask people who have good knowledge about indian politics.
What is the role of the Sikh regiments in the indian army ? are they used as an independant group of mercenary or are they fully loyal to india ?
A few years ago when travelling to Ludhiana (Punjab) I remember having had long discussion with a very wise sikh man who was hosting me and my family.
From what I understand and remember , Sikh people (from India) consider their sikh "holy" land not only in Punjab but also in Pakistan. (which makes sense since the golden temple is located in Amritsar)
In the actual context , couldn't Sikh people be the "key" for India to win this conflict ?

Which leads to a few questions :

1-Are Sikh from Pakistan undergoing any sort of "muslim" oppression ?
2-IS there an ideological difference between Pakistani muslims and Indian Muslims?
3-Is there an ideological difference between indian muslims who live in kashmir and indian muslims who live in let's say Uttar Pradesh ?

Thanks a lot and pardon me if my questions were naive

[Eklavya]

Imran ‘Taliban’ Khan as ‘hero’ was only the next logical step for Indian ‘liberals’

https://www.opindia.com/2019/03/pakistan...eral-hero/

What does it mean when one side refuses to even talk and the other side offers peace and an unconditional release? Forget peace, PM Modi spoke about “scaling up” from the “pilot project”.

You have two options. You can either choose to believe the following sequence of events

(1) Pakistan PM Imran genuinely wants peace (as peddled after he announced the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Vartaman)

(2) Imran has gone and spoken to the Pakistan Army for “peace” with India.

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(3) Pakistan Army has been convinced by Imran’s argument and has yielded control of the country to elected PM for the first time in 50 years.

(4) Pakistan Army now wants peace with India.

(5) All these steps (1)-(4) happened in a space of less than 24 hours.

Or you could choose to believe the following:

(1) Pakistan is totally bankrupt and has no money for war (well-documented fact).

(2) Pakistan is sure to lose a conventional war with India (well-documented fact).

(3) Pakistan believed India was about to go to war (Pakistan is under continuous blackout/lockdown for last 48 hours)

(4) Pakistan believed India was about to do a missile strike (Official statement from Pak PM in Senate yesterday)

(5) Pakistan succumbed to the pressure and released our pilot within 24 hours (Well known fact).

Well, if you are somebody who is afflicted with a bad case of Modi derangement syndrome, you will, of course, choose to believe the sequence of foolish and fantastic conjectures and reject the obvious conclusion from well-documented facts.

What does it mean when one side refuses to even talk and the other side offers peace and an unconditional release? Forget peace, PM Modi spoke about “scaling up” from the “pilot project”.

Well, if you are a journalist, like the ones who were badgering our 3 Service Chiefs last evening, you beg them to thank Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Indian Service Chiefs didn’t even acknowledge Imran ‘Taliban’ Khan.

You see India’s “liberals” had an entire anti-Modi narrative scripted and ready around the unfortunate capture of Wing Commander Abhinandan Vartaman. They just assumed that India would be as powerless as it had always been, especially under Manmohan Singh. That India would beg with Pakistan, do “kadi ninda” and get nothing. And that they would taunt Modi for being ‘powerless’.

They were hoping for a Kandahar moment.

They were not prepared for Pakistan capitulating and returning our man within 24 hours. Absolutely unconditionally.

That is why they made so much noise about PM Modi going about his pre-planned schedule: launching the khelo India app, addressing booth workers, etc etc.

They were desperate to see PM Modi rub his nose into the ground and beg with Pakistan. When PM Modi didn’t do that, they tried to paint him as insensitive.

What they didn’t realize is that India has moved beyond projecting “power” through candle marches and Aman ki Asha videos.

Never did it occur to them that PM Modi acting “normal” was the whole message itself. When Imran Khan called, our PM didn’t even pick up the phone. Because he was “busy” launching the Khelo India app.

Way to show Pakistan its place.

The power meanwhile was projected behind the scenes. The Govt issued a single two-minute press briefing on Wednesday demanding that Abhinandan Vartaman is returned. And it worked.

Truth be told, I was stunned too. We have been playing Pakistan with a weak hand for decades. The history was weighing on my mind. I thought this would be an extended negotiation at the very best. I feared the absolute worst for our pilot Abhinandan Vartaman.

I never imagined that Pakistan would fold so soon. Not even full 24 hours between Pakistan announcing the capture and announcing the release.

The new normal is now this: we will bomb terror targets in Pakistan when we want. Not just in PoK, but in actual Pakistan. If Pakistani F-16s come to retaliate, we will shoot them down. Like in any battle, there are chances of accidents happening. If an Indian pilot shoots down a Pakistani plane and then has to eject and land on the other side of the LoC, we don’t need to worry that much. Because Pakistan will hand them back within 24 hours.

India’s hands are now so long that they can reach inside Pakistan and bring back our soldier, Abhinandan Vartaman in a day.

This revelation stunned liberals yesterday who had no option but to line up and become Imran Khan fans.

This brings to a logical conclusion the comedy show of Indian liberalism over the last five years and their desperate hopes to find an alternative hero for the Indian public to look up to.

After Delhi 2015, it was Arvind Kejriwal. After Bihar in Nov 2015, it was Nitish Kumar. After the JNU incident, it was Kanhaiyya Kumar in early 2016. By the Gujarat election, it was “youth leaders” Hardik Patel and Jignesh Mevani. Then, Rahul Gandhi had a good run as “challenger in chief” until he himself did a hit wicket and ceded the space to Priyanka. Then came Mamata Banerjee.

The spiral had to end somewhere. How fitting that it should end up at the doorstep of Imran Khan, who may or may not be the PM candidate of the Mahagathbandhan now.

[Eklavya]

https://www.quora.com/How-are-there-so-m...Population

@polniy this one for you

[Polniy_Sostav]

Excellent ! Thank you
It makes no doubt now that India is United

[Genghis Khan]

(02-26-2019 01:43 PM)911 Wrote:  

The south Asian population in Canada is already over 5% of the total population, it's the largest immigrant group. There's already an ongoing mass exodus to Canada from south Asia, at least at the scale of Canadian population. It would be stupid to assume that if a real war broke out (a war along the lines of 1965, rather than a skirmish like the one in 1999) this flow wouldn't grow.

I understand the concern people have in the West regarding immigration and wanting to reduce it. But these concerns about how India-Pak wars would affect the West seem a bit overblown.

The 1965 war lasted an entire 5 weeks and was contained to the border regions. I don't know if I can really consider 1965 to be much more intense than 1999, which incidentally lasted almost 12 weeks.

I don't think this is going to escalate into war. Even if it did, Pakistan's economy isn't doing so hot right now and they don't have the support of the US or China. It's probable that if a war did happen, it would only last a few months at most, with India winning - considering their overwhelming military strength and much larger economy.

It won't be like the decade-long wars the US has been fighting. As far as I know, the Indian government has no intention to invade and occupy Pakistan proper, so any type of refugee situation seems unlikely.

On a related note, the main reason there hasn't been a conventional war between the two countries since 1999 is because both countries have nukes. The Pakistanis have been banking on this strategy of using terrorists to carry out its dirty work, claim they have nothing to do with and believe India won't retaliate because of nukes.

That strategy just got blown apart as Indian actually had its fighter planes go deep into Pakistani territory to bomb camps.

[Eklavya]

There are many aspects of the current NDA government people may find fault with and some are deserving but people overlook some of the major changes that has happened in the last five years that will change the country's direction forever.

One of the major changes has been the Swach Bharat Abhiyan(Clean India) project under which the ODF(Open Defecation) comes under.The level of ground level change it has bought to the villages and also to general public health has been astounding.

Just came across this article which highlights the point.

World’s Largest Sanitation Program Notches Another Win- Independent Verification Agency Confirms Over 96% Usage Of Toilets Under Swachh Bharat.
https://swarajyamag.com/insta/worlds-lar...chh-bharat

The National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) 2018-19, conducted by an Independent Verification Agency (IVA) under the World Bank support project to the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G), has found that 96.5% of the households in rural India who have access to a toilet use it.

The NARSS also re-confirmed the Open Defecation Free (ODF) status of 90.7% of villages which were previously declared and verified as ODF by various districts/States.

The NARS survey was conducted between November 2018 and February 2019 and covered 92040 households in 6136 villages across States and UTs of India.

The other key findings of NARSS 2018-19 are as follows

93.1% of households were found to have access to toilets during the survey period (the corresponding figure as per the SBMG MIS in November 2018 was 96%)
96.5% of the people who had access to toilets used them
90.7% of villages which were previously declared and verified as ODF were confirmed to be ODF. The remaining villages also had sanitation coverage of about 93%
95.4% of the villages surveyed found to have minimal litter and minimal stagnant water
The Independent Verification Agency presented their findings to the Expert Working Group (EWG) constituted for oversight of NARSS, comprising representatives from organizations including the World Bank, UNICEF, Water Aid, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, India Sanitation Coalition, NITI Aayog, and Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation. The EWG noted the satisfactory completion of the survey round 2 (for 2018-19, after last year’s NARSS 2017-18)

The survey used the PPS (Probability Proportion to Size) sampling methodology, which yields results within a confidence interval of 95%. Data was collected using the Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) platform. The survey also covered schools, anganwadis and public/community toilets in these villages.

Since its launch in October 2014, the SBM, the world’s largest sanitation program, has changed the behaviour of hundreds of millions of people with respect to toilet access and usage. 500 million people have stopped defecating in the open since the SBM began, down from 550 million at the beginning of the programme to less than 50 million today. Over 9 crore toilets have been built across rural India under the Mission. Over 5.5 lakh villages and 615 districts have been declared ODF, along with 30 ODF States and Union Territories.

[Arado]

Anyone see this video on Indian elections that's been making the rounds? Some parts were funny but he went overboard on making fun of the accent and was really biased on most of the issues.