Child warriors

Many children in Jammu and Kashmir are being forced to work for terrorist groups like Suicide machine.


On July 12, 2005, Mohammad Akram (11) was on his way home from school when he was stopped by a group of terrorists. They asked him to throw a grenade in the local market place, and promised him Rs. 500 for the task. Terror-stricken Akram did not have a choice — he had to do as the men said. But before he could fling the grenade, it exploded in his hands, injuring him severely. A few days later, Tahira (9) from Pangai village, Poonch district, was seriously injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) she was handling exploded. She too had been forced by terrorists to place the IED on a road often used by the Indian troops.

Various terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir are using an alarming number of children as terror tools. The children are used as spies, porters and as guerrillas who throw grenades and plant IEDs. The children (some barely nine or 10 years) are even used as shields in encounters and deployed in operations against Indian security agencies. "The terrorists sometimes give Rs. 100 for throwing a grenade. In most cases, either the children get hurt or they miss their target (security forces), which results in many civilians being hurt. That's why there are so many civilians dying in grenade attacks these days. Srinagar Police said There are many examples where unsuspecting children have been used either as couriers to send messages or to ferry arms and explosives. A security patrol would never bother to search a child earlier. But now we need to change our strategy.

Increasingly, the army has been discovering several young warriors working for terrorist groups. Abdul Gafoor (12), from the remote Udhampur village, was recruited by terrorists and used for operations against the security forces. He travelled with the Hizbul Mujahideen men in the thick forests of Pakikot, Narla and Larki in the hilly belt of Udhampur. Terrorists killed his father in 2003 and his mother was kidnapped for allegedly having links with security forces. The first two months, he was made to wash utensils and carry their load as they moved from one village to another. Later, he was trained to use the AK-47 rifle and handle explosives, narrating his experience after being rescued by the security forces in 2004. Gafoor was also used as a spy and as a human shield during attacks on army patrols.

In June 2005, during an encounter in the Pir Panjal Mountains, the army found Muzaffar Iqbal, barely 11, working as a porter, guide and part-time guerrilla. Iqbal was recruited in February 2004 at gunpoint while returning from school. He was also made to carry sorties (raid or an attack)...he was not aware of the bigger game plan of the terrorists. Mohammad Altaf, 13, was with the terrorists for more than a year. Five other children and Altaf cooked for the terrorists and washed utensils. They were also trained in arms and sent to get weapons from hideouts. The security forces claim that along the Indo-Pak border, Pakistani boys, as young as 13-14 years, carrying deadly weapons, have been arrested. Recently, nine such children were picked up from the Line of Control. They revealed they had been trained at a madrasa (religious school) in Pakistan and were sent back to India territory after undergoing basic military training.

At times, these child warriors also get killed in encounters. On August 8, 2003, a 13-year-old boy was killed in the Mendhar sector of Poonch district while entering Indian Territory from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. The child was among the seven other terrorists killed in an encounter. Most of the children picked up by terrorists are from remote areas of Rajouri, Poonch, Doda, Udhampur and Kupwara, and belong to very poor and illiterate families. In fact, the Jammu and Kashmir police has noticed a clear trend since 2004 more and more children go missing from remote areas.

An estimated 100 children have been reported missing in Kashmir since 2004. "In the early 1990s, only a handful of children were involved. Last year (2004), around 200 were hidden in the mountains. The police only know of children missing when a complaint is registered. If police consider unreported cases, the number of children missing and recruited by terrorists may run into hundreds. The terrorist groups (many of whom have lost several members in recent years) want to save trained terrorists for bigger operations.


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How the cyclone got its name?

Cyclones are named to provide easy communication regarding forecasts and warnings.


Those of you who live by the sea would know that the cool, sea breeze blows on land during the night. You must also have read about the devastating cyclones and hurricanes like the recent Katrina that sweep across the sea and strike the land without a warning. All winds are caused by changes in temperature. Whenever air gets heated, it expands and becomes lighter. The lighter air rises and the heavier cooler air rushes in to take its place. The speed of movement of this air makes the wind blow at varying speeds.

In 19th Century, Sir Francis Beaufort, a British Admiral, designed a scale to categorise wind. On this scale, zero represents absolute stillness, and five, a gentle breeze. Force 8 represents a moderate gale, which breaks twigs off trees, while a storm is a wind of Force 10. Storms of intensity between 11 and 17 are generally known as tropical cyclones. These go by different names in different parts of the world. In the West Indies they are hurricanes, while in the U.S, they are tornadoes. In the China Seas, they are called typhoons, while it is a cyclone in the Indian Ocean. Along the west coast of Australia, the tropical storms are known as the willy-willies.

Tropical cyclones are given names to provide ease of communication between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts, and warnings. Since the storms can often last a week or longer and that more than one can be occurring in the same basin at the same time, names can reduce the confusion. During World War II, tropical cyclones were informally given women's names. Today, the lists of names generated by the National Hurricane Center, alternate between male and female.

The names are arranged alphabetically. The first tropical storm of the year has a name that begins with A. The second is given a name that begins with B and so on. The list continues to W, but Q and U are omitted. There are six such lists of 21 names that are rotated every six years. A name is retired or taken off the list if the cyclone bearing it was particularly notorious and caused loss of life.

Beginning on January 1, 2000, tropical cyclones in the Northwest Pacific basin are being named from a new and different list. The new names are Asian names and were contributed by all members of the Typhoon Committee.

Link to my Car blog Shyam'ssss

French Spiderman

A daredevil climber known as the French Spiderman who has scaled skyscrapers around the globe was arrested recently as he tried to clamber up a Houston office building. Alain Robert, 43, dashed from a taxi to the 46-story Houston Center but was stopped just as he was starting his ascent. Police said a reporter had tipped them off to his plans. A tall officer was able to grab his ankles. He was about one or two steps from getting away.

Robert's Web site claims he has climbed some 70 buildings including the Eiffel Tower; the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; London's Canary Wharf Building; the Empire State Building in New York and Chicago's Sears Tower. Houston police charged Robert with criminal trespass.

Read about Cars in my New blog Shyam'sssss

World's first statue of Lee

Bosnia's southern town of Mostar unveiled the world's first statue of Kung-Fu legend Bruce Lee, paying homage to a childhood hero of all its divided ethnic groups, says a Reuters report. The life-size bronze statue is situated in Mostar's central park, close to the former front line of Bosnia's 1992-95 civil war. Unveiled by its initiators, Veselin Gatalo and Nino Raspudic of Mostar's Urban Movement, the statue portrays the Chinese-American actor, who died 32 years ago, in a typical defensive fighting position.

This does not mean that Bruce Lee will unite us, because people are different and cannot be united and we will always be Muslims, Serbs or Croats, Gatalo said. But one thing we all have in common is Bruce Lee. Gatalo has said Lee a hero to teenagers all over Bosnia in the 1970s and 1980s epitomised justice, mastery and honesty, virtues the town had badly missed.

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Federer will shine in 2006?

At the end of the year, the delectable Swiss chocolate might have melted, but that doesn't take away the delicious fare that has been served, and will continue to be served. Roger Federer might have lost the Masters Cup final, but that is just about the only thing he has lost. The number of Grand Slams that he will pile up in the years to come continues to be a topic of discussion and will not alter by a slight increase in the number of people who have beaten him this year.

If it is true that he is unable to complete beautifully ruthless wins like he did last year, then it also true that he has won 11 titles in 2005. If it is true that his game has come down by a notch, then it is also true that he played the Shanghai Masters after being on crutches, and reached the final with a 6-0, 6-0 whitewash of Gaston Gaudio in the semifinal and even served for the match in the final. He is bruised, but not beaten.

The fact remains that 2005 has been a Federer year. It took supreme performances from Marat Safin (Australian Open semifinal), Rafael Nadal (French Open semifinal), Richard Gasquet (Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinal) and David Nalbandian (Masters Cup final) to take game, set and match against him. Such was his domination, that it was `Who beat Roger Federer?' rather than `Who did Roger Federer beat?' that grabbed headlines on most occasions.

Under the circumstances, can Federer be challenged in 2006? An occasional upset or two might happen but the list of serious contenders doesn't require more than a hand or two. Rafael Nadal, on clay and Marat Safin, if his mind is on the court and David Nalbandian at his best stand atop the list of pretenders. Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt are too one-dimensional and need to add more variety to their game.
A fresh and injury-free Roger Federer will continue to be the man to beat in 2006.

There are thoughts that men's tennis will benefit if Federer is beaten, even occasionally, to open up the game. But is that good for the game?. Despite claims of his domination making men's tennis predictable, there is no better sight in tennis, than Roger Federer in full flow. But for the sake of the game, may the best man win.