Million voices.

They said: "Many are called and few are chosen,"
But I wish some wasn’t chosen
for the blood spilling of Rwanda.

They said: "Meshach, Shadrack and Abednego,
Thrown in the fire but you never get burned,"
but I wish that I didn't get burned in Rwanda.

This song, the million voices, from the motion picture ‘Hotel Rwanda’ always manages to evoke strange mix of hope and sorrow in me. On our journey, we realized that the people we are meeting are ‘chosen’. We also wondered if they also felt if they weren’t the ones chosen. We have but 1 way out. We decide to ask them.

Stay with us as we give you the glimpses into the minds of soldiers and they share with you what they feel. So this is a section for them, to contribute. A huge collage, a gigantic graffiti of write ups, discussions, poems et al.

The first one talks about suicide terrorism. Keep coming back for more.

SUICIDE TERRORISM

Suicide attack may be defined as “politically motivated violent attack perpetrated by a self aware individual or individuals who actively and purposely causes his own death through blowing himself along with chosen target. The perpetrators ensured death is a precondition for the success of his mission.”
Suicide bombing thus, aims at destroying a specific target.
However, in most cases, the real intention is to create an atmosphere of terror which should be translated into political gains.
The principal difference between suicide bombing and other types of terrorism is embedded in a tactical perspective.
The terrorist’s death, by means of the detonation of an explosive charge, is an integral part of the execution of the operation and constitutes an essential condition of its success.


Having a broader look on the international terrorism from front we observe that there has been a sustained hike in cases of suicide terrorism. Let try and get an insight in the mind of the terrorist and have a pragmatic look on the problem.

Suicide attacks are the most destructive type of terrorism, which almost fulfills all the prerequisites of terrorism like terrorize innocent peoples, gain publicity and cause panic. Only in few isolated cases the suicidal attack was foiled and most of the times the attacker has been successful in carrying out the attack. Any suicidal attack is well planned and laid out with lots of dry run being carried out by the attacker, hence to counter the suicide attack is a difficult task. However, continuous tactical operations, government policy and lots of luck may elude the suicide attacker to carry out his motives.

Terrorist’s Mind
Suicide attacks originated during the Israel- Arab conflict. Certain statements which bring out the mind and the thought process are elucidated below

When a Palestinian militant, who was training to become a suicide bomber, was interviewed by a reporter he said “THE DECISION TO BECOME A MARTYR CAME.WHEN ONE DAY I RETURNED HOME TO FIND MY FAMILY IN A STATE OF PANIC.THE NIGHT BEFORE ISRAELI SOLIDIERS VISITED”, shows the motivation and reason to become a suicide bomber, the atrocities carried out by Israeli soldiers on Palestinian soil motivated him to sacrifice his life.

“I AM PREPARING TO MEET GOD, I WISH FOR IT (DEATH) MORE THAN I WISH FOR LIFE”, the individual is so much indoctrinated to become a martyr that he is just waiting for the day to accomplish his mission and lay his life

“I CAN GO TO PARADISE.IT IS BETTER TO BE IN PARADISE THAN TO BE HERE”, the militant however was neutralized by Israeli soldiers before he could carry out his suicide attack but the mere statement means that the individual has no meaning for life. He has believed in something which no body has seen as ‘Paradise’. He strongly feels that the unknown world is better.

The Study of Personal Motivations
The first generation of scholars in the field focused on the socio-demographic characteristics and the personality traits of the suicide bombers.
Most of these studies came to the conclusion that suicide bombers exhibit no distinct features.
The second generation of studies emphasized the role of social networks and the surrounding community in motivating individuals to perpetrate such attacks.



Crisis and Commitment as Individual Motivations

Various organizational and individual motivations work towards creating a suicide bomber. They are:
(a) Communal Crisis
(b) Personal Crisis
(c) Commitment to social network
(d) Commitment to organizational framework
These motivations are not mutually exclusive. Contrary to early assumptions commitment is a better predictor than crisis.



Is suicide bombing religion based?

Suicide terrorism is not always a religious phenomenon. It is not predominantly an Islamic brutality instead facts reveal that LTTE has carried out much more suicidal attacks. Recent studies relate to leaders of terrorist organizations as rational actors which is ridiculous.
The terrorist organization will use this strategy only as long as it serves its strategic, domestic and organizational purposes. In order to carry out a successful suicide campaign there is a need for individuals to perpetrate the acts and a community which will support them. Hence, the organizations make efforts to glorify suicide missions and to instill a ‘culture of hatred and death’ within the community.



What draws outfits to engage suicide terrorism-?
1. 100 % success: A suicide attack is virtually guaranteed success once he has set off on his mission. It is extremely difficult to identify a suicide target and stopping him from activation of charge.

2. Security of cadre: In a suicide attack a target can cause large scale destruction which otherwise requires a large no of cadre. There is also no fear of being caught afterwards, being interrogated by the SF and leaking of info which may endanger other cadres.

3. Collateral damage: Suicide attacks result in many causalities and cause extensive damage.

4. World Wide publicity: Suicide attack attracts wide media coverage and publicity. By which trts can terrorize the people and help in gaining poll mileage by putting govt under pr.

5. No escape plan: After a successful attack withdrawal or escape is a difficult part of the Op, which requires detailed planning because by the time surprise has been already lost. But in suicide there is no requirement for escape plan.

6. Flexibility: Suicide attacker can carry out the attack at the most appropriate time and place of his choice with regard to the circumstances at the tgt.

Why?

1. For acquiring poll goals and status.
2. Religious beliefs, fanaticism
a. Considered as a religious msn, the ‘ jihad’ or ‘ holy war’
b. Eternal life in paradise
c. The permission to see the face of Allah

3. Martyrdom He will be seen as a martyr who sacrificed his life in the process of fulfilling a religious command.
4. Revenge to revenge killing of family members by the SF.
5. Economic improvement the family of the suicide bomber receives financial rewards after the attack which will help in improvement of family economic condition
6. improvement in social status
7. personal image considered as patriot




Who?
Characteristics of suicide bomber

1. Young: Usually from 18-27 yrs.
2. Male/ Female: Mostly male but there is an incr trend in female suicide bomber because of easy deception.
3. Not Married
4. Educated
5. Devoted student of Islamic fundamentalism
6. poor family
7. Kids, security forces can also be used in future.

Part II

Modus Operandi

Targets

1. VIP
2. SF post
3. Public transportation
4. Bus/ Rly stn
5. Entertainment and shopping centers
6. Mil instl.
7. Religious places
8. National monuments

Methods of attack

1. Human bomb: This method is adopted for specific targets.

2. Vehicle Bomb: Vehicles loaded with explosives are used to force entry into barricades of security forces to reach the target and blow it off.

3. Airplanes: Likewise in Sep 11 attack; in future also aero planes can be used as an effective mode of attack

4. Gate crashing: Suicide terrorists generally follow this method in J & K.

5. Request for lift: In the guise of SF and innocent civ they may request for lift to SF vehs and carry out suicide attacks.

6. Boats Expl laden boats can be used to strike at tgts and initiate explosion. This method is followed by LTTE.

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SENTRY
.... Major Varun Bajpai.

Life often comes knocking at my door
for a casual appraisal of our daily chore
It chides me often for wasting it away
for drifting with me and loosing myself in its sway


The other day i stood sentry after last light
when life came visiting at the sentry post site
It gave me a strange look and then remarked
how can you be sentry for the life's better part


I looked at life and smiled at its loving concern
and said, "from a soldier, you have a lot to learn"
Gazing at the horizon and then yonder
I was ready with a reply, after a brief ponder


Life, you often spend your life without
a worthwhile cause
Today you must think and give yourself
a brief pause....


life was taken aback, to be astonished
she was surprised, and she was astonished


When a sentry stands guard in his
battle fatigues dressed
He is the one , who is doubly blessed
Blesses him God, for the harsh duty he stands
Blesses him all people for safety to them
and their lands


When i stand sentry, i enable the children to read
to grow up tomorrow and give us the lead
When i stand sentry, the farmers till their land
They churn out rich crops from the grains of sand


When i stand sentry, the doctors save your progeny
they toil to carry out life saving surgery
When i stand sentry, factories work day and night
contributing in no small measure to the nation's might


When i stand sentry, in comfort works the scientific minds
to reinvent science and making us proud with their new find
When i stand sentry, in peace the people sleep
to awaken the next day, ready for a giant leap


When i stand sentry, on the alter of duty i pray
tell me life of all, who is the luckiest today
My duty is GOD, my duty is DIVINE
Whats better than life in the duty's line

something about me....for all of you

"Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow” Isaiah.

All I see is Red!!!

I wish I could paint the sky red.

Well almost
I have loved the color red forever. It has been a part of my life ever since. Red has been a definitive choice, right from choosing my first crayon to the new silk scarf around my neck. But it’s not its beauty that I am hooked to. It’s the duality of the color that attracts me.

Fallen seductresses to the high priestess are all clad in red. They say that red scatters the least and thus never deviates. All danger lights are colored Red...and somehow, the color started misspelling danger. . Ecstasy, passion, strength, honor, energy, fire, sex, love, lust, romance, excitement, speed, heat, arrogance, ambition, temptation, leadership, masculinity, vigor, power, danger, gaudiness, blood, war, anger, revolution, radicalism, Communism, aggression, respect, pride, martyrs, the Holy Spirit, conservatism ,Liberalism , wealth and marriage all are but colored red. One stroke of red and the image changes for ever.

Red strikes a chord with more cultures than any other color because of its intensity, passion and invocation of an inherent physiological response. Red is the color of celebration and good luck (China), purity and integrity (India), and mourning (South Africa). When used with a wide brush, red typically makes whatever it’s painted on look larger, whether it’s a torso or wingback chair. The color is bold and audacious, so it usually dilutes the colors around it. For this reason it’s used to accent and highlight objects of importance.

Studies show that red can have physical effects; including increasing the rate of respiration, raising blood pressure and thus making the heart beat faster. Red is said to make people hungry .Red is also the color of the devil in modern Western culture.

The word red comes from the Old English rēad. This is the only color word which has been traced to an Indo-European root. In Sanskrit, the word rudra means red. After the rise of socialism in the mid-19th century, red was to describe revolutionary movements. The word is also obviously associated with anything of the color occupying the lower end of the visible light spectrum, such as red hair or red soil.

The more I read about it, the more I become red. I walk the tight rope between the saint and the sinner. Anything in between, seems faded. I don’t deviate, like red, and warn people of approaching hazards…sadly enough, I soon become a hazard.

I am not misunderstood, but like red, I need to be understood more. To me, red is the beginning and the end. It’s the alpha and the omega.

And to me, I am red.

Aham Brahmasmi .

The inspirations: Robert Frost and Varun Bajpai

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN.... ROBERT FROST

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

well Varun is not the poet but Major Varun Bajpai, did serve the Indian Army in many difficult terrains In J&K and the north east...sometimes not reachable for months..

Please talk to him/ us on the blog now..

The roads less travelled

“Have you ever held the moments, and given them a pause,
To think of the soldiers, and the one who was.
Come with us on a journey, of agony and ecstasy,
Come see our harsh reality, and our dreams of fantasy

Visit the history of soldiering, past the endless past,
As we endeavor to reach, the very last.
Digging through the godforsaken terrain and dusty pages
And going through its roller coaster stages”

The book “Road less Traveled” Is the out come of an emotional sojourn along the annals of time. The above mentioned lines are a small description in a poetic form. We intend to bring to fore spirit of soldering and the unnerving spirit that comes along with it. The book is inspired by the satiety cradled pain, separation, physical and mental challenges, lots of emotions and various melancholic moods that a soldier faces while guarding us. It’s also a tribute to thousands of the unknown, unsung hero’s who have made the supreme sacrifice on the call of duty.

“The Roads less Travelled” is the first and one of its kind attempts to bring to light, the thrill of a glorious and tough Military life. The book aims to put across the tough life of a soldier and the rigors of life that he undergoes, without compromising the security aspect. The endeavor is to showcase in simplicity the achievements and the efforts that the men in uniform put towards the Nation's Security and Sovereignty and also the achievement that cannot be converted into bonds and stocks and of love that calls for sacrifice.


The Objective:

The project is the creation of a coffee table book, with emphasis as much on the content as to the visual appeal. The objective is that the book shall be the first hand account of difficult terrains of the Indian armed forces. In a first of its kind effort it shall try to feature, through the length and breadth of the country, the real faces of the armed forces, cheerful in extremely difficult situations. It is not a project based on operations, nor only to glorification. It is an attempt to bridge the gap between the armed forces and the rest of the country. It objects to present the more ‘Humane’ face of the former. However, the intent is to present the possibility of such a life to the youth as not impossible but something they can probably relate with.
This is also an attempt, to reach out to the brave braving such places, and say ‘WE CARE'.


The Project guidelines

The book shall be divided into sections and will have visuals, text, interviews, and write ups from the defense personnel. The following shall be the sections:

1. The early days (an account of the different academies)
The section shall be created with live interviews and shoot in NDA, IMA, the naval academy Ezhimala and the Air force Academy Hyderabad.

2. The Army as it is. (the difficult terrains of the Army)

3. The Air Force as it is (the difficult terrains of the Air force)

4. The Navy as it is (the difficult terrains of the navy)

5. The process intact (the trainings, acclimatization etc.)
Trainings are an integral part of the armed forces. To survive difficult altitudes, acclimatization is crucial. In this section we shall throw light on these through pictures and write-ups.

6. All in a day’s work (the lighter moments and celebrations)
The heart of the Armed forces. The section shall present different ceremonies and celebrations.

7. An ounce of nostalgia.
In this section we remember the heroes. We cover a bit of history and profile the brave. It shall also include interviews of veterans of armed forces still with us. The United service institution of India has agreed to partner with us for the creation of this section.

8. A million voices
This section shall have contributions from the defense personnel. They can share personal picture collections, memoirs, write-ups, poems etc.


Please feel free to ask us more. Please write to us at

shormishtha@theroadslesstraveled.co.in

varun@theroadslesstraveled.co.in

also visit us at:
www.theroadslesstraveled.co.in