The literal and financial nuclear news from India

First was the indictment of Rajat Gupta, which is not that much of a surprise given the widely reported links between him and the hedge fund heavyweight, Raj Rajaratnam, who as been sentenced to eleven years in prison for insider trading. After all, Gupta was no ordinary executive from India:

Few Indian executives have achieved the stature that Rajat Gupta held in global business, a position that made him an icon for many in India seeking to rise in the U.S. and elsewhere.
So Mr. Gupta's indictment Wednesday was greeted with a mix of surprise, sadness and even some anger in India's tightly knit business community. It also prompted some concern that his arrest might reflect poorly on Indian executives in general, though Mr. Gupta, the former chief executive of consulting firm McKinsey & Co., has lived for many decades in the U.S.

At the same time, apparently the Indian Government is also looking into a few of his dealings in India:

will probe the possibility of Gupta having contravened the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, involving, inter alia, his purchase of shares in Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB).
The newspaper quotes unnamed ED officials as saying: “We suspect that control of shares in Tamilnad Mercantile Bank was in violation (of regulations) and had no approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Besides, some of his other financial transactions are also under the scanner.”

On a slow news day, I might have been captivated with those stories.

But, Condoleezza Rice upped the ante:

India had deployed nuclear-capable missiles on its western border and refused to budge under US pressure to hold any talks with Pakistan after the 2001 attack on its Parliament by terrorists from across the border, says former top American diplomat Condoleezza Rice.

It has always been suspected that India and Pakistan were on the verge of a war, and a nuclear war at that, soon after that horrific attack on the Parliament building.  But, to get details of that from an insider who was closely monitoring the developments, well, it is awfully shocking how terrible those few days were.

It is also fascinating to read about the kinds of strategies the US and other countries employed in their attempts to calm the Indians:

As there was no let-up in the tension between the two neighbours, Rice said the US and Britain joined hands and organised a series of high-profile visits to the two countries with the view that there would be no war as long as some important dignitary was in the region.
"Colin (Powell, the then Secretary of State) and Jack Straw, the British Foreign Minister, organised a brilliant diplomatic campaign that could be summed up as dispatching as many foreign visitors to Pakistan and India as possible.
"We reasoned that the two wouldn't go to war with high-ranking foreigners in the region. Every time they accepted a visit, we breathed a sigh of relief. We needed to buy time," Rice writes, recollecting the events of those days.
But the situation continued to deteriorate, she said, adding that by December 23 there were reports of troop movements as well as a disturbing one that India was preparing to move short-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to the Indian-Pakistani border.
"We reviewed the list of dignitaries who had been deployed to the region, searching for possible intermediaries through whom we could send messages to the adversaries, and agreed to reconvene the next day," Rice said.
Given the volatility of the situation in South Asia, Rice said she cancelled her Christmas vacation at her aunt's house in Norfolk Virginia and rushed to Washington the next day.
"By December 27 the reports were confirmed: India had, indeed moved nuclear-capable missiles to the border. Colin called Jaswant Singh, the Indian Minister of External Affairs, and asked that the two countries sit down and talk. The suggestion was flatly rejected," Rice writes.

Talk about dodging a bullet; phew!

Meanwhile, a few countries, including the US, have issued cautionary statements about travel to India, because of terrorism concerns.  The Indian government is not happy about this, naturally:

The Government has decided to protest after five countries - The US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - have issued advisories against travel to India during the festive season for security reasons.
The Government has protested saying such advisories are done to defame India. Minister of State for Tourism Subodh Kant Sahay said the matter will be taken up with appropriate authorities.

And students wonder why I tell them that the AfPakIndia region is way more dangerous than the Israel/Palestine issue!