Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

It was at age 19 that Shahid Sheikh (not his real name) first fell in love with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. And soon after finishing college in Anantnag, he found a new address a terrorist training camp in Pakistan. Armed with deadly skills, he organized a series of bloody terror strikes in Jammu and Kashmir in the 1990s, and became a high-value target for the security forces. But they never could get him until he decided to lay down his gun eight years ago. The surrender marked a turning point in Sheikh's life. Some years later, he had donned the battle fatigues of the Indian Army stalking the jungles to hunt for the same extremists he had once led. "I understand the psyche of terrorists. I know their mind. I have that advantage," he says. Once identified as cold-blooded enemies of the Indian state, many former terrorists like Sheikh are today among the army's most potent weapons against militancy in Jammu and Kashmir The 'Ikhwanis' - former militants - are

A study conducted by the Transparency International India has found that the least corrupt States in the country were Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh , in that order. This study was quoted by the World Bank in its appraisal of the AP economic reforms loan-III (also known as development policy loan) of $ 200 million sanctioned on January 11. The Opposition may cry hoarse about corruption at high places but the bank gave a clean chit to the State government. As per the study, Bihar is the most corrupt State, followed by Jammu and Kashmir . The survey assessed corruption using 11 benchmarks, including rural financial institutions, income tax, municipal services, judiciary, land administration, police, schools, water supply, public distribution system, electricity and government hospitals. While police is the most corrupt institution throughout the country, it is surprisingly not the case in AP, where government hospitals and water supply are more corrupt. The State g