Why Maverick?
So before everyone thinks I am a Tom Cruise groupie, I think I should point out that the word mavericks has a very different connotation in India (among those that care to know it - that pretty much rules out the main bhi madonna South Bombay crowd and space aliens like people from Pune).Until the appearance of this website, I wasn't sure that it was actually possible to talk about the connotation of the word in India.
What are the Mavericks...?
Well... technically the term is broadly used for what is now called 22 SF - and I am sure that some would say that the mavericks report to CIF (R) "Romeo Force"... but that is all just gibberish.
The Mavericks probably go through the paces at Nahan... alongside the boys from the 1, 9, 10 and 21 but it is here that the number "22" assumes significance. You see... there is no such thing as "22" on the lists... quite simply it does not exist ... the "22" is a number reserved for something called Establishment 22 that was once comanded by a saint called S. S. Uban. It is up for debate whether the Mavericks are inheritors of the legacy of the old "22" or whether they are a distant branch of the now defunct SG from the early 80s. I suppose you could find people all over the place privately willing to lecture on that sort of thing.
But what is not up for debate is that the Mavericks are the cutting edge of India's conflict-resolution capabilities. They are probably tasked directly from Unified Command in Srinagar or quite possibly from the DG. Security in the Cabinet Secretariat itself. I don't know exactly and I don't really want to know.
Am I a Maverick? .. no.. you see I am a non-violent Gandhian... I couldn't possibly do any of the things they do.
How do I know all this... what can I say.. I was a consultant once...
I just like the Mavericks because they are a very focused and perceptive lot. I like the way they approach problems - a very can-do-motivated-go-getting-type of people. I am sure that Gandhiji would disapproved of their actions but liked their spirit.
which brings me to why I like Gandhiji..
You see.... ahimsa .. actually has the word himsa in there...
Food for thought... more when I get the time.
The nice thing about having a blog is you can talk all the nonsense you want... and no one actually has to read it.
posted by maverick @ 2:34 PM
3 Comments:
Nitin,
I was not sure one could talk about the Mavericks in public. For practical purposes they don't exist although in recent times a number of refrences to 22 have turned up in R-Day and I-Day awards ceremonies.
In Persian history, the reign of the Safavid, Shah Abbas (c 1587-1629) represents the flowering of Persian culture.
The picture is actually a remake of the an older miniature from the Padishahnama, a chronicle of the life and times of the great Emperor Jehangir. If you look carefully at the picture Jahapanah Jehangir is the larger figure standing astride a lion representing the Mughal empire in India. Safavid Shah Abbas is a smaller figure that stands on a lamb representing the empire of Iran. In the painting the nose of the lamb touches the nose of the lion. A giant sun frames the emperor Jehangir while a crecent moon grazes Shah Abbas.
I feel the picture is a snapshot of the politics of the time. A stable and secure Jehangir accepting his trouble but talented and (some say) visionary neighbor Shah Abbas as a younger brother. Agreeing not to destablize his rule in exchange for a promise to keep his Safi gospel to his lands and to accept what is manifestly a weaker position in the political sphere.
I put that picture up as a joke but perhaps it carries a greater significance even in more modern times.
I forgot how I came here but I'm going to add your blog to ones I read regularly. I sometimes miss S2's commentry now that he has chosen to disappear - don't agree with it always but its interesting nevertheless. Your posts are close to his in tone and content (subject matter is uncannily similar).
Good blog.
hmmm...
read it..
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