INTERLOCUTOR!

Dawn was about to break on the 22nd of February. S.M.Krishna, the minister for external affairs was in bed, apparently dreaming about the chic suit he would be wearing in the programmes scheduled for the day and sprout homilies about ‘diplomacy’ and ‘co-operation between India and Pakistan’. The Indo Pak ‘talks’ which had been stalled for about 14 months after the ghastly Mumbai 26/11 attacks, inspite of the efforts of the Prime Minister at Sharm-el Sheikh, were scheduled for the 25th of February in New Delhi. The ‘discussions’ over the weekend were scheduled between Ms. Nirupama Rao, the foreign secretary of India and Salman Bashir, her Pakistani counterpart.

At about the same time, the minister of state for external affairs, Shashi ‘the twiiter’ Tharoor must also have been in bed. His dreams, which are turning into nightmares for the Government and an embarrassment for the nation, usually relate to his bizarre comments on his twitter account. The Indian foreign policy which started from the highly moralistic Pandit Nehru to his aggressive and confident daughter Indira to the policy which somewhat bent towards ‘realpolitik’ under the guidance of Narsimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is now being run on an adhoc basis on twitter accounts. Every entry is subsequently denied and apologised for.

But ‘diplomacy’ and twiiter would have been far removed from the mind of Captain Devinder Singh Jass of the 1st Parachute Regiment of the Indian Army, who at the same point of time had surrounded a house in the Sopore dist. in J&K, alongwith his team of crack commandoes. As per their information Pakistani terrorists had taken shelter in that particular house. But, as news reports suggest, it was a classic case of double cross or misinformation, depending on what you believe! The militants were well positioned in a number of surrounding houses, and opened fire. In the resulting chaos, Capt. Jass was taken captive by the terrorists and murdered by brutally slitting his throat. The ensuing battle lasted for three days and the body of Capt. Jass could not be retrieved for nearly twenty four hours. The intensity of the battle can now very well be imagined. Two other commandoes of the 1st parachute regiment also lost their lives in the battle.

Two days later in New Delhi while the ashes of Sopore were still smouldering, one could hear the same soporific, ‘we conveyed our views on terrorism’ ‘talks went on as expected’ line. This after the Pakistani foreign secretary categorically asserted that “Kashmir remains the core issue”, and further referred to the dossiers on the Mumbai attack as “literature”.

Remember that Hafiz Saeed still roams free, spewing venom on India, unhindered and uninterrupted! Apparently, the Pakistani government treats the dossiers as not even ‘literature’, but ‘pulp fiction’. Read it, and throw it.

The signs had as usual, been ominous for the days preceding the 25th February ‘talks’. “We did not kneel before India, it is they who have come to us for talks”, thundered Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi , The Pakistani foreign minister at a public rally. Given the fact that after the London conference about Afghanistan, where incidentally India was not even invited, the Pakistanis can sniff the evident change (once again) in the U.S. policy about the region. The Pakistanis have leveraged the home bred terrorist to good advantage (again, once again). The Americans under Obama, who are desperate to get out of Afghanistan have literally given the Pakistanis the green signal to provide them a face saver and help them in getting out with their dignity still intact. That whether the same will happen is another issue.

The Pakistani belligerence which had gone quiet after the international condemnation after 26/11 has to be understood in the context of the American dilemma. With the Americans off their back, we can expect the Pakistanis to focus full time on India and its unfinished agenda of partition and the revenge for the creation of Bangladesh.

But how long will the Indian foreign policy look in askance towards other nations? When the whole world is looking to serve its interests we are still groping in the dark. The foreign policy is being conducted in a manner which is akin to the story of the blind men being asked to explain an elephant by feeling it. Everybody who is a somebody, has his own way of conducting the foreign policy.

But the question which desperately needs an answer: For how long???

For how long will bravehearts like Devinder Singh Jass sacrifice their lives for something which is not even clearly defined. Incidentally Captain Jass was three months from completing an MBA when he was selected for the India Army. He had already received an offer from the U.S. accountancy firm Deloitte.

He however decided to serve the nation, rather than serve himself. Shortage of motivation anybody?

But why??

This question needs a definitive answer from the powers that be in this country. Why should parents send their wards as lambs for slaughter, when the ministers and bureaucrats (the unholy nexus) change national policy at the drop of a hat. Shashi Tharoor has already expressed his opinion about Saudi Arabia being a “valuable interlocutor” between India and Pakistan.

INTERLOCUTOR!!! Excuse me!!

Since when do we need an interlocutor to intercede on our behalf and request our friends from killing our citizens in Pune, Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad……………..(do we really need this list?). Since when do we need an interlocutor to plead to a roguish nation the need to desist from harassing us? Will Mr. Tharoor seek an interlocutor if some rogue misbehaved with his family! Perhaps he might, but let us for a moment also look at the antecedents of the proposed ‘interlocutor’.

Saudi Arabia remains as the biggest sponsor of Wahabi terrorism which has spread its tentacles worldwide. As any Intelligence officer would vouch for, Saudi petro dollars are the biggest source of funding for the web of madrasas in this country. The link between the madrasas and the resentment in the Muslim community needs no elaboration.

Some interlocutor!

And let us not be befooled by this twitter humbug being an individual expression. From all accounts it appears that it is being used as a sounding board for policies which emanate from the top. Shashi Tharoor getting away unscathed after each ignominy indicates as much only.

The mentality of the Pakistani ruling clique, whether it be the so called democratic forces or the real rulers, the army, can be partially understood from the statement which Mohd. Ali Jinnah gave at the call of the Direct Action Day in 1946, when he infamously uttered, “we have forged a pistol and we intend to use it.”

Needlss to say that the pistol is still being used, because nobody in this country had the guts to stand up and snatch the pistol and use it against its owner. This applies equally for today as it applied for then. Ahimsa as a creed is not cowardice. It is time we understand this. The families of people like Devinder Singh Jass or the innocent students on that fateful evening at the German Bakery in Pune have to be assured that the country will not sell out on the sacrifices of their loved ones.

The government of Pakistan needs to be firmly informed that no discussion of any kind is possible unless and until the tap of this mindless violence is turned off. The Americans might covertly make a hue and cry over this, but it is high time we define our policies and cast them in stone. Governments might come and go, but policies affecting national interest cannot be vacillated upon. The price of indecisiveness and subservience before the Americans is too high.

Otherwise please do not cry over a shortfall off officers in the Army…….