MONKEY BUSINESS

The jungle of Youngistan was an area of tranquillity amongst the various jungles in the world. Ruled by the Lion, the food chain was in order, with each getting what it required, as per the law of nature. Though nothing was in excess, but the idea of contentment which was inherited by the animals from their predecessors ensured that no animal hankered for that ‘extra’, which had become the bane of other forests. Life passed on peacefully.

Peaceful and content, though Youngistan might have been, the jungles all around were changing. Most of the Jungles were now becoming Jungles of Concrete instead of Jungles of trees. The animals who were propagating issues of environment were cutting trees on the sly and then resorting to compelling the meek and timid jungles to save trees, so that they could get more trees to cut.

But away from all the hullabaloo, Youngistan was at peace with itself. Complying with the law of the jungle, the king Lion did partake his food by devouring his share of the animals, but nobody complained. For not only was the Lion wise and sagacious , but his enormous strength ensured that his subjects never felt threatened by any other animal from the surrounding jungles of concrete. Any attempt to encroach on the territory and inhabitants of Youngistan was sternly dealt by the Lion.

With the passage of time, some monkeys of Youngistan, who had been captured by the Circus people of one of the Jungle of Concrete but had now become useless with the introduction of events like the ‘laughter challenge’ were left back in Youngistan. These monkeys, who had travelled around other jungles with their performance of dancing and jumping up and down the trampoline, now felt like an outcaste in the languid atmosphere of Youngistan. With the King Lion around, they dare not try any ‘monkey business’ with the other animals of Youngistan, for they shivered at the thought of punishment which would be meted out by the Lion, in case they got caught, which knowing the Lion, they would. On the contrary, in the Jungle of Concrete, with its law enforcing body of Central Bureau of Idiots, nobody would ever get caught.

“Why can we not have the Central Bureau of Idiots” would crib Kapi the monkey, who being the perfect imitator, had watched innumerable episodes of Adalat and picked up the mannerisms of a lawyer. He was referred to as Kapi the Vakil by his Band of Monkeys. The band also consisted of Mamo, who did not have a mind of his own and simply followed the dikats of Soni the monkey who did not originally belong to Youngistan, but had met them subsequently at the Circus. Since she was not accepted by her own jungle folks who were now ruled by Silvio the King Of Monkey business, she had come to Youngistan. Since Mamo did not have a mind of his own, and Kapi had seen that such animals were called as Economists in the Jungle of Concrete, he was referred to as Mamo the Economist. Mamo felt thrilled whenever he was called so.

But the star in this band was neither, Kapi, nor Soni or Mamo, but Baba the monkey. Baba who was the son of Soni was strikingly good looking for a monkey. Amongst the band which was haggard and tired after spending a life time in the circus, Baba’s looks was a talking point. He was referred to by other names based on products in the Jungle of Concrete, Yuvraj, Amul were some of the titles he had earned.

But Kapi could crib about the CBI only in private, for he was scared to death of the Lion. Kapi, incidentally, had befriended a rat like animal on his way back to Youngistan and named it B’char, after his fondness for the pickle. B’char was smaller than the rat and very timid in nature. But Kapi was very fond of him.

The monkeys were however very uncomfortable after their return. Though they had been welcomed back after their arrival by other animals, the presence of the Lion would not let them sleep in peace. The tricks learnt in the Jungle of Concrete could be displayed in his presence at their peril. As providence would have it, Kapi came across Raja the jackal. Raja was a disgruntled jackal, who had been punished by the King after one of his misadventures in the past. Raja took his name seriously, “Arre what King” he would say,” he is an usurper”, he would go on, “I am the real Raja”. He had a motley group of friends in Manti the skunk, Power the fat mouse and Karu the Racoon, all carrying resentment against the Lion.

The band of monkeys now had friends.

One day, Kapi had a brainwave.

“This is dictatorship” he would say, “In the jungles of concrete, which has tall buildings, shopping malls, multiplexes and the laughter challenge, this would not do” he would go on. Kapi would then take out photographs of the Jungle of concrete and show it to the animals who would inquisitively gather around. Some animals would be impressed by what they saw, “how do we get this” they would ask. “simple” karu would say, “ get what the Jungle of Concrete has.”

“What?” the impressed animals would say.

“Elect your leader” Power would add.

“But we already have a leader” the animals would say, “the Lion”.

“Arre, what leader?” Raja would now join in, “look what he brought you,” Only trees and talks of happiness. Now take a look at the real happiness,” the photographs would be again circulated.

B’char would quitely witness this sitting in the lap of Kapi. Mamo would only look at Soni for guidance, who in turn would look at Baba radiantly.

“Yes, we can” now reverberated around Youngistan, “enough of contentment”.

The Lion did nothing, for he loved his subjects. Moreover he had seen enough of life to desperately hanker for kingship. Although one roar from him would have ensured that “Yes we can” converted to “No, we can’t”, but he did not roar. The demand was conceded to.

Now everyone in the band of monkeys wanted Baba to become their leader. But Soni would have none of it. “What if the Lion decides to come back” she thought, “Baba might be in trouble.”

“Mamo will be our leader,” she exclaimed. The rest had no choice, “Yea, so be it” they screeched, for they did not want this opportunity to go.

Mamo did not know what to say. Actually, he had know idea as to what was going on. Well, that he had no idea about anything, except look towards Soni could not be revealed before everyone.

The first few months went of peacefully. The Lion stayed in the background, content with what he had, which apart from his dietary requirements was not much. Laughter Challenge was introduced, and everybody was happy.

Unnoticed, B’char started gaining weight.

But Youngistan was very happy. They would roll over with laughter after watching Laughter challenge.

However, Vicky the Cockatoos started detecting something fishy. Vicky had a habit of eavesdropping into conversation amongst animals and then not keeping that secret to himself. He literally leaked secrets, and had therefore earned the nickname, “Vickleaks’.

Now Vicky overheard the conversation Raja, Power and Karu were having with the animals of Jungle of Concrete. He also noticed that any animal passing by B’char would start losing weight whereas B’char was growing by the day. The birds and animals passing by B’char would externally appear to be alright but would internally loose all flesh leaving only the skeleton behind.

Vikyleaks now put two and two together and started screaming ,”Look at B’char, look at B’char,” it sounded desperate, as other animals gathered around, “it is becoming fat, while the rest of the animals are growing weak.”

Vicky leaks also shared the conversations it had overheard amongst Raja, Karu, Kapi and the animals of Jungle of Concrete.

Youngistan now became agitated. As it is, they had become bored with the Laughter Challenge and now this. They marched towards the tree, which was home to Mamo. “We demand an answer” they told Mamo.

They could now see B’char growing menacing by the second. B’char now looked like a beast. A dinosaur would have looked like a pygmy in front of B’char. It was sucking life out of animals, in front of the rest.

“You must do something” they pleaded before Mamo.

Mamo looked at Soni, who looked radiantly at Baba, oblivious of the events.

“Say something” the animals would say, “ the Lion would always look after us and listen to us” they said.

The reference of the Lion brought a frown on the face of Soni. Seeing this, Mamo turned towards the protesting animals, “I deny the veracity, authenticity or the very existence of the conversations reported by Vickleaks” he said.

“Fine, deny it, but what about the menacing size assumed by B’char” the animals retorted, “an animal which could be barely seen by the naked eye, now reaches the sky,” they were angry.

“The growth of B’char is a figment of your imagination” Mamo said confidently, “ he is such an innocuous animal.”

“Do something about B’char. It is alive and growing,” the animals were by now pleading, “The Lion would have done something.”

The reference of Lion again brought Soni and consequently Mamo into action. He started to swing from tree to tree in front of B’char, without doing anything.

“What is this?” the animals demnded.

“Action, my dear friends” Kapi the lawyer spoke out, “after all you do expect a monkey to fight like a Lion, do you?” Kapi had his usual smirk on his face, “please applaud your leader for taking action”.

Soni, started to clap, without even bothering to look towards the swinging Mamo. She looked radiantly at Baba, who sat like his usual doll self, without uttering a word. .

The dove, the peaceful dove, had by now had enough. “If this is the action you propose to take” he said, “I will sit down on this branch and fast myself to death”.

The band of monkeys felt nothing……initially.

The Lion, who was a witness to everything, sat reclusively, without any reaction. But his eyes betrayed his emotions. Some animals swore that they saw a spark in those stone cold eyes.

By now, the animals started gathering around the tree where the dove was on a fast unto death. First they came like narrow streams, which suddenly started gathering momentum.

B’char was least affected by this. It had grown even bigger since the agitation started. Mamo was swinging from tree to tree, “I am taking action.”

Finally, Kapi had another brainwave, “okay, if you want more action” he said , “we will form a team of animals who eat less, and let them come up with a proposal to bring back B’char back to size. Since the team will have animals who eat less, we can refer to the team as Kameaty”.

The animals were very happy, “hail, the dove” they said , “now B’char will be brought back to size.” They cantered back to their Laughter Challenge.

B’char was by now reaching the heavens. Even the Gods were getting restless, as anybody would be if they had somebody staring into their living rooms.

The dove was very restless. Vickyleaks was still shouting at the top of his voice, shouting about the monkey business going on. The band of monkeys had gone back to their work.

The Lion is watching……………

Will it remember its strength and attack????????/

Answers, anybody?

The Choice

“नानी तेरी मोरनी को मोर ले गए, बाकी जो बचा था काले चोर ले गए”.

Wrote Raja Mehdi Ali for the film Masoom in 1962. He further went on,

“उन चोरों की खूब खबर ली मोटे थानेदार ने, मोरों को भी खूब नचाया जंगल की सरकार ने "

The song sung by Baby Ranu Mukherji and set to music by the legendary Hemant Kumar, symbolised the simple and at yet the naïve times in freshly independent India.

Indira Gandhi subsequently launched her nationalisation and licence quota raj regime. Manmohan Singh followed it up with his liberalisation policies, first as Finance Minister and subsequently in his avatar as Prime Minister.

The thaanedars now found it expedient to join the chors and the Mores (peacocks)…well their dance became item numbers only.

The transparency international which every year brings out an integrity index indicates the fall in the integrity and probity of us Indians, as we keep on slithering down years after year, leading to a real danger of slipping out of the list altogether.

But are we Indians really concerned ???

The UPA I and its sequel, which ostensibly came to power on the premise of ‘कांग्रेस का हाथ आम आदमी के साथ’ slowly but steadily transformed into thousand headed monster of corruption which began to devour the very aam aadmi who had presumbaly brought it to power.As if the CWG scam, the 2 G scam, the S-band spectrum scam, the Adarsh society scam,the CVC shame, the never ending Hasan Ali Khan saga, the Radia tapes and stuff were not enough, the Wikileaks cables confirmed the worst fears people had about the pretensions of democracy in this country. The fact that money power had been unabashedly used to win the vote of confidence in the previous Lok sabha was confirmed by the U.S diplomatic cables.

And the response from a government led by a man whom his self appointed media managers proclaim as a ‘man of impeccable honesty and integrity’, has been so typical of seeking the technicalities of the incident happening in the previous Lok Sabha or simply denying any such incident or challenging the opposition on an election fought and won, ignoring the fact that he has never fought any election as an individual candidate.

The response of the government to the momentous occasion of Anna Hazare going on an ‘fast unto death’ also shows the unwillingness of the political class and the bureaucray to learn from its mistakes and make a new begining, at least at this stage. The mistakes which now make India amongst the most, if not the most corrupt country in the world, where everything which is unlawful can be done provided you are able to make the correct bid and where every law abiding and law implementing person leaves his home scared as to whether he will come back to his family that day. If you do not believe this, perhaps the case of Dr.B.P.Singh, a CMO, in the U.P.Govt. muredered a few days back or of a Manjunath the young IOC officer, might serve as a reminder.

The Prime Minister, who had all the time in the world to sit in leisure and the watch the India Pakistan world cup quarter final in Mohali, a few days back (incidentally the Indo Pak negotiations have again started without any pre condition), has no time for Anna Hazare and passes of the responsibility of the main demand of the adoption of the Jan Lok Pal bill,to the EGOM on corruption.

A unique facet of modern day governance in India is to create committtees for every issue under the sun, from one on corruption, to the right toilet paper for the ministers and perhaps the Parliamentarians, to who should be the next coach of the indian Cricket team.

The concept of committee has been very aptly summed up by the following quote:

"A committee is a group of people who individually can do nothing, but who, as a group, can meet and decide that nothing can be done." -Fred Allen

The concept of Parliament and cabinet has been given the short shrift, perhaps because the leader himself has entered the Parliament on a false declaration of being a resident of a state which he has hardly been to in an individual capacity.

It is interesting to note the composition of the EGOM on corruption which included lumonaries as Veerapa Moily, Kapil Sibal, and last but not the least Sharad Pawar. Kapil Sibal has earned millions defending the indefensible and made the famous comparison of the CAG estimate of loss under 2G spectrum sale as a ‘notional loss’. Today, the CBI which behaves more of a pet poodle rather than a police dog has filed a charge sheet in the same case, but Sibal continues anyway. Sharad Pawar, who has since resigned from the EGOM, must perhaps be the biggest land owner in Maharashtra through legal and benami means, and has his fingers in every pie, except his duty as agriculture minister and was perhaps the last person with credentials to serve on such a committee or on other thoughts, perhaps the perfect credentials.

The government which appears to be under pressure because of growing public frustration has now resorted to typical bureaucratic double talk of acceding to the demand of Anna Hazare to the formation of a committee of Civil activists and ministers to draft a Lok Pal bill by consensus. The double talk is exposed by a dead giveaway that it will not be formally constituted but will meet informally under the chairmanship of who else, but the eternal fire fighter Pranab Mukherjee, whose contribution in the “ONLY VIMAL” brand is all too well known.

It is clear as day light that the left to themselves the politicians will never bring in any anti corruption mechanism. The denigration of the office of the CVC and the CBI bears no reiteration. The hand of the politicians and the bureaucrats will have to be forced. Rest assured that the fight will be drawn out and tedious. The Egypt or the Tunisian model will not work out for us, since the country is hopelessly divided along religious, linguistic and caste fault lines. The very candle lighters and socialites who today sings paeans in praise of Anna Hazare were the ones who thronged the streets of Mumbai, post 26/11 vowing to eliminate the politicians, and within months voting the same people to power who had brought upon them this calamity.

The government will have to be arm twisted into pursuing the money launderers with billions or perhaps trillions stashed away abroad. If the ill gotten wealth of despots and dictators lying in tax havens can be frozen on the request of the concerned country, what stops the government of India from using its economic and strategic muscle to enforce this ‘freeze’, more so in light of the fact that one Mr Q has already emptied his account, and hopefully made payment to the right persons.

This battle will require introspection by each and every citizen about the nature of the country which we wish to leave for our children, as it is not about us but for forthcoming generations. The choice is stark, either we go the way of the Japanese who withstood the calamity of enormous proportions with equanimity, which stems from their inherent honesty or the way of Somalia where even the drought relief is looted and sold in open market. The choice is entirely ours.

In the meanwhile, let a million Anna Hazares bloom.

GANDHIANS WITH GUN!

Summer vacations are the time when the Bengali traveller lets his hair down. Summers might rank as the second most favoured period for the Bengalis after the Durga Puja or the ‘Pujo’ as they prefer to call it. Trains, ‘special’ or otherwise are choc a bloc. Added with the tenacity a ticket checker pulls in people inside the trains, the position inside the Kurla bound Howrah- Kurla, Gyaneshwari express can be imagined as it left Howrah for its onward journey.

On board the train alongwith the sea of humanity were seven year twins Shirin and Sharmin, wearing identical coloured frocks, enroute to Mumbai accompanied by their parents. It was the first trip the twins had in their short lives. Short indeed it was going to be, for the twins had no inkling that the ‘Gandhians with Gun’ had laid a trap enroute. As is their ilk, the Central and the State government have no clue as to what the methodology of the sabotage was, and what emerges from the media reports that the train was either hit by a landmine explosion or by an even cruder method of removing the fish plates. As the train got derailed, it was hit by a goods train travelling on a parallel track in the opposite direction.

The result- At least 100 people including women and children had been decimated by the “Gandhians with Gun’. Shirin and Sharmin, who were fast asleep when the ‘Gandhian with Gun’ intervened in their lives, died in sleep, in each others arms.

The railway minister says that the casualty figure could have been less if the goods train had not hit the derailed train. She further went on to blame the state government as ‘law and order’ was ‘state subject’. We can equally be certain that the state government will in equal measure blame the railway minister for this tragedy and the blame game will go on.

But does it make any difference to Shirin and Sharmin?????

The signs had been ominous since the ‘Gandhians with Gun’ started gaining ascendance in neighbouring Nepal. The government of the day (UPA-I) supported the Govt. of Nepal with military advise and supply of arms in order to ensure that the ‘Gandhian with Gun’ did not entrench themselves in India’s backyard and thereby start giving colour to their picture of the ‘Red Corridor’ through India’s tribal hinterland into Nepal and henceforth into the dream of the ‘Gandhian with Gun,’ China. But the distant cousins of the ‘Gandhians with Gun’, otherwise known as the Communists raised such a hue and cry that the support to a friendly government was stopped.

The result- The Nepalese version of the ‘Gandhians with Gun’ triumphed over a rudderless monarchy. That the distant cousins are being targeted by these ‘neo Gandhians’ is well, nature’s revenge, shall we say!

The Prime minister has called the Maoists as the ‘greatest threat to India’s internal security’. But the lady who matters evidently favours a ‘soft approach’ and the ‘King in waiting’ says nothing, absolutely nothing, about what his P.M calls the greatest threat. In a situation like this do we for a moment doubt the Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s cry of a ‘limited mandate.’ When the government pulls in different directions, what hope did Shrin and Sharmin have of surviving this assault. The railways have now apparently halted night operations in Naxal prone areas, for the time being. What next? Perhaps paying ‘goonda tax’ to the ‘Gandhians with Gun’ to permit plying of trains in ‘their areas’.

That the ‘Gandhians with Gun’ never had peace on their agenda is evident from the manner in which they have repeatedly attacked anything to do with the Indian establishment, stretching from Schools (especially girls), roads, police personnel, industries.

One thing is very clear, prominent personalities with an eye on the Nobel Peace prize might refer to them as Gandhians or justify their aggression in 32 page article in prominent magazines, or prefer a ‘softer approach’ but these people are criminals, nothing less, nothing more. Romanticizing their mores might make good copy, but ask the people at the end of these neo Gandhian ways of protest, and the answer will be very clear.

The overt and covert support of these so called civil rights activists acts as oxygen to these criminals in their effort to dislodge the Indian state. So Dr. Binayak Sen, a paediatrician by training and profession visits a jailed Naxal leader, ostensibly to check up on his ‘cardiac problems’, Ms Arundhati Roy receives an invitation to visit the ‘Gandhians with Gun’ to visit their abode in Dantewada, after which the ‘writer’ refers to the Home Minister as ‘CEO of the War’ and the drive against the naxals is addressed in even more beautiful prose and even solid reason, sample one appearing in THE OUTLOOK :

“Over the past five years or so, the governments of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal have signed hundreds of MoUs with corporate houses, worth several billion dollars, all of them secret, for steel plants, sponge-iron factories, power plants, aluminium refineries, dams and mines. In order for the MoUs to translate into real money, tribal people must be moved.

Therefore, this war.”

With fellow citizens like this did the people aboard the Gyaneshwari express or the CRPF company in Dantewada have any hope? Does this nation for whatever its ills, have any hope with people like this? Does anyone recall any condemnation from these and others of their ilk for this mindless violence being perpetrated by these propagators of hate.

However it would be foolish to blame the so called civil rights activists for all that is going wrong in these operations. The fact that these criminal leaders are simply exploiting a raw nerve in the tribal people of these regions and their antipathy to the skewed process of the ‘so called development’ in these regions, cannot be for a moment denied. That the Indian state has failed miserably to provide succour even to the urban areas is no mystery. With even the urban areas in such dilapidation, the plight of the tribal areas can well be imagined. The Maoists leaders have simply encashed the resentment of these people.

But the fact also remains that this war is not being fought by these poor exploited tribals but by their proxies, aka these criminals. Even in the wildest imagination and for whatever our pseudo intellectuals might propagate, the tribals have neither the knowhow nor the resources to plant IED’s on the roadsides or rail tracks or ambush the para military personnel in a professionally trained manner with sophisticated arms and ammunitions.

Obviously there is a lot to it than meets the eye. Therefore it becomes all the more imperative that this menace being spread by the ‘Gandhians with Gun’ is met head on. The government cannot abdicate its responsibility for the sake of pleasing individuals and their quest to attain immortality. The Prime Minister has to, for once, assert his authority rather than looking in askance towards, well, we all know who!

It has been made amply clear by these Maoists that they want to attain a position where they can bargain from a position of strength. It remains a core strategy of guerrilla warfare, “Negotiate from strength”. The step of forcing the government to halt night operations of trains is a small but significant step in that direction. We can safely presume that the level of violence will be gradually increased by the Maoists, till the government calls for a ceasefire and negotiation. As sure as hell, this period of ceasefire will further lull the government and its moribund bureaucracy into complacency, and will be utilised by the Maoists to gather strength, revive its cadre base (after all, they become equal to the mighty state as negotiating partners, which leads to more disgruntled element drifting towards it). Negotiations are called off once the purpose of the guerrilla has been achieved and strength recovered, and we get back to the war zone.

The government has to believe in the saying, “Fight a guerrilla, like a guerrilla,” if we wish to succeed. For the initial phase force has to be met with force, not that it is not being done now, but the force has to plan its action, co-ordinate its movements and last but not the least have a uniform policy. The Nobel peace prize aspirants can come later when the Maoists are forced to negotiate rather than the other way round. In a situation like this collateral damage is an unfortunate fact, but isn’t that being sustained right now? Have look at the images of the mangled remains of the Gyaneshwari express and the body of Sharmin being lifted out of it, in case of any doubt.

The effort to start development projects (ostensibly, for that apparently is the motivation of the Maoists) will not make any headway at this stage and the state lends itself to discredit by yielding to force. Not that the Maoists leaders really care for development anyway! Blowing up schools, damaging the already dilapidated roads, maiming innocent people is no way to development, is it? This farce of lack of development as a reason for these senseless acts needs to be exposed for what it really is…….A FARCE!!!

Development can only be considered and implemented in periods of peace and not war. The fact that successive governments failed to provide this since independence remains a flaw which however cannot be rectified by this mayhem and loss of innocent lives.

The state has to stand up for the right of its citizens which includes the tribals who are being led on a merry go round by these criminals. The message that any grievance can only be addressed through peace has to go down loud and clear. The government has to emphasise that whatever Mao might have said and people like Kobad Ghandy believed, “Power cannot be allowed to flow through the barrel of the gun.” This should apply to all, stretching from the games being played by Issak Muivah in Nagaland, Syed Geelani in Kashmir, the Maoists in nearly 1/4th of the country, people like Raj Thackrey or the Khap Panchayats in Haryana.

The Rule of law has to prevail, if the country or Bharat that is India is to survive.

And Ms. Arundhati Roy, Gandhi would not have been Gandhi if he had picked up the Gun. Or perhaps she was referring to Kobad Ghandy!!!

Perhaps one day, we will come across a 03 lines article by Ms. Roy telling the heart rending story of Shirin and Sharmin. But then again it does not make goody copy!

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…….

PEHCHAN KAUN !

“What’s in a name,” said William Shakespeare, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

However such sentiments are nothing new for us Indians. Thousands of years ago, the Vedas talked of all paths leading to God. It seems that even the great bard was a follower of the Vedic ideas, or how else would he express the same sentiments albeit in a different manner. But let us not talk of the Vedas and the saints or our legacy and tradition, for I do not wish to be categorized and therefore for being ‘communal’.

Without digressing from the sentiments expressed by Shakespeare, it has been established that we Indians care two hoots for any name. Look around yourself, a Suresh would go through all his life being referred to as ‘Ramesh’ by his Boss, without so much as flinching. The boss is always right, you see. However we carry these sentiments of calling a Rose a Mushroom to other realms of life also. For us life is such a Que Sera Sera that we ride in dilapidated buses which pass off as public transport, two people are reserved the same seat on a train journey and both manage with the same felicity without a murmur of protest. Both ‘adjust’ on the same seat with each sleeping with his feet touching the head of the other, we even manage with smelly socks at such times.

Protest! No Sir, that is reserved for times when Saurav Ganguli is dropped from the Indian team (we miss those times since Ganguli retired) or when the Marathi Manoos like the Dinosaur, faces extinction and definitely not when a Cabinet Minister’s claim for thousands of crores of profit through his fodder management theory is rubbished by his successor (Nano bhagao Bengal bachao fame). That on both occasions the Prime Minister remained the same economist, who is a firm believer in the laws of probability where your moto remains ‘Probably Madam wants me to speak or probably she wants me to remain mum’. With a theory like this, you cannot fail! Accountability!!! What’s that??

Therefore it is absolutely disgusting to witness the grumblings from a minority about the Tricolour not being unfurled at the Lal Chowk in Srinagar on the 26th of January this year.
Big deal!! I tell you what is difference between the Tricolour being or not being unfurled at Lal Chowk ! As it is, it was taken down within a couple of hours after being unfurled at the Lal Chowk during the last Republic day, ostensibly because a large crowd approached the area in protest.

What difference does it make anyway, Baba? Flag or no flag!!

Let’s not grumble about the effect of symbols on national life. As it is, we are used to leading a symbolic life. Have a doubt? Look around, what passes of as the holy Ganges, is nothing but a flowing mass of sewerage, dead bodies, chemical waste. The water has turned septic at places. But that something called faith, keeps us going, doesn’t, it? You still have people using the holy water on auspicious occasions. So you call it the Ganges or septic water, what difference does it make?So why this hullabaloo about the tricolour!

I hate this minority who whimper that the tricolour was being unfurled by the security forces for the past 17 years, and this decision to give the ceremony a go by is an insult to the nation and the freedom fighters who gave up their home and hearth for the sake of the nation.

Oh come now, didn’t the great Arundhati Roy (my salutations to her) describe the national flag as something best suited to be used a shroud. What brilliance, isn’t it?? So what are we cribbing about? We should be happy that somebody had the wisdom of consigning the shroud to the best place possible……..(let’s skip the elaboration, your guess is as good as mine). In case of any doubt, please contact the Goddess of the Final word.

But the sentimental fools still don’t take the hint. The freedom fighter laid down their lives for the flag they say, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and common folk have done the same after freedom, they carry on. Fools!! you still don’t take the hint, do you? Laying down their lives and shrouds!! Don’t get the connection!

Some worthy remarked that since the area of Lal Chowk had been taken over by the J& K police the ceremony was deliberately skipped, as previously the area was under the control of the Central para-military forces . Now you can take your Tricolour alongwith you, as you vacate this place, somebody must have said. That the same somebody had never even as much raised a whimper when their land has been infiltrated by mercenaries from Pakistan Afghanistan, Chechnya and other such exotic lands and their people looted and raped, is obviously a trivial.

I was moved to hear some great politician (my General awareness is so limited that I could not identify the gentleman or was it lady in with a Kashmiri scarf over her head?) say that the act of raising the tricolour was “an act of needless provocation” to the people of the city and that it was good that it was given a go by.

BARVO! BRAVO!

Let us all give this person a standing ovation for stating the truth. Such a needless provocation it was, year after year, for 17 long and horrible years. Watching it go up and flutter for one day in a year. Oh, the pain! The insensitivity! Acts of such and similar ‘needless provocations’ are a part of our mores it seems.

Remember the ‘needless provocations’ indulged in by the Kashmiri Pandits on the hapless people of the state and their ‘foreign guests’ which continued since centuries till those glorious nights in 1990, when the brave ‘secular’ muezzins from the mosques, supported by equally ‘secular’ politicians and bureaucrats in New Delhi let loose the chivalrous call for the Kashmiri Pandits to pack up and leave the state in one hour and leave their women folk behind. For centuries these people had lived in their homes and indulged in ‘needless provocation’ by just being there. Shameless people!! Rightfully were they driven away in perhaps one the biggest exodus in human history. And even more rightfully the government of the day looked away. After all nobody supports the ‘provocateurs’, do they?

The best part is that some ‘secular’ politician (glory be to them) some day is sure to pick up the ‘needless provocation’ bit and say that the brave Kasab had been ‘needlessly provoked’ by the Mumbaikars into visiting the city with his ‘friends’. Even Afzal Guru had been ‘needlessly provoked’ by the hungama being created in the Parliament.

I love this stuff, we can go on and on about ‘needless provocation’! But let us leave it at that, and let the readers (if there are any) come up with more ‘needless provocation’ stories.

But the award for The William Shakespeare “What’s in a name” award, goes to………………….
No, not the Lal Chowk warriors or the bravehearts in New Delhi who did not raise as much as a squeak over the issue, but……

The ministry of Women and Child Development, who in their advertisement for the Girl Child day placed a photograph of the former Vice Chief of the Pakistan Air Force, Tanvir Mahmood Ahmad alongwith the photographs of the Lady with a sphinx like silence, the Prime Minister (yes they are separate people, whatever your smirks might say). The other personalities blessed with honour in the Advertisement were Kapil Dev, Virender Sehwag, Amzad Ali Khan.

I fully agree with the Minister for the department, Krishna Tirtah, who defended the mistake with a spiritual ‘we should look into the spirit of the Ad’. Attaboy, or Attagirl, Madame Tirath, what’s in a name or a photograph after all. We could have placed the Great Kasab alongside a snap of Yuvraj Gandhi, Musharaff alongside Mahatma Gandhi. What’s in a name or photograph, after all? Aren’t Obama and Osama only a word apart.

But as usual, the fuss over this ‘spirit’ is remarkable. Heads are being called for, by the same useless people who shout over Google China showing Arunachal Pradesh as part of China, or fret over the web site of the Commonwealth Games Federation showing parts of Kashmir and Punjab as Pakistani territory.

I ask you guys, don’t these ‘mistake pointers’ have nothing better to do? I mean how can you call printing a Pakistani officer’s photograph in a Govt. ad as being a mistake? Imagine a minister or a bureaucrat finalizing the entire lay out of the ad. Who then will care for the strategic positioning of their individual photograph as near as possible to the Lady who matters. As it is, the Prime Minister is spoiling the entire layout by being sandwiched between them! Now having to care for the entire layout!!

What a waste of time!!

Imagine how hard some bureaucrat must have worked in locating a photograph in a Uniform for being placed in the Ad, and now this ruckus. Only a person who has helped his/her kid with homework will sympathise with this poor man. You work so hard in locating a suitably decked officer and these ungrateful wretches crucify you! What difference does it make anyway? How many countrymen will be able to identify their Air Force Chief anyway? He is no Rahul Mahajan or Rakhi Sawant, is he? Anyway KBC stopped a long time ago and we are not updating our knowledge for free, are we?

So let us all give a standing ovation to the inheritors of the great bards saying, “What’s in a name?”

And will somebody please tone down the volume of that song, “Woh Tiranga Umra Bhar Lehrayega”

MANORANJAN KA BAAP IV

MANORANJAN KA BAAP is back!!!

No sir, I am not talking about my writing, which is also back temporaily, but about the launch of IPL season III.. Hope you guys remember the punchline from the first edition and the original Manoranjan ka Baap.

Like any traditional Indian wedding, the bride’s father (the franchisee owners in this case) have had a hard look at the prospective grooms available in the market(the players) and like the real traditional wedding brought grooms from the market place (the auctions in the instant case) according to the depth of their pockets.

Uncanny resemblance isn’t it?

Like any traditional wedding also, the bride’s father is now showcasing his buy, while the jealous father’s (the one’s left behind) can only look on with envy.

But for a moment Yaad unhe bhi kar lo, jo bazaar mein bik na paaye.

Wonder whether Lata Mangeshkar will sing this for us.

Anyway!

Let us all unitedly cast our mind on those unfortunate Pakistani grooms..oops.. players who appeared all decked up as prospective you know what but found no suitors.

Imagine!! 11 Prospective grooms, with excellent pedigree, and no buyers! Have the bride’s parents gone blind or what??

What to say of Pakistan, even the intellects in this country have gone berserk, the peaceniks have started abusing and threaten to stone anything which moves (which is hardly anything in this country anyway), Kashmir is threatening to secede and Kuldip Nayar has started out on his walk towards the Wagah border with candles in his hand. The newspapers are running out of sheets, the news anchors, especially the intelligent English speaking ones have developed sore throats from trying to outshout anyone who dares to outshout them.

But guess who the only happy soul is!!!

Guess??

I will not proceed any further with this stupid guess part. How will people guess the idiocy only I am capable of thinking. Not even the three idiots!

Sharad Pawar, the agriculture minister and the astrologer in house in the cabinet, has been given respite by the media friends who being too busy with the auction business are not roasting him alive by the ‘food price rise’ business. Finally people are thinking about other pressing issues apart from food and eating. As it is, we Indians think only about eating most of the time. Last heard he was seen praying in Marathi at the Siddhi Vinayak temple (No, we will not press any further on this). I have great respect for the MNS and the Shiv Sena. AAmchi Deva, if you please, and if it makes any sense.

But the most offended have been the parents of the turned down grooms aka the Pakistani players. The interior minister of Pakistan, Rahman Malik was indignation personified when he said that, ‘this showed that India was not serious about talks,’ ‘India should say sorry’, ‘Now they will send a plane to take our players.’

Talks!! Sorry!! Atta boy, Mr. Rahman… Bravo, Bravo!

Some worthy went a step further and opined, ‘India will face the consequences’. ‘Treachery’ , ‘Traeson’ are some of the lighter words that have been used.

I entirely agree with the sentiments expressed by our ‘friends’ from across the border. After all what better way to start the ‘talks’ between the two countries than play Cricket. You see that is why they call it ‘MANORANJAN KA BAAP’. What Sharm-el- Shaikh could not do, IPL would have done. After all it has been a time tested strategy between us to talk through Cricket. We started in 1978 when India went to Pakistan to play cricket, 2003-04 was another ice breaker. That we are still at the staring point on the real issues is completely besides the point.

Now I will let you guys on to a few historical and contemporary secrets, subject to the condition that you guys don’t share it with others. You see what I am going to divulge is from the confidential records of the Intelligence agencies. They are so confidential that even the Intel guys do not know about their existence.

Hold your breath guys, here goes.

Do you guys know why India was partitioned in 1947??

Please do not pay any heed to this nonsense of a political rivalry between Jinnah and Nehru and the underlying fundamental religious differences, or British treachery. Hogwash, I tell you!!!

Anybody who cares about History just needs to travel back to the days of Bodyline when Sir Donald Bradman was sought to be neutralised as a run machine. Now take a careful look at the progenitor of the theory of Bodyline—the one and the only Douglas Jardine. Now what I suggest that we take out any old photograph of Mohd. Ali Jinnah (in case of requirement, contact Jaswant Singh, that is all he has nowadays, you might get a discount).

Now compare the looks, the suits, the gait, the personality………Yessirrr, Jinnah and Jardine were twins separted at birth. The fact like Karna in the Mahabharat was known to Jinnah only, Jardine died blissfully in ignorance. Now let us get back to the main story, cut in brief. Jinnah with the knowledge of his brother having made it big in the field of Cricket, wanted a revenge in the game Jardine played best. Therefore in order to start the fight, he needed to become the captain of the Indian Cricket team.

But history has a strange way of imposing itself. Pandit Nehru, like the politicians of the day, manipulated the selection committee like a puppet. No way would he let Jinaah overtake his favourite player to the captaincy of the country (We will not name the palyer, for we do not no his name anyway).

Jinnah pleaed, cajoled, threatened to retire, even went to the Mahatma for his interference. But the Mahatma, true to his style ‘saw only darkness, wanted the truth to prevail’. Jinnah wanted to know the truth, the way to eliminate the darkness. But the Mahatma, true to his style again, would not tell. So the truth remained untold, darkness persisted. Jinnah had a sneaking feeling that even the Mahatma did not know the truth or the way out. But then who could say so??

So finally Jinnah made up his mind, truth, darkness, celibacy….whatever, if he could not captain India, he would do the next best thing! Create his own country!!!! He thought that once you have your own country, who can stop you from being the captain!

So now you know, the Pakistan day resolution, the call for the Direct Action day, the massive butchery where millions were massacred on both sides, and the real reasons behind the creation of Pakistan. Jinnah only forgot one thing in the whole scheme-----His advancing age.

But he pledged that day, that he will get his revenge from these Indians. Pakistanis will get their due in Indian Cricket. They will not ask for it, but grab it.

The records of the intelligence agencies categorically indicate Ajmal Amir Kasab, the poor innocent guy, who was caught in Mumbai on that fateful night, was no terrorist who along with his team members was alleged to have gunned down around 200 people, as he has been pleading all along, but an aspiring cricketer who wished to be a part of the Manoranjan ka Baap. But the Indian agencies in connivance with the IPL framed them in this massive deceit. The poor fellow has been crying hoarse (and getting fat in the comforts of the prison) that he did not fire at people but infact had been framed, he further has asserted in court that the firing in Mumbai in those fateful days was carried out by Indians. Interestingly Kasab’s team was made up of 10 players only. Jinnah remains the non playing captain of all such teams. And you know the reasons behing this Indian chicanery.

No sir, not because these guys were out here to destroy India as a part of a long drawn process, but ostensibly because the Indians would go to any extent to deprive the Pakistanis to play Cricket in India.

Does this claim in light of the events at the auction and the ‘great betrayal’ of the Pakistani players, not ring true?

The truth has to come out some day. The truth that whatever we might feel about the ‘alleged’ Pakistani sponsored and instigated terrorism which has resulted in two major and two minor wars, resulted in thousands of people being killed, maimed or made homeless is not because of some pathological hatred between the two nations or the overt statement and subsequent policy of ‘bleeding India through a thousand cuts’, but because of the fact that Pakistani players are being denied their share of the pie in Indian money.

Shame on us, for as a nation we are not able to see the truth that there is no terrorism, no mayhem and the fact that Indian Fathers must choose on Pakistani grooms for their daughters or else ‘talks will not take place’ or we ‘will face the consequences’. And anybody who talks about Indian artists not being allowed to perform in Pakistan or about the Indian youth dying a needless death while facing these cricketers from Pakistan in the valleys and mountains of Kashmir, the sand dunes of Rajasthan or even the streets of the urban India will get a bloodied nose from the peaceniks in India.

Let us all solemnly unite behind the call to force these franchisees to take Pakistani players on board, pay them the highest amount of money, let them relax in the Bahamas (playing might result in injuries and further threats of No talks) while the rest of the guys of the team slog it out. After all anything for talks and safety from ‘consequences’.

Hasn't that been the Indian Tradition?

They do not call it the Manoranjan Ka Baap for nothing, do they?

THE SHAME AT SHARM-EL-SHEIKH

“Foreign policy,” they say in strategic parlance, “is the art of fighting a war without the firing of bullets.” If this be the case, then India has finally succumbed in the face of Pakistani aggression by the rather pathetic surrender of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the NAM summit at Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt. Pakistan for all practical purposes has been given the green signal to continue with its policy “of thousand cuts.”

Hardly had the embers from the Mumbai 26/11 attack died down, when the P.M. in his meeting with Pak P.M Gilani agreed that “Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.” As if this was not enough, the P.M went a step further and agreed to the notion “that Pakistan has some information on threats in Baluchistan and other areas.”

Therefore my dear friends, in other words, the victim now becomes the accused. Thanks to the ingenuity of the P.M and his team, the biggest casualty of terrorism in the world, stands accused of fomenting unrest in a country which for all practical purposes, is the cradle of terrorism world wide.

The spin doctors of the P.M, who by now must be really tired up of covering up for his gaffes are making their best efforts once again for this misdemeanour. Shiv Shankar Menon, the outgoing Foreign Secretary, has called it a case of ‘poor drafting’.

Come again!!!!

Poor drafting, you say, Mr.Menon! A nation and everything it stands up for is sold off by poor drafters, you say!

Kindly notice the deceit in the fact that news reports now suggest that these two issues were included in the agreement at the insistence of the P.M himself.

Poor drafting, indeed!

Even by the low standards of bureaucrats in India, this is a new low. To think of it, we have still not reached the abyss. It is only in India, where people hardly give a damn for the nation can the P.M and his team of nincompoops get away with an act which ranks at par with treachery.

Treachery!! Harsh word, but justified in the context of things. The P.M seems to be suffering from a chronic case of deciding foreign policy on his own whims and fancies, rather than arriving at a consensus amongst his colleagues in the cabinet atleast, if not in the Parliament. Last month in Russia, he decided impromptu to meet the Pak President Zardari and spoke about the ‘limited mandate’.

The query the nation had for the P.M as to who authorised the limited mandate had still not been answered, when the nation received this shocking news of ‘delinking of terrorism with the dialogue process’.

In effect, the P.M of a nation which has been ravaged by Islamic terrorism for the past 20 years, which has lost thousands of brave soldiers in the face of this brutal form of state policy, a nation which has seen thousands of children orphaned, brother distrusting brother, goes to the country which is progenitor of this policy of ‘thousand cuts’, and says ‘that you are free to spread this cancer even further, kill, rape and maim people, but we will continue the dialogue process irrespective of the facts.’

BRAVO!!!!

Dialogue about what?

Will it be a dialogue to bring back the Kashmiri Brahmins who have been uprooted from their home and hearth, who live the life of a refugee in their own country? Will it be a dialogue to bring back the dead from the frozen heights of Kargil or the moist corridors of the Taj in Mumbai? Will it be a dialogue to hand over Dawood and his cohorts or the great Hafeez Saeed or Maulana Massod Azhar?

Or on the other hand will it be a dialogue to exchange cultural troupes, permit Pakistani artistes to perform in India (not vice versa), open the route between Srinagar and Muzaffrabad, permit Pervez Musharaf to speak vituperatively about India while standing on Indian soil or grant of the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan????

Your guess is as good as mine!

Perhaps somebody should have told late Sandeep Unnikrishnan about this dialogue process when he entered the Taj on that fateful night, or the late Vikram Batra when he inched closer to the enemy before he got hit in Kargil. The train commuters in Mumbai who have stopped taking the locals or are maimed permanently post the bomb blasts should also be invited for this ‘dialogue process.’

That the dialogues since 1947 have not led us anywhere seems to be a trivial to the whole story.

The statements emanating from Egypt are a continuation of a pattern which was set by the P.M a couple of years back, when he proclaimed ‘Pakistan to be a victim of terrorism as much as India.’ The fact that nearly all the terrorists were home-bred in Pakistan was conveniently ignored in the statement. Then came the ‘limited mandate’ stuff in Russia, without as much indicating the authority sanctioning this ‘limited mandate’.

Mumbai 26/11 was an extension of Kargil 1999, with same level of deceit, ruthlessness and same intent to demoralise a nation. General Musharaf, in a recent interview has owned up to Kargil and claimed it to be a victory since it exposed ‘Indian weakness’, and furthermore claims that ‘Kargil forced India to discuss Kashmir’, thereby implying that perhaps Mumbai forced India to accede to its ‘guilt’ in Baluchistan.

Perhaps somebody should have reminded the P.M that since the ascension of I.K.Gujral as P.M in the mid 1990’s, who was similar in his soft approach to Pakistan, RAW was forced to wind up its operations in Pakistan. So much so that in an act of ‘goodwill’ even the identities of the local operatives were leaked out to the ISI. That most of the operatives were either bumped off by the Pak authorities or are languishing in jails without any charges, remains an unfortunate part of the story. History of intelligence agencies is replete with double crosses to protect and propagate one’s interests, but this mass betrayal of one’s interests in order to propagate some woolly eyed principles remains a stand out case. Therefore, even if they wished to, (as they should indeed have) Indians could not foment any trouble in Pakistan, given their lack of local operatives. But given the propensity of the Indian bureaucrat to feather one’s own nest at the cost of the nation, it is not surprising that they perhaps have not read up on their own history.

Whatever the contention of the spin doctors (including most of the newspaper editorials) about the shrewdness and sagacity of the P.M, the fact remains that he has scored an own goal, if one can borrow from sporting parlance. The unfortunate part is that unlike in the sporting field, the repercussions of this ‘own goal’ are catastrophic.

The statement about Baluchistan has ensured that India from being a victim of terrorism has been converted into a propagator of terrorism.

India has let a glorious opportunity to corner an errant neighbour slip out off its hand. Rather than questioning the Pak authorities on the farcical let off of Hafeez Saeed in the Pak courts (apparently the state government of Punjab in Pakistan is fighting the case and not the federal govt), pressurising the government to hand over the fugitives, we have let them off the hook.

At a time when the country is witnessing the tenth year of the bitter victory in Kargil, and on an occasion when the government is apathetic towards its brave sons, the least the nation deserved was a reaffirmation that the sacrifices will not go in vain. The least the leaders could have done was to assure the country that India will not revive any contact with Pakistan till the terror camps are closed down and the wanted fugitives handed over to face justice in this country.

What we received was a self defeating approach towards national matters with no clarity and with different heads looking in different direction, which is worsened by the attempts to defend a mistake of monstrous magnitude whose damage only history will reveal.

The nation deserves an explanation