Let there be rethinking in Kashmir

By J N Raina

Perhaps we need to employ men of determination like the U S President George W Bush , to wipe out terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, which is growing wild like cancer in several other parts of India.

Well-known cartoonist R K Laxman , in a recent cartoon has aptly described the ‘lusterless’ Indian leadership thus : " The U S troops are coming all the way to catch one fellow, bin Laden. Our P M should ask the U S to capture Veerappan also . He has been equally difficult".

The caricature of our ‘harassed’ leaders conveys everything in one sweep.

Is India afraid of the bomb ? Had it not been so, our past prime ministers , down from V P Singh , should have asked Pakistan to ‘lay off’ .

What happened to India’s pro-active policy and ‘hot pursuit’ of Pakistan-based terrorists? When we showed some grit, our opposition parties raised a cacophony and growled Whenever India exhibited some defensible approach, there was a bomb scare from across the border.

When V P Singh gave a ‘clarion call’ in mid 1990, asking people to remain prepared for any ‘eventuality’, Uncle Sam just whispered in his ears: " Please hold on . There is danger ahead . The Pak bomb is ready".

Afghanistan has literally been reduced to a rubble owing to decades of civil war and anarchy, but see the pertinacity of its people. They might be unreasonable and uncivilized , but the word ‘cowardice’ is not found in their dictionary. As compared to the U S might, Afghanistan stands nowhere. But they have the gumption to call the U S’s bluff . Taliban is bold enough to tell the Americans that if the latter were twice as strong as of now, they cannot be cowed down . It is a different matter, Afghanistan has little to loose in war . To quote a non-resident Afghan, his country had already been ‘bombed back to the Stone Age.’

India has been harassed by faceless terrorists for two decades. Mindless killings go on in Jammu and Kashmir. The latest is the massive attack on the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly complex in Srinagar by a suicide squad of the Jaish-e-Muhammad militant outfit, killing over 38 people so far. Scores of people have been left injured, many of them seriously. Thank God, the Assembly was adjourned ten minutes earlier. The gruesome incident is a rebuff to U N resolution against terrorism. Pakistan wants to tell the world that what was happening in Kashmir is ‘indigenous movement’ although the suicide attacker has been identified as one Wajahat Hussain, a Pakistani national.

We have repeatedly brought to the notice of the U S about terrorist training camps being run in Pakistan, PoK and Afghanistan . Neither the U S nor its close allies could take India seriously till the U S was disgraced’ on September 11 by a band of dare-devil terrorists , at the behest of Osama bin Laden. The latest reports suggest that it is bin Laden who rules Afghanistan not Taliban supreme commander Mullah Mohammed Omar.

Pakistan has been fully exposed and India should take advantage of it. The present leadership has a great opportunity to save the country from cataclysm . Terrorism is growing like henbane— a poisonous plant with unpleasant smell.The irony is that Pakistan, the mother of terrorism, has emerged as a frontline state in combating the menace. Global coalition against terrorism has to be minus Pakistan, which is in league with Taliban, because it has fostered it . Mullah Mohammed Omar’s former bodyguard Hafiz Sadiqulla Hassani, in a recent interview has admitted that Taliban is full of Pakistanis and the militants training camps within Pakistan are run by the Pakistani military.

The U S is girding itself now for the 21st century’s first war — war against terrorism. To quote our Foreign and Defence Minister Jaswant Singh’ Sweep of terrorism is Global— it is 360 degrees".

Be as it may, the U S is justified in launching a crusade against Taliban and Laden, the mastermind behind the horrendous attack on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. India being the victim of terrorism , expressed deeply in support of tormented America. The reaction was spontaneous, because India has been wounded by Pakistan’s ‘thousand cuts’ in the name of Islamic jihad.

But the moot point is will the U S shift its stand on Kashmir, away from a ‘neutral’ position? Will the grieving U S tilt its policy towards India ? That is what India has to hope against hope and seek some comfort.

Pakistan came to senses when the US Secretary of State General Colin Powell dictated terms to it, stating : " Either you be with us and extend all help and support, or you are with them ( Taliban) and you will have to face the consequences". Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf was tense and nervous when he addressed to his people on TV following the American dictate. But it is clear there has been some kind of a deal on Kashmir . It was obvious when the U S did not freeze the assets of some more radical groups operating in Kashmir, like the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.’ May be, it is just the beginning.’

There is some kind of a dithering in the U S attitude. It believes that some of the militant outfits India wants to put on the hit list are ‘indigenous’. It is because Pakistan is putting lot of pressure on the U S on Kashmir and wants its own pound of flesh in the bargain.

Ipso facto, definitely, there is a rethinking in the American attitude . The officials there have clarified that it would not accept Pakistan’s demand for intervention on Kashmir, in lieu of that country’s support in fighting terrorism . George Bush has repeatedly said : " It is not just a matter of capturing people and holding them accountable , but removing the sanctuaries, removing the support system, ending states which sponsor terrorism." The last line very well applies to Pakistan . We have some solace in it . When will it happen, is to be seen.

Pakistan continues to propagate that the international community was supportive of its position that the ‘resistance movement’ in Kashmir is not terrorism but struggle for freedom’. To India’s comfort, the U S assured our National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra that " This will not be the end of the story . They will go after other terrorist groups once they are through with this immediate mission".

In yet another development , the U S state department has sought information on 27 terrorist and insurgent groups operating in India. Among the major organizations named are the JKLF, Harkat-ul-Ansar, ULFA and NSCN.

Irreparable damage has been caused to Kashmir’s economy during the past 12 years of proxy war . Let there be rethinking in Kashmir . The Kashmiris have to decide whether they want Afghanistan-type anarchy or democracy, which they passively allow to get derailed by the foreign mercenaries . It is a turning point for them . People, especially the ruling National Conference has a big role to play in fulfilling the dream of late Kashmir leader Sheikh Abdullah, who had likened the valley to a beautiful garden in which flowers of all hue could bloom . No one can live in isolation in the present world.

Unless people of different ethnic groups are allowed to live peacefully, chaos will continue in Kashmir.

The days are gone —— the terrorists and their masters will not be allowed to continue their so-called freedom struggle in the name of Islamic jihad. The world opinion has changed now after American bombing . Time will only tell.

Tehelka Vs SP Vs Congress

By K V S Rama Sarma

The joke going round in the Cap-ital is: stoop to any low to find out how low the other has gone. The reference is obviously to the latest bombshell or sexshell from Tehelka. When the Indian Express flashed the exclusive report about the Tehelka investigative team resorting to supplying call-girls to expose the sex dimension of corrupt military officers, the Capital missed a breath or two and members of Parliament attending the monsoon session got readymade gun-powder to blast the already battered Vajpayee government. For George Fernandes, who has been of late trying to be busy again sorting out the endless problems plaguing the NDA, the exposure was yet another shock.

If the sexposure had not hit the headlines, George would have certainly made it again to the Cabinet, possibly with a defence cap. Now George, who has gained a few points by settling Mamata Banerjee’s return to NDA and before that handling rather well Karunanidhi’s affairs in Chennai, will have to wait. But the question is: has the Tehelka’s arsenal of scandals exhausted yet? How does one know if Tehelka has still some more hot stuff in its stocks or rather in its famous tapes?

Samata Party has wittingly or unwittingly took it upon itself to challenge the Tehelka, even as the entire NDA government was in fix as to what to do. The NDA partners seemed relieved that George & Co. came forward and its spokesman Bhattacharya has been making valiant efforts to fight back and, interestingly, he is the only one from the NDA side to defend the Government. Now that the Tehelka exposure has kicked up so much dust that in the prevailing have most have lost track of the real issue - corruption in defence set - up.

The nation-wide debate has finally come down to this point: should media observe limits and should it employee call girls to get stories? While everyone in the Capital is convinced by the mission of Tehelka, not many are sure, if actually call - girls should be sent into the bedrooms of defence officers to have fun to prove a point. Despite so much noise, it is still not clear whether or not the defence officers in question sought the girls or were offered. Unfortunately, neither the accused nor their representatives were available to tell their version of the episode. Now, that part can come out only when the Venkataswami Commission, which has reportedly all the Tehelka tapes, chooses to make public the details of the drama that made all the current TV serials look tame and listless. Then only the full and complete picture will emerge.

With the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Punjab and J&K round the corner literally, political confusion in the Capital is at its height. In a way this confusion is the cumulative result of what political parties had and had not done since the last Assembly elections. Most parties tend to look at immediate benefits for a variety of reasons, particularly after an Assembly poll. Not many have the capacity and the will to let go an opportunity to be in power, even if it is for a short while.

These parties perhaps cannot be faulted, for their leadership is under constant pressure from the cadre to get into power one way or the other to retain their identity and place among the voters. Under these compulsions, they take positions useful to them at the point of time, but create a big problem, when the next round of election comes.

In the coming Assembly elections all eyes are on U.P only, for it decides the party to be in power at the Centre. As of now, four political segments - Congress, BJP, Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh Yadav and the BSP of Kanshiram matter. They have taken such rigid positions since the last Assembly polls, they are finding it difficult now to team up. Of the four, three have more or less the same ideological inclinations - the Congress party, the Samajwadi Party and the BSP. But for some strange reasons they have remained poles apart for the last five years and thus failed to keep any door open for an alliance.

Now, when these three and the left parties seriously want to checkmate the BJP, thy do not know how to go about it. The reason is that the Samajwadi Party and the BSP as well as the left were influenced by temporary factors these five years and despite their public posture to fight BJP, never made any moves themselves nor cooperated with others making similar move to forge an anti-BJP alliance. But every time the Congress made a move these parties found some pretext or other to thwart it.

For instance, if Mulayam Singh and his ilk had cooperated with the Congress in 1998 to form a coalition at the Centre, the threat of saffronization of India by the BJP would not have been there now. And, U. P would have been in the hands of secular forces. Factors, other than political had apparently influenced Mulayam Singh in committing that historical blunder. Why, even as recently as a month back when Mrs. Sonia Gandhi called non-BJP opposition parties to tea to discuss a joint strategy to challenge the Government in Parliament, their leaders chose to boycott the get - together.

Now, the same parties, faced with elections are reportedly sending feelers left and right. Samajwadi Party has apparently realized that it cannot come to power in U.P on its own. And if it fails again in the coming Assembly elections in U.P, its minority support will vanish, as Muslims and others will consider it pointless to back it any more. In that eventuality, Muslims are bound to return to the Congress, which is becoming increasingly possible. That makes the chances of the Congress party in U.P distinctly much better than many have predicted. -CNF