July 1st, 2012
The only route to development is for the Indian government to practice tolerance and restraint. We must not fall victim to the communal cards played by vested interests in the West.
The salt hath lost its savour can be said about the first republic of free India. It appears to have lost all the idealism generated by its founders. The expenditure incurred every day on his travels by Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia of the Planning Commission cocks a snook at the ideal of simple living and high thinking propagated by Mahatma Gandhi.
In all actions of the Indian government of today, there is the aura of the USA and its institutions like the World Bank and IMF. The path of sturdy self-reliance chalked out by Gandhi is abandoned.
But the worst manifestation of the weakness of the Indian establishment is in regard to Pakistan. It was created as a haven for Muslims devoted to the British Raj. Its favoured administrator was Iskander Mirza – a direct descendent of Mir Ja’afar – the traitorous Army Commander of Nawab Nazim Sirajuddowlah. Mirza became the first Indian to be given the King’s Commission in the redoubtable British Indian Army, who later became the first President of Pakistan. He was ousted by the Pakistan Army and died in exile. He was given a state funeral by a government friendly to the USA and was buried abroad.
The Pak game — written by its western mentors — is to provoke India at every step and get it to commit its resources to face Pakistan instead of investing in development. This is caricatured in the daily drama mounted at the Wagah border. Here, the tallest and most ferocious looking Pakistanis face similar Indians at each changing of the guard ceremony. This spectacular event is presented to an admiring public many times a day.
All this drama and propaganda has failed to tear the common Pakistanis and Indians — the aam aadami — away from each other. They remain affectionate and warm towards each other as can be seen from the hospitality offered when they travel across the borders and lines of control.
The vested interests in partition have grown exponentially. The cash provided to the guardians of the border is allegedly not used to gather information but is appropriated by the generals. Allegedly the cash, in high value currency note, is wrapped around the legs of the wives of senior officers and smuggled into India and Pakistan where it helps raise the price of real estate.
The Kargil encounter occurred as the Pakistanis were able to build concrete bunkers on the Indian side without arousing any suspicion! A hard fought battle helped Indians to recover their positions but no action was taken against those caught sleeping. The infamous ‘Adarsh’ real estate case from Mumbai is still to claim its victims.
All this drama and propaganda has failed to tear the common Pakistanis and Indians – the aam aadami – away from each other. They remain affectionate and warm towards each other as can be seen from the hospitality offered when they travel across the borders and lines of control.
The growth of Hindu communalism has helped the BJP to assume power at the centre. Atal Behari Vajpeyi, an informer of the British Indian government during the Quit India movement of 1942, was prime minister of India for over six years and his term saw all the wings of government infiltrated by the RSS cadres.
The strength of the RSS was demonstrated when, during the Emergency, Subramaniam Swami managed to enter the Parliament and record his presence and depart without being apprehended although he was on the ‘wanted’ list. This infiltration allows anti-Muslim attitudes of mind to flourish. Over a hundred million Indians are relegated to second class citizenry on account of being Muslims. This cannot augur well for the First Republic of Democratic India.
The head of the ruling party at the centre is a catholic Italian and the prime minister is a Sikh. Despite this seeming dispersal of power, the Hinduisation of power is a fact and its manifestation can be seen in the denial of an impartial enquiry into the Batla House encounter.
It is time that authorities in India recognised the reality of the situation. The powers of the West will continue to play the Hindu vs Muslim card as long as they can. It is for India to nullify this by refusing to react to Pakistan’s provocation. As we have said earlier, the ‘eye for an eye’ of the Old Testament has to give way to the ‘turning of the other cheek’ recommended in the New Testament. Forgiveness has to number 70 times seven.
The maintenance of hold on sovereignty while practicing tolerance, patience and restraint requires skill, which should be possible for Indians to produce as it is essential if any progress is to be made.