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Sunday,
December 23, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Time to
plug loopholes in security apparatus How relevant is Yasser
Arafat in West Asia? |
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Welcome
return of the Pathan R. N. Prasher MY childhood Kabuliwala was not trapped in the pages of a book or rolls of a film. We lived in Old Delhi, in a small bylane of Chandni Chowk near the fabled Fountain. It was called Katra Lachhusingh. Come winters and two kinds of aliens descended on Delhi. One was the Tibetans. No, these were not refugees fleeing Communist persecution. It was 1955 and Dalai Lama was still happily settled at Potala palace. The Tibetans used to come to plains in winters every year to trade and to escape the cold in the bargain.
Orphanages
doing their bit
Yassin:
Hamas’ spiritual leader & scholar-activist
Issue in
question: Will they, won’t they?
Delhi
yet to recover from Dec 13 shock
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Time to plug loopholes in security apparatus THE terrorist attack on our Parliament shocked all of us. It is a matter of pride that our policemen held the ground, beat back the attack and killed all the terrorists. The nation was practically face to face with a great national tragedy. It appears that the terrorists were for a long haul. Their target was either the Prime Minister or to capture some parliamentarians as hostages, to kill as many people inside Parliament as possible and blow up the building. If they had kept their cool, they would have achieved their objectives. Senior professionals who are or had been dealing with terrorism knew that it was a very distinct possibility and that it would happen one day. The nation has to be mentally prepared for the terrorist attacks sponsored from across the border. Earlier, the terrorists in Punjab had been threatening the State and now the Islamic jihadis are proclaiming from the rooftops that they would strike deep in our country. The Government of India had this information from the interrogation report of one Afroz arrested by Mumbai Police. According to the suspect, Black Tuesday holocaust in America was part of a bigger gameplan, which included simultaneous attacks using civilian aircraft at the British House of Commons, the Realto Tower in Australia and the Indian Parliament. Even our Prime Minister and Home Minister have been referring to this threat in their public statements. Then how is it that the security staff manning Parliament had not been sensitised about it? The fact is that these reports were taken in a routine manner by the authorities concerned and passed on to the lower echelons in routine without any personal briefing. The state police forces are rather insensitive to the reports emanating from our intelligence agencies. They always frown upon such reports as not trustworthy and ask for further details. Unfortunately, intelligence agencies quite often pass on unverified reports and sometimes reports based on the heresay just to show that they were performing. Of course, these reports are passed on to the lowest rung of the police hierarchy as nobody wants to take the risk of not informing. At the same time there is no serious deliberation to work out a plan of action. Otherwise, the white Ambassador car with red light and a Home Ministry sticker would not have been allowed to go inside Parliament building. It would not have happened if the outer gate was manned either by the National Security Guards or the Special Protection Group because they are trained in such a way that they would not allow access to any one unless his identity is well established. Unfortunately, the local police suffers from the fear psyche created due to the overbearing attitude of some of our politicians. I have seen politicians and government officials getting unnecessarily irritated even over a minor kind of checking. Our VIPs treat policemen with contempt. Even their security guards are very hostile to the constable on duty. Leave aside checking, they would not like to be stopped even. There is a big fracas even if a security official just wants to stop the vehicle to see the passengers inside. Politicians bitterly complain and want their seniors to suspend such official. I have gone through such hiccups personally in my police career. We need to create a lot of awareness about the security requirements in view of the possible increase in the fidayeen attacks throughout the country. Policemen must be allowed to carry out their security drills without any hindrance. Senior officials should give a lot more status to their subordinates who are performing their duties at the cutting edge level and regularly sensitise them about the impending security threats. They must have a feeling of being an important part of the security set up. Such a kind of mental make-up was obviously missing from the policemen guarding the main gate of Parliament. A number of statements have been issued indicating that there is no defence against the suicidal attacks. It is correct. But the damage can be controlled, of course at the cost of the lives of our policemen. In this case, if the vehicle had been stopped at the main Vijay Chowk gate or an attempt was made, the terrorists would have come out of the car, fired at our policemen and could have blasted themselves and the car laden with explosives. Our securitymen would have got killed but the attempt by the terrorists to gain entry into the complex would have also been foiled. As our internal security has become extremely vulnerable, the government should give a close look to the working of our intelligence set-up both at the Centre and in the States. There is no doubt that the main thrust of the intelligence agencies has been on intelligence gathering about the Opposition parties and the dissidents within the party. Politicians are much more interested in political intelligence. It is a question of survival of the political boss. Intelligence bosses are also more interested in feeding their political masters with political intelligence as it brings them closer to the powers that be, to further enhance their career prospects. I must also say with all respect that the politician cares more for his chair than what is happening to the state or the country. It will be in the national interest if there could be a change in the mindset of the politicians as also the intelligence sleuths. Unfortunately there is no accountability. The intelligence officers do not take any risk and would include everything that could happen on this earth in their report. This makes the state police indifferent to the intelligence inputs. Such alarming reports are sent so frequently that the field officers start taking them as a routine drill to pass on the buck if any unfortunate incident takes place. Our intelligence agencies are also losing out on human resources that could be planted in the terrorist organisations. They depend more on technical intelligence. It has also given good results as in the case of an attack on Parliament. Again the breakthrough came after the interrogation of the wife of Shaukat. Technical intelligence can give wonderful results if it is used in tandem with human assets available in the particular terrorist group. During the fight against terrorism in Punjab, intelligence agencies always provided a general type of information. Specific and pinpointed intelligence was always collected by the district police from their sources inside the terrorist outfits. That resulted in the elimination of the topnotch terrorists. The information collected by our police officers was just amazing. It was possible because our officers had penetrated into the terrorist organisations. Our external intelligence has not been able to match the ISI of Pakistan in the covert operations in that country because of the non-availability of human assets to the required extent, which could be exploited. I must say that the ISI of Pakistan has created an excellent networking throughout India with the help of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in north and south India and through the United Liberation Front of Asom in the north-eastern states. The ISI even collaborates with ultra leftists groups operating in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and our neighbour Nepal. We are talking of attacking the terrorist training camps in Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK) But will our intelligence agencies be able to provide the exact locations of these camps and keep it updated even when they are being shifted rather frequently? We are all aware that the top brass of the Indian Army have blamed the intelligence set-up of the country for failure to give timely information on the incursion of Pak army regulars in Kargil. Time has come for a very critical appraisal of the performance of intelligence agencies with specific reference to the extremely fragile internal security situation. We must also insist on more professionalisation and reorientation of the mindset of our armed policemen who man the vital installations. It is my painful personal observation that police contingents are just deployed by lower subordinates like inanimate objects. The sentry is just clueless as to what he is protecting, what is its importance and how will he do it. The need of the hour is greater professionalism, alertness and a total dedication to the job. The writer is a former Director-General of Police, Punjab. |
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How relevant is Yasser Arafat in West Asia? SEVERAL months before the September 11 tragedy of the Twin towers, Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf was living dangerously. For sheer survival, he had to put up with various Muslim fundamentalist groups, could not bar militants based in his country to intrude into India, go along with the wishes of the clergy and finally publicly declare his support to the Taliban government in Afghanistan. For several years, the USA had regarded Pakistan as its staunchest ally in the region. But both Bill Clinton and later George Bush had become disenchanted with their ally and there were moves to declare Pakistan a ‘rogue’ state besides cutting off all types of economic aid. Then came the September 11 tragedy and the USA could no longer ignore Pakistan. They had to negotiate with President Musharraf for a suitable ‘deal’ over the Afghan issue because there was no other alternative available. The ‘relevance’ of Musharraf in Pakistan became a dead issue. Fortunately, the General decided to play along with the USA and thereby consolidate his position within Pakistan. Today, despite his many shortfalls, Musharraf is viewed as indispensable to Pakistan and the USA. The USA had the political acumen to realise there was no real alternative to Musharraf in Pakistan except the various religious groups. He had been found wanting on many counts, particularly in not exercising proper control over the various militant groups operating in Pakistan. The USA did not bother much if these groups created havoc in Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi. What concerned them was that Musharraf would stop supporting the Taliban regime and play a decisive role in the war against Osama bin Laden. Musharraf was able to do so and was back in the good books of the USA. There are similarities between the current situation in Pakistan and the turmoil in the Middle East, particularly with reference to the role of the PLO Chairman, Yasser Arafat. The Middle East turmoil is older and more serious than what was happening in Afghanistan. The peace process initiated by former President Bill Clinton on the lawns of the White House, in the presence of Arafat and the Israeli Prime Minister, was in tatters. The situation worsened when Israel chose as its leader, Gen. Ariel Sharon who hated the Arabs and had tried to eliminate them during the three wars in the region. Today, thanks to Sharon’s bullying and lack of foresight, the Israeli government views Yasser Arafat as a spent force and expendable. The PLO leader’s home and office had been savagely bombed and he is now virtually under house arrest. Sharon had declared that Israel will not negotiate with Arafat because he was not trustworthy. Arafat, they charged, had not been able to halt the increasing number of suicide bomber attacks inside Israel. Unlike its ally the USA, Israel had not bothered to examine the question if there was an alternative to Yasser Arafat. Anyone who had been following West Asian politics would know that the Palestinians, barring certain extremist groups, still swear by Arafat. He had been acknowledged as an important Arab leader by the rest of the world, including the USA and had been conferred the Nobel Peace Prize. Arafat’s role in the West Asian situation had been acknowledged by every single world leader. If suddenly Israel declared that the PLO leader was not ‘relevant’, do they have anyone else in mind who could be more ‘relevant’? Yes, Arafat could be faulted on many counts. Despite his oft-repeated commitment to peace and a negotiated settlement in the region, he has not been able to curb violence by extremist groups. Some of the groups like Hamas had declared their hostility to Arafat’s leadership and vowed they would not be bound to any negotiated settlement he may achieve with Israel. Arafat had to put with such challenges because he was confident that the majority of the Palestinians were with him and also were sick and tired of the never ending violence and deaths. Further, Arafat had the commonsense to realise that the existence of Israel could not be challenged. It had become a historical fact, whether the Arabs liked it or not. The terrorist violence and deaths of civilians are parts of this tragedy. They are due to a feeling of frustration that Israel, with the support of the USA, held all the trump cards in the region and was not keen on an honourable settlement. Arafat, like the leader of any beleagured group, was unable to control the highly emotional minority among the Palestinians. Israel had to understand that even a highly popular leader had very little control over people who were prepared to achieve martyrdom by killing themselves for a cause. The suicide bombers were mentally unbalanced, they saw themselves as visionaries who would enjoy all happiness in another world. Constantly brainwashed by the extremist groups, they were prepared to kill and also die in the process. Why blame Arafat? No other popular Arab leader could prevent such mentally disturbed people from carrying out terrorist acts. If the arrogant Ariel Sharon and his ruthless military hordes paused to think, they would understand that the suicide bombers acted on a feeling of frustration for which Israel was solely responsible. By not conceding anything to PLO, even its most reasonable demands for a homeland, the Israelis made a mockery of the peace progress. The killing of innocent people was regrettable but Israel’s retaliation had been most savage, particularly the use of tanks and helicopter gunships. With the world, particularly the USA watching complacently, the Israelis had launched a blitzkrieg in West Asia which was as deadly as the one launched by the Nazis in Europe during the early days of the Second World War. What is even more despicable was the isolation of Arafat. Who are the Israelis to decide whether Arafat was relevant or not? By adopting such an attitude, the Sharon government was playing into the hands of terrorist groups like Hamas which had also declared Arafat irrelevant. Are the Israelis prepared to negotiate with the likes of Hamas if and when they managed to get rid of Arafat? Perhaps, the
Israeli leadership under Sharon finds more in tune with Hamas. History had not forgotten the notorious role of Sharon during the past Arab-Israeli wars when he had often participated in mass killings of innocent Arab women and children sheltering in refugee camps. If and when Arafat was forced to leave the scene, the entire political infrastructure of the PLO may collapse. Using its military might, thoughtfully provided by the USA, Israel will decimate the Palestinians and their dream of a home state will be ruined for ever. The American role in the West Asian tragedy is equally despicable. The Palestinians, unlike the ever-obliging Saudis, had never been a particular favourite with the USA. They had always been too independent, too proud and were prepared to undergo any hardship while struggling for a home state. The USA would rather have the Arab world dominated by traditionalists like the Saudis who cared nothing for democracy or human rights but purchased arms worth billions of dollars from the US manufacturers. It is now clear that the so-called peace process initiated by President Clinton had been an eyewash. It was meant to promote him to the level of a world leader. George Bush has no time for the Palestinians. That is why he is silent on the plight of Arafat and the Israeli intransigence in West Asia. The Saudis had been their traditional allies, Jordan and Egypt had been won over and why bother with the Palestinians. Elements in the USA and Israel would not mind if Yasser Arafat was permanently disposed of and the Palestinian dream of a home state shattered forever. What they failed to reckon is the undying spirit of millions of Palestinians who had been evicted from their own country for an artificially created theocratic state. Sharon’s blood lust may result in delaying but not destroying the aspirations of the Palestinians. |
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Welcome
return of the Pathan MY childhood Kabuliwala was not trapped in the pages of a book or rolls of a film. We lived in Old Delhi, in a small bylane of Chandni Chowk near the fabled Fountain. It was called Katra Lachhusingh. Come winters and two kinds of aliens descended on Delhi. One was the Tibetans. No, these were not refugees fleeing Communist persecution. It was 1955 and Dalai Lama was still happily settled at Potala palace. The Tibetans used to come to plains in winters every year to trade and to escape the cold in the bargain. While the young bought and sold, the older ones visited the bylanes for alms. Dressed in their multi-layered cloaks, their prayer wheels whirring, they presented to me a peep into the world beyond the immediate surroundings. The other aliens were the Pathans. The Kabuliwalas never asked for alms. The song about Abdurrahaman, the pistewala Pathan was very close to reality. These tall Pathans, with flowing beards and bellowing voice, attracted a large crowd of urchins. They spoke in reasonable Hindustani. We questioned them about their country, their camels and their gardens. Then, on being prompted to do so, we goaded our mothers into buying some of their pistachio and almonds. Thus, the visit of the Pathan was a pleasure in more ways than one. Another Pathan known in those days was Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, better known as the Frontier
Gandhi. This tall man considered himself a human being, a Pathan and a Muslim, in that order of priority. If there could be a visual image of the ideal of his followers, the Khudai Khidmatgars, it was the Khan in person. That was the image of Pathans in the minds of children in the early fifties. We did have jokes about the Pathan eating his bar of brown washing-soap which he had bought, thinking it was a piece of cake. We had stories about the bravery and bravado of these tall men, stories of their kindness to children, a trait which only the brave can possess. Then came the Russians and their retreat that strengthened the image of Afghans as a brave people, firm in their resolve, invincible. On the day of the invasion, a magazine cover showed the Russian bear getting his foot caught in the Afghan trap. On day one of Russian occupation, the world believed that once you get involved in Afghanistan, you want to get out and it is not easy. The Russians got out with a bloody nose and the Arabs and Pakistanis moved in. That changed the image of the Pathan forever. He was forced from the status of ever-independent, self-willed bloke to the scheming, wily, meek follower of foreign mercenaries. He slid into the role of the hated terrorist. In all the battlefields of the world where someone or the other was pitted against someone fighting in the name of Islam, we heard of the presence of Afghans. All theatres of conflict boasted of the Afghan terrorist who would kill innocent, unarmed men, women and children, who would attack stealthily and then slip away like a rat. I saw these images and compared with those childhood memories. These are few renegades, who are there in every society, I told myself. These do not represent the Pathans. He was kind and ruthless. He did not know how to slip in and out. He looked the enemy in the eye. Then I saw images on the TV, which shook this belief. In Kabul, a woman in burqa was led to the middle of a football stadium packed with thousands of cheering Afghans. She was made to kneel, a turbaned Taliban brought a Kalashnikov to her head, there was the report of the weapon, a small plume of dust rose a metre ahead of the kneeling figure where the bullet hit the ground, and the woman pitched forward. Public executions do take place in many Islamic countries. I expected the crowd to be somber, reflective. They did not even know who she was, what was her offence, whether she got a fair trial, what she looked like behind that all-covering burqa. Yet, when the shot was fired, the crowd went ecstatic. There was jubilation. I had only one word for each person in that crowd. They were cowards. I could have been wrong. After the Taliban fled from Kabul, I saw in a newspaper the image of an old Dervish in tears, as he could whirl around again for his prayer-dance ritual, a blessing he had been denied during five years of Taliban rule. I saw Pathans making a bee-line for the barbers’ shops and for the music stores. The tears of the Dervish seemed to be pleading the defence of compulsion. The crowds at the barbers’ shops and music stores seemed to corroborate it. Yes, we were misled into welcoming the Taliban in Kabul, the simple Pathan was honest enough to admit. The rest was compulsion. Finally, came the admission at Konduz that it was the Pakistanis who played the controlling role in Taliban affairs. A large number of Taliban who wanted to surrender were shot dead by these foreigners, who had come as guests of those very hosts whom they were killing. With General Musharraf pleading for the lives of his countrymen trapped in Konduz, the picture of the Pathan again underwent a change. What we thought was the deranged, degraded Pathan was actually a different animal called Taliban. An animal on a leash held by Pakistan. Pakistan, which has not seen a day of peace or prosperity since it broke away from India, has been always led by those who live on alibis. Unable to create an atmosphere for democracy in their country, these self-appointed rulers look for reasons for Pakistan’s misfortunes beyond their borders and they tend to create their power base too beyond these borders. The 1971 debacle forced Pakistan to look elsewhere for recreating a justification for its existence as an Islamic State. The Russian misadventure provided that opportunity in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden brought in money and Arabs. In these calculations, the Afghans became willing tools. Any tool is discarded when it becomes useless. The Afghans, with their confidence, sense of honour and long tradition of hospitality could not even imagine this exploitation by their guests. Is there a lesson for anyone in the traumatic experience of the once-proud Pathan? Past is meaningless except that it helps us in avoiding falling in the same pit twice, it helps others too avoid it. Pakistan’s Afghan misadventure is not the end of its attempts to expand its influence through Islamic bandwagon. There will be future victims of Pakistan’s undemocratic leaders’ desires to build popularity through foreign alibis and foreign successes. There are clear indications that Myanmar is about to fall in this trap. The military leaders of that country have been hobnobbing with Pakistan Generals to gain nuclear know-how as well as some relief from their present international isolation. It will be an irony of the highest order if Operation Enduring Freedom results in the rise of another renegade nuclear power close to India. Meanwhile, with Pakistan’s role in Afghan affairs fully exposed before the world, the Pathan can cast aside this image-sullying yoke. In India, at least he will be welcome this winter with his pistachios and almonds. The writer, a senior IAS officer, is Commissioner & Secretary, Transport, Haryana. |
Orphanages doing their bit MANZOOR looks like a little angel in his neat, gray phiran (the loose garment that is almost a badge of Kashmiri culture). He is neatly scrubbed and his cheeks glow through his shy smile. He looks happy and well-adjusted around a couple of older boys, perched on top of a water tank in a blanket or a phiran, soaking up what there is of a watery winter sun, and their school books. Manzoor is five years old and one of the youngest inmates in the Gulshan Mahal orphanage run by the Jammu and Kashmir Yateem (orphans) Trust. It is in the heart of inner city Srinagar and has to be reached through winding, narrow lanes. Yet, being on the edge of the Hari Parbat hill adjacent to the revered shrine of Makhdoom sahib, it has a quiet, almost pastoral, ambiance. As ironic as Gulshan Mahal’s location is its recent history. It was barely able to keep its doors open in the very years when it was needed the most — through the early 1990s. Its manager, Abdul Hameed Bhat, says the place was barely functional then. The times were bad and it was difficult just to get to market or to move door to door to raise funds. The result: hardly any money to keep the place, founded in 1972, going. There are different sorts of orphanage. Gulshan Mahal is run like a hostel, providing food, bedding, trunks and lockers, some clothes and books and other study material. All the children, ranging from five-year old Manzoor in lower kindergarten to a 22-year studying for a bachelor’s degree in commerce, live in the four halls. There is a large dining hall and a vast kitchen, from where they take packed lunch to school. At the other end of the spectrum of orphanages is a computer training centre on Srinagar’s Boulevard run by a non-governmental organisation administered by Babar Badr, former chief commander of the Muslim Janbaz Force. Badr says orphans are best off at home, staying with their mothers or other relatives. So, his organisation seeks to equip children to earn a livelihood through the ability to operate computers. Funding is evidently available in good measure. Badr has a point about providing education rather than a hostel. A survey conducted by the Sociology Department at the University of Kashmir found that a large number of children who had lost a parent during the decade of violence lived with their grandparents or the brother of either parent. Almost 55 per cent of children who lost their fathers had to move to another house. Almost 85 per cent remained with their mothers, another nine per cent with their maternal grandfathers. Education figured extremely high among the priorities of both the children and their mothers. However, 27.33 per cent of these children were not going to school. Ironically, that figure was as low as 11 per cent in Kupwara district, the most remote in the valley. On the other hand, perhaps because of the possibilities for child labour in the city, the proportion of those not attending school soared to 78 per cent in Srinagar district. For the same reason, no doubt, relatively few children stayed idle at home in the most developed districts, Baramulla and Srinagar. Overall, 48 per cent did not work, while 39 per cent were engaged in handicraft manufacture. 76 per cent of the child workers earned between Rs 500 and Rs 1,500 a month. Their ambitions ran high, nevertheless. 35 per cent of them aspired to be doctors, 32 per cent engineers and 31 per cent government employees. As many as six per cent wanted to be journalists. While 17 per cent aspired for their children to be doctors, their most frequent preference (20 per cent) was for their children to become teachers. Many of the dreams, of the mothers and the children, may remain no more than dreams but at least the many orphanages in the valley are doing a little bit to make those dreams a little more possible. |
Yassin: Hamas’ spiritual
leader & scholar-activist IF Osama bin Laden created Al-Qaeda, the sprawling terror network through which he exploited the borderless globe, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin founded Hamas which raised a band of young men who blow themselves up for a cause. Meaning “courage” in Arabic, Hamas was established in 1987 by Yassin as the “Palestinian wing of the Muslim brotherhood”. It views “jihad”, the holy war, to liberate Palestinian as its top priority. The only difference is that while Al-Qaeda has spread its tentacles world-wide, Hamas confines its activities to middle-east only and it originated with “Muslim Brotherhood” in Egypt. However, in contrast to Brotherhood views, Hamas had made jihad its top priority to liberate the Palestinian people and the land of Palestine from the “foreign, heretical
Israeli occupier”. The Brotherhood, on the other hand, views jihad as a commandment which can only be realised once Muslim believers are “purified” and Islamic law reigns over the entire Arab world. This is somewhat akin to bin Laden’s philosophy. What makes young men go and blow themselves up for the cause howsoever impractical or absurd it may be? The suicide bombers should not be dismissed as mad for blood or mentally deranged. Researchers say their religious faith is so strongly harnessed for a political cause that they can go to any extent. They are also cited example of their own blood relatives who had blown themselves up for a cause. Like many fundamentalist outfits, as seen in Afghanistan or Pakistan, the support base of Hamas too is difficult to fathom. Number of actual fighters may not be very large but there is a wide network of supporters behind them and they are in schools, colleges, mosques, business houses and other institutions. Some say “it is a society within a society”. Yassin founded Hamas movement in Gaza in 1987 at the beginning of the “intifada”, meaning uprising. Having grassroot support, initially its objective was non-violent; Palestinian protest against Israeli occupation. Subsequently, the organisation took to violence, raised its military wing and carried out attacks and suicide bombing killing dozen of people in Israel. Yassin is also regarded as President Arafat’s main rival and opposes previous agreements signed between Israel and Palestine. Now in his mid-sixties, Yassin runs Hamas from his sick bed. He has been a quadriplegic for last twenty years due to an accident and now reported to be having vision problem; almost gone blind. An Israeli court convicted him in 1989 for ordering Hamas members to kidnap and kill two Israeli soldiers. He received a life sentence but was freed in 1997 under the term of a deal arranged by the late King Hussein of Jordan, who asked Israel to release Yassin in exchange of two Israeli Mossad agents. Had he died in jail, lot of bloodshed would have inevitably followed. Recognised as spiritual leader of Hamas, Yassin was born in Al- Johra town in Southern Israel, got his education in Al-Azhar University of Cairo and widely known as a religious scholar and activist. He believes that “peace with the Jews is a crime if it means legitimacy of Israeli occupation and recognition of its right to exist in our usurped land while the Palestinian people remain refugees outside their country”. He has given several interviews in his croaky voice. He was asked in one such interview that he had previously pinpointed specific date for the end of the Jewish state. What were the basis of his expectation or was it merely optimism in the future? His reply was that his prognosis was based on reading in the holy Quran and his historical calculation. “Almighty changes generations and features of people each 40 years. That was evident in the history of Jews”. He quoted the actual stanza and the English rendering reads: “Therefore, the land will be out of their reach for 40 years; in distraction, they will wander through the land; but sorrow shall not be over these rebellious people”. Asked if this means their (Jews) elimination will take place in 2027 approximately, Yassin replied : “Approximately, yes. But is not a must that it could be five years earlier or two years later. The important thing is that the equation revolves round 2027 and that the Hebrew state will end, Insha Allah”. In reply to another question if it is not futile to confront Israeli tanks with stones, he said: “Palestinian people realise that victims are always those holding the stones. But, despite this painful fact, his people believe that they can spur the world’s conscience when witnessing a man whose land was usurped with nothing in his hands to confront the enemy’s tanks, warplanes and missiles except stones. The conclusion would be that this stone throwing man is on the right side for he would have never done that if he was wrong”. |
Issue in question: Will they, won’t they? WILL they, won’t they? That is the question uppermost in everyone’s mind whether the Atal Behari Vajpayee government will take “appropriate measures” in dealing with Pakistan’s proxy war or will continue to adopt a reactive posture as has been the case all along. The Prime Minister believes that the people are not in favour of precipitating matters which might lead to another Indo-Pak conflict. At the same time, widespread public opinion in the country is that Pakistan should be compelled and constrained to put an end to cross-border terrorism. Even as the majority of erstwhile chiefs of the armed forces are against any foolhardy strikes at terrorist training camps across the Line of Control, a minuscule few strongly favour going on the offensive as New Delhi has displayed patience and restraint for an interminably long period which has been viewed as a sign of weakness. It is also the contention of such erstwhile chiefs of staff to call Pakistan’s bluff of a nuclear holocaust as in their opinion there can only be a conventional war between India and Pakistan. And in such a scenario, it is argued that India is bound to emerge trumps. Interestingly, there has never been such a heated discourse in the past about India going on the offensive with Pakistan which holds the portends of another war in the subcontinent. Growing public opinion shows that the USA as the world’s super cop cannot have one set of rules for itself and an entirely different set of rules for others facing the brunt of crossborder terrorism. Priyanka’s gesture Like last year when Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee made an
appearance, this year’s Iftar hosted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi too kept the gossip mills running. But more than any political heavyweight or even stars of yesteryears, it was Priyanka Vadra who hogged the limelight. Her gesture of coming out of the VIP enclousre to interact with people from Amethi drew a word of appreciation even from some of the scribes present. Not much was made of the presence of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav as he had shared platform with Sonia Gandhi a few days earlier. The Left party leaders including Harkrishan Singh Surjeet and A B Bardhan were seen smiling as Opposition leaders did not miss the photo-opportunity provided by the
occasion. Notable was the presence of NDA ministers Sharad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan. Congress gossip has it that some NDA parties were informally in touch with the main Opposition party. Shatrughan Sinha, who has kept the gossip mills on the overdrive about his new political loyalties, did not miss the opportunity to keep the guessing game going. Congress leaders from states were also seen in strength at the Iftar so as not to let their rivals get the better of them. Mahabharat During the marathon debate on Union Home Minister L.K. Advani’s statement about the December 13 terrorist attack on Parliament, former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar’s hard-hitting observations on the National Democratic Alliance government appears to have touched the raw nerves of none other than Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee who in his reply could not restrain himself and went on to compare the former Premier as Arjun of Mahabharat. Vajpayee said Chandra Shekhar was confused and appears to have lost the sense of direction. Obviously, Chandra Shekhar did not deem it necessary to contradict Vajpayee but when Home Minister L.K. Advani started replying at the end of the two-day long debate and referred to Mahabharat mentioning Chandra Shekhar’s role, the former Prime Minister scribbled a note on a piece of a paper and passed it on to Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav. The SP chief after going through the note gave it to his party colleague Akhilesh Singh to read. Chandra Shekhar had written that seeing Advani, he was reminded of another character of Mahabharat but would not like to name him as it would be considered unparliamentary. Jaya Woos Scribes In keeping with the directives of the AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalitha, MPs of the regional party from Tamil Nadu have been on an overdrive in wooing scribes working for Tamil dailies, TV networks and periodicals. The style of functioning of all the 17 AIADMK MPs has undergone a sea change as evidenced during the just concluded winter session of Parliament. This has naturally compelled their main rivals, the DMK, to put on its thinking camp how to blunt the AIADMK’s new found love for mediapersons. There were no fewer than four bashes in five star hotels for the carefully selected members of the Fourth Estate which also included those from the wire services besides select representatives of other southern language newspapers circulated in Tamil Nadu. With
P. G. Naryanan and P. H. Pandian doubling as hosts, it was not unusual for all the AIADMK MPs to make their presence felt at such get togethers. It was apparent the AIADMK’s gambit did not rest with merely cultivating the mediapersons but to gather juicy information about the goings on in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government. This is yet another gambit on the part of the Amma, who runs her party with an iron hand, to build linkages with the BJP-led NDA amid intense speculation that Ms Jayalalitha wants to somehow be part of the Vajpayee government at the Centre. Contributed by TRR, Satish Mishra and Prashant Sood. |
Delhi yet to recover from Dec 13 shock THE year isn’t ending on a good note, to put it mildly. But since I have always been on the side of the blunt, let me say that there is every chance of the developments obtaining a darker hue. The exact shade depends on the particular shades of grey America expects them to embody. For remember, this sub-continent is getting dictated by that superpower and so it remains to be seen what happens next on the scenario. Though the next SAARC summit (due in Kathmandu in the first week of January) is still about ten days away, already there is speculation on whether Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Parvez Musharraf will shake hands or keep to their respective namastes and adaabs. Though SAARC has turned out to be one of the roll-call formalities, perhaps only good enough for gauging the body language of the so-called leaders, in this day and age of the camouflage, who can come up with the right assessment of the state of affairs and those responsible for it? Delhi hasn’t settled down, at least psychologically after that shocking attack on Parliament. However, the
follow-ups by the government haven’t been reassuring enough. Instead of admitting lapse of security (especially in view of the fact that there were intelligence reports of such an attack at crucial places) all that it has taken to doing in rechanting the demand for the implementation of POTO. But wasn’t POTO already functioning when this unfortunate incident took place? There is an impression that if one doesn’t chant along, there are chances of being dubbed anti-national! Some political analysts feel that there couldn’t be a more distressing trend, for the minute you could try to begin questioning there could be an ‘anti-national’ allegation thrown at your face. The entire approach seems pathetically narrowminded as reports indicate there is special surveillance here on students from the North-East and those from Kashmir. As though anti-national elements could arise only from those particular regions! Has anyone from the government cared to think about all the innocents that could get wrapped up because of these slants and biases (incidentally, yesterday’s reports go on to show how a particular IIT Roorkee student was picked up for questioning just because his name was Tariq — also the name of the prime suspect in the Parliament House case — and he belonged to J&K and let’s not overlook the other incident when several months back, SP (Prisons) of Baramulla was picked up by the Delhi Police, again because of his “Kashmir looks” and let off only after his identity was known). Kashmiris taking refuge here have repeatedly said that they feel they are under a special glare and there couldn’t be a more damaging exercise for the psyche. The other factor which cannot be ignored is the imminent elections in Uttar Pradesh and as a political analyst said the other day “the BJP is desperate and would like to do just about anything to get the edge...” Sounds almost like a bad omen, for in desperation it could take to distractions which will once again wrap innocents. Get-aways here Though there have been many events lined up here, the mood is far from what it used to be in yesteryears, around this time of the year. Shree Venkatram, who runs Unnati Features and together with the UNFPA holds a yearly competition, this year focused on ‘caring men’, empowered women, happy family. Doesn’t it sound almost like a fairytale end? But what can be termed as a ray of hope for the social fabric is that the male participants seemed concerned about the overburdened woman. A simple comment from a young man set the entire audience in a retrospective mood: “Why do women stand with both their legs together whilst the men with their legs apart ....as though the women want to save that space?” Women, give this observation some thought and next time stand at ease. UNFPA’s chief Francois Farah did reiterate what the other chief guest Barkha Dutt had said: right from childhood one has to develop the trend to question and query and not take things/situations lying down. United Nations Information Centre’s chief Feodar Starcevic hosted a nice, relaxed ‘year end’ get-together. I met several of those colleagues with whom one couldn’t really catch up the whole year round. Starcevic is one of those who doesn’t believe in giving speeches but recounting touching experiences from his home country Yugoslavia before it was ravaged by communal frenzy. The National Institute of Panjab Studies is all set to take you further down those years as this weekend they are organising a seminar on the different aspects of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s rule. The only session that could come closer to present day is the one pertaining to how Ranjit Singh had dealt with the Afghans. Since this is the season of seminars here, another one takes off. The Institute of Social Sciences has organised a two-day convention of Panchayati Raj representatives — apt timing as it was on Dec 22,1992 that the 73 and 74 Constitution Amendments were passed by the Lok Sabha. |
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