Army officers messed up Operation Bluestar due to poor planning: Aiyar

Former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar today blamed senior Army officers for messing up Operation Bluestar due to inept planning and poor execution.

During a session on “Reassessing Rajiv Gandhi’s legacy for India’s future” on the concluding day of the Khushwant Singh Literature Festival being held at Kasauli in Solan district, Aiyar shared various insights into the late Prime Minister’s governance.

“We can’t win in Tamil Nadu without the support of Dravidian forces and these forces seek a separate nation,” said Aiyar while dwelling upon the insurgent times that had hit the nation in the 1980s.

He lauded Rajiv Gandhi for signing various historical accords for bringing peace in states witnessing insurgency. However, he rued that the Punjab accord failed due to Longowal’s insistence on a deadline that was fraught with complications. In Kashmir, insurgency began with the failure of the accord with Sheikh Abdullah.

He added, “Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed the party’s interest in national interest which at times angered his senior colleagues. His vision of keeping national interest over the party’s interest helped in holding elections in strife-torn Punjab and other northeastern states”

Aiyar lauded Rajiv Gandhi’s vision for empowering women, besides reaching out to a periphery society comprising SC/ST communities. While reflecting on the current scenario, he said, “Today, the country’s frontiers are burning. The BJP has destroyed Punjab while Kargil and Ladakh are burning.”

He was unsparing in his criticism as he went on to say, “The Supreme court is so supreme that first it condemns violence involving the Babri masjid and then awards the very same property to those who destroyed it.”

Aiyar referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting Manipur three years after insurgency and said that instead of engaging with people, the latter delivered a lecture that had nothing relevant. He also vent ire at the Greater Nicobar Development Project for causing environmental despair.

Bollywood actor Amol Palekar, who made his presence felt at the fest last evening, reflected on the silent censorship hitting the art and cinema, which, he opined, had become a new challenge.

The devastating effect of the construction of highways by reckless chipping of hills and how it was causing environmental upheaval in Himachal was also highlighted at a riveting session on “Echoes of heritage-myth and culture in Himachal” by writer Raaja Bhasin.

Various other sessions on “Freedom defiance and first draft of history”, “Navigating AI in the world’s largest democracy”, “Unquiet legacies brave future” and “India’s clean energy journey” saw riveting discussions by a gamut of writers like Barsali Bhattacharyya, Jyotsna Mohan, Chander Mohan, Nandini Murali, cine star Pooja Bedi and Sandeep Bhammer.

Khushwant Singh’s son Rahul Singh extended a vote of thanks to the dignitaries for stimulating sessions, which made the fest a resounding success. The three-day literature fest concluded on a high note on improving relations with Pakistan, as per the vision of Khushwant Singh as reflected in his acclaimed novel, Train to Pakistan.