Pussyfooting with Pakistan dangerous
Free Press Journal
January 13, 2000
By M V Kamath
There is a story told about B. K. Nehru who, at various times has been Governor, Ambassador and official in the Government of India. In 1948 Nehru was Joint Secretary in the Finance Ministry. It was his habit every morning to read the Muslim League newspaper Dawn whose sole function, then, was to abuse India and the Hindus in the most vituperative language without any rhyme or reason. Every morning as Nehru would read Dawn, his blood would boil at all the false charges about persecution of Muslims in India levelled by the paper. In disgust Nehru one day asked Mohammad Ali, who was then cabinet secretary in the League Ministry of Pakistan why Dawn was indulging in the hatred campaign against India with the obvious support and encouragement of the Pakistan government. Mohammad Ali knew that the charges made against India were demonstrably false. To Nehru's questioning, Mohammad Ali's reply was as simple and straight as the man himself. He admitted that the charges as printed in Dawn were false. But it was necessary to make them, he admitted, to build a new nation of Pakistan. He said the people of Pakistan were diverse. There was nothing to bind them together except religion. They needed an external enemy to keep them together. And who else could the enemy be except India and Hindus? Nehru asked how long Pakistan would need this external enemy and how long would it take to consolidate Pakistan. Five years, came the reply. This conversation took place fifty years ago. Pakistan continues to remain fragmented and hopelessly weak. To keep it together it requires to keep the Kashmir issue alive and it would go to any extent to keep the hate-India fires burning. Taken aback by his one-time I. C. S. colleague's casual reply, Nehru asked him whether he had ever thought of what would happen if India took up the same line against Pakistan. After all, said Nehru, India was five times larger than Pakistan, had all the money, manpower and talent. To that riposte, the story goes, Mohammad Ali started laughing. Intrigued, Nehru said: "Why are you laughing? Have I said anything funny?" "No" replied Mohammad Ali "I am not at all afraid of that". "Why?" "Because" Mohammad Ali retorted, " your religion is incapable of fanaticism".
And that is the truth. For all that has been said in the media about Hindu fanaticism, Hindus are still not fanatics. Their patience is proverbial. They have taken one thousand years of Islamic assault on their religion, two hundred years of British rule and five hundred years of Portuguese reign in Goa philosophically. The time to change is now. Pakistan needs to be told off in no uncertain terms. For the last fifty years generally, and the last one decade specifically, Pakistan has let loose a reign of terror against India in Kashmir with grim determination. It tried to separate Punjab from India by supporting the Khalistani terrorists. It failed. It is now concentrating all its venom against India in Kashmir. In the past one decade Pakistan-sponsored terrorists have killed 16,850 innocent people in the state, including women and children. Criminal acts, extortions and looting by the Pakistani goons have cost the people over Rs. 10.61 crores. Among those killed, according to figures released by the State to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) were 6,219 Muslims, 719 Hindus, 45 Sikhs and some 267 others. It would clearly show that the so-called 'militants' are not Kashmiris themselves but Pakistani terrorists. It is unheard of that Kashmiri Muslims should kill their own people. There is no civil war going on in Kashmir. What we see is naked Pakistani invasion by other means. The best thing that the media could do in the circumstances is to drop the word "militant" and recognise them for what they are: Pakistani Armed Forces in disguise. That would be facing the truth.
And what have these Pakistani terrorists done so far? They have killed 352 government officials, 125 politicians, including 15 senior leaders, 10 members of the judiciary and an equal number of journalists. They have kidnapped 2,491 citizens, including 20 foreigners and 135 women. While 809 were subsequently released, in most cases after extortion, torture and exchange of prisoners, 1,036 were brutally killed. The Pakistani terrorists also destroyed 1,264 government buildings, 758 educational institutions, 9,309 private homes, 1,659 shops, 243 bridges and nine hospitals. In the process of protecting the state, 1,416 Indian security personal have lost their lives.
To add to this woeful story one may notice that as a result of Pakistani terrorism over 49,000 Hindu and Sikh families were forced to leave their ancient homes and go to Jammu, Delhi and elsewhere in search of security. In other words Kashmir has, for all practical purposes, ceased to be the homeland of Kashmir Hindus. What was once a Hindu Kingdom before the advent of Islam has now been turned into a cent per cent Muslim state. India has stood by, doing nothing. It is also necessary to remember that the Pakistani armed forces, masquerading as terrorists, have destroyed 93 temples and two gurudwaras, even while destroying 27 mosques belonging to Shias. It shows the virulence of Pakistani hatred. According to the state government, an expenditure of Rs. 26,446 lakhs has been incurred on relief of the Kashmiri migrants between 1991 and 1997. It is a frightening picture.
What has been India's answer to all this? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And let not the BJP-led government be blamed for this. It was the Congress and in the 1990s decade a series of short-lived non-BJP governments that were in power. They have stood by helplessly, watching the mindless depredations indulged by the Pakistani forces. Mohammad Ali was quite right when he told B. K. Nehru way back in 1948 that Hindus - and India - are incapable of fanaticism. Neither Hindus nor India need to be 'fanatic' to give a fitting reply to Pakistan. The time for giving a fitting reply to our neighbour has come.
We should have learnt our lesson from Kargil. It should have taught us not to expect decency or peace from Pakistan. Islamic Pakistan is relentless in its pursuit of aggression, secure in the belief that India will not retaliate but for ever will remain somnolent. How many times did Ghazni Mohammad invade India? And how many times did Mohammad of Ghouri bring his forces to waylay Hindustan? Prithvi Raj forgave him once and let him go, for the latter only to return and kill his benefactor. Won't we ever learn from history? History is repeating itself. Pakistan has fought three wars against India and each time it has lost. Notwithstanding, it undertook a silent war against India through the Khalisanis. It failed again. Kargil was yet another adventure. There again it failed miserably. Now it has resorted to hijacking Indian planes. Let it be clearly understood: this incident is not an isolated affair. It has all the markings of planned aggression by other means. In the hijacking affair, the entire Pakistan government is involved no matter how loudly Pakistani government officials may protest their innocence. The hijacking is aggression by other means. It is testing India's strength to resist. One understands the agony of the relatives of those who ware held prisoners in the Indian Airlines plane. The entire country sympathises with both the prisoners and their relatives. But this has been a test of nerves.
Of the six terrorists - to call them just hijackers minimises the role of the Pakistani government - four of them are known Pakistani nationals. They flew in to Kathmandu in a Pakistan Airlines plane. How come that Pakistan allowed them to fly fully armed? It could not have been due to a lack of security. The Pakistan administration was fully aware of the terrorists' mission and supported it. More specifically the terrorists were agents of the Government of Pakistan who had specific instructions to hijack the Indian Airlines plane. Every detail was worked out to the last point when the terrorists boarded the Delhi-bound Indian Airline plane. Of this there can be no doubt.
There is no need for our liberals to indulge in breast-beating or to blame the BJP-led government for the fiasco. The immediate need is for Pakistan to be declared a terrorist state. Western powers must cease and desist from aiding Pakistan in any way. Importantly, India itself must wake up. We don't need to copy Islamic fanaticism. But we should now retaliate against Pakistan in such a manner that it will for ever stop needling India.
India has been patient for far too long. That patience has not paid off. On the other hand it has been mistaken for cowardice. The enemy has been emboldened to attack us at various points with obvious impunity. Pakistan now obviously feels that it can do what it likes because it too possesses nuclear weapons. But a risk has to be taken. India must think seriously of ways to neutralise Pakistan. As has been said earlier, the time for doing so is now.
Free Press Journal
January 13, 2000
By M V Kamath
There is a story told about B. K. Nehru who, at various times has been Governor, Ambassador and official in the Government of India. In 1948 Nehru was Joint Secretary in the Finance Ministry. It was his habit every morning to read the Muslim League newspaper Dawn whose sole function, then, was to abuse India and the Hindus in the most vituperative language without any rhyme or reason. Every morning as Nehru would read Dawn, his blood would boil at all the false charges about persecution of Muslims in India levelled by the paper. In disgust Nehru one day asked Mohammad Ali, who was then cabinet secretary in the League Ministry of Pakistan why Dawn was indulging in the hatred campaign against India with the obvious support and encouragement of the Pakistan government. Mohammad Ali knew that the charges made against India were demonstrably false. To Nehru's questioning, Mohammad Ali's reply was as simple and straight as the man himself. He admitted that the charges as printed in Dawn were false. But it was necessary to make them, he admitted, to build a new nation of Pakistan. He said the people of Pakistan were diverse. There was nothing to bind them together except religion. They needed an external enemy to keep them together. And who else could the enemy be except India and Hindus? Nehru asked how long Pakistan would need this external enemy and how long would it take to consolidate Pakistan. Five years, came the reply. This conversation took place fifty years ago. Pakistan continues to remain fragmented and hopelessly weak. To keep it together it requires to keep the Kashmir issue alive and it would go to any extent to keep the hate-India fires burning. Taken aback by his one-time I. C. S. colleague's casual reply, Nehru asked him whether he had ever thought of what would happen if India took up the same line against Pakistan. After all, said Nehru, India was five times larger than Pakistan, had all the money, manpower and talent. To that riposte, the story goes, Mohammad Ali started laughing. Intrigued, Nehru said: "Why are you laughing? Have I said anything funny?" "No" replied Mohammad Ali "I am not at all afraid of that". "Why?" "Because" Mohammad Ali retorted, " your religion is incapable of fanaticism".
And that is the truth. For all that has been said in the media about Hindu fanaticism, Hindus are still not fanatics. Their patience is proverbial. They have taken one thousand years of Islamic assault on their religion, two hundred years of British rule and five hundred years of Portuguese reign in Goa philosophically. The time to change is now. Pakistan needs to be told off in no uncertain terms. For the last fifty years generally, and the last one decade specifically, Pakistan has let loose a reign of terror against India in Kashmir with grim determination. It tried to separate Punjab from India by supporting the Khalistani terrorists. It failed. It is now concentrating all its venom against India in Kashmir. In the past one decade Pakistan-sponsored terrorists have killed 16,850 innocent people in the state, including women and children. Criminal acts, extortions and looting by the Pakistani goons have cost the people over Rs. 10.61 crores. Among those killed, according to figures released by the State to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) were 6,219 Muslims, 719 Hindus, 45 Sikhs and some 267 others. It would clearly show that the so-called 'militants' are not Kashmiris themselves but Pakistani terrorists. It is unheard of that Kashmiri Muslims should kill their own people. There is no civil war going on in Kashmir. What we see is naked Pakistani invasion by other means. The best thing that the media could do in the circumstances is to drop the word "militant" and recognise them for what they are: Pakistani Armed Forces in disguise. That would be facing the truth.
And what have these Pakistani terrorists done so far? They have killed 352 government officials, 125 politicians, including 15 senior leaders, 10 members of the judiciary and an equal number of journalists. They have kidnapped 2,491 citizens, including 20 foreigners and 135 women. While 809 were subsequently released, in most cases after extortion, torture and exchange of prisoners, 1,036 were brutally killed. The Pakistani terrorists also destroyed 1,264 government buildings, 758 educational institutions, 9,309 private homes, 1,659 shops, 243 bridges and nine hospitals. In the process of protecting the state, 1,416 Indian security personal have lost their lives.
To add to this woeful story one may notice that as a result of Pakistani terrorism over 49,000 Hindu and Sikh families were forced to leave their ancient homes and go to Jammu, Delhi and elsewhere in search of security. In other words Kashmir has, for all practical purposes, ceased to be the homeland of Kashmir Hindus. What was once a Hindu Kingdom before the advent of Islam has now been turned into a cent per cent Muslim state. India has stood by, doing nothing. It is also necessary to remember that the Pakistani armed forces, masquerading as terrorists, have destroyed 93 temples and two gurudwaras, even while destroying 27 mosques belonging to Shias. It shows the virulence of Pakistani hatred. According to the state government, an expenditure of Rs. 26,446 lakhs has been incurred on relief of the Kashmiri migrants between 1991 and 1997. It is a frightening picture.
What has been India's answer to all this? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And let not the BJP-led government be blamed for this. It was the Congress and in the 1990s decade a series of short-lived non-BJP governments that were in power. They have stood by helplessly, watching the mindless depredations indulged by the Pakistani forces. Mohammad Ali was quite right when he told B. K. Nehru way back in 1948 that Hindus - and India - are incapable of fanaticism. Neither Hindus nor India need to be 'fanatic' to give a fitting reply to Pakistan. The time for giving a fitting reply to our neighbour has come.
We should have learnt our lesson from Kargil. It should have taught us not to expect decency or peace from Pakistan. Islamic Pakistan is relentless in its pursuit of aggression, secure in the belief that India will not retaliate but for ever will remain somnolent. How many times did Ghazni Mohammad invade India? And how many times did Mohammad of Ghouri bring his forces to waylay Hindustan? Prithvi Raj forgave him once and let him go, for the latter only to return and kill his benefactor. Won't we ever learn from history? History is repeating itself. Pakistan has fought three wars against India and each time it has lost. Notwithstanding, it undertook a silent war against India through the Khalisanis. It failed again. Kargil was yet another adventure. There again it failed miserably. Now it has resorted to hijacking Indian planes. Let it be clearly understood: this incident is not an isolated affair. It has all the markings of planned aggression by other means. In the hijacking affair, the entire Pakistan government is involved no matter how loudly Pakistani government officials may protest their innocence. The hijacking is aggression by other means. It is testing India's strength to resist. One understands the agony of the relatives of those who ware held prisoners in the Indian Airlines plane. The entire country sympathises with both the prisoners and their relatives. But this has been a test of nerves.
Of the six terrorists - to call them just hijackers minimises the role of the Pakistani government - four of them are known Pakistani nationals. They flew in to Kathmandu in a Pakistan Airlines plane. How come that Pakistan allowed them to fly fully armed? It could not have been due to a lack of security. The Pakistan administration was fully aware of the terrorists' mission and supported it. More specifically the terrorists were agents of the Government of Pakistan who had specific instructions to hijack the Indian Airlines plane. Every detail was worked out to the last point when the terrorists boarded the Delhi-bound Indian Airline plane. Of this there can be no doubt.
There is no need for our liberals to indulge in breast-beating or to blame the BJP-led government for the fiasco. The immediate need is for Pakistan to be declared a terrorist state. Western powers must cease and desist from aiding Pakistan in any way. Importantly, India itself must wake up. We don't need to copy Islamic fanaticism. But we should now retaliate against Pakistan in such a manner that it will for ever stop needling India.
India has been patient for far too long. That patience has not paid off. On the other hand it has been mistaken for cowardice. The enemy has been emboldened to attack us at various points with obvious impunity. Pakistan now obviously feels that it can do what it likes because it too possesses nuclear weapons. But a risk has to be taken. India must think seriously of ways to neutralise Pakistan. As has been said earlier, the time for doing so is now.
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