"So India seethes with impotent rage, Pakistan belligerently asserts its innocence, and Washington despairs that its task in Afghanistan has just gotten harder. Meanwhile, in Mumbai the fires of a hundred funeral pyres shoot their flames up into a glowering sky."
Shashi Tharoor, Former U. N. Under Secretary - General, in TIME magazine
It is 24 days past since India suffered the surprise killings and an inferno of a scale unseen in Mumbai at the hands of the terrorists who came from Pakistan.
What has India done since then by way of retaliation; to catch the culprits, the abettors, the collaborators and the patrons of this dastardly attack on our country’s symbols of economic prosperity?
One cannot say nothing has been done for the reason New Delhi has been busy receiving guests from America, England, France and other countries. These foreign guests offered sympathy and condolences to our Indian Prime Minister, to Sonia Gandhi, to our Foreign Minister and the Defence Minister for the death of innocent victims and martyred security personnel in exchange for tea and biscuits from the Indian host.
In the next few days, everything will be forgotten by the faceless (heartless?) Indian Government. It may even take pride in the fact that there was no communal backlash, life is back to normal and thus the Mumbaikars have defeated the objective of the terrorists! And what is the big objective? To trigger communal clashes. Personally I don't believe this to be the sole objective. If it were so, then we should have had a communal clash every time there was a terrorist attack. It is too naive to believe this to be the only objective of these Islamic terrorists.
Of course, the Government cannot bring the dead back to life nor bring the injured and the maimed back to normal health and physical condition. But the Government at least could have shown to these unfortunate victims that the terrorists and their patrons cannot go scot - free this time whatever it takes. Unfortunately, there was no such immediate retaliatory action. Certainly, not war. The least a citizen expects of a sovereign government is to call a halt immediately to the ongoing composite dialogue between India and Pakistan. The cross - border contacts could have been halted forthwith to send a message that this time India means business. This did not happen. Instead, this government was ready to continue the Amritsar - Lahore bus service with no passengers or just two. Wail. Yesterday I read that Pakistan has regretted the halting of composite dialogue on peace. Indeed a bold step for India, though belated. Clap. Clap.
Fortunately, there is bipartisan approach to terrorism for the first time by our two National political parties, Congress and BJP. It augurs well that at last the Congress - led UPA government has come up with an Anti - Terrorism Act which is as good as the annulled Pota of NDA. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has also been suitably amended.
However, our past experience says even these laws could be made ineffective by our politicians. We have not heard of terrorists being tried in time and sentenced. Cases prolong no end. The way other countries, including Muslim countries, deal with terrorists should be an example for us to follow. As I remember, it was one Maqbool Bhat of Jammu & Kashmir National Liberation Front (JKNLF) who was hanged during the reign of Indira Gandhi in 1984. But today, even the one who has been sentenced to death by our Supreme Court is enjoying life in the prison. The Government has no political will to execute the most dangerous convicted prisoner.
No wonder, the other day in a TV interview, a Pakistani official told Karan Thapar in a mocking tone that though Masood Azhar, the dreaded militant, was in India’s custody for 3 years [before he was released in exchange for the hostages of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane], India could not charge - sheet him. India did nothing in those three years to prosecute him. Probably India did not have proof to prosecute him, the Pak official said in a sarcastic tone.
Lesson:
Any delay in prosecuting a terrorist will further endanger our security. Indira Gandhi knew this better than Sonia Gandhi. No wonder, in the wake of Mumbai carnage, many remembered Indira Gandhi as a strong leader.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Pakistanis keep repeatedly saying, “Give us the proof, give us the proof”, to take action against Jamaat – ud - Dawa or Lashkar – e - Toiba and also the 21 terrorists whose names have been given to Pakistan by India.
Now our Defence Minister and also the Foreign Minister both said that India is not planning any military action. This statement is made with a rider that if Pakistan does not take action against those terrorists who are operating from its soil against India, things will not be normal. Well said. But what effect such a statement, which is in the form of blowing hot and cold simultaneously, will have on Pakistan?
I am reminded of the German industrialist Wolfgang Hoeltgen of GIBC, Hannover, who gave a talk to the Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) on 13th of this month at Hotel Maurya with a Power Point presentation. In one frame on the screen, there were two boxes. In one he showed a German with a word 'No' written above his head. And in another box was an Indian with the word 'Yes' written above his head.
He then explained the illustration saying that his experience in India has been that when an Indian says “Yes” it could mean both Yes and No and depending upon the advantage, he will make it a Yes or No. Whereas, in the case of a German, when he says “No”, it is No and nothing else. Similarly, when he says “Yes”, it is a Yes.
K. B. Ganapathy
Courtesy: Star of Mysore
