"Great nations have fallen in the past, and thus, Americans should not take this country for granted. Americans should be ever vigilant about tending and preserving their nation." — Ronald Reagan, former President of America.
"If there is nectar in poison, accept it. If there is precious object in filth, retrieve it. If a lower caste man has good knowledge, wisdom and art, imbibe it. And if a woman is born in disrepute, but has excellent qualities, possess her as a gem." — Kautilya
After I wrote about the controversial Indo-Pak joint statement issued at Sharm – el - Sheikh in Egypt last month in this column under the title “M. J. Akbar on PM’s goof - up”, we have heard a lot about this goof - up both outside and inside the Parliament generating more heat than light.
I was watching the proceedings in the Lok Sabha on TV and was quite impressed, though not convinced, by what the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the present Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said. The speeches revealed their debating skills. I felt proud that we have leaders like these two who could at least forcefully, if not convincingly, put forward their case before the august House.
Next came the turn of the very important member of the Cabinet, S. M. Krishna, the Foreign Minister, for whom the issue of the controversial joint statement should matter most. Even as he rose to speak, it was clear he was lacking in confidence. And as he opened his mouth it was more to concur with the points and views of the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister, as if there was nothing more or new to say about the Satanic Indo - Pak joint statement.
For a Foreign Minister of a country like India, that too in these days of globalisation, it was a very poor performance. Nay, it was no performance at all! It did not match a wee bit with his beautiful attire and dignified demeanour.
Anyway, Krishna alone cannot be held responsible for this Satanic Indo - Pak joint statement. After all, this kind of statements are the result of team - work of specialists and the wordsmiths, who are supposed to take care of the language. However, if the impugned contents were indeed allowed to be there by the Prime Minister and his aides, what can the team do?
No doubt attempts were made to dismiss the joint statement as a mere "diplomatic paper" without any legal sanctity, through Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, while the Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon (who, I learn, was elevated to this position by superseding 17 seniors) attributed the "Satanic words" that had crept into the joint statement to "bad drafting." Indeed a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth, and worse, when the head cook is new to the job and also not quite articulate.
Krishna’s performance, at a time when his colleagues in the Congress party and government expected him to deliver a master blow to the opposition, was found woefully lacking in parliamentary skills. Very pathetic like first timers asked to make a public speech.
In the Rajya Sabha too, he did not seem to have done his home - work and come prepared. According to reports, Krishna was “off – colour” as he was in the Lok Sabha and failed to give satisfactory reply to the volley of questions shot at him by the aggressive BJP opposition with proven and seasoned Parliamentarians like Balbir Punj and Arun Shourie. The report even mentions that he appeared nervous, so much so, first the Deputy Chairman of the House, a Karnataka man, K. Rehman Khan, immediately came to his rescue, silenced the opposition and then a saving tactic was adopted by another member in the Chair, P. J. Kurien.
The problem for Krishna began when he started reading a prepared text and was found wanting for words to answer specific questions. There was commotion in the House which in a way was converted into a lame excuse by Kurien in the Chair to say that no clarification will be allowed and adjourned the House for lunch break. The news report concluded saying that the Minister Krishna walked out of the House, a forlorn figure.
This takes me to another Khedda to which the Karnataka elephant is likely to fall, sooner or later. His bete noire, Yeshwant Sinha, the senior BJP leader and the former Foreign Minister targeted Krishna in the Lok Sabha saying that "Krishna is like the former Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and the country's foreign policy is not safe in his hands." It may be recalled that Shivraj Patil, who is known to be immaculately dressed like Krishna, had to quit the job as Home Minister on charges of incompetence following Mumbai 26/11 terrorist attack. It was reported that he had time to change his dress three times on that fateful day, but could not find time to reach Mumbai in time etc.
Yeshwant Sinha, speaking to the Press, remarked that "It is only that Krishna is taking much less time in proving to be another Shivraj Patil." Yeshwant Sinha's final barbed remark was, "I do not know what faux pas will be created in international and bilateral meetings if things are left to the Minister." Should we hear this about our numero uno former Chief Minister? Be that as it may, we cannot discount the role of America, especially after the visit of the Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton to India, who wanted India to go easy on Pakistan, for reasons of their vested interests in Afghanistan, where they needed the help of Pakistan to fight the war.
But then should we give to America our hand when they were asking only for the little finger? I am reminded of what L. K. Advani said about the conduct of some people during the Emergency days. Advani said: When you were merely asked to bend, you chose to kneel. We see this trend in our negotiations with America regarding issues like climate change (global warming), Composite Dialogue with Pakistan, laying gas pipeline from Iran, end-user inspection, NPT and WTO, to give some examples.
Take for example the climate change about which Hillary Clinton was putting so much pressure on India during her visit. Our Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has rightly retorted saying that India has been among the lowest emitters per capita and therefore there is simply no case for the pressure that India faces from America to actually reduce emissions. While Jairam Ramesh has done his home work in facing the go - getter Hillary Clinton, sadly our Foreign Minister Krishna failed miserably in understanding Hillary Clinton's persuasion that India must go - easy on Pakistan and landed up with a Satanic Indo - Pak joint statement.
In one sense it was a case of the Prime Minister and his team scoring a self - goal for India. It was like the nursery rhyme: "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses, And all the king’s men, Couldn't put Humpty together again." All the persuasive skill of the Prime Minister and the oratorical skill of his Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, backed by Sonia's solid support, could not undo the joint statement. It was like trying to unscramble an egg. Indeed, the joint statement has become a fait accompli.
While the statement may have caused havoc in the political circles in India, Pakistan seems to be in a jubilant mood as it has won a diplomatic war against India once again. See Abracadabra of July 21, 2009, to know the other diplomatic wars Pakistan won.
Look at the audacity and hope of Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi. He wants to meet the Indian Foreign Minister (one wonders if Krishna would be there) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York scheduled for this September.
I hope, for India, it would be like the saying, "Once bitten twice shy," and may not venture into the treacherous "sidelines" of UN General Assembly as it did at NAM. May wiser counsel prevail!
What do we do now? Let us go back to Kautilya's Arthashashtra. Kautilya says: "If there is nectar in poison, accept it. If there is precious object in filth, retrieve it. If a lower caste man has good knowledge, wisdom and art, imbibe it. And if a woman is born in disrepute, but has excellent qualities, possess her as a gem."
May be, Dr. Manmohan Singh must have found some nectar in the joint statement despite the poison in it. Therefore, let India deal with Pakistan regardless of the contents of this Indo - Pak Joint Statement and protect its supreme national interest no matter we may displease our neighbours and America. If India loses who wins? Let us be ever vigilant about tending and preserving our nation.
