The ongoing ‘Akhand Path’ in Pakistan!

The continuous recitation (without any break) of Kashmir, Kashmir, Kashmir, Kashmir and Kashmir for the past 60 years is like an ongoing Akhand Path in a pathetic ‘State of Pakistan’. You can not have any conversation with a Pakistani without inserting the “core issue of Kashmir”! What is the point in having a dialogue if India insists on talking about terrorism and Pakistan about Kashmir only? We have seen the same ‘nautanki’, many times before! The US and Pakistan insist on a dialogue with India and India has nothing to discuss if Pakistan does not stop state-sponsored terrorism. The biggest problem is the contradiction within Pakistan. The Pakistani Army-ISI combine can not survive without their only objective i.e. an all out effort of destabilizing India and the Pakistani political objective of holding on to power with the help of America and therefore India. Let me make a prediction, as long as Rahul Gandhi and his generation remains in power, India will not concede an inch on Kashmir. Translation, no compromise on the territorial issues for the next 20-30 years, with or without the American pressure. Where does it leave Pakistan with their unstable political process? Only Pakistan has to solve this problem, sorry guys!

The only solution to the Kashmir problem is through the “ballot box”! If the proponents of ‘Independent Kashmir’ want, they could contest state elections and win by atleast 51% majority. If they win enough seats in the state assembly, they would have their own ‘Chief Minister’. The ‘Constitution of India’ allows sufficient autonomy to the states if they operate within the confines of the established parameters. The case in point is the state of West Bengal that has been ruled by the ‘Left-Front’ for the past 30 years or more. The communist parties that constitute the left front have been largely faithful to their Chinese Communist Party masters rather than their own motherland, India. Despite such liberty, no secessionist sentiment exists in West Bengal or most of the eastern states of India. Kashmir could follow the example of West Bengal and have a government headed by a political party like ‘All Parties Hurriyat Conference’. The only problem is the Hurriyat Conference does not enjoy the support of even 30% of the population and their leaders know that. This is the reason the proponents of ‘Independent Kashmir’ refuse to participate in the political process of the state of Jammu & Kashmir. America and Europe and the entire ‘Western World’ are aware of this frustrating reality but still sing the song with Pakistan… “Kashmir, Kashmir, Kashmir, Kashmir and Kashmir”. Do Pakistanis really care about Kashmiris?

When do we change the name of ‘Indian Ocean’?

Why did we have to change the name of the ‘Indian Subcontinent’ to ‘South Asia’? Then why should we not change the name of ‘Indian Ocean’ to say ‘South Asian Ocean? Better still, we could change it to ‘Chindian Ocean’ since China is going to rule the world in any case. But then what happens to the hurt feelings of America’s beloved Pakistan? If Barack Obama has his way, then we should name it ChinPak Ocean. This way the Obama administration can please both of its non-NATO allies. Have we not forgotten the omni-present Thackeray & Thackeray of Mumbai, the island nation of Marathi-manus? They (Bal & Raj) would rather have it named ‘Chatrapati Shivaji Maha Sagar’. Who amongst these contenders should prevail? If we do not agree to China’s claim, they might grab Arunachal Pradesh. If on the other hand Pakistan’s feelings are not taken into consideration, they may once again claim the whole of Jammu & Kashmir. Please do not forget, these days nothing moves without a nod from Barack Obama! But the name must change since the world does not like anything Indian, except its vast consumer market. Just THINK about it!

The evolution of India’s foreign policy – Part XI

The Strobe Talbott – Jaswant Singh dialogue (June 1998-September 2000) laid the ground for Bill Clinton’s transformational visit to India in March 2000. That presidential visit opened a new chapter in relations between the United States and India. The bilateral dialogue grappled not only with the urgent issues of arms control and nuclear nonproliferation but also their visions for Indo-US relationship and the potential for economic and strategic cooperation between the two countries. My personal reading is that the developed world understands only one language and that is economic and military strength of its rival. The case in point is China. Russia is being pushed around these days because it does not have the economic muscle and Japan has never been taken seriously because it lacks the military muscle. China has a little bit of both and that is why it is being coddled by the entire world these days. India needs to not only enlarge its economic clout but also develop a credible military capability; only then the world would pay any attention to it. Having said that, there is a visible evolution in India’s stature in the world since May 1998. Just THINK about this!

Coming back to the Indian subcontinent, the Vajpayee administration began a push for a full-scale diplomatic peace process with Pakistan. With the historic inauguration of the Delhi-Lahore bus service in February 1999, Vajpayee initiated a new peace process aimed towards permanently resolving the Kashmir dispute and other territorial/nuclear/strategic conflicts with Pakistan. The resultant Lahore Declaration espoused a commitment to dialogue, expanded trade relations and the goal of denuclearized South Asia and mutual friendship. This eased the tension created by the 1998 nuclear tests, not only within the two nations, but also in South Asia and the rest of the world. While the Vajpayee government was in full throttle mode in terms of its foreign policy initiatives, domestically it was being undermined by a destructive regional satrap, the AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha. Finally, in May 1999, the AIADMK did pull the plug on the NDA, and the Vajpayee administration was reduced to a caretaker status pending fresh elections scheduled for October 1999. If you have friends like these, who needs an enemy? She is not the only crook, the other guy with dark glasses (DMK chief K Karunanidhi) is even worst. He openly supports the terrorists and he is a chief minister these days. Then there is Mamata Banerjee and Prakash Karat in West Bengal, Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh and my favorite, Thackerays in Maharashtra! With these guys floating around, who can focus on a stable foreign policy? Vajpayee was now just a caretaker Prime Minister.

While Prime Minister Vajpayee was busy making peace with Pakistan in February 1999, Pakistani Army was busy planning an attack and occupation of Kargil in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Indian army units were rushed into Kashmir in response. Operation Vijay was launched by the Indian Army in June 1999. Over 500 Indian soldiers died in the three-month long Kargil War, and it is estimated around 600-4000 Pakistani militants and soldiers died as well. India pushed back the Pakistani militants and Northern Light Infantry soldiers. Almost 70% of the territory was vacated by Pakistan. With news of Pakistan planning to launch a nuclear attack or a nuclear threat in the face of a lost war with India, Nawaz Sharif was summoned to the US by Bill Clinton. After heavy losses and a recalcitrant general in Musharraf, and with both the United States and China refusing to condone the incursion or threaten India to stop its military operations, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif asked the remaining militants to stop and withdraw to Pakistan-administrated Kashmir. The militants, driven by Islamic zeal, were not willing to accept orders from Nawaz Sharif while the NLI soldiers withdrew. The militants were killed by the army or forced to withdraw in skirmishes which went beyond the announcement of withdrawal by Pakistan. This naked aggression by Pakistan convinced President Bill Clinton to stand with India and develop a stable relationship with a tested democracy. President George W Bush continued and enlarged the Indo-US relationship. Now President Barack Obama wants to go back and start the sordid drama all over again!