Will Modi live-up to His Newly Found Wit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has found some new facts about Pakistan, it seems. As a career Sangh Pracharak and an icon of hardline Hindu nationalists, Modi brandished all kind of rhetorical sarcasm in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections while campaigning. His “biryani” jibe against UPA govt. and the “Miyan Nawaz Shareef” sloganeering with a clear connotation got jubilant echoes from the crowds during his campaign for May 2014 elections. But after he got an unprecedented single party majority for his Bhartiya Janata Party to take the reins of the country, everything changed overnight. Showing an extraordinary bonhomie, he invited Shareef in his swearing-in ceremony. The move was widely acclaimed by “Aman ki Asha” brand day-dreamers. The rightists took solace from the fact that Nawaz Shareef was only one of the SAARC nation heads.

In the days to come, the nation had to hear many high voltage statements from the Home Minister Rajnath Singh about BSF acting in vengeance to reply Pakistani rangers’ misadventures on border and terrorists getting befitting replies from paramilitary forces. Apart from such strong statements (which we heard nth times in last 2 decades or so), everything else remained the same on ground. Then came the decision of Modi government to cancel the secretary level Indo-Pak talks after the Pakistani High Commissioner in Delhi went ahead with meeting Kashmiri separatists despite Modi government’s strong reservations. People like me got ecstatic saying this was the first instance the Government of India showed its backbone. But with egg on my face, I heard just weeks after that the same secretary level talks were going to be resumed. I thought I missed some very important development regarding the Indo-Pak relationship. May be, Pakistan had given some assurance about not repeating such misadventure anytime in future again. Or, may be Pakistan had expressed, at least a superficial sorry for the recent past. I surfed google frantically cursing myself about not being up to date about such important developments. On the contrary, I found same stubborn provocating statements from Pakistani ministers and diplomats. And could never understand what made Narendra Modi to take an U-turn on his erstwhile stand of cancelling the talks.

Then came the Pathhankot air base attack. Again we heard all kind of blistering which were also used after 26/11 Mumbai attack. And then, Modi government did what no Congress government would have dared to do, of course, fearing a political backlash on back of BJP’s nationalist chest thumping had it been out of power. Mr. Narendra Modi permitted a Pakistani security apparatus comprising personnel of Pakistani army and infamous ISI to take a stroll across the air base for investigation. There couldn’t have been found a more stupid parallel in the world of international diplomacy. At one hand, Indian government claimed it had proof of direct handling of Pathankot attackers throughout their mission by Pakistan based terrorists who have openly been enjoying the patronage of Pakistani government and army. And on the other hand, the same Indian government, invites the Pakistani army in the garb of a legitimate Pakistan government investigation team to investigate the attacks and hands over the proof to them. In other words, you had a robbery in your house. You have clear-cut knowledge or proof that your neighbor committed the crime. Still, you call him to inspect your house and try to prove to him by giving him the proof that he was the robber. Great diplomacy!!! May be, we common people do not have a sense of true diplomacy. So would the great diplomats of the Modi government spell out what they really achieved by inviting Pakistani army and ISI officials to investigate the Pathankot air base attack venue.

And now the masterstroke has come right from the horse’s mouth. The one and the only protagonist of this government, Narendra Modi has declared that the only talking point will be PoK. But he has already lost his credibility as far as his government’s policy towards Pakistan is concerned. The image of a no-nonsense leader with a clear focus and result oriented determination that Modi acquired with a subtly calibrated campaign over years have been damaged badly by his UPA-style confused and fearful Pakistan diplomacy. Now this is the last chance Modi has got to reclaim the image of his hard minded focused national leader. Only giving a statement that PoK is the part of Jammu and Kashmir won’t work. Pakistan occupied part of Kashmir by force and so the only unfinished task is to take the PoK back. But unfortunately, we have been on pains for last 70 years to explain the oneness of J&K (one third of the original that we had in 1947) with India. Now the Modi government has left with about 32 active months in office. So does it really plan to take this point forward and make it a centre point of Indian policy towards Pakistan?

Besides, Baluchistan and Gilgit are two provinces that are undergoing unbelievable formidable atrocities on human kind. Pakistan has even used its air force for bombing on Baloch people. It has lost its moral right to govern Balochistan. And even from diplomatic point of view, to help Balochistan and Gilgit in getting independence from Pakistan is the only practical solution to get rid of this disease called Pakistan. Modi has already tried Noble peace prize winning gestures to tame Pakistan. But, we may only hope that he would have understood it that getting into the history with “Aman ki Asha” bandwagon may leave him fumbling in the no man’s land. Rather, he may carve his place in the lanes of history by helping struggling Pakistani provinces to get independence. Indira Gandhi is an example who is always revered as an iron lady for what she did on the eastern borders.

Don't take it on its face value, It's a letter from a feared Kashmiri

Shah Faisal, the decorated 2009 IAS topper from Kashmir, has written an article in Indian Express. As this is an article from a highly respected Indian Government official who is also a native of Kashmir, it automatically acquires a great importance for people like me, who earnestly yearn to understand what exactly is the psyche behind all the brouhaha that we have been witnessing on the streets of Kashmir for last three decades in general and for last 12 days, in particular.

The subject of the article is very apt and relevant as Faisal appeals to the Government of India to rein in the ever shouting and chest thumping Delhi based so-called national electronic media in the backdrop of youth unrest on the streets of Kashmir. He has named four channels, Zee News, Times Now, Aaj Tak and News X. His point is that, as all the traditional communication lines between the Center and the people of Kashmir have vanished, what these news channels are running or what the anchors there are commenting are being taken by Kashmiris as a de-facto Indian government stand and attitude towards Kashmir and Kashmiris. In his article, Faisal has very rightly represented the Kashmiri pain and agony towards Indian state and the treatment they are meted out in the hands of Indian security forces.

But what Faisal has completely missed is the Indian view-point which he is supposed to exhibit being part of the backbone of Indian bureaucracy that is Indian Administrative Service (IAS). He has not, even partially, mentioned the outright and overt support Pakistan is pouring in to flare up the situation in Kashmir. He has not, even for once, mentioned the atrocities and trauma people of Jammu and Kashmir undergo with in the hands of terrorists. He is mum on the issue of numerous foreign mercenaries fighting the “cause of Azadi” in Kashmir and abundant funding the terror network in Kashmir is receiving from many countries.

Killing of Burhan Wani can in no way be equated to rape of a Kashmiri girl by “demon Indian security forces” nor it could be misspelt as a fake encounter of some college going innocent guy. So I would be expecting Faisal to tell us about how a patriot Indian Kashmiri mind perceives the stone pelting events, continuous attacks on police stations and CRPF camps, murder of a cop by drowning him with a police vehicle in reaction to killing of a dreaded terrorist. And also, being a top administrative official, I would expect him to suggest some ways to the Government of India in dealing with violent mobs by Gandhian tricks if he is to blame only security forces for killing of around 50 Kashmiris in the aftermath of Wani encounter.

At last, coming to the theme of his article again that is taming, if not gagging the Delhi based national TV media (as he has very categorically absolved the newspapers from his tirade). It is amazing to know if the people of Kashmir are so naïve that they think Indian Government is actually communicating with them through Sudhir Chowdhary or Arnab Goswami or some anchor on Aaj Tak or News X. And if it so, why don’t they take recourse under the coverage of likes of Burkha Dutt and Rajdeep Sardesai. Indian media is full of all time powerful journalists who speak exactly what Geelanis and Maliks and even the Hafiz Saeeds and Salahuddins would love to hear. If Indian government has not tried to tame those till date, what logic works in favor of Faisal saheb’s suggestion against those who are “fomenting the poison of ulatra-nationalism”  through their news studios.

Well, having said all these things, I do understand the compulsions of Shah Faisal. In fact, he has articulated it in his article also when he writes that he don’t want to get killed by his own people only for Rs. 50,000 monthly salary and Rs. 50 lakh interest free home loan. This is where his article originated from when a news channel, just in its quest to tell the Kashmiris (and to the nation) that Burhan Wani is not the way the youth of Kashmir should sail towards, put his picture side by side to Wani. It might be an honest story telling method used by the channel to differentiate how youth of Kashimir should drive their dreams to build their state from the ruins of terror, but seeing it with Faisal’s perspective, this story telling method really exposes him to utter risk of life and property.

So, I think we should not take this article on its face value and the takeaway for the national media is that please take into account the safety and sensitivities of local personalities while doing stories from and for Kashmir.