Ever since the swearing-in ceremony and Narendra Modi’s firm
conversation with his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, there is a whiff of
hope that the insidious infiltration by Pakistan into Indian Territory will
finally stop. One conversation may not put an end to an imbroglio spanning
decades but it is a start.
Most new maps of India released by different parts of the
world (particularly USA and China) show a country that is quite different than
what it is taught in schools (http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/large-color.html).
Also compare 1882 http://images.nationmaster.com/images/motw/historical/india_1882.jpg
with 2012 http://www.rediff.com/news/report/pic-new-india-map-on-us-website-sparks-controversy/20120103.htm).
Not a year goes by without “friendly firing” (what does this phrase mean,
anyway?) or “skirmishes” which claim the lives of Indian jawans. Not a year goes by without bickering over the changed borders
of Kashmir.
The international community has been involved in the Kashmir
dispute ever since the British left the sub-continent but apart from saying,
“You guys need to sort this out,” they have done precious little. When there is infiltration, they say, “Both
countries need to abide by the Shimla Accord.” When Pakistani terrorists attack
India and are caught (Bombay attacks
and Kasab’s capture being a landmark case to prove this point), the
international community wags its finger at both countries and said, “Listen up
both of you, this cannot go on.” (At times, USA has also followed this up with
offering Pakistan various subsidies, grants and funds). This cannot go on, even
we know that, thank you very much. In fact we know that better than anyone else
in the world because it is our country that is steadily being truncated.
July 11th saw a quiet little news item from
Associated Press: India asks UN Military Observer group to vacate Delhi office.
This was thrilling to read. It meant that India is gently but firmly taking
charge of diplomacy that has been a spectacular failure. Basically for 40
years, this UN Mission was occupying a bungalow in prime Delhi locality (around
the corner from the Supreme Court – where the cases of Kasab and other Pakistan
bred terrorists like Afzal Guru and Gilani, responsible for the 2001 attacks on
the Indian Parliament, were heard – free of rent. The mission in Delhi is supposed to represent
the group in India and Pakistan. They also have an office in Srinagar. As the name indicates, this group merely
“observes”. Seriously, what good is such a mission doing? In what way is it
contributing to maintaining peace? Over the years it has surely “observed” the
infiltration that is altering India’s map. It must have “observed” terrorist
attacks in India that are gleefully claimed by outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed based in
Pakistan. It must have “observed” that the most wanted home grown terrorist of
India, Dawood Ibrahim, lives life king style in Pakistan. In any case, being
merely a body that observes, recommends or issues directive guidelines, the UN
is a magnificent failure in terms of real effect or action (George W Bush’s
attack of Iraq despite UN’s best efforts is a blot that the agency will never
be able to remove. It conclusively proved that the UN was useless in such
matters and should stick to social service activities.)
For a long time now India has disapproved of international
interventions in the Kashmir problem but has never taken any steps to actively
discourage the interference. This is the first time that an official action has
been taken to express India’s displeasure albeit it rests on a fairly tepid
excuse that the mission has no right to occupy rent-free premises. Though the
mission is seeking to retain its presence in Delhi and looking for alternative
space that they can rent, this is a firm message sent out by India. The beauty
of this action is that it is assertive without being aggressive.
So far Pakistan maintains that as far as Kashmir’s status is
concerned, the move to ask the UN observers to move out is inconsequential
adding that as long as the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan is
not resolved, the UN Security Council mandate stays in force.
The last time India had a Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) led
government, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had taken the bold step of making India a
nuclear power despite international pressure against the move. It had led to
“sanctions” being placed on Indian by the United States of America (the
self-appointed conscience of the world which has caused more devastation around
the globe than any other country – Iraq being its latest victim). The sanctions
notwithstanding, that was the time of Vibrant India. A decade thence India once
again has a BJP governing the country. If this government is able to end the
stand-off with Pakistan and contain constant attacks from this troublesome
neighbour, it will be a monumental achievement indeed.