India eclipsed

Tarun Vijay

The biggest victim of terrorism on earth is being accused of fomenting terror. That's no mean achievement of a state power that is busy making friendship with a terror state whose boy is pleading in our court to hang him for killing 166 people last year. Hundreds of thousands of patriotic Indians killed, raped, uprooted and turned refugees, maimed and humiliated on their own soil by a bloody jihad that has been directly sponsored by Pakistan. See the tones of papers and factual data sheets printed by the XP division of the ministry of external affairs. But the government that pays for printing such fact sheets accepted a joint communiqué sharing the concerns of the state that it has been accusing of sponsoring bloodbath in India, in such a way that the accuser is now accusing us. Firing on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore was sponsored by India - that's the latest one. From the days of Indira Gandhi to Rao and Vajpayee, all governments were engaging Pakistan in a dialogue but never did such a fiasco occur - the murderous state raising an accusing finger at us and us nodding.

Banana spines can never make a rock, even if collected in millions. A forgetful people and a condescending state can never make a nation nor protect it. Pakistan was created after the massacre of a million innocent people, who had to leave their home and hearth because some leaders had accepted the partition. It was preceded by horrendous killings of Hindus in Kolkata, Punjab and Delhi. Immediately after that, in September 1947, it attacked us and forcibly occupied a part of Kashmir, Gilgit and Skardu that saw the heart-wrenching killings of Mirpur. Still, it wanted its share of Rs 55 crore to be given. And we gave. Noted historian Y D Phadke has described the episode thus, "a sum of Rs 55 crore was the money that was Pakistan's share, from the cash of Rs 375 crore in the vaults of the Reserve Bank of India before partition. On December 1 and 2, 1947, representatives of both countries had discussed the issue and decided that of the cash balance of Rs 375 crore, Pakistan's share was Rs 75 crore. Out of this sum of Rs 75 crore, Rs 20 crore had been given to Pakistan to temporarily take care of its financial needs when Pakistan was just coming into existence on August 14, 1947, and it was decided in the agreement of December 2, 1947, that the balance amount of Rs 55 crore should be handed over later by the Indian Government to the Pakistan Government. Pakistan had a right to this cash of Rs 55 crore and the Indian Government recognized this right. In order to satisfy Pakistan's financial need, the Indian Reserve Bank had indicated its readiness to approve a temporary loan of Rs 10 crore and Deshmukh had been told that the Reserve Bank had to take a final decision and that the Government of India would not interfere. That is why in the meeting at Lahore on January 11, 1948, Prime Minister Nehru had indicated that he was favourably disposed to give Pakistan Rs 10 crore as a temporary loan. Thereupon, Liaquat Ali asked Nehru: "Then why don't you give Pakistan the 55 crore rupees you owe us and put an end to the matter?"

Nehru didn't agree but Gandhi forced him through a fast and finally, after all that Mirpur massacre and losing Gilgit, India gave Pakistan 55 crore.

After that Pakistan "gifted" a part of our land to China. (Govt of India says Pakistan is in illegal and forcible occupation of about 78,000 sq km in Jammu and Kashmir and has illegally ceded 5,180 sq km of Indian territory to China.)

We had 1971, still didn't resolve Kashmir. We had Punjab's Khalistan terrorism, directly sponsored by Gen Zia Ul Haq's Pakistan. Then had to fight the Kargil war. Still gave a red-carpeted welcome to the man in khaki who was responsible for the death of our 600 soldiers.

And now we are foolishly looking at Islamabad, blood-soaked, yet finding ourselves in a question box.

That's Pakistan. And we are bending over backwards to get a certificate of good conduct from it. And expecting it will change for the good.


Isn't it a shame that a country doesn't feel hurt at the loss of 1.25 lakh sq km to the enemy, didn't feel angry, didn't resolve to take revenge for the loss of our 600 soldiers in Kargil and teach a lesson to a mischievously unrepentant neighbour? So much so that the discredited Musharraf still gets honourable platforms to big-mouth in Delhi. Who felt hurt that the anniversary of Kargil victory was completely ignored by the government, no one paid tributes to the soldiers, there were no special shows on TV channels? Who felt hurt to read stories of the Kargil heroes who lost their limbs and are forced to live at a paltry pension of Rs 5,000? In a country where insulting, humiliating and shamefully ignoring the heroes of war is a politically beneficial practice to garner minority votes, a Kalam honour outcry looks nothing more than a media shamanism. A self-defeating secularism allows a pro-terrorist Jamia crowd clubbed with the apologists to Azamgarh-Batla house syndrome who collected funds for the accused through a vice-chancellor, speak against the Human Rights Commission's clean chit to the police and restoring the honour of Inspector M C Sharma, who was humiliated by Congress and SP leaders even after his heroic death.

This is us and that is Pakistan. Those who bask only in a reflected glory eclipse India's truth.

The eclipse is secular in its darkness that has affected the Indian soul and we ignore the core issue to run after cosmetics. Just have a relook at Kalam saheb's episode.

Agreed Abdul Kalam shouldn't have been frisked. He represents not just his individual persona, but also our country's honour. They know what the Americans do in security matters and Kalam might be a great hero to us, but safety-conscious Americans must be apprised much before to have a proper, honourable safe passage to our ex-head of the state. Was that done? Secondly, those who are agitated over the frisking of Kalam are silent on Rahul Gandhi and Robert Vadra being given the privilege of passing through airport security without a check. Why and on what grounds?

At the end of the day, Kalam remains a great sermoniser who hardly had any action to his credit, except writing morally right good books and attending inaugural functions while fully enjoying all the fruits of a presidency post-retirement. From Kashmir's exiled patriots to Kohima's anti-national insurgency, what did he do to restore faith in the tricolour and protect the honour of those who swear by India? When he is frisked, the starved media makes it an issue and everyone jumps on to the bandwagon. Is this "insult" greater than the hurt our soldiers get from the sultans of Raisina Hill?