By T.J.S. George
Pakistan is ruled by its military and the military has an animosity against India that won’t go away. The reason is permanently engraved in a photograph — Gen. A.A.K. Niazi signing papers formalising his country’s surrender to India in Dhaka in 1971. The wiping out of East Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh were twin humiliations that became etched in Pakistan army’s DNA. For this reason, we should not expect meaningful peace with Pakistan in the foreseeable future. Large sections of ordinary Pakistanis have campaigned from time to time for normal relations with India. So have Indians. But normalcy will not come as long as the craving for revenge drives Pakistan’s military leadership.
Currently, a worldwide awakening against terrorism has weakened Pakistan. European nations raised the issue in the UN. The influential Paris-based Financial Action Task Force included Pakistan in its “grey list”, a mark of disapproval. Even China advised Pakistan to distance itself from terrorist groups. This could be why Pakistan hinted that it would not oppose a UN listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) Founder Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. Action was necessary, the Foreign Minister said, to protect “our global reputation.”
Action was indeed taken — banning various organisations identified with terrorism and taking 44 men under preventive custody, including Masood Azhar’s son and brother, both of whom were named in the Indian dossier given to Pakistan. Pakistan’s bonafides in these actions are unsure; preventive custody could mean custody to prevent any harm coming to the men. Even so, Pakistan has been forced by international opinion to take measures and make statements it has not done before.
It would be dangerous for India to interpret these developments as signs of peace breaking out in the region. The hatreds that drive organisations like JeM are too deep-rooted to go away in a hurry. Comparable hatreds have unfortunately developed in certain segments of the population in India also in recent years. If we do not accept this, we will have no right to claim moral superiority over Pakistan. Post Pulwama, India’s positions have raised several questions. Two of them are especially disturbing.
Question number one: Why did the BJP — and the Congress — politicise the military action? The Prime Minister and the President of the ruling party made statements that linked the air-strike with the imminent elections. Beyond them, Salman Khurshid of the Congress Party made a fool of himself and his party by claiming credit for Wing Commander Abhinandan’s bravery. He said the IAF hero “received his wings in 2004 and matured as a fighter pilot during UPA.” How pathetic can a politician get !
From the BJP’s side, Minister Piyush Goyal turned himself into an embodiment of intolerance when a TV anchor politely asked him questions many Indians were asking about the IAF strike at Balakot. Goyal was inexplicably agitated, wouldn’t listen to the anchor, and went on with his near-abusive onslaught. When the anchor managed to say, “Minister, neither me nor anybody sitting here needs any lesson in patriotism from you,” the audience clapped showing the isolation of Goyal and his bigotry.
Question number two should worry us more: How will Israelisation of Indian policy help? For years now Israel has been carrying on an intensive military campaign against Palestinians in their homeland. It is the world’s most unequal war since Israel is equipped with the latest military devices while the Palestinians have only militant groups left to their own devices. Offences like stone-pelting by Palestinians are met by state-of-the-art missile attacks by Israel. In recent years, India’s ties with Israel have become closer than its ties with any other country. Is Israel’s policy towards Palestinians going to be a model for India’s policy towards Kashmiris?
Decades of Israeli overkill have failed to ease their Palestine problem. This adds irony to India’s new-found admiration for Israel’s style of functioning. It was left to Brussels-based researcher Shairee Malhotra to point out that “Israel’s biggest fans in India appear to be the ‘internet Hindus’ who primarily love Israel for how it deals with Palestine and fights Muslims.”
The doyen of Middle East specialists, Robert Fisk, wrote: “Israel has been assiduously lining itself up alongside India’s nationalist BJP Government in an unspoken — and politically dangerous — ‘anti-Islamist’ coalition, an unofficial, unacknowledged alliance, while India itself has become the largest weapons market for the Israeli arms trade… It is difficult to see how Zionist nationalism will not leach into Hindu nationalism when Israel is supplying so many weapons to India.”
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
another garbage ( shit ) writing from a congress boot licker.
please send him to pakistan .
wonder why star of Mysore is publishing his articles ( sorry his shit)
Only people from So Called Minority Community can feel happy after reading your Anti Modi Anti BJP articles..
Readers, please Ignore this kind of shit articles to appease the Muslims vote bank for Congress. If Israel put down their arms then there would be no more Israel. Muslims occupied the land of Israel since 637 AD when Muhammad believed to land in Temple Mount. At that point itself, Muhammad invaded Jews Temple Mount, and he had no right to do so. If the land is not yours what right you have come there. Afterwords Muslims under various kings conquered and occupied the land of Israel. Jews took it back 1948 by UNO Security Council resolution. Muslims please read history and understand yourself.
George should stop writing and starts reading (other than reading commies literature, islamists and Congo pomplets and consider himself well read)
Israel is a survivalist! If they let their guards for one minute, their nation will evoparate because of Islamic nations in the world! In a ” O Jerusalem ” by Dominique lapier and Larry Collins, you can read the horrors that they had to face and yet survived so, George, now you can stop this nonsense and shut up for good ! I have been following their history since 70s and visited Israel a few times! While people like George due to their selfish interests like the awards that they don’t deserve or the money they get for selling their soul, can write any nonsense, I feel every citizen of India, Hindu Muslim, Sikh or curtain should feel Roy strongly about our nation!
Today we have Congress and some opposition parties made Pakistan job easier by batting for them ! MODI thinks like Israel and people like George are scared!
People who support Congress are usually anti-Indian. Congress party policies, when they were in power, were detrimental to the interests of India, and the majority community. No wonder the minorities support Congress!
Is George on ISI payroll? Indian history is replete with traitors,
Hindu Rashtra seekers are open Anti-Nationals to an idea of India.
If you don’t want to stay in India as an Indian then come to street and get Hindu Rashtra like Pakistan.
And, let Indians live peacefully in India
@Ana, what is your idea of India? In your India, the Hindu majority is forever held to ransom by minorities in the name of pseudo secularism. Whether you like it or not, Hindus are a majority in India, and we don’t try to convert others. With a name like yours, had you lived in Pakistan you wouldn’t have survived. Let me say this, if you don’t like Hindus, you are free to leave India!
An apt article, if you intend to think rationally. Has Israel achieved peace with all those modern weaponry? No. It was the talk of peace that earned peaceful atmosphere in that region for a while and their leaders won the Noble prize too for restoring peace, alas for a period. Then enter, the haters from all sides that reignited the disharmony. Kashmir was peaceful till 1989. Hate does not win,peace and love does win at the end. We Got independence by Gandhigiri.
As usual Mr George writes as if he knows anything and everything, now nationalism is slowly being labelled hindu nationalism and will be labelled as Zionist hindu nationalism, ha ha, you sure have an imagination, but please do not mislead people by quoting history any decently educated Indian knows it. History is not the birthright of intellectuals and biased journalists like you.
It is difficult to see how Zionist nationalism will not leach into Hindu nationalism when Israel is supplying so many weapons to India.”
Forget everything , but remember these golden words.
The 3rd person will just walk away after facilitating the 2 to fight to the finish.
i am surprised to see stupid paid trolls even in star of Mysuru, shows that the hate brigade is active and bent upon creating an vicious atmosphere in the country.